Philomath committee to pursue community‑centered Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month activities, seeks partner organizations

The Philomath Inclusivity Committee on June 24 discussed options for National Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month activities and agreed to pursue a community‑centered approach that prioritizes existing local partners and safety.

Committee members reviewed several formats — a farmers market tabling presence, a small educational program, local musician performances and a museum historical display — and agreed the event should be organized in collaboration with community organizations rather than produced solely by the committee. Members emphasized that outreach must be genuine and not tokenizing: several participants said the committee should connect directly with Latino community groups to learn what formats and timing would be welcome.

Diane reported an informal conversation with a local Hispanic business owner who said her family might not attend a broadly framed Heritage Month event; that comment helped persuade members that deeper outreach and partnering with groups such as Casa Latino Unidos would be important. The group also discussed logistics and funding: staff noted there is an education budget that could potentially fund an educational component, though larger expenditures may need council review or explicit authorization for the city manager to commit funds.

Committee members agreed to gather available farmers‑market dates from staff and to move forward with outreach. Jen Amador volunteered to lead the planning; Zena Allen, Jessica Andrade, Christopher Warren and Alba Zenderlin agreed to assist. The committee scheduled a July follow‑up to firm up dates and next steps and flagged a July 8 fraud‑prevention webinar (for seniors) as a separate, near‑term activity.

The committee did not finalize a single event date at the meeting and emphasized that further contact with community partners will determine scale, programming and funding.