Greetings from Portland - Part 2

I have been in Portland for 3 1/2 years and I love it! Not knowing anyone when I first moved here challenged me to explore all different avenues for meeting people-to gain that sense of community I was missing. Volunteering within my community turned out to be the best way to accomplish that, as well as the most satisfying. I became involved in whitewater rafting and enjoy being on the river. I never thought it would be so exhilarating and peaceful at the same time.

I volunteer my time organizing and producing one of the largest three-day whitewater festivals on the West Coast, the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival and a smaller festival held on the Deschutes River, put on by the Oregon River Games, Inc. One of our main charges is to bring younger people into the sport of whitewater rafting by promoting and teaching high school kids the importance of whitewater safety through a series of training camps each year.

This is just one outlet where I can achieve balance in my life, the other being organization. Being organized has always been a quality/trait that resonated within me-one thing my identical twin sister never picked up! Aside from my professional job as a landscape architect, I will develop a community within BraveHeart Women that focuses on organization; all the tips and tricks that will hopefully make life a little bit more effortless.

Below are some links to the organizations mentioned above (we are still in the process of updating the websites!):

http://www.upperclackamasfestival.org/
http://www.oregonrivergames.com/