People Power is the secret to View the Future actively fulfilling its mission in the Yachats community. In this section, we feature some of those people—founders, board members, volunteers, partners and others who have contributed to View the Future’s success for 20 years.
Michael Hempen and his wife Debbie moved to Yachats nine years ago. Right away, Michael found himself paying more attention to the environment.
“In California, it didn’t seem that anybody was paying attention, but moving to Yachats crystalized my impression that the ‘environment’ is—the environment! It’s not people, cars, the congestion of an urban area.” Michael began to think about ways to make the future better. “What wasn’t on anybody’s radar in California suddenly became very important.”
Michael notes that he is not an altruist. His goal in life is to be satisfied with whatever he does, from washing the dishes to preserving trees. “It scratches the itch I have to take care of where I live, to save our environment the way it is meant to be, not the way we want it to be.”
The past nine years have brought changes to Yachats, changes that Michael welcomes as a way to replenish the community. When he worked with Joanne Kittel on the history of the Yachats Commons, he could see this trend more clearly as young hippies replaced the older community. Then there was the wave of new retirees, he and Debbie among them. Now young people with families are arriving and looking for ways to make things better.
Reflecting on some recent changes, Michael notes that there was a gap left when the Friends of the Commons was dissolved. “It seemed like they were the heart of the town, doing things that it wasn’t the job of city government to do.” He sees View the Future as the natural successor to that role, with its mission of preserving and conserving environmental and cultural values of the community.
Michael clearly believes in making things better. “I’ve learned that giving and serving others in community enriches my life. That’s where satisfaction lies.” He hopes that Yachats will continue to be a place that values the environment, is welcoming to all, open and vibrant, and a mecca for others who feel the same way.
For more information about the VtF Board of Directors, visit https://viewthefuture.org/who-we-are/team/.
