Caspar Community Hires Coordinator

Caspar News and Press Releases

Caspar Community Hires Coordinator

October 11, 1998
For Immediate Release

Caspar, October 11, 1998. The Caspar Community today announced the hiring of Pat Ackley as Community Coordinator. Spokesperson Vince Taylor said, "We are excited to have Pat joining our campaign to gain control over Caspar's future. She is talented, experienced, energetic, and delightful." Taylor added that her special skills and enthusiasm will benefit the entire North Coast community.

Before accepting the position of Caspar Community Coordinator, Ackley was Executive Director of an emergency family shelter in Council Bluffs, Iowa. For 13 years before that, she served as Director of the Crisis Hotline in Salina, Kansas.

Mike Dell'Ara, head of the Caspar Community Search Committee, explained, "We were blessed with four excellent candidates for the Coordinator position, each of whom offered unique strengths, and so the final decision was difficult." After the Search Committee interviewed the finalists, most of the eleven members of the Caspar Steering Committee also met them. The Committee then rated each candidate's strength in each important job area. Ackley's ratings were the highest of the candidates in all categories except knowledge of the local area. Co-workers from her assignments in Iowa and Kansas endorsed her heartily, and predicted that she would integrate herself into the community very quickly. Dell'Ara concluded, "After thoroughly discussing this tough choice between four highly-qualified candidates, the Steering Committee voted unanimously to offer the job to Pat."

In her letter of acceptance, Ackley wrote, "It's the opportunity of a lifetime, and fulfills my long-time dream of living along the Mendocino Coast. Everything that I've done in my life seems like preparation for this job. I am excited at the prospect of contributing to the preservation of an area that I love."

The Caspar Community is a citizens' group that is striving to preserve Caspar village and its way of life. Over two hundred acres of village land owned by the Caspar Cattle Company are presently for sale, including 50 acres of headlands, Caspar Creek's riparian area, the duck pond, and the open spaces in the center of the village. Major elements of the Community's action plan include preservation of the headlands, beach, creek corridors, pond, and open fields around the village center, and creation of community consensus on a feasible development plan that would preserve and enhance the quality of all life in Caspar.

Within the last five months, the Community has raised more than $30,000 and has helped secure $1.8 million in state funds to acquire 100 acres of land south of Caspar Creek, including Caspar beach. Development plans prepared for the Community UC Berkeley are now being presented to Caspar residents through a series of neighborhood and individual meetings. For more information, consult the Caspar website, CasparCommons.org or call 964-4997.

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