And now, it is history that has given me the chance to come to know and love Umatilla County--or at least some special parts of it.  It's the growing love for this area that has enabled me to feel that this is finally becoming my home.  Of course, meeting some special people has helped in that! 

My love of history started me down the road to developing web sites. The Internet has been a perfect way to share history with others. Working for newspapers and print shops gave me the background to use in editing and publishing newsletters, as well as brochures, ad design and more.  I have been editor of newsletters and newspapers for local, regional and national organizations (and have won awards).  I have also spent several years writing free-lance for newspapers.  My background with the newspapers, print shops and newsletters has helped me in quickly learning to create web sites on the Internet. 

While in Alaska, I was involved with the local chamber of commerce and visitors bureau.  (That also involved working closely with the city council, which included lobbying and requesting funding as well as sitting on advisory councils.)  Those organizations gave me the chance to learn marketing and promotion on the local and regional level through participating in workshops, seminars and working with cruise ship companies, tour companies and travel agents as well as local and regional organizations. 

During my stint in Alaska, I was the director/curator of the local museum for over 11 years.  That experience has also aided in learning marketing and promotion and working with various local, state, and federal agencies and organizations in funding historical preservation as well as grant writing.  It also gave me the chance to successfully lobby the state legislature for historic preservation for a local project. 

While I thought I had left all of that behind when I left Alaska four years ago, I find that all of that experience is coming in handy as I begin to get more involved in Umatilla County.  Add to that my love of computers, and this has become a perfect match for me to use in sharing history with the world as well as developing web sites for organizations and businesses in Umatilla County. I love the challenge of creating web sites and the satisfaction I get from being creative in designing the web sites.