With this year’s Women’s Issue, we went in search of Central Oregon females who are breaking away from the societal conventions that somehow still exist in 2011. We found a premiere female motorcycle racer, a great-grandmother who has decided to chase down her musical dreams and a group of women making some of the best beer in the region, just to name a few. We’re proud of the ladies in our region, and after you take a look this section, you will be, too.
Special Issues & Guides
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
Woman Of The Year; Jen Burgess Thompson: Cancer Survivor
Woman of the year, Jen Burgess is a cancer survivor after being diagnosed with aggressive ovarian cancer.
The day after being diagnosed last August with aggressive ovarian cancer at age 36, Jen Burgess Thompson gathered up her two young sons, some friends and her husband. They drove to Mt. Bachelor and made a movie.
In it, the stunning blond runs through a golden field of wildflowers with her sweet and handsome sons, Cohen and Cooper. She writes messages on a chalkboard like “We will not be defeated” and “Eff Cancer.” She tears pages from a small notebook after writing bits of her story. “I am Jen” “I am a mom” “I am an artist” “I am not cancer.” The pages blow away and snag in the flowers.
It is deeply moving and has been watched thousands of times. The video is the beginning of her very public and vivid chronicling of her battle with cancer. Thompson, who has her own photography studio in Redmond, documents every step of the journey, through her blog, on Facebook, and in the photography and videography of some of the most talented photographers and cinematographers in Bend who donated their time and effort to the Source's
2012 Woman of the Year.
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
Wonder Women: Five women tell us how to dominate
Five women who are outstanding with what they do best.
Tara Reynvaan, Sport Climber
Age: 25
Day job: Social Media Coordinator at Ruff Wear
Hometown: Bend
Female Inspiration: Alizee Dufraisse. “She's totally fearless and definitely a proud climber.”
Most radical moment in your sport: The most extreme thing that's ever happened to me is when I fell upside on a sport climb. On my way down I clipped a bolt, kinda funny but extreme all at the same time. I also pocket dialed my ex-husband. Pretty funny.”
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
Central Oregon’s Most Influential Women: From every area of our community-politics, business, philanthropy, sports and the creative arts-these women are powerful examples of what it means to live strong everyday
Seven women who are most influential to Central Oregon.
Name: Chris Telfer, 62
Day job: Certified public accountant and state senator
Areas of influence: Oregon State Senator for District 27-Bend, former Bend city councilor, former chair of Bend Urban Renewal Agency, former chair of the Bend-La Pine Schools budget committee, founding organizer of numerous Central Oregon nonprofits, chair of Oregon and national Episcopal Church committees
Leadership Philosophy: It is important to be inclusive and to listen to all perspectives.
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
Tattoo You: Mum's Tatoo's Angela Kephart found a career and a calling in body art
Angela Kephart started from the streets of Portland and now a small business owner of Mum’s Tattoos.
Angela Kephart was 12-years-old, homeless and living on the Portland streets when she got her first tattoo – a small heart on her left index finger that was given to her by an amateur tattoo artist with a makeshift needle. Kephart recalls that she was standing on the balcony of the Kent Motel above a fish house restaurant at the time. The entire process took about ten minutes, but it made an impact that's resonated throughout her entire life.
Today, Kephart is a single mom, sober, and a successful small business owner as the sole proprietor of Mum's Tattoos on Galveston where she employs four other artists, including one other female tattoo artist, Holly McClintock. Kephart has done it working in a field that is typically dominated by men and that is known for its lack of hospitality toward newcomers breaking into the business.
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
The Love Issue
For the second year, we hit the streets (well, actually posted an online ballot) to find out who our readers thought were the hottest people in Central Oregon. Some folks might be fence sitters when it comes to politics, but given the number of votes we saw, it appears that most of us have an opinion on what constitutes “hot.” Here, you’ll find the results of our Lust List, which showcases all the hotties you wanted to see. And see them you shall – take a look at these sexy and/or hilarious photos!
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
Local Heros
You probably see them around town, in line at the grocery store or maybe you run past them on the trails. They don’t look different from most of us, but they are—because they’re heroes. Inside you’ll learn about our Local Heroes, most of whom were nominated by our readers, and how they contribute to our community. Whether they’re veterans, community organizers or just all-around volunteers, these Local Heroes make life in Central Oregon better for all of us. So if you see these folks around town, give them a high five and say thanks.
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
The Agent of Change: Josh Cook
Local hero and doctor from Prineville, Josh Cook sets out to transform the health care system.
In many ways Josh Cook is an unlikely candidate to transform America's moribund health care system
An emergency room physician, Cook set out to be a teacher only to find himself practicing medicine despite the fact that he never completed his undergraduate degree – it wasn't required for him to be accepted into medical school.
“To me it was a much shorter and direct way to being a teacher.”
Instead of teaching, he found himself practicing family medicine as a doctor of osteopathy, a more traditional practice that emphasizes hands on medicine and direct contact with patients.
Within a few years, Cook made his way to the emergency room and in doing so found his niche. It's where Cook has been for the past 20 or so years, tending to broken bones, delivering babies, treating cardiac cases, performing emergency surgery on car accident victims and everything else that comes with the day-to-day reality of the ER. For the last decade and a half Cook has been the face of emergency room medicine in Prineville where he has served as the both the chief of staff at the Prineville hospital and the emergency room director, overseeing a staff of 12 physicians that covers emergency medical duties in both Redmond and Prinevillle.
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‘I’m Not A Nurse’: Lack of formal training didn't deter this Bend native
Local hero, Lavonna Redman created a school dedicated to children with special needs and is the founder of Angel Notion.
Angel Notion, the solitary medical resource for underprivileged families in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, exists because one Bendite decided to make a difference.
“Twenty years ago I was living in Bend, and I had an opportunity to vacation to Playa, and the first time I put my feet in the sand, I felt like it was home,” said Angel Notion Founder, Lavonna Redman. “I moved my family down here within six weeks.”
She held many posts in the tourist, Caribbean community, including hotel owner and restaurateur, before concentrating her efforts on humanitarian work.
“After a few years, there was something I needed to do for the people,” she explained. “So I started a school for special needs children.”
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
There When You Need Them: Commitment binds local search and rescue volunteers
Local heroes of search and rescue help a man who fell onto a ledge at Smith Rock.
Last November, a climber attempting The Wambat Route in Smith Rock State Park lost his hold and fell hard to a ledge below. Luckily for the climber, the Deschutes County Search and Rescue Mountain Rescue Unit was training at Smith Rock that day. They moved into action and immediately initiated the rescue.
“He fell onto a ledge, which is a tricky rescue,” said Richard Adler, team member since 2007. “This was the first time we were able to perform a ground-up rescue. It worked perfectly.”
Adler is one of 118 volunteers on the Deschutes County Search and Rescue crew who devotes hundreds of hours to training and rescue missions all in the name of keeping Central Oregonians safe.
