I remember standing on the roof of Westline Apartments in downtown Beaverton in 2018. I looked out over the community that I was bound to love. I thought of my life before Beaverton, and I knew that this place would change me. I only hoped that I could change it too.
It’s been four really great years. Really hard years. I’ve led the Beaverton Downtown Association as far as I feel I should take it, and so it is with a total bitter-sweet feeling that I am sharing that Friday, June 17, 2022 was my last day with this organization.
It’s time for new leadership here, and I am excited to see our next executive director, Kamil Khan, thrive in this role and continue building upon all of the good here in downtown Beaverton.
Over the past four years, we have had some wonderful highlights including:
- 2018 – The rapid onboarding of several new board members who helped pull the BDA in a refreshing direction.
- 2019 – The receipt of the $200,000 Oregon Main Street Revitalization grant fund the Nak Won historic preservation project at 1st and Watson.
- 2019 – My first Wine Walk, which had 325 attendees and supported a lot of our new downtown partners.
- 2019 – The CoSign sign unveilings in 2019, for which we had to raise almost $120,000 to build seven new blade signs in downtown.
- 2020 – Collaborative downtown video calls throughout the pandemic where downtown business owners could all connect and see how we could support each other when times were most unpredictable.
- 2020 – The advocacy and installation of outdoor business areas and the 1st Street Dining Commons.
- 2020 – Technical grant writing support for businesses in need, which resulted in tens of thousands of dollars coming into our district and prevented several businesses from closing.
- 2020/2021 – The murals and planters we added in the district.
- 2021 – The incredibly popular return of BOOverton Trick-or-Treat and how active downtown was.
- 2022 – The first annual Bubble Tea Walk, which sold out days before the day of the event.
- 2022 – The completion of the Nak Won historic preservation project.
- 2022 – The receipt of the $200,000 Oregon Main Street Revitalization grant (again!) to fund the Fisher Rossi building historic preservation project on Broadway Street.
- 2019, 2020, and 2021 – The statewide awards we received together.
It’s been incredible, and none of it would have been possible without the community volunteers who have supported this work with all of their hearts. They are often behind-the-scenes, and yet their impact will stick with me forever.
As the BDA shifts direction, I ask you to help us RAISE UP Downtown Beaverton with us by becoming a monthly donor on our website at www.downtownbeaverton.org/support.
With love,
Kevin Teater