FOMH GATHERING 2022
We Welcome Friends of Maua Hospital to Oregon!
On behalf of the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference’s FOMH Members, I want to invite, encourage, and then welcome you to The Alton L. Collins Retreat Center, just outside Sandy, Oregon, for the annual FOMH gathering October 28th and 29th, 2022.
The retreat center is located in a lush, green forest half-way between Portland and Mt. Hood. The lodging is comfortable, the food amazing, and the setting, well, spectacular! There are meeting rooms, relaxation areas, and walking trails throughout the grounds.
If you plan on seeing some of Oregon’s diverse scenery, here are some possibilities.
Timberline Lodge, to the east on Mt. Hood, is only a little over an hour away. Timberline is a massive lodge built by WPA workers during the depression and has notable woodwork and stonework. If you make reservations ahead of time, it also has rooms and fine dining.
Astoria and the mouth of the Columbia River is 3 ½ hours away to the west. The Columbia River has one of the most dangerous bars to cross in the world, and there is a fine museum that tells the seafaring history of the area. Not far from Astoria is the fort where Lewis and Clark wintered over on their famous exploratory journey.
In late October, the fall run of salmon will be nearing its end, but excellent fishing can still be had for both chinook and coho salmon. Tillamook Bay is well known for its fall chinook season and is also about 3 ½ hours away. Be sure to visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory! Ice cream that rivals Blue Bell!
In less than an hour you can find yourself driving the Columbia River Gorge, and see Multnomah Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and even go into the Bonneville Dam and watch the fish negotiate the fish ladder.
And go a couple of hours to the east and you are in Central Oregon, land of high desert, high mountains and, if you have a couple of extra days, Crater Lake.
Portland has the Japanese Gardens, a world class zoo, and museums galore. You can even go inside a submarine. Stanley Gitari hopped in one of the crew bunks a few years ago and can attest that submarines are pretty cool!
And to the west, the north and the east – whichever direction you go – Oregon and Washington have a large number of wineries that we think outdo anything California has to offer.
But the best part of the trip will be, of course, the fellowship, updates, and connections that happen at every annual FOMH meeting: folks who care about Maua Methodist Hospital getting together and sharing experiences and stories.
We look forward to hosting you, having you come to the Pacific Northwest and see what a beautiful corner of the world this truly is.
Hope to see you here in October!
Jim Monroe, President FOMH Board of Directors, and living in Sisters, Oregon
