Bringing groups together so they’re all pulling in the same direction is key to economic development in communities, according to Karen Owen of La Grande.
She was hired last week as Sweet Home Economic Development Group’s economic development coordinator. Owen will start working in Sweet Home on June 1. She leaves a similar position with the economic development group in Union County.
Owen migrated to Oregon from New York in 1988 to go to school. She earned a bachelor’s of science from the University of Rochester in social sciences.
After attending school, Owen sold securities before moving to the coast. She was recycling coordinator for the Georgia Pacific paper mill in Toledo where she served on the city’s planning commission and city council. There, she was on the committee that hired Carol Lewis as Toledo’s city planner. Lewis went to work later as Sweet Home’s city planner. In 1996, Owen moved to La Grande.
Since then, Owen has maintained contact with Lewis, who told her of the SHEDG position.
Both Owen and her husband, John, have wanted to move back to the Willamette Valley. They were particularly interested in moving to the east Linn County area. Owen plans to complete her master’s degree at Oregon State University and her husband plans to finish his degree at George Fox University.
“I look at economic development from a holistic point of view,” Owen said. “Economic development means so many things. It involves so many things.”
Economic development means can mean workforce development, providing land, helping business expand, retaining businesses and more.
“It’s such a broad term,” Owen said. “It means all of these things. It encompasses all of these things. (These) things happen with many groups working together.”
Bringing groups together ensures they aren’t inadvertently tripping each other, Owen said. “We’re working together just like a finely tuned machine to get the job done.”
The community needs to decide which direction it wants to go, Owen said. Economic development needs to community-based. That’s where strategic plans come in. From there, groups, such as SHEDG, work with public agencies, the Chamber of Commerce and other community members, each working in a specific role.
Owen sees making that happen, coordinating community economic development, as part of her role.
When she begins work, she may perhaps put together a summit involving community groups, something City Manager Craig Martin started when he came to work in Sweet Home in 1997. Since then, community groups have continued discussing various merger possibilities and other opportunities for collaboration.
Owen said she has done quite a bit of networking around the state in the economic development field. Mentioning she was going to work in Sweet Home, some state officials have commented that they know and enjoy Sweet Home.
Owen said she needs to familiarize herself more with Sweet Home and has been spending time on the Internet doing that. She also has a copy of the community’s Strategic Plan on the way.
“It’s a thrilling thing to be involved in,” Owen said. “I’m really excited about moving to the Willamette and getting involved there.”
The area has beautiful country, and “you remember Sweet Home, if nothing else, for the murals,” Owen said. Those, the new Community Center and more show the community’s sense of pride, which is essential to economic development. Sweet Home’s volunteer base is another healthy sign.
“To have everybody willing to be on board, that’s half the battle,” Owen said.
Right now, the Owens live seven hours from Sweet Home, Owen said. “It’s a little long, and we really wanted to move back to the Valley. The area that Sweet Home is in, east Linn County, is so well-suited. You can go anywhere on the I-5 corridor and travel nicely.”
Owen is familiar with Sweet Home already. She has traveled back and forth across the mountains through Sweet Home ever two or three weeks. She and her husband always stop at the Point Restaurant for a meal, an Mr. Owen is from the Harrisburg area.
“I love all of the nurseries and great opportunities in the area,” Owen said. As a gardener, she is especially looking forward to getting away from a 90-day growing season.
Owen enjoys raising llamas, which she plans to bring to Sweet Home. She also enjoys playing the piano, reading, hiking and cross-country skiing.