Springfield and Eugene Chambers Graduate the 37th Leadership Eugene Springfield Class

The Springfield and Eugene Chambers of Commerce joined together to celebrate the graduates of the 2022-23 Leadership Eugene Springfield cohort at the University of Oregon Innovation Hub at 942 Olive Street in downtown Eugene. Springfield Mayor Sean VanGordon and Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis were present, and both recognized the importance of civic leadership. Vonnie Mikkelsen, President and CEO of the Springfield Chamber, and Erik Parrish, Board member of the Eugene Chamber, discussed the value that LES brings to the community. Congratulations to all the 2022-23 LES graduates!

The 2022-2023 Leadership Eugene Springfield (LES) cohort spent the last eight months honing their leadership skills, developing a network of like-minded civic leaders, and learning about issues impacting our community. The cohort was exposed to topics such as public safety, economic development, and land use and transportation, to name only a few. 

Each year, the LES Steering Committee is responsible for creating class content, securing speakers, and arranging community tours for each monthly topic. This was LES’ first full year returning to in-person classes since the COVID-19 pandemic, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the results! A couple of highlights included hearing from Judge Aiken about her work with the justice system and Oregon Reentry Court on Public Safety Day and visiting the Eugene Airport and test-driving electric vehicles on Land Use & Transportation Day. 

This year’s graduates are joining an impressive network of LES alumni, a group which includes many of our community’s business and civic leaders. This year’s LES graduation marks the 37th consecutive year of the LES program and now includes over 1,000 alumni. We look forward to seeing all of the great things the 2022-2023 cohort will accomplish in the years to come and extend a sincere congratulations to each of the graduates!

Lastly, as I reflect on the accomplishments of this year’s program, I am humbled by the generosity of our community. The LES program could not be successful without the contributions made by our steering committee volunteers, Chamber liaisons, program facilitator, speakers, and sponsors. I extend a heartfelt thank you to all that were involved this past year. It has been an honor and a privilege to work with each of you and help develop our community’s next generation of leaders. Leadership Eugene Springfield makes change possible and, together, the possibilities are endless. 

– Jessica Redman, Steering Committee Chair, 2022-23

2022-23 COHORT PROJECTS
As a part of the LES program, the cohort has to complete group projects over the course of the year. With the only requirement being that their project has to impact both Eugene and Springfield, they set out to brainstorm topics that interested them based on needs they saw in our community, and landed on four groups: Trades, Workforce, Civic Engagement, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

I am so impressed with the outcomes of these projects, the lasting impact they will have on our community, and how our graduates worked as teams to complete them. Here’s a synopsis of this year’s projects:

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IN THE TRADES
The trades group was able to work with the Oregon Tradeswomen out of Portland to bring a workshop down to Eugene this summer. They will have hands-on opportunities – 30 women will be fully compensated for their time going through this program, and hopefully land a job within one of the trades at the conclusion of the course. Oregon Tradeswomen plans to bring this workshop back to Eugene/Springfield for many years to come. In addition, the Trades group purchased over 150 books titled, “How Does My Home Work” by Chris Butterworth from Tsunami Books in Eugene. They did demonstrations of how your home gets clean water and how fiber internet is installed in front of second grade students at Irving Elementary, Two Rivers/Dos Rios Elementary and the Boys and Girls Club. Each student also went home with their own copy of the book. Watch a video of the Trades in Schools Project HERE.

LANE COUNTY WORKFORCE PROJECTIONS
The workforce group worked with local economist Henry Fields to determine workforce needs in the coming years in our community. Then they worked with 7th grade students in the Bethel, 4J and Springfield School Districts to see what careers they were interested in and to see if they knew what it would take to get a job in those fields. They gathered information on salaries and schooling and needs for those occupations in our area to help give them a pathway to be successful. 

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Civic Engagement is a broad topic, so this group narrowed it down to helping homeless youth. They partnered with 15th Night in a variety of ways. First, they all joined their Community Responders Network and were able to get over 40 additional people signed up. This network sends a text message or email for specific needs of the people they are helping. Requests range from a pair of shoes, to personal care products, to a place to stay. Next, they helped collect over 25 mens formalwear outfits for prom this spring. 15th Night has also done “Burrito Friday” for the past five years. This group volunteered to make burritos on two separate Fridays and were able to serve more than 100 meals. Additionally, they got some of their employers to sponsor future Burrito Fridays. If you would like to sign up for be a Community Responder or learn more ways to get involved with 15th Night, learn more here: https://www.15thnight.org/volunteer

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION
The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) group worked to create a flyer, in English and Spanish, that provided information on the Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID). Some government projects have specific requirements where they have to select minority-owned, women-owned, service-disabled, veteran-owned, and emerging small businesses. This certification allows certified firms a fair opportunity to compete for government contracts regardless of owner ethnicity, gender, disability, or firm size. They distributed this flyer through the Eugene and Springfield Chambers of Commerce and the Small Business Development Center at Lane Community College.

Learn more about COBID here.
CLICK HERE to view the informational flyer for COBID

– Hayley Radich, Steering Committee Class Project Liaison, 2022-23

Thank you to our guest writers for their contributions to this article: