By Kevin Leahy, CEDR
Daily Astorian — Thursday, April 2, 2026
The Clatsop County Job & Career Exploration Fair, held in March at the Seaside Civic & Convention Center, brought together hundreds of local high school students from Astoria, Ilwaco, Jewell, Knappa, Seaside and Warrenton, along with Clatsop Community College students, job seekers, and community members. More than 60 employers and organizations participated in this unique, countywide event.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the schools that made student participation a priority, and to the employers who took the time to connect with attendees and share real-world job and career opportunities.
Equally important were the business, community, and education leaders who led small-group breakout sessions across key sectors, including construction, education, healthcare, hospitality management, the Clatsop Community College maritime program, and natural resources (agriculture, fisheries, wildlife, forestry and logging). Additional one-on-one support was provided through resume critiques and job interview coaching.
The response was overwhelmingly positive, and the energy throughout the convention center was truly electric!
A special thank you goes to the more than 30 volunteers whose efforts made the day possible — we simply could not have done it without them.
Finally, I would like to recognize Kevin Robitaille and his team at WorkSource Oregon for their continued partnership. From coordinating employer outreach and registrations to managing the website and event layout, their contributions — as co-chair alongside CEDR since the event’s inception — have been invaluable.
CEDR AWARDS COMING SOON
Looking ahead, the 2026 CEDR Awards will be held Thursday, May 21, at the Seaside Civic & Convention Center in Seaside. Nominations are now open at https://tinyurl.com/CEDR-2026-Awards. The deadline for nominations is Thursday, April 30, no later than 5 p.m.
Each award will recognize the businesses (large and small) as a whole, that have demonstrated remarkable achievement in these areas:
- Customer service• Economic impact• Innovation• Community impact
Businesses of all sizes will receive equal consideration. For purposes of the nominations we have made these categorizations:
- A new business is one that has been open for business for less than two years,• A small business is one that has between 1-10 employees,• A large business has more than 10 employees.
A special award that honors a founder of CEDR who also served as President of the CEDR Board for several years; the Skip Hauke Community Supporter Award will be given, which will recognize an organization of any type (nonprofit, service organization, government entity, or an individual) that have gone above and beyond to support the economic vitality of the region.
Past CEDR award winners are a who’s who of businesses throughout the entire county, and prior winners can be nominated too! This is the only countywide business recognition event, which is rotated around the county year-to-year and is an opportunity for business owners, elected officials, leaders, and citizens to get together to network and collectively celebrate the winners, and our diverse and robust economy.
The awards committee is working to have this event be as memorable as always for the winners and the attendees.
Self-nominations are welcome! There must be at least one letter of support to go with each nomination. Businesses must maintain operations — primary or otherwise — in Clatsop County.
Kevin Leahy is executive director of Clatsop Economic Development Resources (CEDR) and associate vice president of Clatsop Community College.
