The Alice Soderwall Reuse & Waste Prevention Award honors individuals or nonprofit organizations that have gone beyond the norm to reuse materials and prevent waste and has made a significant impact on the community as a result. This year's award was presented to Repair PDX at the 2015 AOR Sustainable Oregon Conference on June 5 in Bend, Oregon.

In August, AOR launched a new event series called On the Road with AOR. On the Road with AOR events bring professionals from around Oregon together to discuss recycling issues and tour facilities. Moving forward, we plan to host two On the Road events each year.

At this year's Sustainable Oregon Conference in Bend, Oregon, it was announced that AOR was looking for members to serve as "regional liaisons" to serve as a conduit between AOR and regions outside the I5 corridor from Portland to Eugene.

The goal of the liaisons is to keep the region represented and informed of AOR activities and to cultivate opportunities to collaborate.

Keep America Beautiful (KAB) and The Ad Council announced the winners of its “I Want To Be Recycled” video contest, conducted in association with Zooppa, the global social community of creative talent.

AOR held its annual elections on June 5 at Sustainable Oregon 2015, AOR's 37th annual conference and trade show, in Bend, OR.

Each year, AOR selects individuals and organizations who have distinguished themselves by their exceptional contributions to recycling and waste prevention efforts in the Northwest to receive Recycler of the Year awards.

What has the AOR Board been up to this past year and where should we direct our attentions this upcoming year? These questions are the central focus of the AOR: The Year in Review conference session next week in Bend.

All of AOR's Board members, plus our lobbyist, will deliver short presentations on a wide range of AOR's activities in the past year. Here's a sneak peek at what we'll be talking about:

AOR will hold board elections at the annual member meeting at Sustainable Oregon 2015 during lunch on Thursday, June 4. Several positions are up for election: Education Chair, Legislative Chair, Markets Chair, and Treasurer.

Starting in October, AOR will incorporate a new process for renewing memberships. It’s easy to forget when dues are up and it takes a lot of time reminding members of expired dues. In the fall we'll be rolling out a better way for membership renewal. All AOR members will have their membership due in October.

As AOR’s new fundraising chair, I’ve been working on a fundraising plan for 2015 and beyond. Our goal for this year is to raise $5,000 in additional funds. This spring we are holding a 50/50 raffle in which one lucky winner will take home half of the proceeds of the raffle. The more tickets that are sold, the bigger the pot grows.