THPRD Board appoints fifth member

Wendy Kroger, a versatile volunteer with an extensive history of service to the park district and her community, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District.

Kroger becomes the fifth member of the board, filling the vacancy created by a resignation in December.

Her first public meeting with the board will be April 10. The appointment will continue until June 30, 2019. As required by Oregon law, a public election will then be held to determine who will serve the remainder of the term until June 30, 2021. That election will happen in May 2019.

The THPRD Board announced Kroger’s appointment Monday night, March 12, at their regular monthly meeting. She was selected from a pool of 26 applicants, 10 of whom were interviewed by the board on March 6.

“To be able to add a person of Wendy’s caliber to our board is exciting,” said Ali Kavianian, board president. “We were delighted with the quality of the applicant pool as a whole, but Wendy’s combination of knowledge, collaborative skills, experience and passion for our mission made her number one in our minds. We can’t wait to begin working with her.”

Kroger’s background features 24 years as a community volunteer – the last 14 in Beaverton and 10 in Salem before that. She has held a variety of committee positions with THPRD, most notably chair of the Trails Advisory Committee for five years and one year as member of the Parks Bond Citizen Oversight Committee.

She served two stints on the City of Beaverton’s Planning Commission (2005-06 and 2014-16). She was also on the Salem Planning Commission, serving as president for two years, among a long list of volunteer commitments in Oregon’s capital city.

During her professional life, she worked in various roles in federal and state government in Washington D.C., San Francisco and Nevada, specializing primarily in labor, employment and training.

Holder of a master’s degree from the University of Oregon, Kroger is also a master gardener and has won several awards for her community service. The City of Salem named a park in her honor in 2003.

About THPRD
Formed in 1955, THPRD is the largest special park district in Oregon, spanning 50 square miles and serving about 240,000 residents in the greater Beaverton area. The district provides year-round recreational opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. Offerings include thousands of widely diverse classes, 95 park sites with active recreational amenities, nearly 70 miles of trails, eight swim centers, six recreation centers, and about 1,500 acres of natural areas. For more information, visit www.thprd.org or call 503-645-6433.