Traveling Lincoln County
by Judy Mullen
August 15, 2014

The most mind-boggling and interesting day I experienced as a participant in the 2013-2014 Leadership Lincoln Program was the day our class met at the Georgia Pacific mill in Toledo. The immense power and size of it mesmerized me–a steam-billowing colossus with its own bevy of boxcars and trucks clustered before it like miniature toys. My classmates and I donned protective glasses before descending into the belly of the whale. This place had a palpable force; I sensed a great aliveness to the enterprise, as though the mill were breathing. My colleague, who grew up in Toledo, told me that as a child she thought of the mill as a great cat crouching near the edge of town.

The mill is owned by the Koch brothers, employs 400 workers and is the fifth largest employer in Lincoln County. It manufactures a product called “container board” which is shipped out in rolls and is later transformed into boxes. The mill pumps four million dollars in wages and benefits into the miniscule town of Toledo (3500 residents) and eventually those dollars disperse across our county. My county, the one I’ve lived in for twenty years but about which, I discovered, I knew little. Now I know something about this mill.  It expands my sense of my county and my place in it.  I learned something.  But what has this got to do with Leadership?  And with OSU Libraries?

Georgia Pacific paper mill, Toledo Oregon
Photographer: Roger Hart / Date taken: May 1960
Oregon Digital: Unique Digital Collections from OSU and UO Libraries
http://oregondigital.org/u?/lchsa,478

“Leadership and Learning are indispensable to each other.”  -John F. Kennedy

What is Leadership Lincoln?
The Leadership Lincoln program has trained over 600 Lincoln County residents over the last twenty-two years. It’s a program that survives because it is vital, interesting, useful. Here’s the way I’d describe it: Twenty-seven county residents from all walks of life trekked around together, one day a month for ten months, traversing the county from stem to stern. We attended class in a different location each month, including a grocery store, the performing arts center, the recreation center, the Angell Job Corps campus, two Oregon Coast Community College sites, the Casino’s hotel, NOAA’s Marine Operation Center, the Georgia Pacific Mill and a hospital.

We met those who are leading the county and asked them how they were doing it. It was a chance to ask what the problems were and what was needed to do the job– to ask what is and isn’t working. These leaders displayed a panoramic view of differing yet effective leadership styles. The topics ranged broadly: education, media, communications, healthcare, human resources, business climate, law enforcement, the legal system, government and what the notion of “quality of life” in our county might actually mean. Whew! See how all-encompassing this was?

What I learned…

“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.” -General Colin Powell

I had lunch with a cop, the county’s D.A., a business instructor at the community college, and cooks from the hospital and the jail. These were unusual lunch partners for me. I learned that cops have to study in an ongoing manner, that the D.A. has a body bag in her trunk, that those developing small business in our county are interested in 3-d printers, and that the food is excellent at both the hospital and jail. I learned that we have twelve county parks and that there were twenty-seven different tribes on the Siletz reservation in the 1850’s. What I am trying to say here is that this whole thing was turning out to be fascinating.

But more importantly, I learned that my classmates and the leaders to whom we spoke had common concerns about our county; poverty, unemployment, hunger. Everyone thinks about how to make more jobs here, and about how to make sure our educational system does not falter, about how to keep the environment healthy and how to stay safe. I was thunderstruck to learn there are a staggering number of children in our county who are homeless. So we have work to do in this county.

But we saw many rays of light, too, and many programs at work addressing real needs: Homeless Connect (a program which provides direct help to the homeless), Habitat for Humanity, training at the Angell Job Corps site in the trades (like carpentry, masonry, plumbing), a new health education building going up at the hospital, a commitment by the county to develop Newport as a hub for ocean related industry, and programs for seniors and veterans through RSVP. And there are many more. But we found that communication and collaboration between these groups was difficult and that more connection among them is needed.

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” -Peter Drucker

The model for this class is like a double-helix; one strand offers a variety of local venues to visit and learn about–replete with leaders in action. But the other strand introduced us to the concepts and skills embedded in leadership. Dr. John Baker cleverly and often humorously sprinkled this information throughout our class meetings, using real examples born from his own experience. So I learned about places in my county, but I also pondered the rudiments of leadership and management. The two strands twisted neatly together and I think it was a brilliant framework for this class.

There is no one style of leadership. What exactly makes a good leader is illusive. But leaders are not born, they can be made by practicing skills. Personal qualities of leaders that often get reiterated include: honesty, focus, passion, good communication skills, ability to simplify, good listener, confident, energetic, intelligent, fearless, vision, persistent. There are many other qualities and really no way to nail down a formula.

It’s easier, however, to recognize a skill set which leaders practice and use: keep the mission first; keep everyone focused on the goals, provide training, talk like an adult (not like a parent or a child), hold others accountable, keep a positive outlook and maintain positive relationships, provide structure, understand the costs to organization and to staff, lead by example, be flexible, lead with conviction, be decisive. This list is a tall order for anyone; it takes some practice.

How did Leadership Lincoln change me?
What will I do with this information? Looking at the broad sweep of my county and seeing its needs made me want to do something to help, however small. Our class planned to support the Fall 2014 Project Homeless Connect, so I have volunteered. This class inspires its students to commit an act of public service. And maybe, to do it again and again.

How does my experience with Lincoln Leadership serve the library?
-Guin Library gained exposure in this county; twenty-seven classmates now know more about it and what it can offer them. They will take that information back to their agencies and workplaces.
-Guin Library will host a Leadership Lincoln class on site next spring.
-OSU Libraries & Press will collaborate with the community college on a 3-d printer seminar.
-Class networking brought new patrons to Guin Library from our own neighborhood; we were able to supply resources about tsunami preparedness to the nearby motorhome park.
-I am better at referrals now; I can point patrons to local groups and agencies.
I was reaffirmed in the belief that everyone has something to contribute, and that acts of public service accumulate into worthwhile change.

I am grateful that OSU Libraries and Press supported my attendance; I want to say thank you and to say that I genuinely looked forward to each monthly class. I believe attending and working with the Leadership Lincoln group reflected the Library’s core values; it put into action the collaboration, service, civililty and diversity we uphold.