PRESS RELEASES 
Committee coins SAGE Center as name for visitors attraction
East Oregonian (Boardman, OR) December 24, 2010
by Dean Brickey
The proposed agricultural information center along Interstate 84 finally has a name.
Planning committee members this week settled on SAGE Center, an acronym for Sustainable Agriculture and Energy. Excavation for the 10,000-square-foot structure started this fall and exhibit planning has been under way since late summer.
Committee members met with two consultants Tuesday at the Port of Morrow, sponsor of the project, to refine marketing documents and determine the center’s name. The committee is working with Formations Inc., a Portland exhibit-design firm, to plan the displays with which visitors will interact. The Formations team also is preparing marketing material port officials will use to pitch the project to potential donors.
Committee members also worked Tuesday with principals of McGinnis & Associates, a Tri-Cities graphic design firm, to claim the name SAGE Center and to continue developing logos and website addresses for the attraction.
The project got legs in 2009 with $2.27 million in state funds that state Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, secured. That money is helping to fund these initial efforts. Meanwhile, port staff has been excavating the site and engineering the structure.
Ron McKinnis, the port’s engineer, said Thursday excavation is 90 percent completed.
"We’re actually ready to start looking at bringing utilities in around the building site," he said.
Gary Neal, the port’s general manager, expects to advertise for bids on the building early next year.
Committee members had a telephone conference Tuesday with Craig Kerger of Formations, who is leading exhibit design, and Dave Carlson, a Portland freelance writer who is preparing the copy for marketing materials and for the exhibits.
The SAGE Center will provide an inside look at Port of Morrow facilities. It also will provide a glimpse into the economic engine of Morrow County and the broader region, from farms and dairies to a diversity of food-processing facilities and state-of-the-art energy projects.
"Exhibits will feature the sophisticated technologies used by growers and the related industries at the Port of Morrow," Carlson said, "and will communicate the passion and knowledge of the people who work for these businesses."
The exhibits Formations is designing have seven primary themes:
• Processing: A Kinetic Centerpiece Sculpture—Entering the exhibit hall, visitors will see a large sculpture with moving parts they can explore and interact with. It will offer a stylized representation of a processing plant visitors can walk through as they ascend a few steps to a circular metal catwalk and amble through a spiraling rush of sounds, smells, and motion.
• A River Through Time: History of the Boardman Area—The introductory floor exhibit provides area history, including photos, illustrations, quotes, and objects that tell the story of human settlement in the region and the Columbia River’s influence.
• The Big Picture: A Hot Air Balloon Ride—In one corner of the exhibit hall, visitors will find an oversized basket that appears to be suspended from a hot air balloon. By walking up ramp, a group of about 10 can enter the basket. Closing the basket door triggers a 3-minute video that takes visitors on an aerial tour focusing on the regional resources. The experience will include the sounds of a gas jet roaring into the balloon above and a basket that rocks gently as the video projects on the wall.
• Agriculture Today—Next are exhibits on contemporary agriculture. Visitors will find a display on how farming technology and techniques have evolved. An associated exhibit will treat visitors to stories of longtime, multigenerational Morrow County farm families. Nearby, a segment of center pivot irrigation equipment will introduce a discussion of modern farming, while a floor-to-ceiling mound of agricultural products will reflect the volume and diversity of regional crops. And the cab of a modern tractor will form the centerpiece of a cluster of hands-on exhibits that explore high-tech farming techniques and technologies.
• Behind the Scenes in Boardman—Visitors next will discover how workers in Port of Morrow plants and mills process crops. A map will indicate the sites of the businesses while changeable flip-book offers overviews of each. Another part of the display will tell the stories of selected port industries. An accompanying video will present a series of interviews by local children who talk to their parents and neighbors about the jobs in Boardman processing industries.
• Sustainable solutions—Next will be a group of highly interactive exhibits, Carlson said, that explore the science and technology behind the region’s sustainable resources and energy projects. Included will be water recycling, the use of steam, growing trees in the desert, biofuels, wind farms, and the feeding of processing food scraps to dairy cows.
• From the Port of Morrow to the World—The last exhibit will feature an interactive cluster that explores transportation options available through the Port of Morrow, including hands-on models of different barges. An interactive computer program will challenge children and adults to operate cranes to load containers, or to navigate a barge up or down the river and through a lock. Visitors will be able to interact with a large map that shows where local products are shipped throughout the world.
Committee members are excited about the project as it’s coming together.
"Formations has been wonderful to work with" said Dean Kegler of ZeaChem Inc., a member of the SAGE Center committee. "I’m not sure I have been around a company that when we talk, they listen and get it right. Their imagination has inspired all of us to dream a little."
Another committee member, Diane Wolfe of the Boardman Chamber of Commerce, said chamber members are excited about the SAGE Center.
"We feel it will be a wonderful opportunity to showcase Boardman and all the work that happens at the Port of Morrow," she said. "The design process that Formations has done will capture how the food gets to your table …. Formations has done a phenomenal job with the design. I can hardly wait."
2012 East Oregonian. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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