2012 Chamber Board

Colonel Curtis A Waite serves as the Logistics Readiness Squadron Commander for the 173 Fighter Wing at Kingsley Field. He served eight years with the Active Duty before transferring to the Oregon Air National Guard in 1997. He co-chairs the Chamber's Military Affairs Committee and has been a part of the Chamber's Board of Directors since July 2008. Mr. Waite is the president of the Southern Oregon Chapter of the Air Force Association, the Air Force's largest lobby group. He also is a member of the National Guard Association of the United States. In the community he functions as a youth coach for both Basin United and the YMCA. In addition, he serves on the Board of Elders for Zion Lutheran Church, Supervisory Committee for PCFCU, and School Board for Triad Christian School. Colonel Curtis received an MS in Urban and Regional Planning from Florida State University in 1988.

Coming Soon

Shari Watterberg is the Director or Marketing and Business Development for Cal-Ore Communications. Shari moved to the Klamath Basin from Olympia, Washington in 1998 at which time she began her career in the Telecommunications Industry. Shari enjoys the challenges of the ever-changing telecommunications Industry and believes strongly in local customer support.

Shari began volunteering with the Chamber of Commerce as an Ambassador in 2001. She later was nominated as chairperson of that committee and in 2007 was nominated to serve as a member of the Chamber of Commerce General Board of Directors.

Shari has volunteered in the past with the Family Empowerment Program, Junior Achievers and was voted 2003 Volunteer of the Year with the United Way (Adult Division).

Shari’s favorite pastime and source of entertainment are her two children Savannah and Roy.

Willie Riggs is the Associate Professor, Center Director, and Agricultural Economist at the Oregon State University Klamath Basin Research and Extension Center (KBREC). He has been employed at KBREC since May 2007. His research and education interests are related to agricultural economics at the farm and ranch level with an emphasis on risk management, cost and return analysis, profitability, and sustainability.

Kathie Philp is the President/CEO of Pacific Crest Federal Credit Union and has lived in the Klamath Basin since 2000. Kathie began her credit union career in 1976 at Rogue Federal Credit Union, and also worked at Chetco FCU in Harbor, Oregon. After a 2 year break working in the construction industry, she moved to Klamath Falls to serve as the CFO of Pacific Crest FCU, and was named CEO in 2004. Kathie received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northwest Christian University, and holds a Certified Credit Union Executive designation from the Credit Union National Association.

Kathie serves on the Credit Union Association of Oregon (CUAO) Audit committee, and the CUAO Federal Issues subcommittee. She has been involved with the CUAO Budget committee, United Way, and served as a mentor to at-risk youth. Kathie currently serves on the Ross Ragland Theater Board as treasurer.

Linda Thompson is currently the Store Director at Fred Meyer. Linda has been a Store Director for 11 years and has been with Fred Meyer for 23 years. She started with the company here in Klamath Falls when they built the store in 1987. Linda stayed 7 years in Klamath Falls and then moved several times to further her career. She asked to move back to Klamath Falls where she intends to stay. Linda was born and raised here, graduated from Klamath Union High School in 1976. She attended the University of Washington for 3 years and decided to move back home where she started her family. Linda is very involved with Blue Sky Horse Rescue, a 501C3 non-profit organization that rescues abused, neglected and unwanted horses.

Bio Available Soon

Bio Available Soon

Bio Available Soon

Bio Available Soon

Bio Available Soon

Bio Available Soon

Stan Gilbert has been a member of the Chamber's Executive Committee for two years. He is currently the First Vice President and is the immediate past Treasurer for the organization. Stan is the Executive Director/CEO of the Klamath Youth Development Center. His agency has been a Chamber member for approximately 15 years. Stan has lived in Klamath Falls for the past 22 years and has close to 30 years of experience as a mental health professional in the delivery and administration of child and adolescent mental health programs. He has a broad range of experience in public administering, fiscal control, marketing, fund development, grants, community relations, planning, program development, and human resources.

Barb Meng and her family relocated to Klamath Falls in 2002 from San Jose, California. With 20 years experience working with various companies and businesses, Barb began her own venture in 2006 opening an Agent location for US Cellular. She has previously been a part of the Klamath Falls Sunrise Rotary, serving as President from 2004-2005. She is a member of the Women in Business group, the Klamath Homebuilders Association, and the Foster Grandparent Association. From 2002 - 2007, Barb served as a Klamath County Chamber Ambassador which led to her current position of 1st Vice President on the Chamber Board of Directors. Barb has been married to husband Steve for 23 years and has three grown children.

Toby Freeman has been a resident of Klamath Falls for just over two years and has been a member of the Chamber Board's Executive Committee for the past 3 months. Toby is Pacific Power's regional community manager with responsibility for customer and community affairs over a five county region in southeastern Oregon and Northern California. He has held various positions in the electric utility industry throughout the Pacific Northwest over the past 19 years, with the last seven years at Pacific Power. Toby also serves on the Boards of United Way of the Klamath Basin, Klamath County Development Corporation, Rotary Club of Klamath County, Rotary Club of Klamath County Foundation, Klamath County Economic Development Association, and the Siskiyou County Economic Development Council.

Bridgitte Griffin is the Vice President & Regional Credit Administrator for South Valley Bank & Trust. Bridgitte is a native of Oregon, and has lived in the Klamath Basin since 1994. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Oregon (1992) and obtained her Graduate Degree in Banking from Pacific Coast Banking School at University of Washington (2005).

In addition to serving on the Klamath County Chamber Board, Bridgitte serves on the South Central Oregon Economic Development District Loan Advisory Board (Since 2006), the United Way Funds Allocation Committee (2007-2009), and is Past-President of the Klamath Kiwanis Club (2001-2002).

Heidi Wright moved to Klamath Falls in May 2004, to become president of Klamath Publishing and publisher of the Herald and News. She received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Montana Tech in 1988, CPA certification in 1992 and a MBA from the University of Montana in 1998.

Heidi has been a member of Rotary since June 2004 and serves on the Sky Lakes Medical Center Foundation Board. She is a SMART reader volunteer, current BOD president Pacific Northwest Newspaper Association, Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association executive committee and BOD, as well as serving on the executive committee and BOD for the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce. She is serves on the board of Discover Klamath. Heidi is married to Richard Schuurman, a Licensed Family and Marriage Therapist working for KYDC.

Dan Keppen is President of Dan Keppen & Associates, Inc. a water policy consulting firm. He serves a variety of clients, although much of his time is spent fulfilling his duties as Executive Director for the Family Farm Alliance (Alliance), a non-profit association that advocates for family farmers, ranchers, irrigation districts and allied industries in 17 Western States. The Alliance is a grassroots-based organization that puts Congressional and Administration staff members into direct contact with water users and local water agencies. Keppen works for the Alliance under contract.

He has over twenty years experience in association management, water resources, power and environmental policy, public relations, and water resources engineering in the public and private sectors. Since 1997, he has worked primarily in advocacy positions representing Western irrigators with the Northern California Water Association, and as executive director of the Klamath Water Users Association. He served one year as special assistant to the Regional Director of the Bureau of Reclamation's Mid-Pacific Region in Sacramento. Prior to that time, Keppen was a water resources engineer for Tehama County, California and a water resources engineering consultant in Portland, Oregon.

Keppen served for over five years on the board of directors of the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce, sits on the Klamath Basin Ecosystem Foundation board of directors, is a member of the board of directors of the national Irrigation Association, and chairs the Klamath County Rotary Club program committee. He was appointed by Gov. Kulongoski in 2005 to serve on the Climate Change Integration Group. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on water and environmental policy matters eleven times since 2002.

In 2004, Keppen was named "First Citizen" by the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce and "Person of the Year" by the Klamath Courier newspaper. In 2005 he was awarded a "Resolution of Commendation" by the California State Senate. In 2009, he received the first-ever John Keys III Memorial Award for "Building Partnerships and Strengthening Relationships" with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. He is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum of Oregon and successfully completed the Leadership Klamath program.

He is a Registered Professional Civil Engineer in California and a past Civil Engineer and Certified Water Rights Examiner in Oregon. Keppen received his M.S. in Civil Engineering (Water Resources) from Oregon State University and his B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Wyoming. He lives in Klamath Falls, Oregon with his two children.

Jodi Kucera is co-owner of Mia & Pia's Pizzeria & BrewHouse with husband Rod and mother and father-in-law Don and Nancy Kucera. She is a 1985 graduate of Henley High School and attended OIT. Jodi is currently 2nd Vice President of the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and a member of the Junior Achievement Board of Directors. Other activities include past leadership roles in the Klamath County, Oregon and American Farm Bureau, and involvement in the Oregon Restaurant Association and Oregon Brewers Guild. Jodi and Rod have a 19 year old daughter, Kelsey,who is a sophmore at KCC, and a 12 year old son, Clint, who is in 6th grade at Triad.