This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

The secret?

Sam Skillern, who has served as executive director of the Salem Leadership Foundation (SLF) for many years.  He is taking a well-earned retirement.

As Skillern heads off into the sunset – though, no doubt, he’ll find a way to continue contributing in retirement – he wrote a final newsletter the other day.

Here is how Salem Reporter described his tenure:

“If you ask Sam Skillern to take his photo, he’ll suggest meeting you outside Salem First United Methodist Church.

“Skillern doesn’t have a particular tie to the congregation.  But its location – at the intersection of Church and State streets – sums up how Skillern has spent the bulk of his career.

“He’s the executive director of the Salem Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1996 to help local churches and faith communities find ways to improve their neighborhoods.”

SLF often flies under the radar in Salem, but has had a hand in helping many other organizations get off the ground, including Salem for Refugees, homeless service provider Church at the Park, Salem Free Clinics, and Family Promise.

Does credit for all these accomplishments go to Skillern?  No. In his typical style, Skillern deflects credit to others, and to God.

SLF’s origins date back to 1993, when Salem Senator Peter Courtney convened a task force to address a rise in youth gang activity in the city.  Clergy weren’t present at the first meetings, and when Courtney asked they be invited, it led to confusion.

More from Salem Reporter:

“There was no organized association of clergy or churches for civic leaders to reach out to, Skillern said.  At the time, many Salem faith leaders didn’t believe they had a role to play in addressing gang violence or other social problems in the city.

“The leaders didn’t know who the church leaders were so there was all this clumsiness around who to invite to work on this problem.  When the invitations landed, most of the pastors and priests and rabbis said, ‘No thanks.’  There wasn’t hostility in those days between church and state.  But there definitely was disconnect.”

Skillern helped to bridge that gap and, as they say, the rest is history.

In his final newsletter as executive director, Skillern wrote this:

“Words are wonderful.  Language is a huge part of the human experience in biology, sociology, anthropology, history, and culture.  Not to mention theology.”

No surprise that I agree with Sam.

He went on to include a list of what he called words – phrases – that underscore the SLF intent to emphasize “bridge building, neighborhood development, and church-community partnerships.”  The SLF record, under Skillern, underscores the commitments.

I am reprinting some of the phrases because they are worth pondering in your own way.

• Show up and stick with it

• Look out your front door, look out your back door

• If it’s in sight, it’s in mind

• Candor without malice or sarcasm is good

• Speak with care – don’t be easily offended

• If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – but always hone

• Bridge-building over activism

• Fix problems and manage issues, not the other way around

• Delight in telling the stories of others

• Always leave the up place cleaner than when you found it

Think of your own reactions to these Skillern-sayings.  There is no magic answer, just food for thought.

The Salem Reporter’s final thought about Skiller:

“Foundation leader reflects on 25 years of helping Salem churches practice what they preach.”

That’s exactly what one of Salem’s best kept secrets has done.  Kudos to him.