County gets more than $6 million
in stimulus funds for housing programs

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will infuse more than $6 million into Clark County’s housing and community development programs, reports Pete Monroe, Clark County Housing and Community Development manager.

The financing includes the following: Community Development Block Grant, $365,690; Homelessness Prevention & Rapid Re-Housing Program, $559,180; Weatherization: approximately $1,970,000 to significantly increase the number of low-income households receiving cost effective and energy efficient improvements; Community Services Block Grant, $543,451; Housing Preservation – Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant, $200,000; Vancouver Housing Authority Public Housing Capital Fund, $1,167,376; Neighborhood Stabilization Program: $1,577,664.

Planning is underway for the management and distribution of funds. Requests for Proposals will be issued for each project. RFPs will be posted on the Clark County Web site: http://www.clark.wa.gov/general-services/purchasing/documents. 

Hazel Reude Citizen of the
Year in Camas-Washougal

Hazel Reude, Washougal, has been named 2009 Citizen of the Year by the Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Riverview Community Bank.

Reude, nominated by Dodi Jensen of Rivertalk was selected for her volunteerism in Washougal. For the past twenty years Reude has donated her time to run the Annual Easter Egg Hunt at Hathaway Park, the CAROL Program, and has served as the secretary to the Washougal Downtown Association. With the WDA Reude helped to bring back the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting in downtown Washougal. She was instrumental in planning and implementing the Kid's Christmas Parade and regularly spent her own funds to get community programs going and sustained. Working with the Eagles, Reude organizes the annual CAROL food drives and shipments to our troops.

Georgia Pacific's Camas mill was named as Business of the Year. The mill has been in operation since 1883.

The awards will be presented during a Tuesday, June 2, banquet in Camas Meadows Golf Course.

Southwest nationally recognized
with 7 Aster marketing awards

Southwest Washington Medical Center has received seven national medical marketing awards presented by Medical Marketing Today.

Four of the seven were Gold Awards: Pioneering Medicine (outdoor advertising);

Joint Journey (service line campaign); daVinci Robotic Surgery (direct mail series); and Southwest Health (magazine/publication).

Two silver awards were for Rehabilitation Services (professional recruitment) and the medical center's 150th anniversary DVD (special video production).

A bronze award was earned by the medical center's billboard campaign, “Tough Guys Should Be Handled with Care.”

Southwest was in competition with 3,000 medical institutions across the country.

“What’s remarkable about Southwest’s marketing achievements is that we use local expertise and an in-house agency philosophy,” says Chad Dillard, chief communications officer. “We work to break through the clutter to appeal to consumers as well as referring doctors, past patients and our own 3,000+ staff members.”

Southwest’s marketing team consists of Barb Bryant, Ken Cole, Louise Craig, Jennifer Eland, Michelle Halfhill, Marjorie Marchand, Sarah Mottram, Richelle Sabado and Matt Schoolfield.

PNREC Conference
continues tomorrow

The 2009 Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Conference continues through Tuesday, May 19, in the Hilton Vancouver Washington, reports conference chairman Scott Bailey, Southwest Washington regional economist for the state Department of Economic Development,

This morning a national outlook was presented by David Wyss of Standard & Poor’s, followed by the Outlook Panel with forecasters from states and provinces.

Tuesday morning will feature Bill Beyers, University of Washington who will discuss structural changes in the Pacific Northwest economy. The Tuesday noon speaker is Bob Baugh on the future of manufacturing. The session ends at 3 p.m.

The conference is sponsored by the Northwest Power Planning Council, Columbia Credit Union, and the City of Vancouver. For further information, call Bailey at 906-2768.

Calendar

The Vancouver City Council meets in a workshop session at 4 p.m. today. <> The Vancouver City Council meets in regular session at 7 p.m. this evening. <> Clark County commissioners meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 19.

Community Calendar Links

• Southwest Washington Center for the Arts

• Greater Vancouver Chamber Community 

• City of Vancouver Calendar