Andy Green

The local Portland-area Al Kader Shriner's Kader Klowns are planning to be at the Villebois Sunday Farmer's Market in Wilsonville, Oregon, this Sunday beginning at 10 a.m.! Two clowns, Bingo and Bullseye, will be there making FREE balloon sculptures for children. They will also be giving each child a FREE coloring book and crayons from The Shriner's Hospital for Children. Their BIG red sneaker will be there for donations for the hospital's research fund for treating burned children (The Sneaker Fund). There may also be a special guest appearance!

For more than 75 years, The Shriner's Hospital has treated more than 700,000 children with orthopedic problems, burns, spinal cord injuries, cleft lip and palate care, until their 18^th birthday. They are in a network of 22 hospitals that provide expert medical care, absolutely free of charge. We are so fortunate to have one of the Shriner's Hospitals right here in the West Hills of Portland.

Come to Wilsonville's Sunday Market in the Villebois Village Center where you can eat breakfast and lunch, buy fresh produce from local farms, shop for homemade goods, listen to live music and make memories with your children and the Kader Klowns. Don't forget to bring your camera!

For more information about The Shriner's Hospital and the Al Kader Klowns, please visit www.alkadershriners.org. For more information about the Villebois Sunday Market, please visit www.VilleboisSundayMarket.com.

Many people have requested more information about the community housing that is available in the Villebois neighborhood in Wilsonville, Oregon. As you may or may not be aware, the Villebois community was built upon the grounds of the former Dammasch State Hospital. A caveat of the closure and subsequent sale of the hospital property included reservation of eight acres for the development of community housing for people with mental illness.

The term "community housing" covers a broad range of residences woven into the fabric of our unique urban village - from group homes where residents live "family-style" with assistance from on-site staff to small affordable apartments where residents enjoy a greater level of independence.

The integration of community housing for people with disabilities in a state-of-the-art neighborhood like Villebois puts Oregon on the map when it comes to having the most progressive model of community living. The development of this exciting housing concept is the result of collaboration involving the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI-Oregon), Costa Pacific Communities, Arbor Custom Homes, the City of Wilsonville, the Wilsonville business community, local nonprofit housing developers, the State of Oregon and Clackamas County.

The planning and implementation of community housing in our neighborhood is positive in many ways:

1. It ensures development and affordability of mental health residential projects at Villebois, housing very low income adults with mental illness.
2. It reduces the population of homeless mentally ill people in Clackamas County and in Oregon.
3. It provides an opportunity for many mentally ill adults to live in a respectful environment and thrive in their recovery.
4. It reduces the need for more expensive mental health treatment interventions; and
5. It helps mitigate the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Here are a few dispelled myths about mental illness and community housing*:

Myth: People with mental illness are violent.
Fact: There is also no need to be concerned about violence or other harmful behavior with residents living in community housing. Studies have repeatedly shown that those with mental disabilities are no more likely to be violent than the general population. Individuals with mental illness who live in Villebois are screened for their ability to live successfully in community housing.

Myth: Group homes and supportive housing have a negative impact on property values.
Fact: Community housing in Villebois will have no adverse effect on property values. Research has found that property values remain unaffected by nearby homes for people with disabilities.

Myth: People with mental illness never get better and should be in hospitals.
Fact: One half to two-thirds of mentally ill individuals achieve considerable improvement or recovery,

We appreciate your interest and support of community housing in the Villebois community.

If you would like more information, please call 866.580.2836 or email Info@CostaPacific.com. If you have specific questions about the types of housing for people with mental illness that exists in Villebois, please contact Darcy Strahan with the Oregon Department of Human Services at 503.945.9722 or Darcy.Strahan@state.or.us. You may also contact Bruce Mack at Community Solutions for Clackamas County at 503.502.2346 or brucem@co.clackamas.or.us; or Sherry Mackey at Clackamas County Community Health at 503.722.6628 at SherryMac@co.clackamas.or.us.

* Provided by the Oregon Department of Human Services

Here are FOUR things YOU can do in 20 MINUTES to support the Villebois Sunday Market, which is held every weekend in the Villebois Village Center in Wilsonville, Oregon:

#1 Recruit volunteers and send them to the market manager. Successful markets have a strong, active volunteer base. If you want to keep the market at Villebois, we need YOU, and we need your friends and neighbors.

Volunteer at the market - we have morning and afternoon shifts - or take a leadership role, and help during the week with a variety of tasks. The Web site, www.VilleboisSundayMarket.com, has information under "volunteers." The sign-up sheet is at the Welcome Tent each week.

If you would like to take a leadership role, please contact Taraneh (terre-UH-neigh) Foster, the Villebois Sunday Market manager, at villeboissundaymarket@gmail.com. Office hours are from 10:30 a.m. to Noon Tuesdays.

#2 Talk, talk, talk. The best way to increase attendance and to recruit volunteers is through cheap, good, old-fashioned word of mouth. Edelman does an annual Trust Barometer, and "a person like me" continues to be the most trusted source of information. Didn't you know? YOU are that trusted person. We need you. So get talking!

#3 Talk online, too. Do you use e-mail? Twitter? Facebook? LinkedIn? Please add the following to your e-mail signature, both at home and at work, and then include this on your status updates in your chosen social media: "Did you know Wilsonville has a farmers' market? Watch the video at http://bit.ly/cbAAx, follow the market blog at VilleboisSundayMarket.blogspot.com, and join me Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m."

#4 Share this post with anyone you know who lives in Wilsonville or a neighboring city/town. Ask them to share it with anyone they know, too. Can't make a copy? The Villebois Village Center has extra copies of this in a hard copy, flyer format. They'll be glad to share.

To volunteer at the Villebois Sunday Market in Wilsonville, Oregon, please contact Taraneh Foster, Market Manager, at 503.241.3834 or email VilleboisSundayMarket@gmail.com today!

Dreyer's Ice Cream recently hosted its Slow Churned^® Neighborhood Salute ice cream party contest, and the Villebois community in Wilsonville, Ore. was selected as a Grand Prize winner out of neighborhoods across the nation. Earlier this Spring, Villebois residents submitted essays to Dreyer's, nominating our community and explaining why Villebois should be selected to win FREE Dreyer's Slow Churned^® Light ice cream and a Party in a Box with all the necessary supplies to host a summer block party for friends and neighbors.

Here are two of the essays that helped the Villebois community win the Slow Churned^® Neighborhood Salute ice cream party contest:

"Villebois is a new neighborhood in Wilsonville, Oregon. Just south of Oregon's largest city, Wilsonville is a small town favored by many commuters. With Portland and its suburbs only 30 minutes north, and the state's capital city of Salem just 30 minutes south, it's a great place for couples to raise their children away from the big city but still close to all the activities it has to offer.

Villebois is a new, planned community. The layout of the neighborhood promotes get-togethers, social events, clubs, games and outdoor activities of all types. With wide sidewalks, multiple parks and green spaces, it attracts a lot of people who enjoy spending time outdoors. Another feature of Villebois is the many and varied types of people who live here. With large single-family homes, small condominiums and row homes, apartments and medium-sized homes, there are many diverse people of all ages and walks of life who live here. And the best is yet to come. Villebois is a neighborhood under development and a lot of new people move in each month. As a community we are always trying to meet the new neighbors, get to know their family and help introduce them to the fun that can be had in our neighborhood. An ice cream social is a great way to do that and we'd love to have one sponsored by Dreyer's.

Villebois is also the site of the 2008 Fit House, a project sponsored by Cooking Light magazine. This house was designed with fitness in mind, and that's a perfect match to the lower-calorie slow churned ice cream that Dryer's is promoting. We are an active neighborhood with lots of kids, dogs, parks, and everyone and everything on wheels. With Oregon's wet wintery weather we really take advantage of the warm summer months and spend as much time as possible outdoors. We hope you'll help us do that by awarding us one of the ice cream socials. Thanks for your consideration!"

~ Allison Sherman, Villebois resident


"I believe the Villebois neighborhood in Wilsonville, Oregon, deserves to be one of the winning communities honored by Dreyer's in its Slow Churned^® Neighborhood Salute ice cream block party contest.

I have never lived in a community quite like Villebois. No other neighborhood in Oregon...let alone the Pacific Northwest...let alone the country has as much heart and genuine community spirit as we do in Villebois.

As the largest non-resort master planned community in the state, the 500-acre Villebois neighborhood offers us as residents the opportunity to live, work, play and learn - without ever having to leave the neighborhood. I live and work in Villebois myself and everyday I thank my lucky stars I am able to raise my family in a quiet, safe community like Villebois. My wife and I love living far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the city of Portland, yet close enough if we ever want to drive into the city to take in a Blazers basketball game or a concert.

Villebois is family-friendly, and my kids can attest to that. Every week, we have a ritual of "park hopping" between the various play areas and green spaces that are tucked in pockets throughout the Villebois neighborhood. There are 160 acres of parks and open space in the Villebois community, and my family and I have scoured every last inch.

A mixed-use development, Villebois is also host to a Village Center, which will soon be filled with condominiums, a boutique hotel, shops, a specialty grocery store, cafés and restaurants. This will only complement our community's current energy and European village flair.

Villebois residents love to get together as a community. From garage sales and potlucks to 4th of July parades, Easter egg hunts and other holiday events, the community is always gathering together for some activity. The weekly Villebois Sunday Market also brings the Villebois community together each week.

At Villebois, we believe that life's better when you slow down. That's why I believe that Villebois deserves to be one of Dreyer's winning neighborhoods for the Slow Churned^® Neighborhood Salute."

~ Andy Green, Villebois resident


For more details about the award-winning Villebois community, please call 866.580.2836 or email Blog@CostaPacific.com.

Costa Pacific Communities today announced the recent hire of Simon Acheson as the award-winning development company's chief financial officer (CFO).

With 20 years of experience in real estate finance and development, Acheson most recently worked as the CFO with CXA Group, a start-up developer and operator of independent senior living facilities across the country. Acheson brings an extensive résumé and diverse portfolio of accomplishments and experience to Costa Pacific Communities. He originally began his career at Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh and New York, followed by a career as Vice President and head of Private Investment Analysis at a regional money management firm in Portland, Ore.

Additionally, Acheson was CFO of a real estate development and operating firm in Montana and Senior Vice President of Morley Capital Management, a national money management firm based in Oregon. He also has experience as Director of Capital Markets at Pacific Security Capital where he raised debt and equity funds for a wide variety of national real estate projects.

Acheson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Virginia where he was an Echols Scholar. He also received a Masters of Business Administration degree in Finance with distinction from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

"We are pleased to welcome Simon as our CFO at Costa Pacific Communities," says Rudy Kadlub, CEO of Costa Pacific who has known Acheson for nearly 20 years. "With his unparalleled work ethic and expansive experience in development finance, he will be a valuable asset to our management team."

Costa Pacific Communities is currently developing the Villebois Village Center in Wilsonville, Ore. A transit-oriented, master-planned community, Villebois will eventually host 2,600 single- and multi-family homes, more than 35,000 square feet of retail space and 160 acres of parks and communal green space.

For more information about Costa Pacific Communities or the Villebois Village Center, please visit: www.ChangeHowYouLive.com; or contact Costa Pacific New Home Specialist Andy Green at 866.580.2836 or email info@CostaPacific.com.