2021 Annual Meeting
Oregon Rural Action members gathered virtually for our 2021 Annual Meeting on Saturday, April 17 to celebrate our work, reflect on our 20-year vision, elect new members to the Board of Directors and look to 2021.
The Power of Community Organizing
Erik Nicholson offered our keynote presentation, The Power of People and Community Organizing. An organizer with over 30 years experience, Erik has worked alongside the women and men in agriculture to improve working conditions. Nicholson told of a conversation he had with Jose Alfredo and Luis, two men he met in Arizona at the border with Mexico who have spent the last 20 years working 6 days a week to harvest lettuce in the U.S. They live in Mexico and described their 17 hour work days that begin with a 2 hour wait with their papers to cross the border to catch a bus at 5 am to the fields in Arizona. The work is hard on the body. “This work takes the life out of you,” says Jose Alfredo, “but there are few other options.” The wages of $7.50-$8 are too low to live in the U.S. and so they return home to Mexico each day. Erik thanked Jose Alfredo and Luis for their work, “without you, we would not eat.”
“The stories in Umatilla and Morrow counties are very much the same,” Erik continued. “COVID has really shown the fractures and fault lines in our society and the cruel determination of calling people ‘essential workers’ - the first in my career - giving people the recognition they deserve for the incredible work they do. But the conditions do not follow. These workers have power and voice. And you at ORA inherently recognize that and by amplifying and organizing voices, you can bring about a concrete change. ORA’s work with essential workers in Oregon, your leadership to get information and needles into farmworkers arms, is showing the way of what a new difference can look like.”
Health Equity and Water
ORA members in Umatilla and Morrow counties highlighted our COVID-19 health equity campaign reaching out to Spanish and Mesoamerican speaking communities. Ana Elisa Wilson, ORA’s Community Organizer, provided an overview of the teams’ outreach to protect farmworkers in the face of COVID-19, highlighting our live weekly radio show, Acción Rural Hispana, that began on March 29, 2020 and new partnerships with the Oregon Health Authority and community based organizations. Team leader and Guatemalan community member Miguel Ramirez shared his experience bridging the language barrier by providing translation of vital COVID-19 information in his native language, Myan Mam. Abby Munoz highlighted ORA’s PPE distribution and community outreach events that have reached over 5,000 people and distributed over 35,000 masks to farmworkers and their families. In addition to the health equity campaign, Ana Maria discussed ORA’s ongoing campaign to protect drinking water in Umatilla and Morrow counties as a member of the statewide coalition, Stand Up To Factory Farms. She highlighted our participation on a call with the Governor and testimony offered to the Oregon Senate Committee on Energy and the Environment.
Food Equity and Food Systems
Kaga Koehn, ORA’ s Community Organizer in Union county, highlighted ORA’s continuing work on food systems and new partnership with the Oregon Food Bank to address food equity in the midst of the pandemic. ORA organized community-wide conversations in Union and Umatilla and Morrow counties focused on Food, Education and Agriculture to build Solutions Together (FEAST). The conversations support our long-term goal of building networks to organize for a more equitable and resilient food system in the region. Board member Jan Marrs discussed our renewed partnership with Eastern Oregon University to support the La Grande Community Garden to provide space to grow food with community partners and serve as an outdoor office for our community organizing work on food systems.
Celebrating ORA’ 20-Year Vision
As we celebrated our 20-year vision, we heard stories from Mabel Dobbs, Julie Keniry, Andrea Malmberg as well as Rachel Zatterstrom with our affiliate, Western Organization for Resource Councils (WORC). We also remembered the leadership of the late Bill Whitaker. In his honor, Board member Cori Brewster announced the launch of ORA’s Community Organizing Training: Arc of Justice and his wife, Cheryl Simpson, shared a reflection highlighting Bill’s life and organizing work.
Board Elections
The results of the 2021 Board election were announced and we welcomed two newly elected board members Erin Lair and Andrea Malmberg and returning members, Mitch Walgomott and Norm Cimon.
Watch for opportunities to continue to engage in 2021 in our health and food equity work, and new upcoming work on climate sustainability. Sign up hereto be added to our email list to receive regular updates. If you are interested in learning more about how to engage in Union County, contact Kagan Koehn at: kagank@oregonrural.org. To learn more about engaging in the work in Morrow/Umatilla counties, contact Ana Elisa Wilson at: anaelisaw@oregonrural.org.