Whitmire's skater skills helps guide TD Parks
Brewster Whitmire with wife Jaime, and sons Brody and Tate.
By Tom Peterson
The Dalles, Ore., April 2025 — Brewster Whitmire was just a year out of The Dalles High School in 2009 when a little project hit his radar.
The avid skateboarder found out there was a push to create a skate park at Howe Park near The Dalles Middle School. But, it turned out, neighbors were less than enthused.
So, Whitmire and several of his friends built ramps and simply placed them at the site, creating a temporary spot for Ollie, Heelflip, and Pop shuvit.
And while the ramps eventually disappeared, he got that first spark of working as a team with others to create the spaces and places that local kids need here in The Dalles.
Jump ahead 16 years, and Whitmire finds himself as the President of the Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation Board, and he has not forgotten those lessons from his youth.
“I try to give a voice to that community of youth because they often do not have a voice in community decisions,” he said.
When Whitmire grew up in The Dalles, the bowling alley and arcade closed, and the skatepark near Safeway was shut down.
He was in the first freshman class to go to The Dalles-Wahtonka High School when the districts merged in 2004. At that time, students voted and approved the Riverhawk mascot, only to be shot down by a school board that was pressured by alumni who lobbied for Eagle Indians.
Those experiences were not lost on Whitmire, and they embolden him today to do more for local youth.
He also has two “high energy” sons, Brody, 10, and Tate, 6, with his wife, Jaime. So, parks are also a perfect place for his family to burn off some energy.
Whitmire and the Parks Board have worked diligently in recent years to guide improvements to the skatepark and pump track near the Aquatic Center, 602 W. Second Street.
In fact, the Sorosis Park rebuild, the addition of the Mt. Bike Skills park, and the new Tree Top playground are a few of the other major undertakings since 2021.
Whitmire, above, also finds some time to get his rec. in as well. The skateboarder still likes to catch air. He is an avid mountain biker in his spare time.
Whitemire is well-versed in projects and planning as he is the Line Supervisor at Wasco Electric Cooperative, where he plans all the maintenance, schedules crews, and phases in projects. It provides him with an invaluable insight into the inner workings of the park’s system and the maintenance it requires.
The District maintains 8 community parks totaling more than 200 acres. Included within these parks are multiple athletic fields, an 18-hole disc golf course, tennis courts, shelters, restrooms, picnic areas, playgrounds, and an 8-mile Riverfront Trail.
“Brewster is an incredible leader of our board,” said fellow board member Marcus Swift. “He is steady, calm, rational, and listens to everyone. Our Board has a lot of skill sets and backgrounds that combine to help us make tough, collaborative decisions.”
We can disagree without being disagreeable … we all respect each other and know we all share the same values of providing the best parks possible for the community and ensuring our tax dollars are spent wisely. It's Brewster's leadership that sets the tone for how we operate - and we have accomplished some big things as a Parks District in the last few years...”
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