caleb
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Move back to Yakima, bud! - 2006/10/01 02:29
Hi, my name is Caleb and I'm one of the people behind this website. To kick off this "meet n' greet" area I thought I'd introduce myself to you and relay a story about an experience I had today. I'd love to hear your feedback about my story, and hear your story, too.
A rudely stated "move back to Yakima, bud!" was the closing comment said to me this afternoon by a passer-by at our booth at the Yakima fair. I've been pondering it all day, so much so that I've been inspired to write about it here.
I don't know the name of the gentleman who made this comment, but I didn't appreciate the tone in which it was made. Perhaps it was well meaning and he simply mis-understood some key facts - I do not know for sure. We had been having a good conversation about the site and what we were doing, then I mentioned something about Seattle and he said "let me ask one question: so you don't live in Yakima?" My reply was "yes, I live in Seattle at this time" to which he abruptly turned, walked away, and said over his shoulder "try again and move back to yakima, bud!"
To set the record straight, here are the facts about me and about how this site came into existence:
- I grew up in Yakima but currently live in Seattle where I work for an Interactive agency doing search engine marketing and website analytics consulting. I still consider myself a "Yakima resident" even though I don't get to live here during this season in my life. EY (my slang term for EverythingYAKIMA.com) keeps me in contact with "my valley" - I love it.
- I've seen most parts of this hemisphere and I can honestly say that the Yakima Valley is my favorite place.
- I started EverythingYAKIMA.com in 2002 because I wanted to a) solve the problem of my friends saying "Yakima sucks - there's nothing to do here," b) wanted to help local shoppers be able to easily find local stores, and c) wanted to show the world what a great place Yakima really is (it's not all the comedians in Seattle nightclubs make it out to be).
- EverythingYAKIMA.com is a community service owned and operated by Cabin River, Inc. (of which I am a principle). Our vision is to see Yakima thrive and our mission is to provide affordable, effective online advertising for businesses in Yakima, strengthen community and dialogue in Yakima, and promote the Yakima Valley worldwide.
So, given the above facts, I took it rather personally that someone would insinuate in a cavalier manner that I am not qualified to do what I'm doing, or that my efforts aren't appreciated or warranted.
The key question is: must I presently reside in Yakima in order to be a part of our valley? I would argue not. In fact, I would go so far to say that one of the weaknesses of our Valley may be a lack of passionate "yakima ex-pats" who say positive things about the area because they truly love it and who are willing to go to great lengths and personal expense to develop a means from which they can enhance and promote the area.
So, that's me - not too much about who I am in there - feel free to ask me if you'd like to know more. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this: do you love Yakima? Do you even live in Yakima? How involved can one be from 148 miles away?
-Caleb
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