The Visitor Center in Bend, OR

Visit Bend's Fantastic Volunteer Team

Volunteers

Learn more about our team and why they love Bend! If you are interested in volunteering with us, please visit Volunteer Opportunities.

Ann
Though she grew up on the wet side of Oregon, Ann and her two sisters spent winters and summers skiing and hiking in Central Oregon. After graduating from Oregon State University with a degree in dietetics, she joined the Army. Ann went on to specialize in sports nutrition and spent the next 25 years helping soldiers be all they could be. Retirement afforded her the opportunity to return to Oregon and finally live full time in Bend. She met her husband Larry while both were volunteers for Deschutes County Search and Rescue. They enjoy biking, skiing, hiking, and exploring the country with their wonder dog Trekker.

Brigitte
Brigitte moved to Bend from the San Francisco Bay Area in 2005 when she and her husband chose this area for retirement. She found Bend to be perfect to enjoy a slower pace of life with beautiful surroundings and many opportunities for outdoor activities. It was easy to make lots of friends with people who have retired here as well. Brigitte likes socializing and hiking with her friends, skiing, playing tennis and pickle ball, and likes volunteering at Visit Bend.

Chip
Chip was born in Buffalo, New York, and moved around the East Coast growing up as the son of Marines. During his teenage years, he lived near Quantico, Virginia, then he joined the Air Force and got stationed in Fairbanks, AK, during the Vietnam War. He ended up living 33 years in Alaska and moved to Bend in 2007. Chip telecommuted from home as a software engineer and retired a few years ago. He likes getting out and meeting people so he really appreciates his volunteer opportunity at Visit Bend. Chip enjoys hiking, golfing, yoga and snowshoeing, all activities he can do around Central Oregon.

Deborah
Deborah started visiting Central Oregon with her family nearly 30 years ago and fell in love with the area and the friendly people who call Bend home. In 2004, she and her husband were able retire and relocate here. She enjoys the variety of cultural, dining and outdoor adventures, the beautiful scenery throughout the seasons and all those sunny days. Since moving to Bend, Deborah discovered the thrill of mountain biking. She also makes time for skiing, golf, yoga, paddling, and hiking with friends. With so many options, she tries to get in two fun activities each day. At Visit Bend, she enjoys introducing others to this incredible area and sharing the amazing “Bend Life!”

Josefa
Josefa managed a travel agency in Anchorage, Alaska, for 23 years before moving to Bend in May of 2007. An avid hiker and runner, Josefa found Bend to be a perfect fit for her active lifestyle. Her desire to learn more about Bend, her background in travel, and her enjoyment at meeting new people led her to volunteer for Visit Bend.

Joshua
After traveling around the country and abroad for a couple of years, Josh and his family landed in Bend and fell in love with area. Originally from Memphis, they discovered a whole new area to explore here in the Pacific Northwest. They love the outdoors, the people, and everything Bend has to offer. An educator and writer, Josh is always on the hunt for new adventures. He writes for magazines such as Northwest Travel & Life and is currently working on the book 100 Things to Do in Bend Before You Die.

Joyce
Joyce and husband, Bob, moved full-time to Bend almost 6 years ago from Marin County, California. They had been visiting Joyce’s daughter and family in Bend for several years and fell in love with Central Oregon. Joyce has been very active in the Newcomer’s Club of Bend and volunteering at The Tower Theatre. She loves playing pickleball, kayaking, hiking, biking, dancing and sharing all that this area has to offer with visitors to Visit Bend.

Kathy C.
Kathy moved to Bend from Northern California in the summer of 2001 after visiting her daughter who lives here. She was looking for a friendly mountain community to relocate to and decided Bend was the place. She was in the real estate/loan business for many years before retiring a few years ago. She enjoys exploring all that the area has to offer and is an active volunteer for several organizations. She especially enjoys volunteering at Visit Bend because of all of the interesting people she meets and helps to make their visit to the area the best that it can be.

Kathy F.
Kathy and her husband moved to Bend four years ago from San Jose, California, to retire in paradise. They love Bend! Kathy still teaches part time at the community college but is “mostly” retired. She loves to walk and finds Bend a great town for that. She also hikes, kayaks, and volunteers for many organizations in town as well as many of Bend’s sporting events, like the Pole, Pedal, Paddle (PPP). She loves to play all sorts of games and loves to entertain.

Larry
After moving from his birthplace in Olympia, Washington, to Orange County California, Larry moved to Bend over 40 years ago.  He spent several summers with his relatives in the Prineville area as an adolescent and totally fell in love with Central Oregon.
He operated a few small businesses along the way before retiring in 2016.  Larry was a volunteer member of Deschutes County Search and Rescue for over 25 years. It was there he met his wife. Now they are both Visit Bend volunteers! He is a lover of the outdoors.  Cycling, with or without a motor, both on and off road, hiking, backpacking, fishing, alpine and back country skiing … Loving Life!

Pauline
Pauline moved to Bend with her husband in July 2015 from Los Gatos, California in order to downsize and semi-retire. She had heard about the Newcomer’s Club of Bend before her move. As she knew no one in town she joined straight away. Since then she has joined the Bend British Club, Bend Pickleball Club, Bend Genealogical Society, and the board of Awbrey Butte Neighborhood Association. None of her friends and family were surprised when she applied to work as a volunteer at Visit Bend!

Tom
Tom couldn’t wait to retire from his job in Texas so he could move to Bend! He loves the beauty of the area as well as the beer. Since moving, Tom has taken up brewing beer (dark varieties), kayaking, hiking, ballroom dance, and a variety of other fun activities. You can often find him volunteering at events and for arts organizations when he’s not at Visit Bend.