Inside OPB
FROM OUR PRESIDENT:
Share Your Memories: Pendleton Round-Up
One of the oldest and most prestigious rodeos in the world — the Pendleton Round-Up — is back and this year it's marking quite a milestone in mid-September.
As the Round-Up prepares to celebrate its centennial, Oregon Experience kicks off its season premiere with a special look at the first 100 years of the Pendleton Round-Up.
From world-champion cowboys and weekend wranglers to African Americans, Native Americans and rodeo women who defied the prejudices of the times to become crowd favorites, I'm betting you'll learn something new about this long-standing local tradition when you tune in to Oregon Experience on Thursday, September 9 at 9pm.
But don't wait until the premiere to get involved. One of the great things about Oregon Experience is how it helps us connect our past with our present. Visit us online to share your memories of the Pendleton Round-Up. Have you gone? What was your favorite moment? Which events must be seen to be believed? Take a moment to post your thoughts and read what others have to say.
As always, thank you for your ongoing support of OPB. You make it possible for us to explore our shared history through programs like Oregon Experience.
Steven M. Bass
President and CEO
Our Mission
Oregon Public Broadcasting: giving voice to the community, connecting Oregon and its neighbors, illuminating a wider world.
OPB Management
- Steve Bass
- President & CEO —
- Dan Metziga
- Senior VP, Development —
- Lynne Clendenin
- VP, Radio Programming —
- Dave Davis
- VP, National TV Production —
- Jeff Douglas
- VP, Local TV Production —
- Mary Gardner
- Director, TV Programming —
- Jan Heskiss
- Chief Financial Officer —
- Morgan Holm
- VP, News and Public Affairs —
- Don McKay
- VP, Engineering —
- Rebecca Morris
- VP, Legal Affairs — legal@opb.org
- Lynne Pollard
- VP, New Media —
- Debbie Rotich
- VP, HR and Administration —
OPB Board of Directors
- Chair
- Andrew Franklin
- Vice Chair
- Elizabeth Schwartz
- Secretary/Treasurer
- Jim Huston
- Board Members
- Julie Strasser Dixon
- Leda Garside
- Avel Gordly
- Tinker Hatfield
- Dian Hilliard
- Jodie Hueske
- Jeff Iwasaki
- Pamela Jones
- Sydney Joyner
- Gary Maffei
- Sheryl Manning
- Keith Mobley
- Mitchell Moore
- Romy Mortensen
- Ron Saxton
- Howard Shapiro
- John "Ski" Sygielski
- Jenny Ulum
- Al Vermeulen
- Fred Ziari
- Ex-Officio
- Steven M. Bass
- CAB Chair
- Jack McGowan
- OPB Board Liaison
- Brenda Barton —
OPB Community Advisory Board
- Chair
- Jack McGowan
- Board Members
- Bret Bernhoff
- Charlie Dolezal
- Charles Hudson
- Jeff Monaghan
- Dawn Rasmussen
- Miguel Salinas
- Katlin Smith
- Sarah Tatone
- Karen Wheeler
- OPB Board Liaison
- Avel Gordly
- OPB Staff Liaison
- Lynne Pollard
Board of Directors Meeting Schedule
All meetings are open to the public and held at OPB unless otherwise noted. The schedule below is subject to change. Please to confirm meeting times and dates or to get more information.
- March 2010
- March 2, Tuesday: 12:15pm (Appy Room)
- June 2010
- June 1, Tuesday: 12:15pm (Appy Room)
- September 2010
- September 28, Tuesday: 12:15pm (Appy Room)
- December 2010
- December 7, Tuesday: 12:15pm (Appy Room)
- March 2011
- March 1, Tuesday: 12:15pm (Appy Room)
- June 2011
- June 7, Tuesday: 12:15pm (Appy Room)
- September 2011
- September 13-14: Board Retreat, TBD
- December 2011
- December 6, Tuesday: 12:15pm (Appy Room)
Board Committee Meeting Schedule
All meetings are open to the public and held at OPB unless otherwise noted. The schedule below is subject to change. Please to confirm meeting times and dates or to get more information.
- Audit Commitee
- TBD
- Community Advisory Board
- July 29, Thursday: 12pm (PacifiCorp Room)
- Development Committee
- TBD
- Finance & Investment Committee
- September 24, 2010, Friday: 12pm (PacifiCorp Room)
- November 19, 2010, Friday: 12pm (PacifiCorp Room)
- Governance Committee
- TBD
- Human Resources Committee
- TBD
- Strategic Planning Committee
- TBD
Milestones in OPB History
- 1922
- KFDJ-AM radio is created as part of a physics experiment at Oregon Agricultural College, now Oregon State University, in Corvallis.
- 1930s
- KFDJ becomes KOAC, with studios in Covell Hall at Oregon State University. Studios at Covell are still used.
- 1957
- OPB’s first television station, KOAC-TV, goes on the air.
- Early 1960s
- Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. transfers ownership of its FM frequency to OPB and KOAP-FM (now KOPB) begins broadcasting.
- 1979
- The Oregon Commission on Public Broadcasting is established. In 1981 OPB leaves the Department of Higher Education and becomes an independent state agency.
- 1988
- OPB moves into its new facility on SW Macadam Avenue after its successful building campaign.
- 1989
- Oregon Considered, OPB's own Pacific Northwest news magazine, is first broadcast.
- Early 1990s
- Membership exceeds 100,000.
- 1990
- Oregon Field Guide begins production.
- 1993
- OPB becomes a private, nonprofit corporation with ongoing financial support from the State of Oregon.
- 1997
- OPB Radio's program format is refined to include more news and information.
- OPB installs Oregon’s first digital transmitter, taking a critical first step in the digital television transition.
- 2000
- Oregon Art Beat begins production.
- 2002
- OPB's World of Learning Digital Campaign raises $22 million.
- OPB loses all state funding.
- 2003
- History Detectives season 1 premieres for PBS.
- 2005
- OPB brings StoryCorps -- a national project inspiring Americans to record one another's stories in sound -- to Portland. Local residents visit the mobile StoryBooth to share their stories for broadcast on OPB Radio and preservation at the Library of Congress.
- 2006
- Oregon Experience, OPB's local television series exploring key people, places and events in our state's history, premieres.
- OPB, FRONTLINE and the Oregonian join forces to examine the methamphetamine epidemic through television specials (FRONTLINE: The Meth Epidemic, Meth: The Oregon Front), radio programs and online resources.
- 2007
- OPB TV celebrates its 50th anniversary.
- OPBnews.org -- an expanded news and information Web site -- launches.
- OPB invites community members from around the Northwest to help cover the news by signing up for the Public Insight Network.
- 2008
- opbmusic.org, an online music service encouraging conversation and connection between OPB and our community of local music fans, launches.
- Think Out Loud, OPB's local online and daily radio broadcast, premieres.
- KOPB-AM (1600) Eugene begins providing OPB Radio's news and information service.
- OPB and its community partners begin a statewide, multiplatform campaign to increase awareness about the impact of invasive species, featuring The Silent Invasion: An Oregon Field Guide Special, an invasive species online hotline and numerous outreach opportunities.
- Time Team USA, a new archaeology program for PBS, begins production.
- 2009
- OPB receives the duPont-Columbia University Award, one of the most prestigious national honors in the field of broadcast journalism, for The Silent Invasion: An Oregon Field Guide Special. The documentary illustrates how invasive species are changing the environment in Oregon, and focuses on ways people can work together to make a difference to native fish and wildlife resources, Oregon's economy and quality of life. The program's premiere in April 2008 marked the kickoff of the ongoing "Stop the Invasion" campaign that encourages community partners and citizens to collaborate in their efforts to take action against invasive species.
- OPB switched to all-digital broadcasting of its full-power television stations. Viewers can watch OPB's three digital channels—OPB HD, OPB and OPB Plus—over the air for free.
- 2010
- OPB and its community partners share the voices, ideas and stories of rural Oregonians through the Rural Economy Project, which includes OPB Radio and news stories, along with extensive online resources.
More information about OPB
- PDF downloads
- OPB Member Report (PDF)
- Annual EEO Report, 2009 (PDF)
- Form 990 — FY09
- Form 990T — FY09
- Independent Auditor's Report and Financial Statements — FY09 (PDF)
- Emergency Alert System
- OPB has been designated the “State Primary” for the Emergency Alert System, initiating messages informing other broadcasters, viewers and listeners of a wide variety of emergencies including tsunamis, floods and Amber Alerts.
- Oregon Public Broadcasting:
- 7140 SW Macadam Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97219-3099 - Business Hours:
8am-5pm Mon-Fri - 503.244.9900
- Map & Directions






