“One United Voice – Una Voz Unida” is the theme for an historic two day Summit slated for October 17 and 18, 2010, in Salem, Oregon convening Latino leadership from throughout the state to catalyze and coordinate statewide efforts promoting the social and economic well-being, political capacity, and civic leadership of the Latino community in Oregon.

Organized by the Oregon Latino Agenda for Action (OLAA), the event has been in the planning by Latino leaders from civic, community, and government sectors.

Designed to accommodate up to 300 participants in the Salem Conference Center, Salem, Oregon, the Summit will begin at 1 pm on Sunday and end at 7 pm, 8 am on Monday until late afternoon. Focusing on the main issues of economic conditions, health, immigration, employment, and social and cultural development, participants from urban, suburban, rural, and coastal areas of Oregon will discuss, deliberate and decide in an open, non-partisan, and participatory model of regional engagement.

Click here for a press release in English and Spanish. Summit details, registration info, and a survey can be found on OLAA's web site.

A cross-section of community members will soon participate in a program aimed at helping them develop the leadership skills to guide regional decision making in the future. Based in Roseburg, The Ford Family Foundation’s Leadership Institute is starting its first session of the Ford Institute Leadership Program in the Illinois Valley on Friday and Saturday, August 27 and 28. RDI partners with The Ford Family Foundation to deliver this program.

Since the leadership institute began in 2003, it has worked in more than 50 communities with populations of less than 30,000. The program initially served timber communities in Douglas and Coos counties in Oregon and Siskiyou County in California, but has since expanded to cover all of Oregon.

Some eight communities begin participation in the five-year Ford Institute Leadership Program each year. Past participants in the program have included the communities of Ashland and Lakeview, which have gone on to do many projects on their own. Other communities set to start the program along with the Illinois Valley this year are Dallas, Silverton, and Wheeler County.

“Sometimes, it opens up a whole new world for individuals who have not been exposed to ideas about leadership,” said RDI's Donna Chickering who will be the class's lead trainer. “Sometimes, it really helps people who have already been in leadership positions and gives them a chance to mentor new leaders, pass on that torch and share the information that they know.”

Although the application process for the program has closed, organizers are still looking for high school students ages 14 and up to become involved. For more information, phone 541-441-6680, e-mail Donna Chickering at dchickering@rdiinc.org or visit The Ford Family Foundation's web site. Click here to read Scott Jorgensen's entire story in the Illinois Valley News.

An East Linn County Ford Institute Leadership Program class, funded by the Ford Family Foundation and facilitated by Rural Development Initiatives, has taken on the project of restoring the Foster Lake Trail between Gedney Creek Boat Ramp and Lewis Creek Park. The trail circles most of the lake and has fallen into disrepair due to a lack of organized effort. About 20 of the “cohort,” as they refer to themselves, were out last Saturday, picking up trash, cutting invasive ivy that was taking over certain sections of the trail, and working on blackberries that were encroaching on other sections. It was the first of what the cohort intends to be several work days to get the trail back to what it once was. The group’s goal is to eventually establish a trail that will run all the way around the lake and set up a system whereby it will be maintained, maybe by local organizations or individuals who would “adopt” particular sections. You can read more about the project in The New Era, Sweet Home's newspaper.