Perspective from the 19^th Hole 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.

ALS is a dread disease, but many of who have heard those initials don’t know what they stand for.

This:  Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Or, as it has been known for years, Lou Gehrig’s disease, because that old-time pro baseball player died from ALS.

It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that destroys motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, causing muscles to waste away, leading to paralysis, respiratory failure, and death, typically within 3 to 5 years. While 10 per cent of cases are genetic, the exact cause for most is unknown.  There is no cure, though treatments can manage symptoms. 

All of this came to my attention last week as I read a story that appeared in one of my on-line golf magazines.  Here is how the story started:

*Peter Broome understands that long after his battle with ALS has ended the bigger battle against the disease will continue.

“It is why Broome, one of the most respected figures in the golf industry for decades, has launched the ALS Bridge Foundation which includes an active on-line fundraising auction that features golf with some of the game’s biggest stars at some of their favorite places.

“Broome, a senior vice president at Titleist for many years, was diagnosed in 2024 with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a disease for which there is no cure.

“In discussing his condition with Global Golf Post’s John Steinbreder last year, Broome said his intention is to help others afflicted with the disease.

“’One of the things that hurts most is how this diagnosis cuts off the chapter of my life when I would have had the time to give back to golf, which has given me so much,’ Broome told GGP.

“’But I can still make a difference, only in this case with ALS.  And while I may lose my speech, I will still have my voice.’”

Those who know about ALS understand Broome’s comments.

Along with his family and with the help of some close friends, Broome has established the ALS Bridge Foundation with the goal to engage the golf community in the global effort to raise awareness and find a cure for the disease.  The foundation will help support research while also connecting patients with doctors in hopes of slowing or halting the disease’s progression.

Several major pro golf stars have donated to the Foundation and more are expected to do so.

In the past, one of golf’s connections to ALS arose when Tom Watson’s caddie, Bruce Edwards, came down with the disease.  And, though he died, his attitude about the disease in his last year’s brought an increasing level of attention to the plight.

Regarding ALS in general, I have into contact with the disease as I have known several people who have contracted it.  One is the sister of one of my best friends and she has endured the disease for almost 15 years. 

She is truly a profile in courage.

Here’s hoping that the new ALS Foundation, supported by pro golf stars and others, will enjoy resounding success.

Perspective from the 19^th Hole 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.

………This is a re-print of an earlier blog from last year…its memories are still valid today………

Okay, this is not a blog about Donald Trump.  I have had enough of him to last me for a lifetime, though, I suppose, I’ll write about him again as I try to understand how people could vote for him.

On to another topic.

I was reflecting the other day on some of my more than 40 years in professional life before retirement.

To do that, I tried to remember what I could label “accomplishments” in my 15 years as an Oregon state government manager or my 25 years as a state lobbyist in Oregon.

But, instead, I turned to remember some of the officials and friends from whom I learned many management lessons – call them mentors.  Better to reflect on folks who helped me than on accomplishments.

So, here is a list, where the names appear in no order of priority:

Vic Atiyeh:  It was a pleasure to work for Atiyeh, the last Republican governor in Oregon, now more than 40 years ago.  I could say a lot about my time with Atiyeh, but this stands out for me:  Victor – that’s what we called him when he allowed us to do so – never cared who got the credit when something good happened in Oregon.  He didn’t want it for himself; he wanted to parse it out to those who contributed to the result.  Good for any politician! 

Joe Blumel and E. Dean Anderson:  These, respectively, were the president of Portland State University (PSU) and vice president for university relations when I had the privilege to work at PSU. 

They let me be myself as director of information services, a phrase that essentially meant “public and media relations.”

It was Blumel who sent me to the Capitol in Salem, Oregon to be what he called “the eyes and ears of Portland State,” with, he added, “no mouth.” 

The latter was because the Oregon Higher Education Chancellor’s Office – it no longer exists – was assigned to be the only entity that was supposed to talk with legislators on behalf of higher education institutions in Oregon.

But Blumel’s assignment gave me a start at the Capitol where I ended up working for almost 40 years.

Anderson also was great with and for me.  We shared a Scandinavian heritage, so that helped us relate well to each other – he as boss and me as one of his staff.

I remember one time when he took me to the annual Scandinavian Dinner in Portland.  The menu included “lute-fisk,” and, if you don’t know what that is, so much the better.  If you eat it – it is made by soaking dried stockfish in lye, then water, and finally steaming the remaining guts until they flake – you’ll be sorry.  The name comes from the Norwegian word lute, which means “lye.”

Again, if you happen to eat it, you don’t want to eat again for a week!

With the letters “fisk” in the name, perhaps my forebears invented lute-fisk.

Bob Watson:  When I moved from Washington, D.C. back to Oregon, Watson was director of the Corrections Division, then part of the Oregon Department of Human Resources (DHR) where I was going to serve as assistant director.

He was on the panel when I interviewed for the job at DHR and I remember that he asked me a simple question, with profound implications:  What is the definition of “news,” he asked.

Rather than report an explicit definition, I answered this way:  News, I said, is what reporters and editors (and sometimes publishers) say it is.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.

Beyond other duties, I was in charge of media relations for the prison system, so Watson and I became good friends, even as we discussed the “news” business.

Another interesting fact.  When I joined DHR, there were three state prisons, all located in Salem.  Today, many years later, there are 14 prisons spread around the state, which is an indication of what I could call a “lock ‘em up” strategy in the state.  Which is meaningful because a every dollar to run prisons is a state “general fund dollar” (read, yours and my state tax money).

And that puts pressure on other “general fund users,” such as K-12 education, higher education, and social services.

Leo Hegstrom and Jerry Brown:  When I joined DHR, these two, respectively, were the director and deputy director of what was then the largest state government agency.  They taught me a lot about managing an agency, always focusing on facts, not fiction.

All three of us also developed a solid relationship with the governor, Vic Atiyeh, for whom we worked.  We met with him weekly in Cabinet Meetings – many of Atiyeh’s successors did not attend Cabinet Meetings, though he usually did.  Hegstrom, Brown and I also met with the governor alone in his personal office.

This process enabled me to have a good relationship, as well as ongoing respect, for Atiyeh.

Bill Wyatt and Mike Thorne:  At different times, these two officials served as executive director of the Port of Portland, a lobbying client of my firm.  The good news is that they relied on my firm’s advice and counsel, which meant that, among other things, we got things done at the Capitol for the Port.

One of the most important was gaining funds to pay Oregon’s share of the costs to deepen the Columbia River channel so bigger ships could ply their way off the coast to ports in and around Portland, as well as back out to sea.  And that has remained as an economic vitality keystone in the region.

Fred Miller:  He was my mentor in the Oregon Executive Department where he functioned as the COO of state government.

Miller relied on three of us to help him with that function – Jon Yunker, the budget director (who became one of my best friends in state government), Karen Roach, who handled personnel and labor relations, and me, who handled public and legislative relations.  A solid group of managers who found a good way to way to work together, not at cross purposes.

Pat McCormick:  He was one of my partners at Conkling Fiskum & McCormick, the name we chose for our firm when we got started in 1990.

McCormick, still a friend today, taught me a lot about the art of communication.

Tom Kennedy:  After working as Governor Atiyeh’s press secretary, I moved over to become deputy director of the Oregon Economic Development Department.  There, I reported to Kennedy.  He knew more about marketing than I did, so I learned a lot from him, even as he assigned me to relate to the Oregon Legislature on behalf of the department. 

At one point, Kennedy, who traveled a lot to Japan on marketing trips, said he didn’t want to head off to France when the State of Oregon was asked to send someone to a French graduate school to talk about how Oregon diversified its economy.

Kennedy would have been the logical choice, but he asked me to make the trip instead.

Of course, my wife accompanied me and we had a solid experience in France to tout Oregon’s move from being dependent on logging and fishing to aiding the technology and tourism industries, even as the area of France where we were – the Clermont Ferrande region – was setting out to diversify from being almost wholly dependent on Michelin.

Gerry Thompson:  When I served as Governor Atiyeh’s press secretary, I reported to Thompson, the governor’s chief of staff.  We have remained friends to this day, often reflecting on the good times with a governor who valued all of Oregon.

Thompson let me be myself in my job, though always with proper oversight from her.

One issue we have reflected on since we left government was the “Rajneesh affair” in Oregon when the leader of a commune from India, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, led a group of cultists to buy property in Eastern Oregon and take over the local government there.

For Atiyeh, Thompson led the effort to blunt the Bhagwan’s intrusion into Oregon and she I still reflect on the difficulty of doing so, though the Bhagwan and his followers eventually left under a cloud.  

Neil Bryant:  Bryant, a senator from Bend, became the best legislative friend I made at the Capitol over my years as a lobbyist.  He and I still are friends today.

At least one fact set Bryant apart when he served as a senator:  He had a distinct ability to bring differing interests together to hammer out a solid solution somewhere in the middle rather than on either extreme.  It is a lost art today in Salem.

Kerry Tymchuk:  Formerly State of Oregon director for U.S. Senator Gordon Smith, Tymchuk joined my firm when Smith lost.  Kerry and I were able to work together on several projects, before Kerry moved on to the job he now holds, Executive Director of the Oregon Historical Society where – no surprise — he has done a great job.

Tymchuk is a great writer, so one of the lessons I learned from him – pay close attention to the written word.

Morris Dirks:  I end with a few words about my relationship with Dirks – we are like brothers – which started when he was on the staff where I attend church in Salem, Oregon, Salem Alliance, and I was on the lay leadership team.

When Dirks became senior pastor, I worked with him as chair of the Governing Board.  That’s when we became like brothers and I learned a lot from Dirks about how to lead a vibrant Christian life and to lead others on the journey.

So, in conclusion, one of the best ways to reflect on a professional life – mine in the 10^th year in retirement – is to focus, not on specific achievements, but, rather, on individuals who helped along the way.