4A • October 16, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
SignalViewpoints
Seaside is the winner with Hood to Coast accord
S EEN FROM S EASIDE
T
he Aug. 29 weather was
frightful, with a windstorm
that shut down the coast, but
the runners persevered. I can only
imagine what it was like for them
trudging at midnight and later
through mud, lightning and high
winds, on mountain paths and
farmers¶ ¿ elds, and up and over
that monumental engineering feat,
the Roosevelt Drive overpass.
In Seaside, the beach was cor-
doned off because of the gusts and
runners were funneled up Broad-
way. By late Saturday morning,
the streets were crowded with
race teams taking group sel¿ es
and comparing race times. Teams
from 50 states and 39 countries
participated in the annual 197-
mile relay from Mount Hood to
Seaside, bonding in what every-
one we spoke with described as
an unforgettable life experience.
They were soaked through but ex-
hilarated. They shared high-¿ ves
and hugged it out.
But what I saw as a journalist
that day was not what many busi-
nesses in Seaside experienced.
Only a few weeks later, 73
merchants delivered a petition
asking for a date change for the
event. “Although the Seaside
Chamber of Commerce and many
of the area’s lodging facilities
bene¿ t ¿ nancially, many of us
year-round business owners feel
that the overall impact of host-
ing this massive event during the
busy summer tourist is negative,”
businesses wrote.
That number grew to 84 by
the start of October. Complaints
B Y
R.J.
MARX
This year, Seaside and
Hood to Coast came to the
brink of ending it all.
À owed about race organi]ers clos-
ing down streets, vendors setting
up in front of stores, and a dearth
of business from runners who had
no interest in “shopping Seaside.”
These were people who were
using Seaside as “a day-and-a-
half destination and a party time.”
On Facebook, Seaside resi-
dents took to the message boards
and layered criticism on the
race: “Please send them packing.
That’s what the citi]ens of Sea-
side want.”
Is this marriage
worth saving?
The city’s love-hate relation-
ship with Hood to Coast seems
not so much like anything as a
marriage, in this case, a 24-year
relationship. For a sense of the
historic dynamic, I went back to
the archives.
“Most of these runners are
adventurists,” wrote the Signal’s
sports editor in 1991. “Not even
the winners reap monetary re-
wards. These die-hards run this
purely for fun. For the camarade-
rie along the route. For the beau-
tiful and inviting Oregon scenery.
Rest up and we’ll look for you
next year.”
Five years later, crowd control,
traf¿ c and safety concerns led to a
proposed race ban in 1996.
It was kisses again in 2000.
“Welcome Hood to Coast!” read
a banner headline.
“Hood to Coast gets ultima-
tum,” I read in 2005.
In 2007, the newspaper ran a
local and toll-free complaint line.
“Area braces for Hood to
Coast,” warned the 2010 head-
line.
Variations on this theme have
continued on and off for the past
¿ ve years, with more breakup ru-
mors than Kanye and Kim.
“I can’t believe we’re going
through this again!” City Coun-
cilor Dana Phillips exclaimed at
this year’s ¿ rst workshop.
Finding inspiration
from the runners
This year, Seaside and Hood to
Coast came to the brink of ending
it all.
But like a broken marriage,
there would have been fallout, in
this case, blows to our health sys-
tem, city parks and potentially the
tourism dollars this city depends
on. At Monday’s council meeting
R.J. MARX PHOTO/SEASIDE SIGNAL
Track coach Jack Kilday makes an impassioned plea to keep Hood to Coast
in Seaside.
track coach Jack Kilday described
the incalculable loss his teams
would have faced trying to make
up for what Hood to Coast brings,
and those losses would have been
felt throughout the school district.
Beyond the money the race
brings, nothing could serve as a
better inspiration for healthy liv-
ing than an event promoting the
values of ¿ tness and endurance.
For young athletes, the values
of teamwork and team-building
displayed in this unique and chal-
lenging race can only be inspir-
ing.
And there is the race’s inter-
national cachet: Hood to Coast
is perhaps the only time a visitor
from Bonn, Paris, Ankara or Syd-
ney may ever hear of Seaside.
In 2004, two do]en Orego-
nians from the Oregon National
Guard’s 1249th Engineer Battal-
ion participated in a “shadow”
Hood to Coast relay at the For-
ward Operating Base Sharana in
Paktika Province, Afghanistan.
“The Guard also has at least one
team in the relay in Oregon, so it
is pretty easy to be connected,”
said Russ Gibson, a Guard mem-
ber from Salem. “It helps us keep
connected to Oregon.”
Military teams continue to run
in every Hood to Coast, Chief
Executive Of¿ cer Jude Hubber
said Monday night after the City
Council and Hood to Coast com-
mitted to two more years of part-
nership.
Now that is inspirational.
Side Rail JON RAHL
An educational experience is brewing along the coast
Earlier this year while
attending the 2015 Oregon
Governor’s Conference on
Tourism, I met Brandon
Holmes, co-founder of tech-
nology startup Bandwango.
Holmes, along with co-found-
er Mo Parikh, was getting set
to launch an attractions pass
in Salt Lake City (my old
stomping ground) with a con-
sumer interface that blew me
away. Their system takes ad-
vantage of mobile technolo-
gy, gives tremendous value to
the traveler and makes it easy
to track success. As a desti-
nation marketer that loves
creative projects, this got my
wheels spinning.
We initially jumped into a
conversation aimed at the cre-
ation of an attractions pass for
this area. It made sense to me,
was similar to something I’d
helped create during my time
in Salt Lake and would give
the Oregon’s North Coast
coalition a dynamic way to
promote our tremendous as-
sets from Astoria all the way
down to Cannon Beach. We
envisioned at least ¿ ve to six
participants but could see as
many as ten easily ¿ tting into
the pass.
Ultimately, we hit a snag
with the attractions pass. Per-
haps the timing just wasn’t
right, but we kept talking and
the left the door open to doing
something later this fall. Enter
Beer 101. Holmes was work-
ing on the basis of a craft beer
pass for an area in Portland
and it gave us the idea to cap-
itali]e on the success of the
2013 advertising campaign
run by the Oregon’s North
Coast group.
You might recall that two
years ago, the marketing co-
alition of Astoria-Warrenton,
Seaside and Cannon Beach
unveiled a promotion called
Beer 101. The month-long
focus was on craft breweries,
educational events and a con-
test that allowed consumers
to help name a one-of-a-kind
JON RAHL
collaborative beer. All three
elements were designed to
drive visitation and overnight
stays to this area during the
late fall and winter season of
2013-14.
Late this summer, this
year’s campaign and the idea
of a Beer 101 Pint Pass really
started to take shape. I initial-
ly ran it past a few local estab-
lishments while Bandwango
made sure it was something
that would work within the
guidelines of the Oregon Li-
quor Control Commission.
We received enough positive
feedback to know this was
something we could move
forward with.
In early November, the
Beer 101 Pint Pass will go
on sale as the successor to the
campaign from two autumns
ago. It’s a new step for Ore-
gon’s North Coast and, quite
honestly, it’s a new way to
promote tourism and travel.
The pass will sell for approx-
imately $20-25, and give the
consumer a $5 mobile gift
card from each of approxi-
mately ten (the ¿ nal number
is still being ¿ nali]ed) par-
ticipating locations. The pass
will be valid through the end
of February 2016 with a few
minor restrictions. Advertis-
ing for the pass will start on
November 9 and we’ll quick-
ly be able to tell exactly how
effective this campaign is. As
usual, I’ll keep you posted on
SUBMITTED PHOTO/SEASIDE SIGNAL
North Coast communities team to introduce the local brew-
ing experience.
the efforts, and the results.
Learn more — beginning ear-
ly next month — at thepeo-
plescoast.com/north.
Have a thought or a ques-
tion about tourism in Seaside,
or maybe an idea for a future
column? Drop me an email at
jrahl@cityofseaside.us. Jon
Rahl is the director of tourism
for the Seaside Visitors
Bureau and assistant general
manager of the Seaside Civic
& Convention Center.
Scene and Heard CLAIRE LOVELL
Columnist jots a few notes from ‘this point in time’
Did we think during the
Nixon years that when John
Dean kept talking about
“this point in time,” we’d
still be using the stupid ex-
pression years later? For
one thing, he should have
stopped at point. Of course,
it’s in time. That’s where we
live. I should accept the fact
that copycat phrases have
always been the way of the
world, but some clichés just
tick me off.
Our August storm on the
29th was really exciting.
It came a little later than
expected — a little after 6
p.m., but when it really be-
gan in earnest, I enjoyed the
wild tossing of leaves and
branches — the wind whip-
ping around the trees, doors
slamming in the bree]e. It
was fun after so long a time.
The national weathermen
quoted our wind velocity at
90 m.p.h.
Hood to Coast, an annual
moneymaker, was well nigh
ruined by the storm. Beach
activities, an enjoyable part
of the holiday where pretty
much destroyed. Where I
live, except for an occasional
van going by on Roosevelt,
the run might never have
happened. This week will
go down in Hood to Coast
annals as a washout. We’ve
been lucky before to have
had good weather, plenty
of help and happy runners
with snappy slogans. Next
year it will be good again if
we say our prayers. (Maybe
I shouldn’t have prayed for
rain for the ¿ res. I did think
of the guy in the Bible who
prayed for rain. It came and
CLAIRE LOVELL
lasted for three years.)
Does anyone know if the
puppy dog had her knee op-
eration so she could walk? I
haven’t seen any follow-up
info in the paper and have
been watching. There is so
much good that can be done
for handicapped animals
these days. I like to hear
about it.
Sorry to learn of the
death of Dave McDonald on
Aug. 19. Before he moved
to Warrenton, he and Em-
madine were a part of Sea-
side’s up and combers, in-
cluding the Junior Chamber
of Commerce and a lot of
young people’s activities. I
don’t know if he’d moved to
Longview or that he’d just
gone to the hospital there.
Katherine Laca]e is a
proli¿ c writer for Eastern
Oregon Media. I always
enjoy her articles because
she’s a girl after my own
heart. She’s not afraid to go
for the nostalgic stuff. If she
hadn’t written about Seaside
Union High School aging
100 years old next year, I
would have forgotten all
about it. As it happens, my
youngest brother was born
while it was being built.
Most of my siblings and I
graduated from that school.
I was in the class of 1937 as
salutatorian, ha. Grade wise
it was an honor I shared with
my best pal Evelyn Stewart,
although I gave the speech.
Whenever my own kids
brought home stories of hap-
penings at their school, I al-
ways visuali]ed them in the
old building. When it was
torn down, the ra]ers threw
out class pictures as well as
mottoes and quotations that
were framed to hang on our
walls. One I would have
loved to have had was from
President Lincoln’s second
inaugural address begin-
ning “with malice toward
none…” It was in our as-
sembly hall next to the stage
and some of us committed it
to memory from countless
readings in study hall. When
Leo Marlantes was princi-
pal, he rescued some of the
pictures but there should
have been a pre-demolition
sale for all of us to have a
chance at something which
otherwise would be plowed
under or thrown on the gar-
bage. I actually knew one
of the people on the board
of director’s list — Leona
McKay and have heard of
others like Otto, Lounsber-
ry and Kables. The old
gym was used with the new
building for a while.
and 70s. We had band,
orchestra, “after school”
sports (with no fees), a li-
brarian and library aide, a
music teacher, an art teach-
er, we had ¿ eld trips and PE
at least three times a week
— at each grade level and
class si]es of 20 to 25 stu-
dents. And that was in ele-
mentary school!
I am truly saddened by
the stories I hear today of
all the school budget trou-
bles and the subsequent
cuts to programs. It’s time
— millennials and oth-
ers — to step up and stop
short-changing our chil-
dren! You can start by vot-
ing “yes” in the upcoming
election, which will at least
sustain our current level
of school funding. A “yes”
vote will also encourage
our teachers and staff. They
will feel appreciated by our
community and that goes a
long way toward excellence
in the classroom.
Marcus Simantel
Seaside
Laugh Lines
It’s hard to make a come-
back when you haven’t been
anywhere.
Letters to the Editor
A thank-you from Hall
of Fame Committee
The Seaside High School
Hall of Fame Induction Com-
mittee consisting of Jim Auld,
Tom Maltman, James Folk,
Stubby Lyons, Wally Ham-
er, Dr. Shelia Roley, Larry
Elliott, Gene Gilbertson and
Donna Sunell wish to thank
Gearhart Market, led by Mol-
ly Lowenberg, Teryn Law
and their crew for presenting
our food, attending to our
needs during the ceremony
and cleanup. They performed
magni¿ cently and above the
call of duty.
We served over 200 din-
ners; got the tables, chairs
and the Seaside High School
cafetorium in good shape
Saturday and Sunday, Sept.
26 and 27. The night was a
complete success. Thanks to
Gearhart Market leaders and
crew.
The Induction Committee
would also like to thank Nike.
Mike Burk, Julie Nelson and
their crew led the clean up
department after the Seaside
High School Hall of Fame in-
duction event. During the cer-
emony they walked around
and made sure that guests had
coffee, water, etc. and worked
well with Gearhart Market.
They always had a smile
on their face, asked ques-
tions about what they could
do next and because of their
tremendous help, we were
able to get out of there before
9 p.m.
Mike and Julie have done
a tremendous job of teaching
and coaching those young
people to perform the way
they did. Without them there,
it would not have been the
successful night that it was.
The Seaside Hall of Fame
has inducted 127 individuals
and 28 teams since it was
started in 2001.
Stubby Lyons
Seaside
Stop short-changing
our schoolchildren
I’m an old guy who
taught school in the 1960s
