It is with great excitement that I announce the addition of a new, full-time employee here at the Chamber. I hope you will all join me in welcoming Sierra Lauder as the Director of Events and Downtown Development.
You may be asking yourself: Why this is such a big deal? I’ll tell you why: for the past five years I have seen what the Chamber has been able to accomplish with just two staff people and our many volunteers, and I can’t help but get excited thinking of what we can accomplish by adding Sierra to our ranks.
Sierra has her Bachelor’s degree is Social Science with an emphasis in Rural Studies and Political Science. For her senior project she wrote a grant, so we are thrilled to have her grant writing experience at the Chamber. She is an avid volunteer and sees the value in community engagement.
Sierra has worked for non-profits, government agencies and small businesses and appreciates the pros and cons of each realm. In her own words she said “I am very excited to tackle this new role that allows for me to indulge my creative energy in event development and implementation while humoring my passion for public process and civic engagement.”
Sierra has lived in Tillamook County for the last 15 years and spent the first 12 in south Tillamook County. She and her kids are often present at many community events and have enjoyed the family-friendly nature of these events. Sierra says, “I am hopeful that, as a team, we are able to continue to grow and expand those events in a sustainable way, utilizing lots of volunteer energy… I look forward to hearing the great ideas circling and finding ways to actualize them in alignment with the goals and strategic plans that exist for the downtown area.”
Sierra’s role will work very closely with the City of Tillamook as she will be managing the Main Street program on a daily basis in downtown Tillamook. If you are a downtown business owner, it is our hope that you will come to know Sierra very well. It is one of her intentions to be accessible and approachable as possible and to be a resource to you. If you are a small business owner you know that securing grant funding and complying with ordinances can be overwhelming sometimes, and one of Sierra’s roles will be to assist in increasing accessibility and providing support for businesses that are looking to grow and/or establish themselves within the community.
“I love the character of our downtown district,” she said, “and I am so looking forward to getting to meet you all in the coming weeks.”
The community is fortunate to have Sierra at the Chamber, and I look forward to seeing her energy and skills be used to make Tillamook a better place to live and do business. Monday, October 3 was her first official day on the job and she already had a to-do list that she put together with little direction from me.
If you would like to get involved in downtown Tillamook events, or just want to welcome Sierra to the team, you can reach her at sierra@tillamookchamber.org or call 503-842- 7525.