Skip to main content

Winter 2024 Newsletter - Seasons of the Port 

2024 Winter NewsletterBoletín de Invierno 2024.
A note from Port Commission President Kristi Chapman
A note from Port Commission President Kristi Chapman

One of the beautiful things about living in the Columbia River Gorge is the chance to experience the changing of the seasons. Each year we watch nature put on its seasonal show with wintry weather, spring growth, summer heat and long days of sun, followed by fall, where things slow down and hibernation for the cozy winter begins again. Much like the world around us, the life and purpose of the Port of Hood River undergoes seasonal changes, as the Commissioners who guide the vision and mission of the Port changes over time. Created in the 1930s, the Port Commission is made up your neighbors, friends, co-workers, business leaders who volunteer their time to not only run for the position during election seasons, but spend hours in meetings, conferences, doing research and discussing the issues that our fast-growing community faces and how the Port can handle it with grace and good financial stewardship.

The challenge that seasonal leadership faces is maintaining the continuity of ideas, vision and purpose. Each seated board has a focus that may not be the same as the previous administration, which can cause rebuilding, replacing and redeveloping to be slower and more complicated than the community at large realizes. Our current Commission is focused on ways to bring the Port alongside the community in a more positive and engaging way, building strong relationships with our constituents. We are doing this by supporting the Hood River White Salmon Bridge Authority to help secure funding for a new bridge, an enormous project that requires effort from both sides of the river. We are supporting local businesses by offering leased space in commercial buildings and dreaming of more programs and infrastructure to help new businesses take flight in the gorge. We are looking ahead to opportunities that the Ken Jernstedt airfield holds, as it sees an uptick in use and interest. And we are working to find ways to beautify, diversify, and make our recreational waterfront areas more accessible and sustainable as they become the focal point of summer adventures, and their use has increased substantially.

As the Port works through its seasons, as well as the changes in our once small and quiet town, I would like to take a moment to encourage you to try and view our civil servants and community volunteers as just that…servants and volunteers. These roles are not filled by power and money hungry corporate climbers, but rather the orchardist down the road, the business owner across the street, and the mom of your kid’s friend. It can be easy to sit in the negativity of a project that doesn’t seem to be moving, or a closure that causes an inconvenience, but it is imperative that as we move forward together into the next season, that we speak kindly, consider thoughtfully and be neighborly. “To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose…” Join us at the Port of Hood River as we move into the next season and continue the Port’s purpose. From the airport to the waterfront there is a place for you to roll up your sleeves and help guide the Port into future seasons. Stay up to date on board meetings through our website, email a commissioner with a thought or question, sign up for the Port newsletter and stay informed. We welcome you to join us and experience the seasons of the Port.

Join our mailing list