News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Steve Shunk is plunging right into his new job as manager of the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce.
"I like my job being a commitment rather than a career," he said. "This job is something that, when I go home at night, I don't detach from it."
That means being observent, learning about the needs and desires and possibilities of his new home.
And the 30-year-old outdoorsman sees plenty of possibilities. Shunk spent nine years with Recreational Equipment, Inc. in the San Francisco Bay Area, finishing as the area's director of special events. With his background in outdoor recreation, Shunk sees Sisters as an outdoor sports paradise.
"Almost every form of muscle powered or machine powered outdoor recreation exists right here," Shunk said.
Noting that outdoor recreation is big - and stable - business, Shunk hopes to promote Sisters as a destination for those seeking outdoor action and experience, whether it's rock climbing, hiking, canoeing, fishing or birding.
"This is a pretty big objective," Shunk said. "I know that Sisters is pretty well known, but - for lack of a better term - I'd like to put Sisters on the map."
Shunk didn't find Sisters on a map - he found it on the highway. After leaving the Bay Area, Shunk, an avid birder, spent four months volunteering at the Malhuer Wildlife Refuge. On a trip to the Portland airport, he passed through Sisters.
"I was really taken with the town," he said. "I started picking up the paper every time I came through and I started thinking this is a place I could live.
"When I saw (the opening at the chamber), I knew it was my position," he said. "It was a golden opportunity to get to live here."
Shunk aims to strengthen the chamber's membership, making sure the organization serves its current members well and striving to bring new members on board.
"The goal, the philisophical orientation, is uniting the community," he said.
In practical terms, Shunk hopes to promote region-wide events, highlighting recreational activities, and to "get the word out," about the community he has discovered and made his home.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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