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Community Ed's John Rust works to fill Schend's shoes
By ESTHER K. SMITH
News staff writer
John Rust says the biggest challenge in the first year of his job
as Community Education director has been filling former director
Mike Schend’s shoes.
“It’s easier when your shoes grow a little at a time,” he said.
“It’s harder when you have to jump into a big pair!”
Rust marvels at the sheer amount of work Schend did.
“It’s hard to imagine how much one person can do; it’s even harder
when you don’t know everything they know! It’s been very
challenging.
“He’s been extremely helpful, though,” Rust said. “He has a vested
interest in seeing the program continue on, because he created an
incredible program.
“Thank goodness I had a month with him — if I hadn’t had that I
don’t know whether it would’ve worked.”
Rust moved here from
Idaho
with his wife, Lisa, who teaches at
Hood
River
Middle School,
in around 1994 or 1995. They met in law school at the
University
of
Idaho.
Yes, law school.
“Lisa’s actually a member of the Oregon Bar Association,” he said.
“We both went another direction — we decided to do what we wanted
to do, instead of what our parents wanted us to do.”
Even though neither uses that law background directly in their
current careers, they both use it indirectly, he said.
“They teach you how to think; that’s the key thing,” Rust said.
“And thinking and problem-solving is a really good skill to have
in my job.”
Since moving here Rust has done a lot of ski coaching in club
programs at Mt. Hood Meadows and has worked for Mount Hood Summer
Ski Camps, coaching, directing and hiring for its summer camp
programs. He’ll be leading a climbing camp this summer.
“That’ll be my vacation; climbing is still my passion.”
Now that he and Lisa have children — daughter
Bergen,
5, and Cooper, 1 — they’ve had to scale back on climbing trips,
but chances are good the children will be up to speed before long.
He pointed to a photo of his daughter on a climbing wall at age 2.
Besides trying to strike the right balance between keeping classes
offerings up and keeping costs down (or bringing participation up)
Rust is also tasked with finding a solution to the Drivers
Education problem that came when the state started requiring that
classroom driver’s ed and behind-the-wheel be done concurrently.
He expects to have things settled soon.
Rust also said that Movies in the Park are all squared away; there
will be six movie nights, beginning in July (except the weekend of
the Hood River County Fair).
But his biggest worry right now is finding financing for Families
in the Park, one of Hood River’s favorite summer pastimes (see
sidebar). There is still $3,500 owed from last year’s pledges.
“Are we going to have the money?” he wondered.
He urges businesses and individuals in the community to “commit
now and pay by the end of July.”
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