Gina Binole

By Jesse Applegate, Outgoing Mazama Board President In April 2022, the Mazamas learned of the new proposal by the Mount Hood National Forest to implement a fee-based climbing permit system for Mount Hood. We are grateful the Forest Service has included the Mazamas along with other local stakeholder groups from guide companies and Search & Rescue organizations to share the Forest’s perspectives, intentions, and to solicit feedback on the proposal.

Near the end of 2016, Ben Oh and other executives from Fully decided to have an off-site meeting to discuss some key initiatives for 2017. It was a pivotal time for the company, which sells and designs desks, chairs and things that keep bodies moving. They were growing and in the process of rebranding from Ergot Depot to Fully. “We needed to do some blue-sky thinking to align our perspectives,” Oh recalls.

Failing to recognize the value of a full-time staff versus part-time. The business was just me at the beginning, and it grew to a point where I started bringing on additional people, first on a contract basis and then on a part-time basis. It was a natural evolution, and we didn’t have to deal with benefits and other issues that come with full-time employees. That was great, and worked well for a while.