Episode 5 · Nancy Olson · June 25, 2023
Nancy Olson traces the path that brought her from Oregon to Haiti, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and finally Humboldt, where she now leads the Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce. She talks about the work of the chamber, the challenges and promise ahead for the region, and why staying connected across differences matters.
Watch the conversation
What this episode covers
- Nancy’s route from Springfield and Calgary to Haiti, where she worked with NGOs and USAID.
- Her years in Sacramento and Los Angeles focused on volunteerism, civic engagement, and leadership development.
- What the Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce does, and why chamber work matters in a community like Humboldt.
- Leadership Redwood Coast, including its first cohort, regional visits, and the kind of emerging leaders it brings together.
- The big pressures shaping the county right now: housing, healthcare, population growth, and the shakeout in cannabis.
- Nancy’s view of Humboldt’s future, including offshore wind, new jobs, and the need to keep talking through change.
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Transcript
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Scott Hammond: Hey, everybody. It's Scott Hammond with my guest Nancy
Nancy Olson: Hi, Scott.
Scott Hammond: How are you?
Nancy Olson: I'm doing really well, actually.
Scott Hammond: That's good. It's-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … you know, it's foggy out, and I'm going, "End of the week,
weekend."
Nancy Olson: Yeah. I was thinking we might get some sunshine
happen.
Scott Hammond: It's so weird. W- it's… Welcome to Humboldt.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Hey, I like your reader glasses, by the way.
Nancy Olson: Oh, thanks. I like yours.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, I can see.
Nancy Olson: [laughs] That's a good thing.
Scott Hammond: So I wanna know the Nancy Olson story, just kinda-
Nancy Olson: I look forward to it
Scott Hammond: … generally and, you know, within
a half hour. Just, uh, not, uh… Go ahead and tell, tell us where you're from, how you got here.
Nancy Olson: Oh, that's kind of a long story.
Scott Hammond: Go for it.
Nancy Olson: It's been a complicated path.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. [laughs]
Nancy Olson: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Join, join the journey, folks.
Nancy Olson: All right. You're ready for this?
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Nancy Olson: Um, let's see. I was born and raised in Springfield,
Oregon. And, um, except for two years in fifth and sixth grade, we lived in Gallup, New Mexico, back to Springfield.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: Um,
my senior year in high school, um, my dad got a job up in Calgary, Alberta, so I graduated early and went and lived in Calgary for most of a year I went off to college.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, went to college.
Scott Hammond: Where'd you go?
Nancy Olson: Um, George Fox University. It's in Newberg, near Portland.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Good school, right?
Nancy Olson: Yeah. I felt like I got a really good education
Scott Hammond: Is it private?
Nancy Olson: It is a private school.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. And I studied international studies.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Took a year break in there, but still went to community college.
So this is kinda boring stuff, but, you know, [laughs] it gets- sets me
up for-
Scott Hammond: Part of-
Nancy Olson: … the exciting things
Scott Hammond: … part of the journey.
Nancy Olson: So yeah, two or three weeks after high school, or after
college, I moved to the country of Haiti.
Scott Hammond: Wow. [laughs]
Nancy Olson: Yeah. So there, there you go. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: 'Cause why not?
Nancy Olson: Surprise twist. Um, yeah, international studies, and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … I was planning to go to France. That
Scott Hammond: Haiti
Nancy Olson: … ended up in Haiti instead.
Scott Hammond: Haiti, wow.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I have a son. He… Our second born is a graduate from, uh,
International Studies.
Nancy Olson: Okay.
Scott Hammond: Went on to get a master at D- master's at Davis, and-
Nancy Olson: Nice
Scott Hammond: … anyway.
Nancy Olson: Nice. Yeah.
So, um, in Haiti, I worked with a couple of different NGOs-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … and did, um, fundraising, development, marketing, um-
Scott Hammond: In Port-au-Prince right there?
Nancy Olson: In Port-au-Prince.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. But traveled all over the country.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: And, uh, first worked for an organization called,
Child Care. They have a, a focus on tuberculosis and-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Nancy Olson: … and some other things, but they've expanded their mission since
there. Um, and they're still going strong.
Really-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Nancy Olson: … proud of the organization. They do good work.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, worked for
World Concern for a bit, for a couple years, um, and then worked for USAID, which was incredibly interesting. Um, I was running the-
Scott Hammond: [laughs]
Nancy Olson: … Democracy Enhancement Project in the
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: And if you know what was happening in Haiti in the mid-'90s,
the, uh, democratically elected president had fled
country-
Scott Hammond: [clears throat]
Nancy Olson: … and the US intervened-
Scott Hammond: That's right
Nancy Olson: … and came in and, um,
restored him to power.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Nancy Olson: I have so many stories I could tell about that, but we won't go there.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, but so I was working on their Democracy Enhancement
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … you can imagine I was
kind of front lines for, um, a lot of, um, human rights things and working with different political US political parties, and-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Nancy Olson: … as well as local political parties, and-
Scott Hammond: Huh
Nancy Olson: … um, it was a fascinating-
Scott Hammond: So right out of college-
Nancy Olson: … time in my life
Scott Hammond: … you went into this hotbed of-
Nancy Olson: Yeah, um-
Scott Hammond: … Third World craziness.
Nancy Olson: Yeah, so and in the eight years
governments.
Scott Hammond: Whoa.
Nancy Olson: So yeah, coups and-
Scott Hammond: And poverty everywhere
Nancy Olson: … elections and yeah, incredible poverty.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: It's the, the poorest country in the hemisphere, so,
Scott Hammond: Wow
Nancy Olson: … has held that space for a very, very long time,
Scott Hammond: Is it still true?
Nancy Olson: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Nancy Olson: It is.
Um, yeah, now their, um, their country is kind of rife with gang violence and such.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Nancy Olson: I still… So one of the things, i-
doctor and had a couple-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Nancy Olson: … kids.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: Um, when I left Haiti, I left him, but-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … um, like I said, was there for about eight years,
Haiti.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: And in fact, my adopted son is getting married in a couple weeks,
so-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Nancy Olson: … wish I could be there, but-
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Are they all in Haiti, the kids?
Nancy Olson: Um, my kids, no, my kids are here in Humboldt.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Nancy Olson: So yeah, they came, came back with me, not my adopted son,
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … um, but my kids are here actually in Humboldt.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: So that's-
Scott Hammond: So are you gra- grandma?
Nancy Olson: I am not a grandma.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Nancy Olson: Not yet. Maybe someday.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, you're Aunt Nancy, though. You told me that.
Nancy Olson: I am definitely Aunt Nancy. I have lots of nephews and nieces.
Scott Hammond: Awesome.
Nancy Olson: Some local, which is fun to see them.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: So but, but-
Scott Hammond: So how old, how old are the kids that are here?
Nancy Olson: They're 29 and 32.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: So yeah.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: And they… I moved up here about five years ago.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: I, I will skip over a whole bunch of-
Scott Hammond: No, no, I wanna hear the in between, too
Nancy Olson: … so, um-
Scott Hammond: Don't just stop there.
Nancy Olson: Okay. Um-
Scott Hammond: So where'd you go from Haiti?
Nancy Olson: From Haiti, I went up to Poulsbo, Washington, little
Norway.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And, uh, lived there for a number of years, and,
from there, ended up moving to Sacramento, lived there for eight or nine years.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, while I was there, I, um,
worked for a volunteer organization. I worked for United Way.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And then I spent about five years in the governor's office under the-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Nancy Olson: … Schwarzenegger administration.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: I worked for an office called California Volunteers and-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … uh, was responsible for, uh, statewide
civic engagement programs.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: So that was pretty cool. That was a turning point in my career for
sure.
Scott Hammond: It j- it just kinda begs the question.
Tell me, tell us about Arnie.Did you get to hang much, or was he-
Nancy Olson: Not so much. Occasionally.
Scott Hammond: He would probably come and visit and…
Nancy Olson: Yeah. I probably will be hunted down for saying
Scott Hammond: He's not. [laughs]
Nancy Olson: Um, [laughs] I think.
Scott Hammond: He's, he's five something, isn't he?
Nancy Olson: Like-
Scott Hammond: He's pretty short
Nancy Olson: … 5'7", 5'8", yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, but still loud.
Nancy Olson: I literally stood shoulder to shoulder with him.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Um-
Scott Hammond: But he's as wide as he is tall. [laughs]
Nancy Olson: Yeah, he is. He is-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … pretty, you know, pretty fit. But, um, but no, he was really
nice every time I met him.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Nancy Olson: And, um, just loved to, loved being governor-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … and took it seriously. And, um-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … I think, you know, had a good time while he was doing it, so.
Scott Hammond: Whatever you say about Arnie, he's a pretty remarkable guy, coming from
his, His background and training. And my son's a big f- fan. My son Mike, our youngest, is a weightlifter. He's the champ-
Nancy Olson: Mm
Scott Hammond: … at Healthsport. He can bench as much as Arnie, about 435.
Nancy Olson: Wow.
Scott Hammond: And he, he has a big giant poster in his bedroom
Arnie when he was a younger man.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: There you go.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. He, he… I'll be back. So, uh, where'd you go from
Sacramento?
Nancy Olson: From Sacramento I was recruited to…
recruited for a job in Los Angeles.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: Um, ran the Volunteer LA for a few years, um,
volunteer organization, placing volunteers, um, with different nonprofits and such.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, and then from there
I went actually to the Los Angeles Chamber.
Scott Hammond: Oh, wow.
Nancy Olson: So that was my first chamber gig.
Scott Hammond: Is that downtown?
Nancy Olson: It's downtown, yeah.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: It's the big, the big, um, chamber in the area.
Scott Hammond: Gotta be a big chamber.
Nancy Olson: It is.
Scott Hammond: Is it like a regional one, like we would have in Arcata, where
Arcata's the, the… used to be… It used, it was the welcome center. That's, I guess that's different.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: So yeah, a lot of chambers have the visitors
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: It was really focused on,
um, a number of different things. The-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … my role there was I ran the Center for Leadership.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: And I ran, uh, different programs,
uh, to support leadership development and community engagement
for-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: …
a wide variety of people from different sectors. So, um, like Leadership LA, Leadership Southern California, statewide version of that program as well.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: So that was really fun and fulfilling work.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: And then I got burned out on LA.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Yeah.
Nancy Olson: So yeah.
Scott Hammond: It's easy to do.
Nancy Olson: Yep.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yep.
Scott Hammond: Last time we were there we got to see The Who at the
Nancy Olson: Oh my gosh.
Scott Hammond: And the next day we got to see the Getty Museum, which is-
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … mind-blowing, and-
Nancy Olson: It is
Scott Hammond: … really cool. And the third day we were, uh,
boardwalk between Hermosa and Redondo and-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … all that area, and went up-
Nancy Olson: Beautiful
Scott Hammond: … Marina del Rey. And then,
um, my father-in-law got sick two weeks later
Nancy Olson: Wow.
Scott Hammond: Who we hung out with. It wa- we… Who knew, right?
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Well, it's wonderful you could be with him.
Scott Hammond: It was really cool. It was… LA's… I like.
Yeah, except for the freeways.
Nancy Olson: [laughs] I spent many, many, many hours on the
freeways. My commute to the chamber was an hour and 15 minutes-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Nancy Olson: … each way.
So-
Scott Hammond: That should've been 10, 15 minutes-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … without traffic.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. It was, um, I think 11 or 12 miles.
Scott Hammond: I think if I could live at, like, in, uh, Rolling Hills
never go on the highway and live over on the beach, it'd, it'd probably be l- livable.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. Yeah, idyllic.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: So I did not. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Yeah, right.
Nancy Olson: I was in the heart of it. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: You had to c- you had to commute. So what, what…
Tell us the, the leadership thing. What, what's the leadership program about?
Nancy Olson: Um,
the one in LA or-
Scott Hammond: Yeah, the one that you headed.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. Um, well, we're launching, or we have launched
a version of that up here called Leadership Redwood Coast.
Scott Hammond: Good segue.
Nancy Olson: So, um, well, let me, um… Hmm.
Scott Hammond: We'll come back.
Nancy Olson: I can tell-
Scott Hammond: We'll come-
Nancy Olson: I can tell-
Scott Hammond: Let's put a pin-
Nancy Olson: We'll, we'll put in-
Scott Hammond: 'Cause I wanna ask about that
Nancy Olson: … put a pin in that.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah, absolutely.
Scott Hammond: I'll, I'll… Specifically, yeah.
Nancy Olson: I'm very passionate about it and super excited about it.
Scott Hammond: Oh, you've talked about it already.
I've-
Nancy Olson: So, yeah
Scott Hammond: … I heard you talk.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. Um,
so from LA. Y'all are getting my [laughs] my life story. It's crazy.
Scott Hammond: That's good.
Nancy Olson: Um, from LA, I, um… My sister, I have a sister and
brother-in-law and their family-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … who have lived in Humboldt, in Eureka for
30 some years. Um-
Scott Hammond: Okay
Nancy Olson: … so I'd been back and forth to Eureka for,
you know, over the decades.
Scott Hammond: A connection there, yeah.
Nancy Olson: Um, and with my kids. Yeah, absolutely.
And when I was looking to leave LA, my daughter and I took a road trip, um, from LA all the way up to Sequim,
Washington.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: Which people may not know, it's one of the furthest west points of
cont- north and west points of the continental
Scott Hammond: Right.
Nancy Olson: Had some friends who were living there at the time.
Um, and I just had in my mind, you know, where would I,
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: Um, and by the end of the trip it was,
[laughs]
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. [laughs]
Nancy Olson: And then, and then work and retire, so,
LA. Um, 'cause I still had, you know, 15 years or so left on my career.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, so,
um, I thought about it for about a year actually made the move.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: So, um,
my first job here… Well, I moved here [laughs] without a job.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: Lived on savings and some consulting,
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: Um, so I wanted to be in Humboldt.
Scott Hammond: Real bad, yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah, yeah. I was like, "Oh, I can do this." Um, and then I got a,
got the job that I wanted at Cal Poly-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … um, doing professional development, um,
professional development for their employees. And, um, did that for three years and some.
Scott Hammond: Sounds like a g-
Nancy Olson: And-
Scott Hammond: … really good gig
Nancy Olson: … yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: It was really interesting. Um, a lot of it was during COVID though,
tough-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … doing a lot of our, a lot of the classes I taught were over,
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, but then was approached about, um,
when Donna passed-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … um, I was approached for, um,
for to apply for her job. Um, you know, because I have chamber experience-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … I have a lot of fundraising experience,
businesses-
Scott Hammond: Right
Nancy Olson: … in a lot of different contexts,
And, um, so I was just like, you know, thought about, actually gave it a lot of
thought.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, and decided to go for it, and lo and behold, here I
am-
Scott Hammond: And-
Nancy Olson: … the CEO at the Greater Eureka Chamber of
Scott Hammond: Got the golden ticket.
Nancy Olson: There you are. So there you … That's my life story.
Scott Hammond: That's Eureka-
Nancy Olson: Don't ask me anything else
Scott Hammond: … Eureka California Chamber of Commerce.
Nancy Olson: That's right.
Scott Hammond: That's awesome. No, it, and it, chamber's like 100
It's pretty old, right?
Nancy Olson: Yeah, it's like 130-some years old.
Scott Hammond: That's a pretty old chamber in California.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. It's one, it was one of the first in California.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, and it's got a great success story.
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: It seems like it's always been, ever since I've been here for
42 years, it's always been a prominent, you know, thing.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. I think chambers-
Scott Hammond: Going thing
Nancy Olson: … of commerce are
often very influential institutions in their communities.
Scott Hammond: Let's talk about that. So why-
Nancy Olson: Sure
Scott Hammond: … why would, why are chambers important
in America-
Nancy Olson: Mm
Scott Hammond: … in any country or city, town?
Nancy Olson: So, um, for those who don't know,
number one, is not part of government. It's a private nonprofit organization.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: That's a question I get asked a lot.
Um, and we ha- we are a membership organization, and, um, specifically for businesses, but we do have some members-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … who are nonprofits and a couple of government
entities that are members, educational institutions-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Nancy Olson: … and such. Um, and the, the primary purpose
of chambers is to, uh, bring businesses and others together to, um, to promote their businesses, to, um, identify what some barriers may be to business success-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … and advocate for change and, you know,
Um, you know, to help promote businesses and that type of thing.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: So that's, that's really bottom line chamber
stuff.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Nancy Olson: But what we are doing-
Scott Hammond: Tell, what are you guys doing?
Nancy Olson: We're doing more things.
Scott Hammond: Tell, tell us more. What are you doing?
Nancy Olson: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: [laughs]
Nancy Olson: Um,
gosh, um-
Scott Hammond: You're doing a lot of things. I've heard several things, but-
Nancy Olson: Yeah. Yeah
Scott Hammond: … what's-
Nancy Olson: Absolutely
Scott Hammond: … you wanna go to the leadership thing n-
Nancy Olson: We can go… Well, Leadership Redwood Coast is-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … um, not currently a program of the chamber.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, it's housed at AEDC. I was actually consulting on that
project-
Scott Hammond: Mm, mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … um, before I took the job last summer with
And it's something that I wanted to do up here and just-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … was kinda waiting for time and place
So partnering with Susan Seaman, who was then the mayor-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … and Ally Jones from Illuminated Marketing.
Um, but Leadership Redwood Coast is, it's a really groovy program. It is, uh, we launched it in, the first cohort in Ma- in
March.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And, um, we have 25 people in that, in that cohort.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: And, um, in addition to doing leadership
um, you know, building leadership skills and such,
the, um, the region that we're serving, which is Humboldt Del Norte-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … and adjacent tribal lands.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: So we've been,
so far of course, to Eureka. We've been to SoHum, spent, had some, like shed a lot of tears in SoHum [laughs] folks there because of the economic down- downturn there.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: Spent a couple days in Del Norte,
community leaders, had some cultural experiences.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Spent some time with the Yurok Tribe.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: Um, and let me see, last time we were, we
went from Blue Lake to Korbel to the airport to Orick.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: And we spent the afternoon in Orick talking with community leaders there
what, what life is like in Orick and what their needs are, so-
Scott Hammond: The whole time in Orick, yeah
Nancy Olson: … so that was, yeah, pretty, pretty interesting.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: So our, our folks are, are getting a pretty good taste of,
of the region-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … and, um, not just the big
population centers.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Nancy Olson: That's next. Our, our final session is in-
Scott Hammond: Such as Fortuna, Arcata, Eureka-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … Arcata. Yeah
Nancy Olson: So, but that'll be, that'll be more of our, our final-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … session will be focused on, you know,
things-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … you know, talking about offshore wind,
Scott Hammond: Wow
Nancy Olson: … um, that type of thing, kind of based in, in the,
centers, like I said.
Scott Hammond: So the cohort, the 25 people, is it… What's the demographic like?
Is it prima- I would, I'm assuming primarily young, an assumption on my part. Is it, is it just a real mix of people that are just wanting to become leaders or augment their leadership?
Nancy Olson: Um, typically these programs target emerging
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: So people who may be on kinda the precipice of leadership-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … or have leadership aspirations.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: Um, and, um, although we do have some folks who
well.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: So, but mostly more folks who
of category from all different walks of life, um, from different businesses-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … from cities and ins- educational institutions like
Cal Poly and, and-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … College of the Redwoods, um, s- a couple of nonprofits,
in, you know, somebody who owns a fishing boat.
[laughs]
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Nancy Olson: And somebody who works in agriculture and, and so
really a wide gamut of folks.
Scott Hammond: So is it your program now that's chamber based?
Nancy Olson: It is, um-
Scott Hammond: As in, kinda-
Nancy Olson: It's cur- it's currently housed with AEDC.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um,
but it, uh, is going to move over to our new affiliate organization, which is the Redwood Coast Chamber Foundation, that we are in the process of establishing.
Scott Hammond: Oh, wow.
Nancy Olson: So that's one of the big things that we've, um,
that we've done since I've been there.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: My first board meeting I said, "Hey, let's start a foundation."
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Wow. Wow, yeah.
Nancy Olson: And, uh, and the board went for it, and so it's…
We're in formation at this point.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: And once we're completely up and running as a foundation, that, the
Leadership Redwood Coast will move over to our foundation.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Nancy Olson: So it'll be our program.
Scott Hammond: So will it be housed in, in the chamber
geographically?
Nancy Olson: Yes. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Gotcha.
Nancy Olson: So it'd be shared space.
Scott Hammond: So when do you graduate all these people?
Nancy Olson: When do I graduate them? Um-
Scott Hammond: Or when do they graduate?
Nancy Olson: Um, when do they graduate? Yeah. I feel like I'm graduating them.
Um-
Scott Hammond: [laughs]
Nancy Olson: … July 14th-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Nancy Olson: … at Sequoia Conference Center.
Scott Hammond: Neat.
Nancy Olson: So yeah. It's-
Scott Hammond: So how, how big can it be next time?
Nancy Olson: Um, we'll cap it at 30.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: So, um, but it, this has been a fantastic cohort.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: I… It's such a privilege to get to hang out
so many different people that I-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … might not have otherwise met,
and, um, and to get to know folks that I already knew, Humboldt and everybody knows everybody.
Scott Hammond: Everybody knows everybody. Seven layers of Humboldt. I…
Nancy Olson: That's right.
Scott Hammond: 'Cause somebody I knew knows Nick. 10 people.
Nancy Olson: So yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: So and then we have other programs going on-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … with, um, you under- educational programs, the program
part of. Um, you're gonna be teaching classes on public Everybody should take that. It is one of the most in-demand things that we're doing-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … so hope we get a good turnout for you.
Um, but different professional development-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … making sure that our members have deeper information
issues-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … um, like offshore wind and
what's the future of the cannabis industry or, you know, housing, that, you know, what's happening-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … with the housing crisis. Um-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Nancy Olson: … you know, things like that. So-
Scott Hammond: Homelessness.
The whole nine-
Nancy Olson: Yep
Scott Hammond: … uh, Great Redwood Trail's coming, right?
Do you-
Nancy Olson: Um-
Scott Hammond: I guess have-
Nancy Olson: Yeah. You know, I'm, I'm not as involved in the Great Redwood
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: I was, I was at the
ribbon joining-
Scott Hammond: [laughs]
Nancy Olson: … I guess it was-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … rather than a ribbon cutting-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … for the trail that's connecting Eureka
Scott Hammond: Right.
Nancy Olson: So… And that was, that was fun. But I'm…
We're not so involved in that-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … um, as, um, as others are. But excited-
Scott Hammond: So-
Nancy Olson: … about the possibility
Scott Hammond: … it's gonna be a big deal, yeah.
Nancy Olson: It is, for sure.
Scott Hammond: So I wanna come back to SoHum and the tiers in So- SoHum.
Nancy Olson: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Is it, like, the cannabis industry-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … imploding?
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Or just not doing well?
Nancy Olson: Yeah. So since legalization in California, the
cannabis industry has grown in terms of corporate grows.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And, um, because they can
grow bigger and cheaper-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … than a lot of these smaller farmers, um,
market.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Nancy Olson: So, uh,
literally a couple thousand farms have closed since then.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: People don't realize there have been thousands of farms in Humboldt
County.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: And, um, so
there's… I- in terms of legal farms at this point,
800 left.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: So, um, and they're-
Scott Hammond: How many were there at one time when they were permitted?
Nancy Olson: Um,
I don't know the answer to that. So-
Scott Hammond: There was more
Nancy Olson: … yeah, there was more-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … for sure. But they are just, you know, they're closing.
So-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … yeah.
Scott Hammond: It's interesting 'cause we taxed the crud out of those guys-
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … and kept… And then if a tax is good, let's do some more.
And, um, yeah, that's a whole nother t- discussion for [laughs] a whole bunch of
But-
Nancy Olson: For sure
Scott Hammond: … we're not going there today.
Nancy Olson: Okay.
Scott Hammond: Um, where would you like to… Tell me some more about the Chamber.
What else are you guys up to?
Nancy Olson: Um, well, I will say, um, one of the questions when we were
preparing for this, you said, um, you know, or businesses in this region?
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Um-
Scott Hammond: How about, how about an arc coming from before COVID,
and coming out? That might-
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: 'Cause I remember in the days of COVID walking from my office to
the gym on the waterfront, it was like there were COVID… There was di- dispensaries, banks, and just a few businesses that were open.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: You know, to-go food.
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: You know, it was just…
It was, it was a ghost town.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Miserable and weird.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Um, but go ahead.
Nancy Olson: Well, we lost a, a number of businesses during COVID-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … and, you know, which is really unfortunate.
Um, you know, some have come back, not very many of them.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Others that were just barely hanging on have found
to, um, you know, rebuild.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, and of course we have some new businesses
So, um-
Scott Hammond: Is our arc kinda typical for small-town California or America,
that there was this loss and then regrouping and-
Nancy Olson: Um-
Scott Hammond: … business closures and people that were-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … gone, going away?
Nancy Olson: Yeah, absolutely.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Very on trend with, with what was happening across-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … around the world, really.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Nancy Olson: So, um,
Humboldt is special, but not unique. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: It's not immune, not immune to that, yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. I think-
Scott Hammond: But we-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … but everybody knows everybody.
[laughs]
Nancy Olson: Yeah, ab- absolutely. Um, and I love that.
That's one of the things that I came to Humboldt for-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … is I wanted to run into my friends at the
Scott Hammond: Right.
Nancy Olson: And, uh, yeah.
Scott Hammond: We ha- we call it seven layers of Kevin Bacon-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … Humboldt County.
Nancy Olson: Yep.
Scott Hammond: 'Cause if you know somebody I know, then I know you, and we're good.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. It's not even seven. It's-
Scott Hammond: Yes
Nancy Olson: … it's three.
Scott Hammond: Maybe.
Nancy Olson: Maybe. Yeah. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Right.
It's true.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. So, um, yeah. So we're seeing…
I- I will say in terms of Chamber membership, It's remained really strong.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: You know, it's… I'm kinda surprised when we
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … um, just recently that our, our membership numbers have s-
pretty steady-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … through COVID. And, um, and we have a lot of people joining.
We have a-
Scott Hammond: Good
Nancy Olson: … you know, pretty good steady stream of new members
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: And, um,
lower drop-off than the national average.
So, um-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Nancy Olson: … yeah. So we're losing fewer and gaining more.
Scott Hammond: Which is really significant 'cause we're not downtown Santa Rosa or-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … Sacramento or-You know, Marin, which has a bunch of money
and a bunch of members and-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … so it's, it's saying something.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: It's really good.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So, so let's talk a little bit about the
Well, let's stay in this present, but I wanna head toward the future
what you, what you're building at the chamber, what you got kinda in mind maybe sneak peek. But what do you see in the meantime as our challenges? Um, I know that you can speak for Eureka 'cause
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … but maybe county-wide, what do you…
What are our challenges and opportunities as you see 'em?
Nancy Olson: Just in, in general terms?
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. Um, a challenge and
opportunity is, uh, population growth.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: So our population has been pretty stagnant and a little bit on the
in the last decade or so.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And we are poised with offshore wind, with the growth of Cal
Poly, um, Fish Farm, and other businesses that may come in as, you know, related-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … you know, the, the, um,
you know, the broadband cable or the… Not broadband, but the internet cable. I'm us- losing… not using the right terms, but, um-
Scott Hammond: Satellite internet, whatever they're doing
Nancy Olson: … well, you know what, you know,
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … that's anchored here.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, so, you know, potential for data warehousing-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … and things like that here. Um-
Scott Hammond: Which means jobs
Nancy Olson: … which means jobs.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Yeah, absolutely.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: I think that we are poised to,
uh, through all that, and particularly-
Scott Hammond: [clears throat]
Nancy Olson: … with offshore wind-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … to have
f- you know, at least a couple thousand new good-
Scott Hammond: Wow
Nancy Olson: … paying jobs-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … both in terms of, um, the trades-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … as well as for people who are, you know,
collar workers as well-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … you know, engineers and, and, uh-
Scott Hammond: Love it
Nancy Olson: … folks. So I think we're really poised for growth-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … and a big,
um, economic push forward in the next decade.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: So bumpy road to get there, but-
Scott Hammond: Oh, medicine's in there too, that we get better-
Nancy Olson: Oh
Scott Hammond: … general healthcare
Nancy Olson: … Lord, yeah. So, um,
we are… Yeah. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: We all know. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Medical desert.
Nancy Olson: Medical desert.
Scott Hammond: Medical desert, folks. It's, uh-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … not 100%. There's some oasis. I had a shoulder done.
He-
Nancy Olson: Nice
Scott Hammond: … Dr. McGoldrick, we love you, man. He's great and, um…
But yeah, hard to, um… Some people just go to Stanford or UCSF and-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … no, no dig on our, who we have, but there's…
Yeah, just rough. Um-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … my wife's a, a great example.
common test that could've been done-
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … really quickly, I think.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: But, um-
Nancy Olson: Well, you wanted to go to, this is an interesting segue to SoHum-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … 'cause you wanted to go back to the-
Scott Hammond: Sure, yeah
Nancy Olson: … the tears and hardships of SoHum.
One of the bright spots in SoHum is, um, the Southern Humboldt, well, the hospital there-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … and the health system there actually
is more accessible than what we have in-
Scott Hammond: Heard that
Nancy Olson: … Eureka. And met with the… While we were there,
CEO of their hospital, which is, like, the third smallest in California, but they are building a new hospital.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um,
yeah.
Scott Hammond: I'm trying to think of the name of it. It's a guy's name.
Uh-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … it's, um,
maybe Nick will look that up.
Nancy Olson: It'll come to me. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: It's, it's Harry,
uh-
Nancy Olson: That's why I don't think it's Harry
Scott Hammond: … Black- Bla- Blackburn. Anyway, it'll come.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Whatever.
Nancy Olson: Um-
Scott Hammond: So they're actually building a new facility?
Nancy Olson: They're building a new facility that's closer, um, you know,
outside Garberville-
Scott Hammond: Oh, wow
Nancy Olson: … if I remember correctly. And, um,
and the current facility will be turned into
some, uh, expanded nursing care-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Nancy Olson: … um, facility. So they've got some of that there-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … and they'll, they'll just use the whole facility for
But you can get an X-ray on the same day. You can get, [laughs] you know, other tests like that-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … within a day or two.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: Um, my daughter goes to the dentist up there
get appointments and, um-
Scott Hammond: Yeah, you get in.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. So-
Scott Hammond: I have a son going to Ukiah tomorrow, which is three hours, and why?
Because Dr. X works out of Ukiah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, so
yeah. It's fu- it's funny. You could bemoan that, and yet how are we gonna change it?
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And, you know, how do, how do we exact change? Gerald Phelps.
Nancy Olson: Gerald Phelps.
Scott Hammond: Gerald Phelps.
Nancy Olson: There you go.
Scott Hammond: He must've been a doctor there or somebody famous.
Nancy Olson: Yeah, he was.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: And, um, yeah.
Scott Hammond: That's a bright spot.
Nancy Olson: That's a bright spot.
Scott Hammond: Benbow Inn's nice.
Nancy Olson: Benbow Inn's nice. It's beautiful.
Scott Hammond: Really amazing.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. Yeah. So there are… And, and the natural beauty there and,
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah
Nancy Olson: … you know, all of that is really incredible.
Scott Hammond: All the redwoods and the trails-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … and river.
Nancy Olson: So, um, you know, there were a couple of things
experiences in SoHum, um,
that the cannabis industry didn't just… You know, the, the collapse of the cannabis industry their economy. It destroyed their culture.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Nancy Olson: It destroyed so much of their community.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: You know, the, these things that were dependent on,
flow.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And one of the things that one of the community leaders there
was they never depended on the county government. You know, that's, that's their governing body is,
government.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And they never depended on them because they had enough cash to do
they needed to do and-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … kinda were a little bit more
Scott Hammond: Not as much. Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. They, they said now they
go hat in hand-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Nancy Olson: … and ask for support because they're
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: But, um, and several of the 20 or so people
we talked to while we were there, I would say at least four or five of them were in tears as they were talking.
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: Because it's just a situation of
incredible-… collective trauma.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Yeah.
Nancy Olson: It's, it's really… It was our, our, um, cohort, our,
our Leadership Redwood Coast participants were
just touched, you know, moved-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … um, distraught [laughs] in some ways-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … uh, by what they s- what they saw in s- in Southern Humboldt.
Scott Hammond: Real people really hurting.
Nancy Olson: Yes.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: No matter where it is, it hurts, yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So how do you personally give back to Humboldt County?
Nancy Olson: Hmm.
Scott Hammond: When you're being
Nancy maybe not on the job, or-
Nancy Olson: Nancy maybe not on the job.
Um-
Scott Hammond: Or are you always on the job?
Nancy Olson: Uh, there's a lot of that.
Scott Hammond: Some of this-
Nancy Olson: There's a lot of that, so
Scott Hammond: … some of this are a lot of that. [laughs]
Nancy Olson: Yeah. Um, I mean, I do have an organization
and sit on a couple committees with them.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, I,
you know, I, I have always worked in and around the nonprofit scene because-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … I wanna… I, I'm a little bit of a workaholic.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And it's great that I can do good through my work.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, so there's a lot of that. Um, you know,
and commissions and things like that, and-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Nancy Olson: …
um, I've declined up till now.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: So I'm still, you know, I'm not quite a year into my, um-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … the work here at, at, at the chamber and now the foundation,
uh, the last year especially, I've focused in on, on that work because that's community-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … good work, too. So-
Scott Hammond: The boards are gonna be there. They're not going anywhere.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And they'll still ask-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … 'cause-
Nancy Olson: Exactly
Scott Hammond: … 'cause you're you, yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Yeah. I got, I got asked to be on a board today. Weird.
Nancy Olson: There you go.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: What a surprise.
Scott Hammond: It's quar-
Nancy Olson: Mr. Community
Scott Hammond: … quarterly.
Nancy Olson: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: I like that. I go, "Quarterly? I could probably do that."
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Um, so three things in your life
Nancy Olson: Hmm.
I am proud of the fact that throughout my career I've, um, kind of followed my heart.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Nancy Olson: And I've had a really interesting career,
um, and have taken pay cuts a few times-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Nancy Olson: … to be able to do what I wanted to do.
Um, but it's always been around some kind of
Scott Hammond: Wow
Nancy Olson: … which is really, which is really what drives me.
So, a little story about me. [laughs] When I was a seven-year-old-
Scott Hammond: Please
Nancy Olson: … girl, I'm the youngest of five, um, and I
girl in our house in Mohawk Valley, Springfield, Oregon.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Nancy Olson: And, um,
I remember being in the hallway of the house, just as such a random memory, be rich. I don't need to be famous, but I wanna do some good."
Scott Hammond: Wow.
Nancy Olson: And that's really carried… That theme has carried through my life.
So I-
Scott Hammond: Is that this epiphanary moment?
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Oh.
Nancy Olson: Some people call me a pathological altruist, which has-
Scott Hammond: Oh. [laughs]
Nancy Olson: … negative connotations, but, uh,
s- in some ways fits.
Scott Hammond: I like that.
Nancy Olson: Um,
but, uh, yeah, so that's one thing. Um, another thing, I, I love and adore my kids.
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Nancy Olson: And I'm proud of them for being who they are.
They were raised by a mom who said, you know, "Pursue what you wanna do."
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Nancy Olson: So, um,
so they've done that, and, you know, they are, they are their own people, so I… That makes me proud.
Scott Hammond: Absolutely.
Nancy Olson: Makes me happy.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, and another thing,
I would say this is a… I have… You know, so like, like I said, I'm one of five, and, um, we do not all see eye to eye on a lot of
Scott Hammond: Really? Siblings?
Nancy Olson: What a surprise.
Scott Hammond: How could that be?
Nancy Olson: [laughs] But we have a really close relationship.
Scott Hammond: Nice.
Nancy Olson: And, um, you know, we get together a few times-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Nancy Olson: … a year and, you know, go on vacations together-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … and such, and even though we may see things,
Scott Hammond: Right
Nancy Olson: … have different worldviews, um, we still have a lot of love for each
other. And I-
Scott Hammond: And connection.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. And I would hope that-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … you know, I can live that in the world, too, that even
I don't-
Scott Hammond: Right
Nancy Olson: … see eye to eye with, that I can still feel
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Quick story. I worked for a guy who was
local hero, and he, um, he moved to Orange County, sold the business, went away, and he, commented one time, and it caught me off guard. He said, "Whereas I really di- we differ in Humboldt County, cool connection with people."
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: Um,
I believe that's still true, very true.
Nancy Olson: Mm.
Scott Hammond: But I believe that's eroded nationally and internationally, but-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: …
uh, there's the challenge to re- restore that connection 'cause, you know, you wanna believe in a flat Earth,
Nancy Olson: Yeah. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: What- whatever, whatever you wanna b- you know,
Does that really define you or, or the relationship?
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And I think the answer is mostly no, and I,
I really like, I like the fact you brought that up.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah, it's a pretty core value for me, and I-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … and I see it at work even in my work at
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, one of the things that really gave me pause, you know,
I knew it would be… You know, I've never wanted to run for political I've been asked many times in many situations-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Nancy Olson: … and I've said like, "No way."
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, but I know that the chamber is like the next closest
[laughs] being-
Scott Hammond: It is
Nancy Olson: … in political office.
Scott Hammond: You're the mayor.
Nancy Olson: So-
Scott Hammond: De facto mayor.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Fix it.
Nancy Olson: Um, yeah, and it's just like, "Advocate for this,
"Do this," and, you know, "Why haven't you fixed homelessness yet,
Scott Hammond: Right.
Nancy Olson: Somebody posted on my personal Facebook page-
Scott Hammond: Right
Nancy Olson: … "Why haven't you fixed homelessness yet?"
Scott Hammond: Ryan Sundberg used to get that all the time.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. So-
Scott Hammond: Ry- Ryan, why isn't thing… Why is it different?
I'm one supervisor.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
Scott Hammond: It's like we, we haven't fixed it yet,
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I like that.
Nancy Olson: So, um, but when I, when I was interviewing for this job,
um, they asked me, you know, "What's… How do you negotiate?"
Scott Hammond: Hmm.
Nancy Olson: And, um, I said, uh, "I want
to f- hear both sides. I want to be data based-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Nancy Olson: … um, informed-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … listen carefully to hear all perspectives,
and then work to be, you know, maybe a little bit of a facilitator to help groups-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … that are, you know, have disparate positions-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … find a middle ground that really is, um, in the interest of the
greater good."
Scott Hammond: Peacemaker.
Nancy Olson: You know, peacemaker, but, um,
not just, not just creating peace, but-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … creating progress.
Scott Hammond: Hard to do, yeah
Nancy Olson: Because it's the people on all the extremes-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … that, um, in some ways block progress-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … with their, um, you know, taking up air space with petty-
Scott Hammond: Right
Nancy Olson: … differences. So,
um, you know, that's, that's given me a little flak with one um, you know, who think I need to pull their way.
[laughs]
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Nancy Olson: And-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Nancy Olson: … um, another thing that's important is I c-
policies of the chamber. I can inform them, but it's actually our board-
Scott Hammond: Right
Nancy Olson: … that creates the policies
positions we take, things like that.
Scott Hammond: Your by, bylaws, all of it, right?
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: So, yeah.
Scott Hammond: I, I'm starting to think about what, um,
a counselor once told me is just get curious with people.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I can be curious about you and not have to own your
thing that you're about. I-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … It's okay.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: We're still connected.
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: And just to be neutral and curious and, gosh, you
know, before the day is over, I might learn something, which is,
pretty-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … important, you know, if you're open and, you know.
So, uh, here comes the two zingers that I promised at the end of the
Nancy Olson: Oh, awesome.
Scott Hammond: All right. And you've already answered these really.
Um,
who are you,
Nancy Olson, and what do you want?
Nancy Olson: Who am I?
Scott Hammond: Who are you?
Nancy Olson: Well, if you went to my Clifton StrengthsFinder
Scott Hammond: Let's do it. We- we'll start there. That's fine.
Nancy Olson: Uh,
my top trait, and I've taken it a couple times, and it's consistently been connector.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And it's, you know, it does have some of that, you know,
to, you know, "Oh, you, you do this, you should meet that person," that kind of
thing.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Nancy Olson: But the kind of higher level of being a connector
is seeing all the dots and figuring out ways to connect them-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Nancy Olson: … seeing the bigger picture. Um, I have a strong belief that we're all
connected as human beings-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … um, in ways that, you know, we, we think that we're the,
alone in whatever. But in reality, we're all just part of a bigger whole.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: So that's a core value of mine. So that's, that's, you know-
Scott Hammond: I like that
Nancy Olson: … I'm a connector
Scott Hammond: What a perfect job for that.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: So, um-
Scott Hammond: For that, for that gifting and that
push on.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Good.
Nancy Olson: There you go.
Scott Hammond: I like, I like the term rapport architect.
Nancy Olson: Rapport architect.
Scott Hammond: Yep.
Nancy Olson: I– that's cool. I haven't heard that one.
Scott Hammond: Or architect of rapport if you prefer it the other way.
Nancy Olson: Okay.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Have… Is, is that a, is that a Scottism?
Scott Hammond: Um, I was labeled that at a tiki bar-
Nancy Olson: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: [laughs] Down in Alameda by my
son's-
Nancy Olson: Oh, my gosh
Scott Hammond: … good f- young friend, I guess you could-
Nancy Olson: There you go
Scott Hammond: … I'm just talking to everybody, and, "Hey,
celebrating," and I… You know, it was just fine.
And, and, uh, Chris goes, "Hey, Jesse, your dad's an architect of rapport, huh?"
Nancy Olson: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Jesse had to get that one back to me right away.
Nancy Olson: I love that. It's very true of you, Scott.
Scott Hammond: Thank you. I hope-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … I hope to be that. Um-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … live up to that. So future of Humboldt County,
about what, what would you like to see in the five to both in your reign and your influence, but also-
Nancy Olson: Did you say my reign?
Scott Hammond: Your reign.
Nancy Olson: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Bit of a reign.
Nancy Olson: It's like Queen Nancy.
Scott Hammond: It's all right. [laughs]
Nancy Olson: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Fair. Um,
what, what would you… How would you see Humboldt, Eureka prosper? What's your, what's your vision? I mean, not only what you'd like to see, but maybe some of the challenges too we
can talk.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Um, you know, we actually asked our board this in a
um, a lot of what, you know, we collectively, and that I support, I was actually… You know, we were like, "If, if you could get the best possible outcome are as a community and where we're going-"
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … um,
it's r- it was really reflective of the hopes that, you know, with offshore wind, that it's successful, that we have more
jobs-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … that we, our economy is stronger, that, um, there's more
housing, there's more healthcare-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Nancy Olson: … there's more educational opportunities.
Um, and, um, you know, so from a tactical
perspective-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … that was a lot of it. Um, and
my hope is that, um, you know, we're, we're in for some challenging growth pains. You know, let's just start at housing, which every conversation-
Scott Hammond: Sounds, uh, sounds dominant
Nancy Olson: … always comes down to [laughs] housing.
Scott Hammond: [laughs] Right.
Nancy Olson: But, um-
Scott Hammond: Growth pains, oh
Nancy Olson: … yeah, yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Um, but there are ways to effectively manage change
people along-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … instead of alienating them.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Nancy Olson: And, um, you know, I'd love to be part of helping make
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … um, it's a lot about communication
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … um, sharing out with transparency and such.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: So, um, I would like to see, you know, so all
those tactics and, and things-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … uh, occur.
Scott Hammond: So housing's somewhere at the top of that.
Nancy Olson: Uh-huh. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Seems like it. Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. We recently did a poll with our chamber
top three, uh, well, housing was number three-
Scott Hammond: Hmm
Nancy Olson: Um, out of I think we gave them 34…
No, not 34, maybe 21, um, different options. Housing was number-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … three in their concerns.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And then homelessness was right behind that.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: So, um-
Scott Hammond: What was one and two?
Nancy Olson: One and two were, um, uh,
building or attracting and retaining businesses.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Which, you know, Chamber of Commerce,
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Nancy Olson: And number two was healthcare.
Scott Hammond: Oh, wow.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Makes sense.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: How do we do 'em all, Nancy? Can you fix those for us this week?
Nancy Olson: Uh-
Scott Hammond: [laughs]
Nancy Olson: I will do my best, so but-
Scott Hammond: Wave that rapport wand. [laughs]
Nancy Olson: Yeah. And it's, you know-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … I- I think, you know, if, if we can have some influence it may be,
bringing people together, convening people-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … helping people have conversations.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Um, we had a really cool conversation.
Um, we have actually a, a program called Conversations With
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And it's-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Nancy Olson: … topical, and we just had one a couple weeks ago
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: And we had two developers, we had two peopl- people from city
county.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And we talked about the barriers to progress, what's happening-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … you know, things like that. And, um,
I would like to see, you know, how the Chamber can help support
that-
Scott Hammond: That's good. I love it
Nancy Olson: … you know, on an ongoing basis
a lot of the conversations that are-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … already happening.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: So.
Scott Hammond: I-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … so Mary Keid was on the show and she,
So she's got one of the most altruistic, amazing projects ever with the We Are Up
project.
Nancy Olson: That's beautiful.
Scott Hammond: It's really neat. And she said there's still people
And, and-
Nancy Olson: Mm
Scott Hammond: … Not, Not In My Backyard folks.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And, um, um,
you know, the assumption is there, there's always gonna be haters-
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … and they're… and they're not haters, they're people,
concerned. So to create a forum which, in which people can talk about
that stuff.
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: What, what kind of keeps me up at night
people that will refuse to move even when all that happens, and they… It's been explained and it's a very cool thing.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And people go, "Uh, yeah, no." And they're, it's
And I, I guess I'm answering my own question. It honors the process.
Nancy Olson: [laughs] Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Hey, y- you get a say so, and you get to listen and figure out what,
here.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And it's, it's, it's still a democracy and it's… This
This is helping say seniors or special needs people or-
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … homeless.
Uh, not necessarily her, her project in the homeless realm, but, um, it would seem everybody gets a say so, we get to vote. We get to make a decision together.
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: And I'm always bothered by the sense that, um,
when I look at Loco and the, our local, um, you know, thread and people just go nuts.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And it's, it's like, "I'm gonna go nuts and oppose everything,
go worse and start name-calling."
Nancy Olson: Mm.
Scott Hammond: And it's like,
"You are, you are one obstructionist
jerk."
Nancy Olson: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: [laughs] I was gonna use another name, but, uh-
Nancy Olson: I saw what you meant
Scott Hammond: … I… We're kinda g- PG over here.
Nancy Olson: That's good.
Scott Hammond: So i- that always bothers me that those,
And, and it seems like we're a little famous
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … home of, home of the obstructionist, uh, SOB-
Nancy Olson: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: … kind of person. And it's like, uh, well, you know,
work through that? I guess you've-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … answered that.
Nancy Olson: Oof.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. Um-
Scott Hammond: Can you fix that too?
Nancy Olson: Mm.
Scott Hammond: [laughs]
Nancy Olson: I will do my best.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: But, um, uh, you know, it's one person at a time sometimes, but-
Scott Hammond: I think it's l- letting people talk and listen, right?
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And be heard.
Nancy Olson: Absolutely. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. It starts there.
Nancy Olson: I've got a couple conversations coming up like that for me.
Scott Hammond: Yep.
Nancy Olson: People who have strong opinions and-
Scott Hammond: Wanna register
Nancy Olson: … yeah, and
wanna, wanna be heard and-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … you know. And, and I think,
you know, you're right that we can only do… You know, we can bring the facts forward-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … but, um, you know, I, I actually teach classes on cognitive
bias.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: And, you know, we have our confirmation biases.
"Oh, this doesn't align with my-
Scott Hammond: Right
Nancy Olson: … currently held view of the world,
Scott Hammond: Correct.
Nancy Olson: And, you know, a number of other kind of biases that are-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … you know, playing in there,
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … you know, kind of the biggest one.
Um, and, you know, if you can person by person get people to understand that we all have biases like that.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Nancy Olson: We all have our worldviews and we don't wanna be wrong.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, you know, we wanna be right-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … and don't wanna be proven wrong.
It's painful.
Scott Hammond: It's work.
Nancy Olson: And it's work.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And it's uncomfortable as heck.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: But, um, but I think that's where,
where we can, you know, move the needle and-
Scott Hammond: Yeah. And it takes patience.
Nancy Olson: It does take patience. And then like we
it's just loving each other anyway-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … and just saying, "Okay, so I'm gonna listen to you."
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: "What do you think the best version of our community is?"
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And, um, you know, there are certainly leaders who
not so good.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um,
but, you know, and then where's the middle ground?
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: And what, what's something that is, you know,
forward? Because people on all sides are keeping us from progressing, and it's-
Scott Hammond: Sure
Nancy Olson: … you know, if we wanna e- experience the economic
forward movement-
Scott Hammond: [laughs]
Nancy Olson: … that we are poised to make-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … we gotta get out of our own way.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Otherwise, it ain't gonna happen, peeps.
Scott Hammond: Yep.
Nancy Olson: We're already behind the eight ball on it.
Scott Hammond: Good point.
Nancy Olson: And, um,
so we, we need to work together. We all share this space and this reality.
Scott Hammond: That's some ground to make up and some compromises too.
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: And, you know, that, that's the, the engine of democracy,
It-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … that kinda reflects on Washington,
don't really-
Nancy Olson: We're not
Scott Hammond: … yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I found some of that confirmation bias when I
Nancy Olson: Oh, yeah?
Scott Hammond: Just in conversations that I heard.
It was just-
Nancy Olson: Okay
Scott Hammond: … it's, it's, it's huge. It's Sacramento. It's just-…
blossomed and-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … um, kind of a not, not humble.
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And perfectly cool. People that are wonderful.
Great people, I mean, to, almost to the person, just the, the Mormon thrift shop to the other people at the bar to going out to eat sushi. Um, terrible drivers, just-
Nancy Olson: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: … crazy rude driving. So you kids, when you go up to Boise,
people, like, just roll through stop signs and,
Nancy Olson: Wow
Scott Hammond: … it's… And somebody explained it this week.
They go, "Well, you know, like three-quarters of them are from California." [laughs]
Nancy Olson: Wow.
Scott Hammond: And I go, "Oh, aha. That's, that's it."
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: They're California drivers.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: So, uh,
anyway. Well, what a delight. Um, how… So la- last, amongst my last questions, how can we make a difference as citizenry, as friends, as people in business
or just folks? What could we do, in your opinion, to, uh, leverage the 80/20 rule to do that 20% that will give us an
80% result?
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm.
Um, I think one of the things that's really
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … and being fully informed. So we, you know, God bless
our media, they give us-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … you know, pieces of news, but-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … it doesn't give us the full idea of what's
Scott Hammond: Right.
Nancy Olson: Um, you know, step outside your echo chamber, all
Scott Hammond: Right
Nancy Olson: … you know, from whatever perspective you, you take.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, so being informed is really critical, and I think
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … something that we as a chamber are wanting to do.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Um, you know, share information with our members
Scott Hammond: Right
Nancy Olson: … you know, like, "Hey, this is coming."
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: "We gotta be ready. We need to stop bickering."
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um,
so what was your question? 'Cause I just-
Scott Hammond: Just community involvement going forward.
Nancy Olson: Yeah, community involvement.
Scott Hammond: So in-info-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … not just information, but, but across the board in-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … being informed.
Nancy Olson: Um, serve on nonprofit boards and commissions.
Scott Hammond: That's good.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. That's [laughs] I'm, like, pointing fingers to myself.
Like I said, I am involved in an organization,
Scott Hammond: I think you're building, you're building your base-
Nancy Olson: You know
Scott Hammond: … and then you can-
Nancy Olson: I'm, yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: I'm definitely. We're building, um, what I hope
dynamic, um, resource for our community.
Scott Hammond: Good.
Nancy Olson: But, um, yeah, it's volunteer.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um, volunteer in something that's pa- of,
There's so many ways to get involved.
Scott Hammond: Is there ways to volunteer in Humble?
A lot, right?
Nancy Olson: Oh, gosh, yeah. Oh, gosh, yeah. There's, um, you know,
organizations.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: You know, like we just did a ribbon cutting today
Scott Hammond: Right
Nancy Olson: … for example, and they really rely on their volunteer
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um,
so many organizations do rely on volunteer bases.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: But like I said, um, serve on nonprofit boards.
Board, you know, nonprofits really struggle to get strong
members.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Nancy Olson: Um, if you're-
Scott Hammond: Especially these days, I bet-
Nancy Olson: Oh, gosh, yeah
Scott Hammond: … people are retracting, and-
Nancy Olson: Yep
Scott Hammond: … um, Food For, For People, let's give them the shout-out.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Plus Zach was just here, Zach's Ordling-Miller.
They're doing the, uh, the benefit at the, uh, is it the Eagle House?
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Um,
July 7th?
Nancy Olson: Yeah, with Amber Soul playing.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah, that's gonna be a lot of-
Scott Hammond: You gonna be there?
Nancy Olson: … fun. I am hoping to.
Scott Hammond: Right on. I'm gonna be there.
Nancy Olson: I was gonna say-
Scott Hammond: Should be fun
Nancy Olson: … you got a ticket for me, Scott? Just kidding.
[laughs]
Scott Hammond: [laughs] Got, got the hookup. Um-
Nancy Olson: Um, yeah
Scott Hammond: … yeah, no, he's h- he's r- he's taken that to that
next step.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: And I, I think he's really spearheaded that with
all the coordination that that takes-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … 'cause it's not small.
Nancy Olson: And I, and I will say Amber Soul, AKA Young
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … um,
they really impress me.
Scott Hammond: Mm.
Nancy Olson: So shout out to, to my friends on that, in that group.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Um-
Scott Hammond: You know their family, right? Do you know the-
Nancy Olson: I do. I know the-
Scott Hammond: … the folks?
Nancy Olson: … I know the, the two sisters and brother.
Scott Hammond: Okay.
Nancy Olson: So, um,
and, and I've met Nate and, and such.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: But they, what impresses me about them-
Scott Hammond: Super talent
Nancy Olson: … um, super talented.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Like, incredibly talented. And they are all people who
work in helping professions.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: I mean, you know, social workers and-
Scott Hammond: Right
Nancy Olson: … you know, things like that. Um, and just really,
good, quality people-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … who happen to be super talented and wanna-
Scott Hammond: Right
Nancy Olson: … you know, be involved in the community that way.
Scott Hammond: Oh, they're great. So fun to watch her.
She's, um, can't think of her name, but she's one of the… Well,
Nancy Olson: El.
Scott Hammond: Which, which one?
Nancy Olson: El is the, is kind of the-
Scott Hammond: El, yeah
Nancy Olson: … main sister, so yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah, she's, she's fun to watch.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Um, so yeah, I really like them, and that's,
Go out and support local music and, and-
Nancy Olson: Oh, yeah. There you go
Scott Hammond: … and arts and-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … and nonprofit gigs that-
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm
Scott Hammond: … hey, it's 20 bucks a ticket.
It's 300 bucks to see Neil Young in Portland.
Nancy Olson: Yep.
Scott Hammond: What are you even talking about?
Nancy Olson: Yep.
Scott Hammond: You know, plus five bucks worth of gas,
Nancy Olson: Yeah, no kidding.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: So.
Scott Hammond: So yeah, I love it.
Nancy Olson: Um, yeah, so I mean, I, because I come, I'm a
nonprofit chick by history-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … and experience. Um, but also I sh- I would be [laughs] remiss
to say, um, you know, shop local.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: That's kind of a duh.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: [laughs] That should've been the first out of my mouth, but-
Scott Hammond: I'm glad you said that, because-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … local. Let's talk about local before you go.
Nancy Olson: Okay.
Scott Hammond: And I know that you can't be, you can't play favorites,
Let's talk local. This is a new section, new segment. It's gonna be great.
Nancy Olson: Oh, my favorite beach, um-
Scott Hammond: I need an intro song to that. Da, da, da, da, da, da.
Nancy Olson: I actually love when you're driving out to Petrolia from
Ferndale-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Nancy Olson: … that stretch of beach that's, you know,
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … gorgeous, striking beach.
Scott Hammond: Amazing.
Nancy Olson: Um, that's probably my favorite beach
Scott Hammond: That's a really…
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I haven't spent so long. How about favorite forest?
Nancy Olson: I love, um, Trillium Falls is one of my favorite hikes.
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah. And there-
Nancy Olson: I love Trillium Ha- Trillium Falls.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And I also love, um-
Scott Hammond: That's Prairie Creek State Park.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Right, right.
Nancy Olson: And then Founder's Grove, I just-
Scott Hammond: Mm
Nancy Olson: … have a little soft spot. You know, it's not a huge area-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … or anything, but I just, I just really feel at peace
Grove.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Love that area.
Scott Hammond: I wanna ask businesses, but it's like I don't wanna c-'Cause you
business. You can't favor anybody
Nancy Olson: That would be a hard one.
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: But, um-
Scott Hammond: What's, what's good food in town?
Nancy Olson: You mean like what kind of good food?
Scott Hammond: Yeah. I know there's a good, there's good bagels in town.
Nancy Olson: There are good bagels.
Scott Hammond: [laughs]
Nancy Olson: Um, there is great nightlife. There is-
Scott Hammond: Oh
Nancy Olson: … like in- increasing nightlife, I think
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … um, you know, for people who are interested in all kinds
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: Um,
great cocktails, things like that.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: I don't drink a lot, but, you know-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … a good cocktail is lovely once in a while.
Scott Hammond: Sure.
Nancy Olson: Um, and you know, when I came up here from LA, you know,
LA, food mecca.
Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah.
Nancy Olson: But, um, I would say that we have some fantastic restaurants
that-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … rival LA-level-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … dining, and, um, and that makes me happy.
And-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … you know, hopefully a, a few more will be born in the coming
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Yeah. We ate at Lar pan last night up in
Nancy Olson: I was thinking Lar pan. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: It was magical. The guy goes, um… I was talking to the wait,
I go, "Tell the boss we're in Boise," and this couple, they're, they've traveled the world. They think it's m- some of the best food they've ever had.
And-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … he goes, "Dude, we have a guy from French Laundry in N-
Calistoga, I think.
Nancy Olson: Mm-hmm.
Scott Hammond: He goes, "He likes it better here."
Nancy Olson: Oh, wow.
Scott Hammond: So yeah, we have a, that treasure trove if,
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: We really do.
Scott Hammond: So other favorites, uh… I'll just stop there. There's good coffee,
Nancy Olson: There's good coffee. I would give a shout-out to Jitter Bean.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: It's my family's company.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: And I'm super proud of how they've run their business-
Scott Hammond: They've done very well
Nancy Olson: … over the years.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Um, it's a good family business, and, um,
We actually drink it at the chamber.
Scott Hammond: Oh, nice.
Nancy Olson: So yeah.
Scott Hammond: Here's a mixed metaphor shout-out.
And they have Dick Taylor chocolate mochas sometimes during the-
Nancy Olson: Yes, they do. They do.
Scott Hammond: Very good.
Nancy Olson: And well, I will give a shout-out to Dick Taylor.
They were one of our businesses of the year 2022.
Scott Hammond: Right.
Nancy Olson: So, um, and well-deserved. They are so beloved as a company.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: And they've got an incredible story-
Scott Hammond: They do
Nancy Olson: … as well as fantastic products.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: So shout-out to Dick Taylor.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. The Joe Rogan, uh, show just dropped
Nancy Olson: Oh.
Scott Hammond: And it was really, really amazing to get to see it.
It's, uh-
Nancy Olson: I have not seen that one
Scott Hammond: … it's, um, it's, it's not the Joe Rogan Dirty Jobs.
Joe Rogan, um, after he did Dirty Jobs, it's called, um, You Should Do This Job or something.
Nancy Olson: Hmm.
Scott Hammond: Anyway, it was them when they were starting in Almquist Lumber
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … small scale and how they got there.
It's pretty fascinated-
Nancy Olson: Yeah
Scott Hammond: … fascinating. So, uh, last question,
Nancy Olson: Hmm. World peace.
Yeah.
Scott Hammond: What'd you say?
Nancy Olson: I said world peace. [laughs]
Scott Hammond: World peace. Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Um-
Scott Hammond: World peace
Nancy Olson: … maybe, um,
helping, you know, through the chamber, I would love to, you know, because I plan on being here for a good long time. There was a rumor-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … going around that I was leaving, which was false.
I don't know where it started from, but I heard it from a couple different-
Scott Hammond: You're, you're here today, it looks like. It's you.
Nancy Olson: Yeah. So-
Scott Hammond: Yeah
Nancy Olson: … uh, yeah, I'm sticking around with the chamber.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: And, um, what I hope that my legacy is there is that we
will have helped businesses kinda weather, um, and c- the
community-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … weather the storm of change that's coming-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … and that we've been, you know, a part,
you know, because it's gonna take all of us-
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm
Nancy Olson: … but a part of helping us get to the other
Scott Hammond: Nice
Nancy Olson: … experience greater economic prosperity.
Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.
Nancy Olson: And as a human, I hope that I get to ex-
good in the world.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: I think you already have and are. Well-
Nancy Olson: You're sweet.
Scott Hammond: I am kinda sweet.
Nancy Olson: [laughs]
Scott Hammond: Well, thanks for coming, Nancy. Appreciate you.
Nancy Olson: Yeah.
Scott Hammond: Yeah.
Nancy Olson: Thanks so much, Scott. This has been fun.
Scott Hammond: Yeah. We'll do it, we'll do it again maybe sometime.
Nancy Olson: Okay.
Scott Hammond: Um, that's it. Hey, thanks for coming, and, um,
the week and 4th of July weekend.
Nancy Olson: Awesome. I sure hope so too. Yeah.
Scott Hammond: All right. Thanks, Nancy.
Nancy Olson: Okay. Thanks.