Great Article about Work and High Tech coming to the Gorge!!

Gorge's high-tech high life
The lifestyle lures workers, and the job growth lifts the area
Saturday, March 08, 2008
KERI BRENNER
The Oregonian

HOOD RIVER -- For Lisa Williams, life in the bucolic shadow of Mount Hood is perfectly compatible with operating at the core of a bustling tech-industry cluster.

"I started my business so I wouldn't have to drive to Portland every day," said Williams, 42, founder and chief executive of Media Forte Marketing, which helps businesses heighten their online presence so that they turn up more prominently in searches. "We moved here 11 years ago for my kids' dad's job, but we've stayed for the lifestyle."

She's not alone. A growing number of technology professionals have been finding their way to Hood River, The Dalles and across the Columbia River to the Washington communities of Bingen, White Salmon and Goldendale.

Tech employment has been quietly expanding in the gorge for years, growing from a handful of companies in 1998 to about 50 companies today with a wide variety of specialties -- from unmanned aviation to Web design. The 2006 arrival of search-engine behemoth Google Inc. merely cemented the sector's prospects.

The Mountain View, Calif., company, which generated $4.2 billion in profit last year, employs close to 200 staff and contract workers at its massive computer server complex in The Dalles. It's also made the community part of its long-term plans, partnering with Columbia Gorge Community College to develop a technology training program.

Williams and others have stepped up efforts to promote tech in the region, including an upcoming regional search-engine marketing conference at the Portland Zoo.

Colleen Wright, a presenter at the Monday event, says search-engine marketing has increased because it's measurable.

"You can see your results and see what's working," said Wright, of the Search Engine Academy in Beaverton, a training program. "You are able to get top search results if you follow certain guidelines -- more visibility, more sales."

The gorge's scenic beauty and destination status for windsurfing, skiing and other outdoor activities are persuasive tools for attracting highly skilled workers.

READ The Rest Here:
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1204943117105180.xml&coll=7

Maryhill Festival of Speed 2008 Gets set to launch

One of the biggest events of its kind is coming again to Maryhill, Washington at the world famous Maryhill Loops. This is located at Goldendale, Washington and this event will be broadcast worldwide by NBC Sports. One of the premier longboarding and skateboarding events in the world as these thrill seekers take on the 25 turns in a downhill frenzy! Take a look at a fun event to do here in Goldendale in 2008. All the Info is right here.

http://www.silverfishlongboarding.com/Articles/IGSA_COVERAGE/Maryhill_Festival_of_Speed_%2708/

Goldendale Industrial Park Offers Great Opportunity

The City of Goldendale, Washington sure has a lot to offer for somebody looking to move away from the big Metro areas and into a very well located small town. The City and surrounding community offers clean air, uncrowded streets, blue skys and bucolic scenery with Views of Majestice Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, and Mt St Helens. If you have not been I am telling you to go! Just go to have lunch or Dinner and hit some of the local shops and take in the scenery. Visit nearby Mary Hill and the Columbia Gorge Scenic area.

For those of you needing a place to move or grown your business this is it! The City has developed one of the nicest and most affordable Industrial Parks that you can imagine. The Park offers small acreage sites at an Incredible price and they are pad ready for development. Well located just off HWY 97 and I-84 these sites offer a great option for any manufacturing, technology, energy, processing, or other business related users. The Industrial Land Parcels are for sale now and the Columbia Gorge is experiencing a business surge with the location fo tech Giant GOOGLE in The Dalles, Oregon. Check out our link on the right column for more information on the Goldendale Industrial Park!

Some Great Background About Goldendale

Columbia Gorge Economic Development Association
About :: City Information
Goldendale, Washington
About the City
Goldendale sits on a fertile plateau north of the Columbia River between the windswept Columbia Hills and the pine-covered Simcoe Mountains of South-central Washington. Goldendale is the county seat of Klickitat County. The sprawling 1,200 square miles of the county contains a variety of scenery. It ranges from pine forests in the west and north to spectacular lava flows along the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge at the south. Fertile farmland lies in the central section and to the east, arid, desert-like land that has its own beauty that seems to many first-time visitors harsh, but is captivating in its own uncompromising way.
Nicholas Murray Butler, a Columbia University president who traveled the West in support of national parks, was quite enchanted with Goldendale. He wrote: "Yet another, and very remarkable place where grandeur and beauty and detachment from the world all meet again, is Goldendale on Klickitat Creek in southern Washington. . . Of a summer's afternoon one may see from that beautiful spot four snowclad mountains: Mt. Hood in Oregon to the south, Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams to the west, and the towering Mt. Rainier farther to the north."
With a population of approximately 3,700, Goldendale is the county seat of Klickitat County. The city is located in the central section of the county, 70 miles south of Yakima, Washington, 35 miles north of The Dalles, Oregon, and 120 miles east of Portland, Oregon. U.S. Highway 97, the "Caribou Trail" from British Columbia to California, is the main route for those travelling to or from Goldendale. The area is also served by Burlington Northern Railroad and Amtrak at nearby Wishram, Washington. You can also arrive by air. Goldendale airport, once closed and in need of major repairs, now has a 3,600 -foot lighted runway thanks to a project by the local Jaycee organization.
Goldendale is an extremely attractive location to conduct business offering low utility and land prices, a skilled labor force, and excellent transportation options. Currently, a diversified local economy provides several means of livelihood for the residents of Goldendale. Along with the fields of education, local and county social service and government agencies, and public service entities, logging, farming, and aluminum smeltering provide stable employment and a comfortable standard of living.
Goldendale offers the best of many worlds. Tourists will find it a congenial center from which to explore the surrounding natural and cultural attractions. The sportsman/woman will find plenty of activities to choose from including; hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, nearby windsurfing, kayaking and rock climbing. Those who come to stay will enjoy becoming part of an energetic, thriving community.
To find out more about Goldendale contact:
Columbia Gorge Economic Development Association (888) 760-3936 The Goldendale Chamber of Commerce (509) 773-3400
Just the Facts
1995 Population - 3,476
2000 Projected Population - 3,634
Per Capita Income 1994 - $16,975
Average Single Family Home - $82,000
Average Temperature - JANUARY- 29.4, JULY- 66.9
Annual Precipitation - 17.41"
Location - Seventy miles south of Yakima, Washington, 35 miles north of The Dalles, Oregon, and 120 miles east of Portland, Oregon. Located along U.S. Highway 97. DISTANCE TO PORTLAND - 120 miles DISTANCE TO BOISE - 339 miles DISTANCE TO SEATTLE - 217 miles DISTANCE TO SPOKANE - 280 miles

http://www.cgeda.com/goldendale/golden.shtml