Previous Reports from 2007

Beaverton’s Soul is Meaningful!

Admittedly, I think about the City most waking hours. Every day, I wonder what each of our 85,000 citizens think, feel and want in our City. I do talk with and listen to many of you in varying venues. You are also especially thorough and consistent in communicating in multiple ways. I feel that I have a good idea what citizens have on their minds and what our City has become.

Our City had humble beginnings. The Native Americans who settled in this area referred to Beaverton as “Chakeipi”, which meant “land of the Beaver”. Prior to early white settlers migrating to our area, the entire downtown of Beaverton was under water as a result of a network of Beaver dams. Once drained, the downtown area became fertile ground for growing horseradish and other crops. Beaverton became a farm-to market area for Portland. As we grew, nice neighborhoods became the standard and industry began to flourish. We are at the crossroads of multiple highways, Westside Light Rail and soon Commuter Rail. Beaverton’s downtown has continued to redevelop and will evolve even more—private and public reinvestment are at an all-time high.

A local newspaper columnist has more than once alluded to the fact that Beaverton has no “soul” and needs to develop one. I think he is actually referencing a physical place, but I would not put the top value and measure for a community as simply a place to go. That would be an insult to the many citizens who help make this a great place to live. I think the “who” in a community is far more important. Webster’s Dictionary defines “soul” as “the spirit in man that is believed to be separate from the body and is the source of a person’s emotional, spiritual, and moral nature.” The American Heritage Dictionary further defines “soul” as “the animating and vital principle in human beings, credited with the faculties of thought, action, and emotion and often conceived as an immaterial entity.” I have a great deal of faith in Beaverton citizens and believe that we do have a soul that goes far beyond a downtown or simple gathering place.

Let me share with you what I see in our community and why I think we have a “soul” that is the right measure of our community. People in Beaverton craft solutions to challenges and problems, and are really engaged in outcomes. This includes much more than just City issues. Most recently, Money magazine ranked Beaverton in the top 100 Best Places to Live in America for 2006. Looking at the varied 37 indexes they evaluated, our community showed strength in quality education, job growth and retention, strong public safety, quality neighborhoods and other important criteria. Our volunteerism, churches/faith community and general citizen outreach has grown—this shows a strong personal sense of giving, involvement and values in our citizens. We have become a very diverse community that makes Beaverton a more interesting place to live, provides opportunities to learn about other cultures, and enables workable solutions to live in harmony. I believe that this most importantly measures the “soul” of a community.

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