Oregon ON Annual Awards Banquet: Opening Doors, Building Community
More than 420 people attended the first annual awards banquet of Oregon Opportunity Network. The event was held on the evening of November 6 at the Oregon Convention Center.  Guests from across the state enjoyed coming together and celebrating the award winners.  Please check out our 2008 sponsors who made all this possible.

Margaret Davidson (Community Connection Of Northeast Oregon, Inc, in La Grande), President of Oregon Opportunity Network welcomed the crowd, introduced the new board of directors and set the stage for the evening.  She turned the MC duties over to Michael Anderson, new director of Oregon ON, and he took it from there, celebrating the collaboration that created Oregon Opportunity Network from its parent organizations, AOCDO and CDN, and buoyed by our partners and sponsors.

To inject some fun into the fundraising, the Oregon ON players, in the persons of Kate Allen (formerly at Enterprise and now in the office of Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish) and Brian Stewart (WaMu), presented the skit, “What’s That Name?”  Kate as a meditation guru chanted “OON” and had the room joining her mantra.  She tried to get Brian to chime in but he got the biggest laugh of the evening adlibbing his refusal t be drawn in.  “Not me, Kate. I’m a banker at WaMu, now a division of JP Morgan Chase, hence the white shirt and tie.”   Brian did his best to correct Kate’s use OON as an acronym for Oregon Opportunity Network that prefers to be know as Oregon ON.  All concerns were dispelled when Brian let Kate know she could support Oregon ON materially as well as spiritually by making a contribution to the cause.

Then Julia Spezia from Housing California delivered the keynote speech.  She recounted the history of the Community Reinvestment Act and focused the audience on the impact the current financial crisis has on affordable housing.  She reaffirmed the importance of advocacy in securing funding for the sustainability of our industry.

Outstanding Industry Ally
Brian Stewart of WaMu was honored as the Outstanding Industry Ally.  In presenting the award, Martha McLennan, Northwest Housing Alternatives in Milwaukie, talked about Brian’s personal character saying he becomes a true partner.    Brian has the willingness to meet organizations more than halfway and make himself available personally, not just professionally.  A case in point:  Brian carries with him a sign that says, “Affordable Housing NOW!”   He has photographic evidence of himself holding up the sign at numerous baseball stadiums and in Times Square.

Community Champion
Jim Tierney, of Community Action Team Inc in St Helens, received the Community Champion Award.  Peter Hainley, CASA of Oregon in Newberg, enjoyed making the presentation.  Jim Tierney is the rudder that has guided the AOCDO crew and continues in that role with Oregon Opportunity Network.  And given this year’s flooding in the Vernonia area we will leave any further water metaphors aside.  It is often said of Jim that we look to him as our moral compass; he elevates every discussion to its principle.

2008 Star Players
There are stars in our constellations that catch attention for their sparkle, influence, and action.  Each member organization selects an honoree to single out.  These are the stars that have impressed us in 2008:

Thomas Dahl Jensen, CASA of Oregon
Elisabeth Gern, Catholic Charities
John Atten, Central City Concern
Dolan McCarter and Tracy Stepp, Community Partners for Affordable Housing
Ken Knepper, Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East
Catherine Kes, Hacienda CDC
Leon Laptook, Housing Development Center
Holly Wikalis, HOST Development
Dorene Warner, Human Solutions Inc
Ariana Dixon, Innovative Housing Inc
Ray Hackworth, Northwest Housing Alternatives
Terrie Hendrickson, Oregon Opportunity Network
Delane Guild, Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives Inc
Justin Wolf, Polk CDC
Linda Hughes, REACH CDC
Roger Anthony, ROSE CDC
Samantha Heath, St Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County
Jodi Erickson, Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services