September, 2007
“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” asked the Avis car rental attendant at the Portland airport.
Before I could answer he said, “Avis charges $7.50 per gallon and it looks to me like your gas tank is half-full.” I tried some lame excuse about not finding a gas station.
He spoke again. “Since you two seem like nice ladies, I won’t charge you. I hope you’ve had a pleasant stay in Oregon.”
Rachel – my colleague, friend and fellow adventurer and I took a business trip to Oregon – the Sunset State. Our reason for visiting was to tour various state-sponsored training centers. We hold a marketing and communication contract with a California State agency and one of our tasks is to conduct a comparative analysis of similar training centers. The State of Oregon has a model program that is held in regard throughout the nation. What I found was a series of comprehensive training centers with a stellar group of dedicated individuals.
Tour guide Lucy Gardner is a leadership training
consultant for the State of Oregon.
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Lucy Gardner, who works for the Department of Administrative Services as a leadership training consultant was our tour guide. Lucy is an intelligent, well-spoken woman. The pride in her work was evident as she led us through the various training centers.
To underscore her commitment and dedication to her profession, I later found out that Friday was her day off – the day that Rachel and I were in Oregon for the tour.
One of the tour’s highlights was the NetLink Distance Learning system for training at the Department of Human Services. Consider it video-conferencing for the future. The Department has a state-of-the art technology studio that allows up to 175 individual users to be trained at the same time.
Ray David Walker, demonstrates the NetLink
Distance Learning system for training.
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They bring in a subject matter expert and two moderators to host the training. Individuals have various screen options to view: a real-time image of the trainer; training materials such as PowerPoint, or handouts; and training status.
According to Ray Walker, Training and Development Specialist, this system allows them to train people in a more cost-effective manner without compromising the learning experience.
Our last tour of the day was to the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training facility – a phenomenal new compound that hosts a police academy. Although this part of our tour was outside the realm of our report, it was still fascinating. We were led through the various indoor training classrooms and conference rooms. Then, after being relieved of all our personal belongings such as purses and cameras, we were walked through a metal detector and, once cleared, given a Velcro band to wear. The safety procedure was to ensure no one accidentally brought “live” ammunition into the scenario training area. We were then escorted into a warehouse that looked like a movie set. There were several storefronts featuring a video store, bank, gas station, convenience store and police station. The trainers set up realistic scenarios inside the various “stores”, to provide valuable, real-world training for police cadets.
Jeanine Hohn, PIO-Legislative Coordinator took us into a faux apartment – messier than anything I’ve ever seen. Entering this cramped, dark space with lots of places for a perpetrator to hide gave me newfound respect for the courage police show when they answer a 9-1-1 call. Chills of fear went up and down my spine as I imagined how creepy it must be for a police officer who responds to the unknown. At this training center, they offer every type of scenario possible to support rookies developing appropriate reactions to dangerous situations. It is fact that when we are familiar with a circumstance or scenario, we will act in a more mindful manner when it happens. Yikes. I was more than ready to get out of there – happy that my job as a small business owner was so tame. Still, I was thankful that the State of Oregon was preparing their police force with so much care. If I was wearing a hat, I would take it off to show respect for the awesome job police do for the citizens of our country.
Our tour ended on a happy note as we replenished our thirsty bodies with iced café lattes at a local drive-through. We left our gracious tour guide Lucy back at her state building in downtown Salem – a clean, compact locale with plenty of “Oregon Trail” history. My heart was made full with the idea that every single person we met that day treated us with respect and kindness – for no inherent gain. I am happy to note that the spirit of goodwill is alive and well in the great state of Oregon.
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