Keynote address, Wednesday evening: TBA

Awards, Wednesday evening

Bill Garrard, State Representative, Klamath Falls, Oregon

In 1996 Representative Garrard began his political career by being elected two consecutive terms as an Oregon Klamath County Commissioner. His re-election in 1998 marked the first time a County Commissioner had been re-elected to office in that county in over 105 years. He then was elected to three consecutive terms as a State Representative in the Oregon Legislature. During his second term he received both Republican and Democrat nominations. Garrard has never lost an election. During his tenure as state legislator he carried 61 bills to the floor of the house and all 61 bills passed. In his second term he was named Assistant Majority Leader and Chaired the Environment and Land Use Committee and in his third term is currently involved as Chair of the Land use Committee, Judiciary Committee, Legislative Council Committee and the Environment Committee.

Welcome address, Wednesday morning

Greg Walden,

Congressman Greg Walden is currently in his sixth term representing the people of Oregon's Second Congressional District, which includes twenty counties in central, southern and eastern Oregon.  Greg brings solid private and public sector experience to his work in the Congress.  He began his public service in the Oregon State Legislature, serving in both the House and Senate and earning leadership posts in both.  He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 1998 and was sworn in the following January.

He and his wife, Mylene, live in Hood River where their son, Anthony, attended public school before starting college in fall 2008.  Greg commutes from Hood River to Washington, D.C. virtually every week when Congress is in session; he has completed 373 round trips between Oregon and D.C. since taking office.  The Waldens are an active family that enjoys taking advantage of Oregon's vast outdoor recreational opportunities including skiing, kayaking and hiking.

Greg has made a name for himself in Washington, D.C. as an effective and hardworking legislator.  He has a deep commitment to the diverse and beautiful Second District of Oregon, and addressing the issues that most concern its citizens, including creating sustainable new jobs and economic opportunities, promoting forest health, increasing rural health care access, fighting for free speech on the airwaves by opposing the return of the so-called Fairness Doctrine, and fighting the scourge of meth and other illegal drugs.

His solid reputation has afforded Greg key appointments to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and as the top Republican on the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, where he works on issues ranging from ensuring America has a safe food supply to investigating the government takeover of the auto industry.

John Elliott, Klamath County Commissioner

Born in Klamath Falls, John is a graduate of Henley High School and Southern Oregon University, where he received a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. John received his college education courtesy of US National Bank's work/college scholarship program.

Following graduation, John spent the next 7 1/2 years in Adelaide, Australia, where he worked for a computer company and served as an Administrative Officer for the City of Tea Tree Gully. Upon returning to the United States, John served as Finance Director for Klamath County and the City of Klamath Falls. John moved to Bend, where he was employed in retail sales and as a loan officer for a Bend credit union.

Returning to Klamath Falls in 1994, John became active in local government, serving as a member and Chairman of the County's Library Board and later as Chairman of the Budget Committee for 4 years. He was appointed in January, 2001, to fill out the term of a commissioner who was elected to the State Legislature. John was elected in 2002 and re-elected to his current term in 2006.

Active in regional and state-wide interests, John is Chair of Jefferson Behavioral Health, an association of Klamath, Jackson, Josephine, Coos and Curry counties delivering mental health care to those counties’ eligible members.  Since 2002, John has been a member and past Chair of CIS, an organization sponsored by the League of Oregon Cities and the Association of Oregon Counties to provide insurance and risk management services to its member entities and providing services to approximately 9,500 public employees in cities, counties and special districts around the state.  John is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Association of Oregon Counties and serves on the Water Policy and Legislative steering committees.  At the national level, John is a member of the Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee of the National Association of Oregon Counties.

John's liaison responsibilities oversee the areas of Public and Mental Health, District Attorney, Community Corrections, Fairgrounds, Tax/Treasurer, Tourism, Finance and Justice Court.

Welcome invocation, Wednesday morning

Jeff Mitchell, Klamath Tribal Council Member

Luncheon Keynote address, Wednesday 

Jane O'Keeffe is a former Lake County Commissioner, a former president of the Association of Oregon Counties, and a former co-chair of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. Currently she is employed as a consultant for the National Forest Counties and Schools Coalition.  Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed O'Keeffe to the Environmental Quality Commission in June of 2008.

She is the chair of the board of Sustainable Northwest, and a board member of Lake County Resources. She has been a partner in the O’Keeffe Ranch in Adel for more than 25 years and she is a partner in Campbell Crossing Ranch in Kimberly Oregon.

O'Keeffe recently received a Master's in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Antioch University and is hard at work on two books.

O'Keeffe has been active in the Lakeview Stewardship Group since it's inception.