Creating connections among people and organizations has been one of the Coalition’s primary purposes since our founding in 2007. Through greater communications and collaboration, we can expand and accelerate our efforts to build a sustainable community.
Three types of Coalition gatherings have been integral to our efforts to create connections: Annual Meetings, Town Halls, and Quarterly Gatherings:
Annual Meetings
Every January, the Sustainability Coalition sponsors an Annual Meeting to celebrate our accomplishments of the previous year and our plans for the new year. The work of Coalition action teams is the primary focus.
If you missed our 2021 annual meeting or would like a recap, here’s another chance to see the event. The annual meeting featured presentations about our accomplishments in 2020 and plans for 2021.
We’ve been working on a wide variety of projects in 12 topic areas: Community Inclusion, Economic Vitality, Education, Energy, Food, Health and Human Services, Housing, Land Use, Natural Areas, Transportation, Waste Prevention, and Water.
Town Halls
While the focus of our Annual Meetings is the Sustainability Coalition, the focus of our Town Halls is the community. Typically held in March at the CH2M Hill Alumni Center on the OSU campus, the event begins with a two-hour Sustainability Fair, featuring more than 50 hands-on exhibits, each representing a Coalition partner organization or action team. A fabulous spread of delicious local food is offered, and local musicians provide entertainment. The entire event is waste-free, with recycling and composting stations located throughout the facility.
Following the Sustainability Fair, attendees move to the Alumni Center ballroom, where they’re seated at tables of eight for a fast-paced, interactive Town Hall. The program includes three parts, each with a presentation from the main stage followed by discussion and activity at the tables.
The Town Hall program includes an annual Community Scrapbook, a slide presentation highlighting the sustainability achievements of local partner organizations during the past year. Since 2013, the Town Hall has included a keynote speaker to share fresh ideas with the community and to motivate attendees to take action.
In 2008, our first Town Halls were designed to produce a sustainability action plan for the Corvallis community. That year, we sponsored three town hall meetings. The first two Town Halls in March and June of 2008 were captured on film. Nearly 1,000 people were involved in the action planning process, and the air of excitement was palpable! You can witness a bit of this community engagement by watching the videos below.
Quarterly Meetings
The Coalition’s Quarterly Gatherings are held each April, July, and October in the main meeting room of the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. The fourth gathering at the library is our Annual Meeting, held in January (see above).
During each 90-minute Quarterly Gathering, there are brief presentations made by three partner organizations and one Coalition action team that have been invited to share through slides and narrative what they are doing to help create a sustainable community. Each presentation is followed by audience questions.
A highlight of the Quarterly Gatherings is a buffet of delicious snacks provided by First alternative Natural Foods Co-op.
NOTE: Due to the COVID pandemic, Quarterly Gatherings have been temporarily paused. The last Quarterly Gathering was held in October 2019.