The organizers of the City Club of Eugene are gearing up for their 35th season this week.
In advance of the Sept. 6 kick-off, KLCC's Love Cross invited City Club President Andrew Kalloch to the KLCC studios to give us a preview.
She began by asking him about the mission behind City Club of Eugene.
Andrew Kalloch: We're a nonpartisan, nonprofit, dedicated to building community vision through open inquiry. And what that really means, Love, is getting people together from across the political spectrum to talk about issues that are challenging to our community and try to identify solutions. So, it's not just about sitting in a room talking and getting educated, it's about putting that education into action. So, we hope to be solution-oriented.
Love Cross: The City Club program happens on Friday afternoons. You've moved around quite a bit in these past couple of years, but for this new season, you'll be holding your programs at the WOW Hall in downtown Eugene? Tell us about that.
Kalloch: Yeah, we're very excited about this. Obviously a historic venue, nearly 100 years old now. And you're right, we have moved around a lot. We hope to be at WOW Hall for quite some time. It's a beautiful venue. If you haven't been for a concert or another forum, come on down, see us. This coming Friday and every Friday coming forward here in the fall.
Cross: And you always cover a wide variety of topics. How do you decide what topics to cover?
Kalloch: We're an all-volunteer group and we have a program committee that works every week to figure out what our programs are going to be for the coming season. We are the only city club in Oregon that has weekly programming. So, these are very hard-working volunteers. And what we try to do is put on events that are of issue to the community, either of a particular issue of concern or an election season will have debates and issue forms of that kind. So, if you have an idea for City Club, let us know because we're always looking for more.
Cross: What are some of the upcoming programs you're excited about for this season?
Kalloch: Well, we kick off Friday the 6th with Peter DeFazio talking about threats to democracy. There are a few people who are better equipped to, to talk about this given Peter's experience than the former congressman. We follow up that forum with a number of forums related to the election, both issue forums and candidate forums. But we're not just doing election program here in the fall. We're also focusing on economic sectors of importance to Eugene and the metro region. So we'll be having a forum on the timber economy, the tech economy, the agricultural economy and others moving forward.
Cross: This is all fine and good- these are all great services that you provide- but I’m curious about any of the challenges that you see for City Club.
Kalloch: I think there's a lot of challenges for City Club frankly. For one thing again, like I said, we're an all-volunteer group and we put on a weekly forum and it sounds like magic on KLCC thanks in part to your editors. But it doesn't happen by magic. We need folks to be involved in every way they can, whether that's contributing a little bit of money during our summer support campaign, whether that's joining the program committee, coming to a forum, talking to their neighbors about it. We want to be part of the civic fabric of the city because we think it's an important piece of civic infrastructure. There are very few stages like City Club where we can come together, debate our differences and identify solutions. And so that's a challenging thing to do in this environment, but we're committed to it.
Cross: How do you envision the future of City Club?
Kalloch: Well, I think the future, while challenging, is also bright for City Club because there is such a demand for the type of programming that we put on. There's a need for it- and not just in the WOW Hall in downtown Eugene, but across our community. And so that's my hope for the future of City Club that we bring the club to the city and the city to the club. That we become more representative of the city as a whole, and that we're able to address the issues that are of concern- not just to people downtown, but people in every neighborhood.
Cross: And it's open to all anyone can become a member. Is that right?
Kalloch: That's right. Its membership is $95 a year, but our programs are free and open to anybody. You don't have to be a member to come. So come check it out. And if you like what we're doing, maybe join us.
Cross: Where can people go to learn more?
Kalloch: You can go to our website CityClubofEugene.org. You'll see there who runs City Club- the board. You'll see the upcoming forums. You'll see a little donate button, naturally. And you can learn about how to get involved yourself. So, we appreciate you tuning in.
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That’s Andrew Kalloch. President of the City Club of Eugene. Their 35th season kicks off Sept. 6th with former U.S. Congressman Peter Defazio in a program addressing threats to democracy.
You can hear City Club’s programs Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m. on KLCC.
This conversation has been edited for clarity.
