The South County Spotlight Opinion

Columbia County needs to promote itself

Those of us living along the Hwy. 30 corridor from Scappoose to Astoria have not done enough to get the word out to the rest of the world that we have something to offer businesses.
Here are a couple of examples, thanks to Astoria Port Commissioner Don McDanial. Both are out of Oregon Business magazine (August and September 2001 issues).
Example 1, August issue: There was a three-page listing of “unique meeting venues” suggesting 19 conference and convention centers in the Portland Metro area including the Highway 30 and 101 corridors in northwest Oregon. Of those 19, only one of our facilities was listed — the Tillamook County Fairgrounds.
What’s the matter with the Columbia County Fairgrounds, or for that matter, the Clatsop County Fairgrounds, or Olde Towne St. Helens?
Why weren’t we listed? We would assume it is because we haven’t done our homework in publicizing what we have.
Example 2, September issue: In the “Dispatches” section of Oregon Business there was a short article about the upgrade of the North Bend Airport. Both the Scappoose and Astoria airports have recently had upgrades which would qualify for such an article. Why did we get left out? Maybe we’re not getting the word out, again.
We think it is about time that all of us as individuals and as governmental entities start publicizing what our communities have to offer business.
We agree with McDanial when he says he’s frustrated. “We work so hard to create business opportunities and our efforts are wasted if we don’t get the word out to the rest of the world.”
There are lots of ways to do this. Let’s get ourselves organized and do it.
If you’re interested, the editor of Oregon Business is Gillian Floren. E-mail address is gillian@oregonbusiness.com.