yamhill county

Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue (TVF&R) is Oregon's largest fire and rescue district, serving over half a million residents in an area covering 390 square miles. In 2018, Newberg was officially annexed into TVF&R's service area and now benefits from the sophistication, technology, and coordination of a large fire and rescue service while maintaining the culture and community involvement of Newberg's previous fire and rescue service.

In this episode, Public Affairs Manager Stefan Myers and I discuss the role of TVF&R in our community, some of TVF&R's history, safety tips, a day in the life of a firefighter, common misconceptions, and more.

To learn more about TVF&R, visit https://www.tvfr.com/93/About-TVFR

This episode is brought to you by The Joyful Roberts Group, a local family-run real estate team.

In 1986, a group of clever-minded women in Newberg were tired of not being allowed to join the other local service clubs in town and decided to create their own club. They wanted a place to learn about important issues of the day and also have a place to discuss those issues. And thus, Newberg City Club was born. After nearly 40 years, Newberg City Club is still accomplishing its mission and has featured many prominent guests as you’ll learn in the episode.

In this episode, Newberg City Club President Kat Ricker shares about the club's history, the important role it serves in Newberg, and how Newberg residents can benefit by getting involved.

To learn more about Newberg City Club, you can visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NewbergCityClub/

Whether you’re a cat lover or a dog lover, we can all agree that animals should be treated humanely. But unfortunately, not all animals are. Every day, cats and dogs are abused, abandoned, or left out on the street to fend for themselves. Today I’m talking to Ronnie Vostinak, Executive Director of Homeward Bound Pets Humane Society, which is Oregon’s first no-kill animal shelter. Homeward Bound takes in these animals and cares for them until they are adopted by a new family. In this episode, we’ll cover how Homeward Bound Pets Humane Society got started, why there is such a need for shelters like this and some exciting plans for Homeward Bound's future.

To learn more about Homeward Bound Pets Humane Society, visit https://hbpets.org/

To learn about ways to get involved, email Development@HBPets.org

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts YouTube Channel here.

In this episode, Dr. Stephen Phillips shares about his first year as Superintendent of Newberg's school district and why he believes there is hope for the district's future. In 2022, Dr. Phillips (or Steve, as he prefers to be called) joined the school district during a season of heavy controversy, turmoil, and staff turnover.

While there were many challenges faced at the beginning of the school year, Steve says he and his family are happy and that he has a bright outlook for the future. Steve also addressed concerns that parents have, misconceptions about the district, ways the community can get involved, and what it will take to help our students thrive.

In addition, Steve shared about the upcoming school board election and the forum event on April 15th, 2023 where the community can hear directly from the candidates. It is extremely important for the whole community to vote, so please get informed!

*Correction note: The interview with Newberg's previous superintendent, Dr. Joe Morelock is Season 1, episode 18. You can listen to that episode here.

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts YouTube Channel here.

In part 2 of this live-recorded episode, Daniel interviews a panel of representatives from four of Newberg's service clubs. This was done in partnership with Leadership Chehalem Valley, which you can learn more about at the link below.

In this episode, you'll learn about the inner workings of both of Newberg's Rotary clubs, in addition to Soroptimists and Kiwanis. By the end, you may find you want to join one of the clubs!

For more information, visit the links below:

Leadership Chehalem Valley:
https://www.chehalemvalley.org/leadership-chehalem-valley/

Kiwanis:
https://www.newbergkiwanis.org/

Newberg Rotary Early Bird Club:
https://newbergrotaryearlybirds.org/

Newberg Rotary Noon Club:
https://www.newbergrotary.org/

Soroptimist:
https://www.sicv.org/

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts YouTube Channel here.

In this live-recorded episode, Daniel interviews a panel of representatives from four of Newberg's service clubs. This was done in partnership with Leadership Chehalem Valley, which you can learn more about at the link below.

In this episode, you'll learn about the inner workings of both of Newberg's Rotary clubs, in addition to Soroptimists and Kiwanis. By the end, you may find you want to join one of the clubs!

For more information, visit the links below:

Leadership Chehalem Valley:
https://www.chehalemvalley.org/leadership-chehalem-valley/

Kiwanis:
https://www.newbergkiwanis.org/

Newberg Rotary Early Bird Club:
https://newbergrotaryearlybirds.org/

Newberg Rotary Noon Club:
https://www.newbergrotary.org/

Soroptimist:
https://www.sicv.org/

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts YouTube Channel here.

In this episode, Ranee Solmonsson shares about Yamhill county's 4-H program, how it got started, what activities it involves, and how it benefits kids who go through the program. If you're interested in learning more about 4-H or would like to get involved, visit https://extension.oregonstate.edu/4h/yamhill.

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts YouTube Channel here.

The past few years in Newberg have brought their fair share of hurt, frustration, anger, and broken relationships. However, these hardships have also produced some wonderful new projects and organizations that aim to heal the brokenness and put Newberg on the path toward reconciliation and civility.

One of these projects is called Conversation Groups, which is under the umbrella of United as Neighbors and is led by Jerrie Lyda along with Dan Busch and Paul Blattner. The purpose of the groups is to bring people together with differing opinions and beliefs and provide a safe space to discuss hard topics in a kind and civil way.

In this episode, Jerrie shares the vision for this project and how these conversations have the potential to change our town for the better.

To learn more about United as Neighbors and the conversation groups, visit https://unitedasneighbors.org/

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts YouTube Channel here.

If you search the internet for Peace Trail Village in Newberg, you will likely find all kinds of conflicting information leaving you with a lot of questions. Is this a homeless camp that will turn Newberg into Portland? Will there be drug addicts living next to a school? Is this the best location for transitional housing? How did this get started?

In this episode, I go straight to the source by interviewing Leslie Murray, Pastor of North Valley Friends Church, where Peace Trail Village is being built. In this episode, Leslie answers all the above questions and more, while also sharing why this project is so important not just for the lives it will impact directly, but for Newberg as a whole.

To learn more about Peace Trail Village, visit https://northvalleyfriends.org/peace-trail-village/

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts YouTube Channel here.

In this episode, Jan Hart, leader of the NHS Resource Room, shares her story of how the resource rooms got started and why they are so important for local students.

You can find out more, including items to donate at https://www.newberg.k12.or.us/nhs/resource-room

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts YouTube Channel here.

Auggie Gonzales is a well known and beloved member of our community who has been serving this town in various capacities for over 25 years. In this episode, Auggie shares what brought him to Newberg, how he got involved in Rotary, various projects he has been involved with, and his work with Newberg Urgent Care.

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts Group YouTube channel here.

In this episode, Dennis Littlefield, Executive Director at Camp Tilikum, shares some of the recent challenges as well as the exciting future of Camp Tilikum.

For over 50 years, Tilikum has held a special place in the hearts of Newberg's population. Every year, thousands of children experience the highlight of their summer at one of Tilikum's Summer Camps.

However, Tilikum does much more than provide a summer camp for kids, as you'll learn in this episode. From family retreats, challenge course projects, and new opportunities coming soon, there are a lot of exciting things happening at Tilikum.

Tilikum has also not been without its own set of challenges. Between Covid-19 and a failed valve at the bottom of the lake, it has been a tough couple of years. But with the pandemic mostly behind us and a brand new valve, the future is looking bright!

If you are interested in learning more about Tilikum and its mission or would like to offer support, visit their website at https://camptilikum.org/

For many people, doing laundry is just another chore, like vacuuming the carpet or washing the dishes. But for other people without access to a washer or dryer in their living space, doing laundry is a major inconvenience and financial burden. By offering free laundry service, in addition to snacks and storytime for kids, Loads of Hope is living up to its name by giving hope to those who really need it. 

To learn more about Loads of Hope, visit their website. If you’re interested in contacting Sarah or Lisa, you can email loadsofhopenewberg@gmail.com.

Find Loads of Hope on Facebook and Instagram @Loadsofhopenewberg

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts Group YouTube channel here.

In part 2 of this episode, Carrie Bates shares her work with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and how they help people recover from alcohol addiction. She also gives some great insight into how we can help those around us who are struggling with this disease.

To learn more about the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, visit https://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/locations/newberg

In this episode, Olympic gold medalist Carrie Bates shares her story about growing up in a family with alcoholism and the role that played in her life. She also shares her journey of finding success at the Olympics, her battle with alcoholism, her amazing recovery, and how she now is a source of hope for people fighting this disease. There are many misconceptions about alcoholism and addiction in general, so we discussed many of those as well.

Carrie is now an outreach manager at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation where she helps others find hope and healing in their own recovery process.

To learn more about the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, visit their website.

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts Group YouTube channel here.

In this Episode, Larry Strober shares how Rotary changed his life for the better. Through a chance meeting, Larry found out about Rotary and quickly got involved. He is now a member of the Newberg Noon Rotary club and is involved in many projects locally and internationally.

Much of his work includes supporting youth and promoting peace initiatives and in this episode we discuss several of those projects. Larry shares how Rotary turned him into a new person and shares that "I’m spending more hours doing what I love to do than I ever did in my career.”

If you are interested in joining Rotary or want to learn more, visit https://www.newbergrotary.org/

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts Group YouTube channel here.

During the 2016-2017 school year, Newberg lost multiple high school students to suicide. During this time, several community members came together to see how they could support and improve the mental health of students and the town as a whole.

In this episode, President and co-founder Elise Yarnell Hollamon shares the story of Community Wellness Collective and how they continue to promote mental health access, remove stigmas surrounding mental health and addiction services, and support the overall well-being of the community.

To learn more and access additional community resources, visit
https://www.communitywellnesscollective.org/

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts Group YouTube channel here.

There is no way to prepare yourself for hearing those dreaded words: "You have cancer." But while the fight against cancer is itself often a difficult struggle, there is another very real struggle that people often do not consider. Between lost energy from treatments, time spent traveling to appointments, and other disruptions, many families dealing with cancer find that there is a very real strain on their income.

This is where the Willamette Valley Cancer Foundation comes in. They understand there is often a financial need beyond treatment costs and they work to support families by directly assisting with various bills and financial obligations while a family member is in active treatment. In this episode, Patty Williams, Executive Director of the Willamette Valley Cancer Foundation, shares how this program helps families in Yamhill county and several surrounding counties as well. To learn more, visit https://willamettevalleycancerfoundation.org/

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts Group YouTube channel here.

Many nonprofit organizations would not be able to survive without the generous contributions of local businesses both in time and money. In many ways, local businesses are the backbone of a successful community's nonprofit sector, and Newberg is no different.

In this episode, Kathie Byers, Community Impact Coordinator at First Federal Bank shares the importance of finding ways to give back as a business. She also shares how First Federal has made generosity a core part of its business structure, and how it can serve as a model for other businesses.

We also share the story of how Kathie was nearly single-handedly responsible for Newberg's 2021 Christmas tree lighting, and how it almost didn't happen!

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts Group YouTube channel here.

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” -Mahatma Gandhi

Most of us have been taught that we should be generous because it's the right thing to do. But if generosity is only something we feel we should do, but don't actually see how it benefits us, we will miss out on many of the benefits of generosity.

In this episode, I pull from both anecdotal stories and scientific research to show how generosity can actually be motivated by self-interest. My hope for you is that you will learn to live a life dedicated to serving others, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it's what brings you the most joy and fulfillment.

Mentioned in this episode: Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending

As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts Group YouTube channel here.