Slusher's accomplishments ring through 3 counties, 43 years

Mid-Columbia Community Action Council Executive Director Jim Slusher gets an envelope filled with a thank you and congratulations from Ana Ramey, 6. She and her mom, Amanda, put the card together with some chocolate. Ramey previously worked with Slusher and Ana would visit and call Jim, boss.

By Tom Peterson

He has touched hundreds of thousands of people, said Kasey Buckles.

The man she was talking about sat across the room chatting with old buddies and family.

Some of the most recognizable programs in our area that prop people up came under his command.

What will follow his 43 plus years at the Mid-Columbia Community Action Council, Inc.?

Only Jim Slusher knows. But it likely involves helping people as he has done for his entire career.

Buttons of Jim Slusher were handed out at his retirement party last week. Here he is in his chef hat from one of the Action Council’s BBQ held in May. The BBQs were well attended, bringing hundreds as well as live entertainment.

Slusher as Executive Director of Community Action helped start The Dalles Community Meal, said Former Wasco County Commissioner Scott Mckay. Slusher was also a force behind the creation of the AARP Free Tax Preparation for local seniors.  

The local Action Council, started in 1966, provides energy, housing and weatherization assistance to low-income individuals and families residing in Wasco, Sherman, and Hood River counties.

Community Action changes people’s lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves communities and makes America a better place to live, according to its mission statement. 

“He’s an institution in this community,” Buckles said of her boss. Buckles assists Veterans with housing.  Slusher has focused on keeping people housed, warm and fed during tough times. 

“He has the deepest heart for poverty and the disenfranchised,” said Corenne Stewart, who also worked with Slusher for 15 years. 

Community Action has helped dozens of houseless veterans get off the street through their housing program at the former motel at 1301 West Second Street. 

Slusher’s employees said their boss while driven also made sure to recognize the potential in them. And they held a retirement party for him on Friday, Nov. 6 at The Dalles Civic Auditorium. 

Slusher has been serving as the Executive Director since 1980 and started at the nonprofit in 1977 as an Energy Coordinator.

Since then, he has been adding a joke or two to the day while keeping the focus on getting people served. 

Jim Slusher with Arizona Senator Jeff Flake. Slusher said he and Garcia Francisco ran into the Senator while making his rounds to Oregon Representatives during one of his many trips back to Washington D.C. in efforts to help locals.

Yasmin Ricks, who has worked with Slusher for the past 5 ½ years said she always looked forward to Slusher’s Christmas cards. They came with a candid picture of her shot while working in the past year. 

“He’s understanding and compassionate about what we do in our community,” she said.

David Bradley, Chief  Executive Officer and Co-Founder of the National Community Action Foundation which lobbies in Washington D.C. had nothing but good words for Slusher in a video address he gave at the retirement party.  

He said Slusher had “left the bar high for future generations,” quoting a line from The Natural. 

“I see you as a father,” said Current Energy Coordinator with Community Action Garcia Francisco, noting he was a friend.

“You taught me how to control my anger and the way I speak… I will miss you a lot.”

Slusher said he had literally interviewed thousands during his career and hired some 300, noting it took the staff and a strong board to have brought the Action Council this far.

He said the struggles if anything were getting more difficult, noting the Action Council dispensed $700,000 in rental assistance and $500,000 in energy assistance payments to those affected by COVID-19.

And he won’t miss the paperwork, he said, stating it was making the job of helping people more and more difficult instead of easier. 

Kenny LaPoint, the Director Of Public Affairs at Oregon Housing & Community will be replacing Slusher after this week.

Hood River County Commissioner Rich McBride said Slusher is a standout. 

“With all the people I deal with, all the boards, there is not a person who is more committed to the cause as Jim Slusher. He has done it for decades… he has done a lot with very little.” 

Mid-Columbia Community Action Council Inc. is part of a state and national network. Community Action Partnership of Oregon and its members are part of the national Community Action Network – a network made up of more than 1,100 local, private, non-profit, and public agencies that work to alleviate and eliminate poverty.

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Jim Slusher at left in the bed races held by the Jaycees in The Dalles in the 1980s.