Friday, July 23, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com • A5
Teenager branches into landscaping
By GRIFFIN REILLY
The Astorian
Westin Carter speaks
with fervor as he illustrates
how he hopes his business
can expand local market
share. His goals are precise.
He’s certain he can continue
his company’s success.
He’s also only 18.
A recent graduate of
Seaside High School, Car-
ter received a $2,000 schol-
arship from the Clatsop
County Master Gardener
Association. The award rec-
ognized his “signifi cant hor-
ticultural skills and entrepre-
neurial acumen” in leading
his landscaping business,
Local Lawnboy LLC.
Carter describes the
scholarship as incredibly
generous, and appreciates
how it gave him the oppor-
tunity to talk about his pas-
sions for plants and business.
“As an 18-year-old it’s
sometimes hard to relate to
my friends when I talk about
whether or not to plant a
hydrangea,” he said. “This
scholarship really let me
Westin Carter received a $2,000 scholarship from the Clatsop County Master Gardener
Association.
show what I’ve learned over
the years.”
Carter credits Janet Wil-
loughby, a former client
and a member of the master
gardener association, with
pushing him to apply for the
scholarship as a senior.
“I don’t think he
approaches anything half-
way,” she said. “I thought I
was a workhorse, but I pale
in comparison to Westin.”
Carter’s business venture
began six years ago with a
bit of inspiration from his
grandfather, Brent Wilson,
who ascended the ranks in
the banking industry in his
career.
“I said in my gradua-
tion speech that he’s my
hero, and I really meant
that,” Carter said. He fondly
recalls riding around on his
grandfather’s drivable lawn
mower as a child. The busi-
ness, he said, is a combina-
tion of his interest in horti-
culture and his admiration
for his grandfather’s work
ethic.
As a sixth grader, Carter
carried his three-blade push
mower around the neigh-
borhood to clear up weed
patches for neighbors.
When he suff ered a hip
injury, however, Carter
became frustrated with how
his brother was fi nding suc-
cess mowing lawns in his
absence. The small sibling
rivalry quickly became the
launching point for Carter’s
side hustle to turn into a full-
fl edged business.
“One lawn became two,
two became three,” he said.
“Then at the start of last year
I had about 10 to 15 regular
clients.”
The mark of Local Lawn-
boy’s work, Carter said, is a
dedication to getting every
job perfect. He insists that if
it’s not what his clients like,
they need not pay him. “I
want to get it right. My go-to
line is, ‘My parents feed me
either way.’”
Carter — who was a
standout soccer player for
the Gulls — works seven
days a week and manages
fi ve full-time employees.
Daniel Sturgell, the owner of
Warrenton-based 3D Land-
scape, helped Carter’s busi-
ness by lending him trucks
for mulch distribution and
other tasks.
“He’s really driven for
someone his age,” Sturgell
said. “What he’s doing,
starting with just a hand-
mower and working his way
up, is really great to see.”
Carter will attend the
University of Oregon in the
fall, where he plans to study
business and fi nance. He
knows it’ll be tricky to main-
tain the business from afar
and embark on his education
at the same time. But he said
he’s spent months training
his workers so that they’ll
be able to steer the ship once
he’s left for Eugene.
Carter also acknowledges
how many of his mentors
and clients advise him to
take some time off and enjoy
his college experience.
“Making sure I have fun
along the way is something
I keep in mind,” he said,
chuckling. “But it’ll be a
balancing act for sure.”
LEFT: Summer camper Anna Liebert works on an art project at summer camp. MIDDLE: Alexis Velazquez plays basketball during Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District’s summer camp,
which runs through late August. RIGHT: Ezra Komba works on an art project during Dinosaurs and Dragons week.
Camp: ‘Giving them a healthy, positive place to be’
Continued from Page A1
that guides the activities and
daily routines. Campers also
get to use the pool weekly,
and lunch and snacks are
provided.
“With summer camp, it’s
fun to make it a little bit dif-
ferent than the normal after-
school program or the nor-
mal preschool program, and
I think our themes help with
that,” Reding said.
Even though summer
camp is more focused on
fun, however, doesn’t mean
there’s not an underlying
educational component, as
well.
“When things are done
right, kids are having fun
but they’re actually learning
quite a bit at the same time,”
Reding said. “It just doesn’t
feel like school.”
As COVID-19 restric-
tions ease, the park dis-
trict has additional ability
to provide a more laid-back
environment. According to
Reding, they are still con-
tact tracing and doing daily
health screenings. Parents
and guardians are drop-
ping off at the door, rather
than entering the building.
Mask-wearing has become
optional.
“It’s exciting and scary
at the same time, when you
think about restrictions
being lifted,” Reding said.
“We just hope we don’t have
to go through another shut-
down kind of thing.”
The park district’s youth
programming only serves
children up to about 12.
According to Reding, they
may explore activities for
middle school-aged students
in the future, but it will likely
be wrapped into a larger dis-
cussion of how the district
decides to utilize the new
recreation center. The build-
ing itself gives the district
physical space to access a
wide variety of possibilities,
and so far, it’s been helpful
for the youth programs.
“Everything is set up for
what we’re doing, for the
most part,” Reding said. “It
just makes life that much
easier.”
One of the park district’s
long-term goals is increas-
ing child care off erings, but
BRIEFS
CASA holds
benefi t raffl e
Tickets for the Clatsop
County Court Appointed
Special Advocates Bene-
fi t Raffl e are on sale until
5 p.m. Aug. 29. A total of
500 tickets will be sold for
$20 each. Tickets will be
entered into a drawing to
win one of seven raffl e bas-
kets valued between $800
and $1,000 each. The fund-
raising goal is $10,000.
The baskets feature prod-
ucts, services and gift cards
from several Clatsop County
businesses. The prizes
include a dinner for four at
Bridgewater Bistro; a one
night stay at the Cannery
Pier Hotel & Spa; a cou-
ple’s massage from Allure
Spa; a vehicle leveling kit
from OCD Performance &
Off road; a captain’s mem-
bership package from the
she doesn’t know specifi -
cally what that will look like.
Part of it depends on the out-
come of the district’s strate-
gic planning process for the
Sunset Recreation Center,
which will involve consul-
tants, key stakeholders, com-
munity business leaders and
families.
“It’s exciting because we
have a big opportunity to
help because there is such a
need,” Reding said.
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E
RIL Y’
S
up a position with the Boys
& Girls Club of the Long
Beach Peninsula and then
transitioning to her most
recent job running the Asto-
ria Parks and Recreation
Department’s Lil’ Sprouts
Academy. When the youth
programs coordinator posi-
tion opened, she saw an
opportunity to work closer
to home, as her family lives
in Seaside.
“I really want to be a part
of the community where my
kids will be growing up,”
she said. “It was a good fi t in
that respect.”
Her new job involves run-
ning the summer camp, pre-
school and after-school pro-
grams, which is similar to
what she’s done in the past
and the type of labor she
fi nds rewarding.
“Regardless of the age
group you’re working with,
you’re doing important
work,” she said.
While child care is a crit-
ical piece, she strives to take
her responsibility — and that
of the staff — a step further.
More than simply off ering
a safe place for youth, she’s
also focused on building
relationships and enriching
lives, whether the children
are 3 or 12 years old.
“We’re molding them for
what our society is going to
look like in the future, and
who they’re going to be as
citizens,” she said. “Giv-
ing them a healthy, positive
place to be and a healthy
start is really important.”
This summer, the recre-
ation district is operating the
Summer Explorers camp for
children in preschool and
kindergarten and the Sum-
mer Adventure camp for
children in fi rst-through-
fi fth grade. Because fam-
ilies sign up on a per week
basis to accommodate work
schedules and vacations, the
number of campers can vary
between 45 to 55 any given
week, Reding said.
Each week has a diff er-
ent theme, such as Dinosaurs
and Dragons, Under the Sea,
Bubbles! and Olympics,
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Columbia River Maritime
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Winners will be con-
tacted by email. To purchase
a raffl e ticket, go to bit.ly/
CASAraffl e
Foundation
awards $50K for
youth programs
An Oregon Commu-
nity Foundation Grant of
$50,000 has been awarded
to the Sunset Empire Park
& Recreation District for
K-12 summer program-
ming, providing funding
for staffi ng, summer camp
and fi eld trips. The park dis-
trict serves Clatsop County,
which is considered a child
care desert. This year the
need for child care in the
community has been even
more critical as families are
impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic and with the clos-
ing of a child care facility in
Cannon Beach.
The park district’s sum-
mer program in the Sunset
Recreation Center serves
45 children in part-day and
full-day programs over the
course of nine weeks.
Cannon Beach
Chocolate Cafe
10% OFF your purchase
through 7/31/21
‘Broken Arrow’
from author
Brian Ratty
Where did the Pacifi c
North Coast Indians come
from and where did they go?
Local author Brian Ratty’s
new book “Broken Arrow:
History, Myths and Legends
of the Pacifi c North Coast
Indians” is both a historical
narrative and a vivid glance
back to the heroic times of
long ago when many Indian
tribes called the shores of
the lower Columbia River
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their home.
“Broken Arrow” is an
overview of the many voices
about the life and times
of the Chinook, Clatsop,
Nehalem and Tillamook
Indians.
“Broken Arrow” is avail-
able at museums, book-
stores, libraries, gift shops
and on-line. For more infor-
mation, contact Sunset Lake
Publishing, Warrenton, 503-
717-1125. books@sunset-
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