PHOTO CAPTION: The Mid County Parks and Recreation District. From Left: President David Wilson, Tillamook County Justice of the Peace Judge Joel Stevens, Secretary Michelle Jenck, Kaylan Sisco, Vice President Brian Cameron, and Doug Henson.
The five newly elected board members stood in front of Tillamook County Justice of the Peace, Judge Joel Stevens, and swore an oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States and perform within the purview of setting up, the creation of, and the management therein of the first of its kind, Mid County Parks & Recreation District.
“Even though there are a lot of great programs in Tillamook, there are some gaps and much of what is available costs money,” said Kaylan Sisco, Mid County Parks & Recreation District board member. “Often, people will invest money for their kids’ health but they won’t for themselves. As a community we need to invest our resources in ways where everyone benefits.”
Comprised of five separate members, the board chose to elect David Wilson as board President, Brian Cameron as Vice President and Michelle Jenck was elected as Secretary and along with board members Kaylan Sisco and Doug Henson, accepted the task of creating the district with hopes of providing connected recreation services to the citizens of the mid-Tillamook County area, which includes all areas within Tillamook School District 9 boundaries.
Coming from various walks of life, the board members all share similar reasons behind their motivations for wanting to be involved, a desire to provide good and meaningful recreation opportunities for not just children, but people of all ages within the district.
“After spending time in Vietnam and seeing how kids lived in a developing country, it made me realize I was going to do whatever I could to help children when I got out of the military,” said Doug Henson.
In the coming months, the district board will take tally of all available recreation resources throughout the mid-Tillamook County area and set up an advisory council in order to move forward with the district’s overall mission.
“Whether it is for lack of weather, facilities or imagination, people are not as active as they could be,” said David Wilson, Mid-County Parks & Recreation District President. “I’d like to see more programs and recreation opportunities for adults, as well as children.”
The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 19th from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Tillamook Area Chamber of Commerce.
