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Searching for �diamonds� in Shady Cove New city administrator brings communication skills to post By Melissa Martin SHADY COVE � Elise Smurzynski has managed a chicken-and-almond ranch in California, worked as an industrial engineer for a Beatrice Hunt-Wesson tomato cannery and taught school. But for the past 17 years, the new city administrator of Shady Cove has tucked her treasury of experience into a career in city government. "The world we live in is like a diamond and there are facets upon facets upon facets," Smurzynski said. "The more you recognize they exist, the more you are able to work with people." Smurzynski was hired on Oct. 1 to replace Jerry L�Estrange, who returned to his home state of Colorado. Smurzynski had been deputy city manager and city clerk of Riverbank, Calif., since 1983. Despite differences in size �Shady Cove has 2,345 people and Riverbank 15,500 � the cities are similar. Both are located on a river, in a rural area, facing a growing population and tapping tourism to boost the economy. But Shady Cove already has learned how to communicate what it has to offer in recreation, dining and lodging on the Rogue River, she said. "The Upper Rogue Tourism Alliance is light years ahead of a lot of other marketing efforts I�ve seen in Oregon or California communities," Smurzynski said. Among her accomplishments in Riverbank, Smurzynski lists coordinating a tourism group, marketing aquatic facilities, writing grants and creating 10 years� worth of computer data to streamline paperwork. "She was good at keeping the City Council informed," said Sandra Benitez, the mayor of Riverbank for the past four years. "She�s a ream of resource. She can find information you wouldn�t dream of getting." Now as Shady Cove�s new leader, Smurzynski�s goals include researching what type of municipal water system would be best for this city that depends on private wells. She also hopes to help blend the differences between old-time residents and newcomers. "We need to give the best quality of service to everyone, both the folks who are here and the folks coming in," she said. "It�s a challenge to balance what appears to be conflicting values, but actually isn�t," Smurzynski said. "People want the same things � a safe place to live, good neighbors, toilets that flush, streets you can drive on and public safety when you need it." Longtime resident Jim Collier said he has visited briefly with the new administrator and hopes to spend more time telling her about Shady Cove�s past. "If she will take time to sit down with us and talk one on one about what has happened in the past, it would be beneficial for her job and for the community," Collier said. "There�s no point in reinventing the wheel." Smurzynski said she relies on the people skills she�s gained in a wide range of jobs, from managing investment portfolios to her first job � working at age 17 in a retirement home for Presbyterian missionaries and ministers. "What a great way for a kid to get to start off, working with a bunch of seniors," she said. "Some of them had been Korean War prisoners, some had come to California on Conestoga wagons," she said. "One resident was a Rhodes scholar and I used to sit at his feet for Socratic dialogue. Talk about a brain trust. "The diverse cultural backgrounds I interacted with and the variety of jobs I had, every one of them was an opportunity to learn and to look at the world from somebody else�s perspective." Reach Melissa Martin at 776-4477 or by e-mail at [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.