FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For further information, contact:
Tillamook County Futures Council
www.tillamookfutures.org

Tillamook County Futures Council and Oregon State University
Partner for Vital Tillamook Indicators Projects

Tillamook, Ore. - On August 19, 2008, at Tillamook County Public Library Copeland Room, the Tillamook County Futures Council (TCFC) and Oregon State University (OSU) will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together on the Vital Tillamook Indicators Project. The project is a partnership between the two organizations providing an exciting opportunity to work together and engage the community in an effort to assess the progress of the County toward its vision of a vital future.

Shirley Kalkhoven, Chair of the Tillamook County Futures Council, will sign the MOU on behalf of the Futures Council. From OSU Lena Etuk, the Principal Investigator of the project, Bruce Weber, Director of the OSU Rural Studies Program, and Scott Reed, OSU Vice Provost of Outreach & Engagement will also sign the Memorandum. 

As its main goals, the project will develop indicators for the Tillamook County 2007 Strategic Vision, collect indicator data in the County, communicate findings to County residents, and store the data in an online public database called the Oregon Rural Communities Explorer. The indicators, tracked over time, will reveal to residents and decision-makers whether Tillamook County is making progress toward the goals expressed in the Strategic Vision. 

The Vital Tillamook Indicator Project, funded by the Ford Family Foundation of Roseburg, Oregon, is designed to leverage the skills and knowledge of Oregon State University faculty and Tillamook County Futures Council members to work on a community relevant research project that engages community residents. The research skills of the OSU Extension Service faculty team, Dr. Bruce Weber, Ph.D., Lena Etuk, MS, and Mindy Crandall, MS, will be used to help the Tillamook County Futures Council effectively measure and track the progress toward the goals of the Strategic Vision. Members of the Tillamook County Futures Council project team, including Amy Stricklin, Marlene Putman, Jennifer Purcell, and Doug Montgomery, will provide guidance and crucial insight into the needs and concerns of County residents relevant to tracking the attainment of the Strategic Vision’s goals. Throughout the process, residents will provide input, have the chance to participate in the data collection, and have opportunities to learn about indicator data and the research process.

The Tillamook County Futures Council was established in 1997 by the County Commissioners for the purpose of facilitating a citizen-based, long-range Strategic Vision for Tillamook County. As a non-political citizen advisory council to the Commissioners, the Futures Council serves as a steward of the County Vision. For more information, please visit our website at www.tillamookfutures.org.

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