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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 2016)
February 5, 2016 Seaside Signal seasidesignal.com 5A How a new home page reaches around the world , MRNHG DW D UHFHQW 6HDVLGH Downtown Development Associ- ation breakfast meeting that I was starting to sound like a broken re- cord with some of my reports. It’s not that I’ve been repeating my- self, rather that I’ve been sharing updates on the same topic. And that topic has been a very import- ant one for the City of Seaside Visitors Bureau. As I discussed in my Decem- ber column, the Visitors Bureau is working through a complete rebranding of our communication materials (logos, print ads, web ads, business cards, etc.). Current- ly, our website has been the prior- ity. In some ways it’s become like moving into a new house. When you move into a new home, you are suddenly faced with empty rooms. Sometimes it’s obvious where the furniture is going to be placed, while in some rooms it’s not so clear. You might need to try the couch against the window be- fore you realize it’s better against that wall over there. A new home is also the opportunity for a fresh start. In a lot of ways, the Visitors Bureau is going through some of those same options, only all of our furniture is brand new. En- ter our new website. Earlier this week we unveiled this brand new information source (seasideOR. com) and touch point that reach- SIDE RAIL JOHN RAHL es more people annually than any single advertisement or Seaside Visitor Guide does. For example, we print 100,000 copies of our Visitor Guide, but our website had 311,000 unique visitors in 2015. Our website is an extremely important asset. When the rebranding was tak- ing shape last fall, we put into motion the plans to start anew with our website. We did a re- quest for proposals and decided for the direction we were head- ing that a small digital agency, :(/'ZRXOGEHWKHEHVW¿WIRU us. So now what? Using a newer philosophy for building websites, we based everything around the principals of growth-driven de- sign. There are great articles on this process, but I’ll try and make it simple. Rather than building this big elaborate website at the onset, you shorten up your time to launch the website. You do not build everything all at once but build enough for launch that your site accomplishes key priorities. To do this, we analyzed the WUDI¿FWRRXUFXUUHQWZHEVLWHRYHU the past 12-24 months. What we New sales rep was inspired by a mentor Stewart is longtime Seaside resident The “Events Calendar” of the new Seaside website. learned was that 80% of our visi- tors focused most of their time on about 15-20 percent of our con- tent. This critical content would become the basis of our launch site. If you visit our site today, \RX¶OO VHH WKHUH DUH MXVW ¿YH FDW egories: our home page, things to do, an event calendar, tide tables and our visitor guide. That’s it. It’s thoughtfully put together with the things that visitors have told us with their clicks that they want Seaside Signal Seaside Signal Brandy Stewart “I managed the Warrenton sales area, and bits and piec- es of Astoria.” Among her achieve- ments is “Everything Auto,” a sales guide going into its third year. Stewart said she’s worked on “all aspects” of DG SURMHFWV ³, LQWHJUDWHG the tax pages, the Cinco de Mayo pages — but I’ve been a key player in every- thing we do.” Stewart went under “Wendy Richardson’s wing,” and learned to de- velop a “more business and professional side.” “I was shy,” Stewart said. “The biggest thing I learned from Wendy is when you conduct business it’s all about cultivating re- lationships and caring about the outcome.” Stewart’s son, Derek, 13, starts high school in the fall. Her husband of 13 years, Brian, 41, works for Reed and Hertig Packing Co. Stewart said her goal as South County Sales Repre- sentative is to “get integrat- ed with the Seaside commu- nity and become a valuable resource for the area’s busi- nesses and their marketing needs.” more than anything else. Don’t worry, the website is still D ZRUN LQ SURJUHVV 7KLV LV MXVW phase one. Phase two will include incorporating all of our business listings, historical information, and a blog. Generally speaking, we move into a house and want that bed, couch, microwave and maybe a TV in place. Next comes all the other stuff. It’s the same for the website. We’ll now begin the decorating process and like al- ways, I’ll keep you posted on the progress. Have a thought or a question 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. New branch of Seaside’s STUFF focuses on used clothes and more By Katherine Lacaze By R.J. Marx Brandy Stewart likes her new commute — about two minutes from her home in Seaside. But don’t expect Stewart to remain stuck at her desk. The new South County sales rep for the Signal plans to make her rounds in getting to know the community better. Stewart moved with her family to Clatsop County from Utah when she was 12. The 20-year Seaside resident graduated from As- toria High School and took KHU¿UVWMREDVDUHFHSWLRQLVW at Seaside Providence Hos- pital. “I was there for 11 years,” Stewart said, work- ing in the hospital’s ad- missions department, as an emergency room technician and physician’s assistant. Stewart later worked part-time as a bookkeeper before applying for a part- WLPH MRE LQ WKH 6LJQDO¶V 6RXWK&RXQW\RI¿FHLQ-DQ uary 2009. ³7KH ¿UVW SHUVRQ , PHW was Wendy Richardson,” Stewart said, referring to her predecessor, who died in December. “We hit it off MXVWOLNHWKDW´ In May 2009 Stewart was transferred to the Daily $VWRULDQ RI¿FH ZKHUH VKH worked in the accounting department before becom- ing a sales representative in 2010. “I worked with all the auto dealers in the area, as well as in Longview, Washington,” Stewart said. SUBMITTED PHOTO/SEASIDE SIGNAL The owners of Seaside’s STUFF have expanded their presence in town by opening a second store with a simi- lar theme, called Seaside’s Clothes & STUFF. The store, located on South Roosevelt Drive, opened in September 2015. The stores are owned by Val- erie Watson and her son, Tim Meyer. Watson’s brother, Dan- iel Osborn, runs Seaside’s STUFF; Watson manages the new store; and Meyer is the buyer, who goes to stor- age auctions, estate sales and other venues throughout the state, stocking a warehouse with items. He does “all the wheeling and dealing,” said Watson. She grew up Clats- kanie and moved back to the area more than four years ago. Seaside’s STUFF opened in 2014. The store did well, but soon grew a little short of space. The owners were “donating so many clothes to Goodwill,” Watson said, be- cause they did not have room to display them all. Without space to expand Seaside’s STUFF in its current build- ing, the family decided to RSHQDQHZORFDWLRQWR¿WLQ the used-clothing niche, Wat- son said. The new store features mainly clothes and other per- sonal accessories, such as KDQGEDJVEHOWVVFDUYHVMHZ elry and shoes. Brands include some that are upscale, like Gu- cci, Coach, GUESS and Mi- chael Kors — nice products “at reasonable prices,” Watson said. 7RSV UXQ DERXW SXUV HV DUH XVHG EHOWV DUH DQGWKHUHLVDUDFN3HRSOH who bring in items can trade them for store credit. Watson said they try to bring in new products ev- ery week, since several of their patrons return often to check for new deliveries. If an item doesn’t sell after a few weeks, Meyer will re- turn it to the warehouse, sell it on the Internet or donate it. With all the leftover items they still generate, Watson Valerie Watson said she would like to see someone set up a community clothing bank, where those Both stores have Face- arrive. To contact Seaside’s in need could get the clothes book pages that are updated Clothes & STUFF, call 971- for free. with new products as they 704-4163. -RLQWKHµ%HWWHU%UHDWKHU¶V&OXE¶DW3URYLGHQFH6HDVLGH Providence Seaside Hos- SLWDO LQ FRQMXQFWLRQ ZLWK the American Lung Associ- ation, is offering a monthly Better Breathers Club to se- nior members of the com- PXQLW\ZKRKDYHGLI¿FXOW\ breathing. Attendees will meet in the education cen- ter of the hospital from 1:30 to 3 p.m. There is no charge to attend, but registration is encouraged. These sessions will pro- vide an opportunity to learn ways to cope with COPD, DVWKPDSXOPRQDU\¿EURVLV and other respiratory issues while getting the support of others who share the same struggles. The Better Breathers Club’s monthly meetings will feature educational presentations on a variety of relevant topics including breathing techniques, ex- ercise, medications, home healthcare, lung trans- plants, pollution, smoking and more. Caregivers are also welcome to attend all meetings. Monthly meetings for 2016 will be held Feb. 11, March 10, April 14, May -XQH -XO\ $XJ 11, Sept. 8, Oct. 13, Nov. 10 and Dec. 8. To register for one or more sessions, call 800- 562-8964. Providence Sea- side Hospital is located at 725 S. Wahanna Road. as that. Because our com- munity relies so heavily on the service industry and UHWDLO MREV PDQ\ SHRSOH — like my husband — are IRUFHG WR WDNH MREV ZHOO below their experience or skill level. If they were SDLGEHWWHUHYHQMXVWDIHZ dollars more an hour, they would be able to feel the dignity of providing for their family after a hard day’s work. It’s far past time to raise the minimum wage. 'awn *reen¿ eld Seaside LETTERS School changes There are somethings I would change about Broad- way Middle School in Sea- side. I would allow students to use their cell phones in class, and a longer passing period time between class- es, and have longer lunches. First, I think students should be allowed to use their cell phones in class. If students need help spelling a word they don’t know, they will be able to use their cell phones. Also if students QHHGHG WKH GH¿QLWLRQ RI D word, a cell phone would be good. Another thing is if students need to research information, the students can use their cell phones. Second, I think students should have a longer pass- ing period time between classes, because if some students can’t open their lockers, they won’t be late if they had more time. Also, if students need to go to the bathroom they won’t be late to their class. Anoth- er thing is if students drop their stuff, and pick up their papers and spirals, they won’t be late to their class. Finally, I think school lunches should be longer. Students who are in last in line don’t have much to eat. Also, if you’re last in line you don’t get what you want to eat. Another thing is to have a longer recess. It should be like an hour. As you see, I would make some changes to the school. I would allow students to use their cell phones in class, have a longer passing period time, and have a lon- ger lunch time. Ezequiel Lopez-Mota Seaside Time to raise minimum wage My family and I have lived LQ 6HDVLGH IRU ¿YH \HDUV , have watched our communi- ty grow and change, and I’ve also watched it fall behind. My husband is 63 years ROG\HWKDVVWUXJJOHGWR¿QG work that will pay him a de- cent wage, even though he had a long career as a man- DJHU+HQRZPDNHVMXVW an hour as a maintenance man, and I am on disability, so our small family strug- gles. And, we aren’t alone. There are people in our community who work full time, but can’t afford to pay their rent on time. There are parents who skip a meal or two so that their kids don’t go hungry. There are people who don’t get essential med- ical care because they can’t afford it. Out here in the “season- al communities” that rely on WRXULVPLW¶VQRWMXVWZRUU\LQJ about how much you’ll get paid, but whether there will be DMREIRU\RX\HDUURXQG$O most everyone I know has two MREVMXVWWRPDNHHQGVPHHW Yes, Seaside isn’t Port- land. 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