Serious fun

There’s been a lot of smack talking and banner hoisting — green and yellow for the Ducks, orange and black for the Beavers — at Freelin-Wade lately.

It is, of course, all in anticipation of the upcoming Civil War football game between the two rival Oregon schools. Unless you’ve been off the planet, you know that the winner is headed to the Rose Bowl.

Melissa Wiedeman told me folks at Freelin-Wade are aiming to bring some fun to a serious effort — collecting money and food for YCAP. So they will be hosting their third annual Civil War Chili Cook-Off and Hot Dog Feed from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2, in the company parking lot at 1730 N.E. Miller St.

Melissa said the event actually supports two charities.

The hot dog feed benefits YCAP’s holiday adopt-a-family program. The cook-off benefits a a different local charity each year.
The latter becomes the focus of a year-long fundraising effort by the company and its employees. For the past month, Freelin-Wade employees have been researching Yamhill County charities. This year’s choice will be named at the event, which is open to the entire community.

The Hot Dog Feed will feature grilled dogs with all the trimmings, along with chips and a soda, for $4. For the fourth year in a row, the hot dogs are being donated by the Willamette Valley Medical Center
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The Chili Cook-Off is a competition that anyone can sign up for. The chili must be ready to serve from an electric crock pot by 11 a.m. The chili is dished up in exchange for donations, with the cook collecting the most winning the competition.

To enter the cook-off, contact Wiedeman at 503-434-5561 or melissaw@freelin-wade.com.

To get to Freelin-Wade from downtown McMinnville, take Lafayette Avenue to Riverside Drive and turn right. At Miller, turn left.
Freelin-Wade is at the end of the road on the right. The cookout will be around back.

 
Members of the McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce are invited to an open house set for 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10. Hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Jody Christensen of the McMinnville Economic Development Program and Julie Miller of Biz Connect will help spread the holiday cheer.

Dr. Elizabeth Ackerman, an orthopedic surgeon, has joined the staff at the Willamette Valley Medical Center and Baker Street Orthopedics, joining Dr. Christopher Blake.

Ackerman earned her bachelor of science degree in biology at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. She completed her residency in orthopedic surgery at the West Virginia University Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va.

CEO Rosemari Davis said her arrival will open new opportunities for patients to receive care locally.

“Dr. Ackerman is joining a team of exceptional orthopedic surgeons, and her presence only increases the strength of our surgical staff,” Davis said. “Her presence will ensure that more patients will continue to receive quality care close to home.” 

Her clinical experience includes service as an emergency room physician at Monongalia General Hospital, and orthopedic resident at the West Virginia University Department of Orthopaedics, both in Morgantown, W.Va.

Ackerman also participated as a research fellow with the West Virginia University Musculoskeletal Research Lab in Morgantown, where she co-investigated and co-authored experiments with hip prostheses. She is the co-author of several reports, including one pertaining to tibia fractures in pediatric patients, which was presented at an annual American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

In her free time, Ackerman enjoys ice skating, cross country skiing, hiking, reading and pilates.

Windermere Pacific Crest Realty will host a community service day on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 835 N.W. Adams St. It will feature free Santa photographs with a donation of canned food for YCAP.

YCAP’s most needed food items are fruit, chili, stew, dry beans, packaged meals, pasta, rice, soup, spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, tuna, peanut butter, flour, sugar, salt, ketchup and salad dressing. For more information, call Beth Jacobsen at 503-550-8565.

Linda Freeborn, formerly of First American Title, has been named senior certified escrow officer with Western Title & Escrow in McMinnville.

“It gives me great pleasure to announce that Linda Freeborn has joined our Western Title Team,” said Business Development Representative Michelle Gregor. “Linda is excited to be on the team of the only locally owned title company in Yamhill County.”
Freeborn, an Amity High School grad married to a Dayton High School grad, lives in Southwest McMinnville with her husband, Randy, and their four beagles.

She serves on the boards of the McMinnville Kiwanis Club and McMinnville Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and will be assuming the Kiwanis Club helm next year. She holds Master Gardener status and is widely known for the innovative Christmas ornaments she crafts each holiday season.

Western Title is located at 1215 N.E. Baker St. The phone number is 503-472-3154.

Freeborn can be reached by e-mail at lfreeborn@westerntitle.com or cell at 971-237-5321.

Aline Guerrieri Moreira, a fellow at the World Forestry Center’s World Forest Institute, will speak on sustainability issues in her native Brazil from 4 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 9. The presentation, free with reservations but $8 at the door, is scheduled for the Mount Hood Room.

The center is adjacent to the zoo in Portland’s Washington Park. RSVP to cbennett@worldforestry.org or 503-488-2137.
 
Moreira holds a social science degree from Brazil’s Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a master in sustainable resource management from Germany’s Technical University of Munich. Her experience in social work in the slums of Brazil, coupled with her natural resource background, gives her a unique insight into the challenges as Brazil struggles to mitigate deforestation while also raising living standards for impoverished communities.

The nation has long been a target of international criticism about deforestation of the Amazon, but as Moreira will explain, there is far more to forests than just the Amazon, and sustainability is not just about saving trees. For more information, visit www.worldforestry.org or call 1-503-228-1367.

Chehalem Ridge Bed & Breakfast, 28700 N.E. Mountain Top Road in Newberg, was named Best in the West in the annual BedandBreakfast.com Awards. They are based on qualitative and quantitative evaluation of nearly 50,000 independent reviews submitted to BedandBreakfast.com, the leading online B&B directory and reservation network.

“Surveys show that independent reviews are the most important factor when choosing a B&B,” according to company representative Sandy Soule. “In fact, 96 percent of consumers consider reviews to be somewhere between important and essential when selecting a place to stay, and 12 percent will not make a reservation at a property without them.”

“We are really honored to be chosen,” said innkeeper Kristin Fintel. “We have our amazing guests to thank.”

Sunset Magazine recently credited Chehalem Ridge with “the most staggering views of wine country in the West, period.”

For more information, call 1-503-538-3474 or visit www.chehalem ridge.com.