Oregon Historical Society announces 2022 History Makers
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Oregon Historical Society is delighted to announce the 2022 Oregon History Maker honorees. First celebrated in 2009, the annual Oregon History Makers Awards & Dinner recognizes contemporary individuals and organizations that are positively shaping the history, culture and landscape of Oregon. The event also supports the Oregon Historical Society’s important work to collect, preserve, and interpret Oregon’s past.
The 2022 Oregon History Makers are:
Margaret Carter: Trailblazing Public Servant
Margaret Carter moved from Louisiana to Portland, Oregon, in 1967 at the age of thirty-two, and began a remarkable journey that would lead USA Today and Salem’s Statesman Journal to name her as one of ten Oregon “Women of the Century.” While raising five daughters, she earned degrees from Portland State University and Oregon State University and began a long career as a counselor and faculty member at Portland Community College. Her interest in civic engagement led Carter to run for office, and she was elected to the Oregon State House of Representatives in 1984 — the first Black woman in Oregon to be elected to the state legislature. She went on to serve seven additional terms in the Oregon House of Representatives and eight years in the Oregon State Senate, where she became the first Black woman to serve as president pro tem in 2005. Throughout her legislative service, Carter earned a bipartisan reputation as a tireless and eloquent advocate for the economically disadvantaged. Carter also served as president and CEO of the Urban League of Portland from 1999–2002 and as Deputy Director for Human Services Programs at the Oregon Department of Human Services from 2009–2014.
Sid DeBoer: Visionary Business Leader and Philanthropist
Growing up in a large family in Ashland, where he and his siblings worked at their father’s Lithia Motors dealership, Sid DeBoer learned the automobile sales business from the ground up. When he took over the business after his father’s death in 1968, DeBoer created his own legacy by making Lithia Motors a symbol of hard work, honor, and family — with nearly 300 locations, it is now the third largest automotive retailer in the United States. Believing that greatness is determined not by what you have, but by what you give, DeBoer is the founder and president of the Sid and Karen DeBoer Foundation, which supports youth-mentoring programs, hospitals, the arts, cancer research, and universities, among other worthy causes. DeBoer is also the founder of Lithia4Kids, an initiative dedicated to teaching, inspiring, strengthening, and empowering today’s youth through more than $5 million in donations to organizations and programs that enrich the lives of children and their families.
William B. Long, M.D.: Trauma Care Pioneer
A graduate of the University of Maryland Medical School, William Long became the Trauma Medical Director for Emanuel Hospital in Portland in 1983. During the 35 years he served in that position, Long transformed trauma care on the West Coast, saving countless lives in the process. Under his leadership, Emanuel’s trauma program became the second Level 1 Trauma Center in the Pacific Northwest. Long formed coalitions with police, first responders, EMTs, nurses, and medical and surgical specialists to create the first statewide trauma system in the United States, leading the Journal of the American Medical Association to cite Oregon as having the most complete trauma system in the country. Long’s extensive bibliography includes over 140 publications, including a book, Shock Trauma Manual. In addition, Long helped develop the Legacy Biomechanical Laboratory, which has produced multiple patents and emergency and trauma products that are still in use today.
Oregon Symphony: Beloved Cultural Icon
Founded in 1896, the Oregon Symphony is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States and the oldest in the western United States. Uniting exceptional musicians, a world-class conducting staff, an unrelenting focus on excellence, and a compelling vision, the Oregon Symphony is central to the thriving cultural atmosphere in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Propelled by the desire to bring the transformative power of music to inspire people in new ways, the Oregon Symphony is renowned for its many innovative community partnerships, where musicians leave the concert hall and perform in classrooms, retirement homes, and community centers. Through its many programs, the Oregon Symphony inspires youth, fosters lifelong learning, and brings joyous music to more than 250,000 people annually and reaches millions through broadcast and digital offerings.
“Past and present recipients of the Oregon History Makers award represent the best of what our state has to offer,” said OHS Boyle Family Executive Director Kerry Tymchuk. “Margaret Carter, Sid DeBoer, Dr. William Long, and the Oregon Symphony have all made Oregon better, and are all deserving of the title of ‘History Maker.’”
The Oregon Historical Society will celebrate the 2022 Oregon History Makers Awards & Dinner on Sunday, October 2, 2022, at the Portland Art Museum. Table sponsorships and individual tickets are available. To join Lead Sponsor Lead Sponsor Jordan Schnitzer and the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation in supporting this event, please visit our website or contact Ally Huffman at 503.306.5226 or ally.huffman@ohs.org.
About the Oregon Historical Society
For more than a century, the Oregon Historical Society has served as the state’s collective memory, preserving a vast collection of artifacts, photographs, maps, manuscript materials, books, films, and oral histories. Our research library, museum, digital platforms & website (www.ohs.org), educational programming, and historical journal make Oregon’s history open and accessible to all. We exist because history is powerful, and because a history as deep and rich as Oregon’s cannot be contained within a single story or point of view.
