Moose International, Inc.
2006 Annual Conference - Keynote Speech
Friday, September 8, 2006 – Eugene Hilton
Thank you. I’d like to thank Duane Edmondson of the Junction City Lodge for the invitation to speak to you today at your 2006 Annual Convention and Conference. And I so enjoyed seeing you in your fine regalia, especially the Women of the Moose who make a significant contribution as well. Katherine Smith would be proud.
I’d like to welcome you to our wonderful city here in the southern Willamette Valley—home to some of the state’s prime agricultural lands, top-notch stream fishing, bike trails, running trails, mountain climbing, skiing, art, music, theatre, premier wineries and gardens and…the slug queen. Yes, we in this great city go crazy every September and honor that most maligned gastropod…the slug. We invite you to join us over the next three days to celebrate the turning of the seasons and the joyful celebration of our commitment to one another as a community.
Because community is what the Moose Family Fraternity is all about. Over 1.5 million men and women like you in four different nations dedicate your time to bettering the lives of children and elderly in need, making our communities better places to live, and providing wholesome family recreation at a moderate cost to encourage participation and togetherness in building a better community.
I was impressed in doing my research that Moose International has evolved from a simple male social club to an extraordinary cadre of members who take care of our neediest children at Mooseheart, and your elders at Moosehaven. Indeed, Mooseheart was an early pioneer in directing vocational training at the high school level.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that your innovative and dynamic early leader, Jim Davis, served in the cabinets of Presidents Harding, Coolidge and Hoover; and that during his 14 years in the U.S. Senate he was the author of the Davis-Bacon Act that forced building contractors to pay prevailing union-level wages in government contract work. The Davis-Bacon Act is often cited in the literature discussing unions.
And, finally, I have to admit I was tickled to learn that one of my favorite actors, Ernest Borgnine, was a member of the Junction City Lodge. I have been delighted to be a guest speaker and sponsor of the Moose Youth
Awareness Program at the Oregon State Capitol for the past two years because it is an opportunity to encourage young people to give back to their community by being mentors and delivering an anti-drug message to youth across the country.
As your new Director General William Airey said at the May Convention Premiere, “It is the Moose fraternity that has…remained astonishingly durable and resilient for 118 years—only because it ultimately has stayed true to its course: that of addressing these basic human needs; of caring for, and serving other human beings.”
I am proud to stand in your company today.
As a member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, it is my job to care for and serve other human beings. It is my job to listen to the needs of my constituents, the people who elect me as their representative in our state government. Those people are the children who have no voice to speak for themselves, the seniors and the disabled who need a helping hand, the injured worker who wants to be treated with the same dignity and respect as any other person seeking medical treatment, the displaced worker who needs retrained to find other work, the college student who struggles to pay for an education that is becoming increasingly unaffordable, the men and women who are victims of domestic violence, the thousands of Oregonians without health insurance, and any Oregonian who looks to their elected representatives to find leadership and guidance.
I have not been a lone sentinel in my quest to represent the people of my district, however. I have worked cooperatively with my colleagues, my fraternity, to accomplish the goals that I have set for myself, my constituents, and the citizens of the state of Oregon.
It may be no surprise to some of you that I am not known in the capitol as a shrinking violet. I am known for my honesty, integrity and hard work. Those are not just labels to put on campaign literature. Those are values that I ascribe to every single day. Those are the values instilled in me since childhood.
When I was growing up, I never thought I’d be a member of the Oregon State Legislature. While some kids went to summer camp…I went out into the fields to pick strawberries and beans to pay for my school clothes, because my divorced mother of 4 children needed all the help she could get.
I even worked on Sundays because we got an extra penny a pound. Some families had health and dental insurance… I just didn’t smile until I was 17 when I was able to take out a loan at the local bank to have my teeth fixed.
I went to Salem to fight for families like mine: to care for, and serve other human beings.
Over the last four years, I’ve been willing to take on the most powerful interests in this state to defend our families.
I took on our state’s largest utility company and held them accountable for the taxes they take from us.
I held HMO’s accountable for the care they deliver.
And I traveled all the way to Nashville, Kansas City, Washington, D.C. and back many times to talk to building code officials, the federal government and members of Congress about ways to make our schools safer by removing dangerous wired glass from our schools. Through the work of my constituent and me, Oregon became the first state in the nation to adopt new rules about glass safety, and it became the first state in the nation to adopt standards that eliminated wired glass in areas of human impact. Indeed, my constituent and I will be traveling to Washington, D. C. next week to lead a symposium on Capitol Hill on “Safety in our Nation’s Schools” that is co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Gordon Smith and U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio.
But I didn’t stop there. With the help of my colleagues, I put education at the forefront of the agenda as chair of the Senate Education & Workforce Committee and made significant changes in quality, access, affordability and
accountability. We directed more money to the classroom, increased math and English requirements, increased the number of credits required for graduation, gave high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to attend college while still in high school to help lower the dropout rate, and we made our schools safer for our children from predators. And for the first time in decades, we fully funded the Oregon Opportunity Grant for college students; and for the first time in history, we extended the program to part-time students. As a low-income impoverished student back in the ‘70s, without the Oregon Opportunity Grant, then known as the Need Grant, I never would have been able to obtain my degree at the University of Oregon and stand before you today as a member of the Oregon State Legislature.
Of the 139 pieces of legislation with my direct involvement in the 2005 Legislative Session, 59 became law. Bills that brought fairness to injured workers and clarified independent contractor laws, bills to increase transparency and accountability in government, bills that expanded educational opportunities for Oregon’s students, bills that helped Oregonians in times of financial hardship and bankruptcy, bills on health care, and legislation that stops the private utilities from charging ratepayers for taxes the utilities never pay to taxing authorities.
The list is exhaustive because there is so much to be done, and I have built the relationships to get it done. With a Republican House and a Democrat Senate, it was necessary to have those relationships; it was necessary to put citizenship above partisanship. It was necessary to remember we are a fraternity caring for, and serving other human beings.
In closing, I went to Salem to fight for families like yours and mine. I went to Salem to ensure that every Oregonian, regardless of the size of their pocketbook, has a voice and a seat at the table.
I’m here to celebrate our shared values today…our shared values of caring for, and serving other human beings.
I’m here to thank you for the commitment you make to our community, our state and our country. Enjoy your conference and thank you for all that you do! And, please, Pass it On!
Campaign News
WE WON!!
Another Call for an End to Independent Expenditure AttacksRead Press Release
"Someone Who Cares is at the Door"
Read Steve Duin's Column in The Oregonian
Read Duin's Blog Entry
Walker to Torrey:
“Clinton Endorsing My Campaign. Remove Your Misleading Ads”
Read Press Release Here
Register-Guard Article
Oregonian Article
Senator Walker's Response Regarding Janyce Iturra Matter
Read the Facts Here
Eugene Weekly Cover Story on Dist. 7 Race "Pro-Bush, anti-abortion Republican takes on state senator"
Read the Story Here
Sen. Vicki Walker Calls for an End to Independent Expenditure Attacks. State Senator Vicki Walker sent a letter today to Lane County Democratic Party Chair Val Hoyle asking for her assistance to intervene and call for an immediate halt to independent expenditure campaigns made on behalf of her re-election campaign..
Read Press Release and Letter
Vote YES on Measure 20-115
- Maintain Bethel academic programs
- Launch a math enrichment plan
- Replace outdated textbooks
- Update classroom computers
Moose International, Inc.
2006 Annual Conference - Keynote Speech
Read Speech & See Photos
Willamette River Enhancement Initiative
See Photos
Read Vicki's Campaign Kick-Off Speech
