Program date: Dec. 1, 2023
Air date: Dec. 4, 2023
From the City Club of Eugene:
In March 2016, City Club of Eugene invited key community leaders from the Bethel neighborhood — located in west Eugene and bounded by Highway 99 on the east; Greenhill Road on the west; Clear Lake Road on the north; and Southern Pacific Coos Bay Line on the south — for a conversation about “Building a Better Bethel.”
Seven years later, the Eugene City Council is considering which neighborhood to focus on next for planning, with the Active Bethel Community Neighborhood Association pushing to be that neighborhood.
This week, we focus on the future of Bethel — its unique strengths, as well as its challenges, and the opportunities that come with them — by welcoming local leaders for this timely conversation.
Speakers:
Hon. Pat Farr moved from Sheffield, England at age 10 to Tillamook County, Oregon. He graduated from Tillamook High School in 1972 and moved to Eugene in 1973 to attend the University of Oregon.
In addition to his time on the County Commission, Farr has served his community in the Oregon House of Representatives, the Eugene City Council, the Bethel School Board, and in the Oregon Army National Guard.
Commissioner Farr and his wife, Debi, have three children, all graduates of Willamette High School.
Tai Pruce-Zimmerman is a stay-at-home dad who has previously worked as an accountant, and is also a chess enthusiast (and aspiring adult improver!).
He serves as the Chair of the Eugene Budget Committee and the co-Chair of Active Bethel Citizens (ABC) and previously served on the Bethel School District Budget Committee and the Housing Tools and Strategies Working Group for the City of Eugene.
Kraig Sproles started his career in education in Oklahoma at a school focused on the success of Native American students. He has been a teacher, school improvement coordinator, principal of a dual-language school, and district director of academic achievement before becoming Salem-Keizer’s assistant superintendent. He joined the Bethel district in 2021.
He earned a BA in communications from the University of Sioux Falls, MAs in experiential education from the University of Minnesota and in education from George Fox University, and a doctorate in education from the University of Oregon.
About the City Club of Eugene:
The mission of the City Club of Eugene is to build community vision through open inquiry. The Club explores a wide range of significant local, state, and national issues and helps to formulate new approaches and solutions to problems. Membership is open to all, and Club members have a direct influence on public policy by discussing issues of concern with elected officials and other policy makers. The City Club’s mailing address is PO Box 12084, Eugene, OR 97440, and its website is cityclubofeugene.org.
Video and Broadcast
This program will be live streamed, and the videotape will be made available on the City Club of Eugene’s Facebook page and You Tube Channel, in addition to our website. It will be broadcast on Monday, [INSERT DATE HERE!!] at 7:00 pm, on KLCC 89.7 FM.
Contact: For more information, visit CityClubOfEugene.org.