2 RAPS SHEET n SUMMER 2022 CO-PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE RAPS is important to us, but it’s also important to PSU I LOVE THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER! Not only is it when I gather the bounty of the garden and can tomatoes for the coming year, it is when PSU welcomes its new and continuing students to a new academic year. September is also when the outgoing co-president turns the gavel over to the continuing and incoming co-presidents. RAPS is important to its members, because it keeps us connected, informed, and engaged in many ways. But it also important to PSU, because it keeps us connected with, informed of, and engaged with the University. The past two and a half years have been a challenge for everyone, including RAPS! But the RAPS Board, under the leadership of Pat Squire and her co-presidents, Steve Brennan and Bruce Stern, has exhibited considerable creativity, commitment, and determination in keeping the organization not only alive, but flourishing. The list of accomplishment of the board over the past two years is quite impressive, and includes expanding its scholarship funds and using alternative formats to safely deliver very high-quality programs and activities. We owe the leaders of RAPS a debt of gratitude. I am honored and humbled to be a part of this very important organization, and look forward to serving, with Bruce Stern, as your co-president. With the BA.4 and BA.5 variants, it is clear that COVID19 is not yet done with the world. But there are reasons for optimism because we now have more tools to deal with it, including information, vaccines, and antiviral medication. The RAPS Board is committed to continuing to keep the organization active and vibrant, and to deliver quality programs while looking out for your safety. Under the leadership of Dawn White and Pat Squire, the Program Committee has a number of excellent programs planned for the coming year, and I hope you will be able to participate in them. The annual outdoor picnic, on August 18, is a great start to the year. It is a wonderful opportunity to connect with friends and colleagues. —Janine Allen A familiar face around the office: Eben Yemoh returns for year two EBEN YEMOH, the RAPS office manager for 2021-22, is coming back for a return engagement. Yemoh, a native of Accra, Ghana, won plaudits from board members for his efficiency and initiative. He is in the Master of Public Administration/Health Administration program at Portland State and expects to complete his degree in June. The tenure of most RAPS office managers is one year. Typically, they complete their degrees—most are graduate students—and start their careers or continue their studies elsewhere. Yemoh, who is entering the second year of the MPA/HA program, agreed to continue running the RAPS office during 2022-23. Because COVID forced his predecessor, Samatha McKinlay, to work entirely remotely, Yemoh had to learn the office operation on his own. Once he got his footing, “it got a whole lot better.” He enjoyed working with the 202122 RAPS co-presidents, Pat Squire and Bruce Stern. “They were very communicative,” Yemoh said. “It was as if they were always sitting at their computers waiting for my emails.” “Eben is proactive and often knows what needs to be done before I even contact him,” said Stern. “He is quick to respond and get things done. That’s why I’m thrilled to be able to work with him for another year.” Squire concurred. “Eben’s smart, thinks outside the box, and is thoughtful and respectful of us older folk,” she said. “Besides, he’s fun, interesting, has a nice sense of humor, and cares about RAPS and our members.” A fellowship at Oregon Health Authority is keeping Yemoh busy this summer. The fellowship fits neatly into his graduate work, and he’s made professional contacts within OHA that should help him post-graduation. Yemoh and his wife, Aliana, hope to make Oregon their permanent home. They enjoy biking and hiking, although an injury has kept Eben off his bike and his schedule has mostly kept the couple off the trails. However, they managed to get away to the Ramona Falls trail in the Mount Hood Wilderness this summer. “The falls were absolutely amazing,” he said.
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