OTE Staff
Cheryl Gribskov
Cheryl is OTE’s Chief Executive Officer and visionary leader. Cheryl has worked for OTE since1984 and obtained her Bachelor Degrees in psychology and community service and public affairs from the University of Oregon. She also attended George Fox University and Portland State University, as well as the Northwest School of Theological Studies. A native Oregonian, Cheryl thrives at her fast paced job. If you ask her what she values about OTE, she says “We’re able to be flexible and responsive to new ideas. We have the ability to dream big. We really do make a difference!” Cheryl and her husband have three daughters and four pets, including a formerly feral cat named Spirit. Apparently, Spirit is now quite the couch potato. Cheryl enjoys her “free time” gardening and writing.
Tim Pickett
Tim is our Chief Business Officer and has been a part of OTE since 2009. Tim has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Journalism from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. He later added an accounting concentration from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, CA. He also served as a captain in the US Army. Tim likes working at OTE because we connect travelers with the best Oregon has to offer. He handles our Human Resources Division and is on the OTE executive team. Tim and his wife have two children, as well as a black Labrador who loves to play at the Oregon coast. Tim enjoys playing golf, collecting fountain pens and Oregon paintings, and plays the piano.
Jim Renner
Jim Renner is the agency’s Chief Rules and Policy Advisor and has been with OTE since 1998. Jim is native Oregonian who attended Rex Putnam High School and the University of Oregon; he also has a Master’s Degree in Geography from Oklahoma State University. On the national level, Jim is a member of the Guide and Motorist Information Signs technical subcommittee of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD) and is an associate member to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).
Annie von Domitz
Annie is our Chief Community Assets Officer. If you love Heritage Trees or Historical Markers, Annie is your administrator. She also works with rest area coalitions in strengthening local economic development. Annie is part of the OTE speaker’s bureau and facilitates the volunteer Free Coffee Program. She has been with OTE since 2004 and is a native Oregonian. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Oregon. Annie likes working at OTE because “we get things done!” She believes OTE is innovative, collaborative, effective and fun. She and her husband have a son and two lively senior cats.
Madeline MacGregor
Madeline is OTE’s Chief Creative Strategist. What’s that title about? Well “Mad Maddie” does a little of everything creative for OTE. She writes the e-news stories, helps maintain the OTE website, designs OTE publications, is the hidden “we” behind our Facebook and Twitter accounts, and is point-of-contact for all media relations. She even makes a pretty decent iced coffee. Back in the heyday of guerrilla journalism, Maddie was a reporter for the Seattle Sun and Pandora, A Washington Woman’s News Journal. She and her husband and their five (Oh dear!) cats live in rural Albany. “Life just goes better with cats and coffee,” is her motto.
Jenn Smith
Jenn joined OTE’s team in October 2011 as the Executive Assistant. She comes from a background of Association Management and the building industry. She also has experience in marketing and public relations. Jenn likes the creativity and imagination OTE’s staff demonstrates to accomplish the agency’s goals. Jenn lives in south Salem with her two great kids and two demanding cats. In her spare time she enjoys reading, gardening, and exploring our beautiful state.
Diane Cheyne
Diane is OTE’s Sign Operations Director. Diane has been part of our team since 2006 and resides in West Salem. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Communication from Corban University in Salem, Oregon. Diane enjoys helping our customers and loves the diverse nature of her job. Diane and her husband have two children. When not busy with Field Operations, Diane likes to read, garden, and help with home improvements. She cherishes time spent with her husband, attends sporting events, and is an avid Disney resort fan.
Sue VanHandel
Sue is our Business and Sign Assistant. She’s the first person you talk to if you’re an OTE sign customer or a new customer with questions. Sue has been with OTE since 2010 and earned her Associates of Arts degree from Chemeketa Community College. Sue has great enthusiasm for her work with OTE’s sign customers and says she enjoys her “fabulous” coworkers. Sue is a true cowgirl and participates in rodeos. She also enjoys reading and cooking. Sue is committed to improving her community through volunteer service; she sits on the Santiam Canyon Stampede board and volunteers for the Sublimity Harvest Fest.
Luc (Lucian) Rizzo
Luc is our application systems analyst. Luc has been with OTE since 2005. Luc attended college at SOSC, Oregon State University, and Linn Benton Community College. He studied business computer systems and philosophy. Luc values OTE for the way staff assumes ownership of their work and is allowed the autonomy to be creative and improve themselves. Luc says, “While much of our work is individual, we always still feel like a team.” He and his wife have two children and four cats. Luc is a long-standing member in the Society for Creative Anachronism and also enjoys reading science fiction and playing blues guitar. He was a corporal in the Army National Guard where he served for six years. Luc also worked as an inker for Wildstorm Studios, in La Jolla, California.
Ed Bengtson
Ed is OTE’s controller extraordinaire. He’s immersed in the art of understatement, especially when it comes to describing who he is, and what he does at OTE. “I manage finance and administration,” Ed says. “I like ideas, even numbers, full moons, and writing fiction.” OTE appreciates Ed’s dry humor, brevity, and incredibly accurate accounting expertise. Ed also manages OTE’s administrative support staff.
Harry Falisec
Harry is OTE’s Director of Sales and has been with us since 2010. He attended Portland State University where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in business marketing. Harry has an extensive background in the business private sector and has owned and operated several successful companies. He values our highly diverse and motivated team of individuals who respect each other’s talents and who help each other whenever necessary. He is the warmhearted person you meet when you sign up for one of our sales programs. Harry has two wonderful children and likes to spend quality time with them on snowy mountains skiing or on the rivers water skiing or tubing.
Tanner Cheyne
Tanner is our accounting clerk. He works alongside our controller to make sure the numbers are crunched and invoices are paid. Tanner has been with Oregon Travel Experience since July 2011. He lives with his wife and their two cats in South Salem. Tanner obtained his Bachelor of Science in liberal studies from Oregon State University. Tanner values OTE’s awesome environment and friendly staff. Tanner spends the majority of his free time with his wife and cats. They enjoy traveling, drawing, crashing castles, and attending OSU sporting events.
John Hafner
John is our field operations manager. John attended college at both Central Oregon Community College and Lane Community College where he studied mechanics and business, and graduated with an AA degree. John says he values OTE because he has the freedom to do the “right thing” and believes his career is challenging and rewarding. John and his wife have three daughters, one son, and two granddaughters. As an added bonus, a silky haired terrier is a part of the extended family and is affectionately known as “Saw Shop.” John enjoys traveling, hunting, and gardening.
Mike Bryant
Mike is our field operations assistant manager and has been with OTE since 2006. Mike oversees the daily schedule and OTE’s sign operation technicians. He helps install and maintain big blue highway and other OTE signs. Mike says he likes working for us because “it is an ever changing adventure.” Mike is married and has two grown children whom he says “know everything!” He also has two cats and enjoys golfing, hunting, fishing, and everything and anything that lets him be in the outdoors.
Sarah Flores
Sarah is our receptionist and Free Coffee Program Coordinator. Sarah has been with OTE since January 2011. Sarah loves working at OTE and her coworkers. She likes the fact that at OTE “nothing stays the same.” Sarah recently married the love of her life and they have two birds, a yellow sided green-cheek Conure named Peachy and a Quaker Parrot named Edgar. Sarah enjoys scrapbooking and training her birds to talk and do tricks. She also likes gardening, motorcycle riding behind her husband and blazing over Oregon coast sand dunes when the weather permits.
David Patton
David A. Patton, Director of Rest Area Operations, has over 30 years of experience working in transportation management with the Oregon Department of Transportation. He brings to his position vast knowledge of transportation related issues, repairs, rest area management, access management and sign rules, as well as being a certified Team Building Facilitator. He enjoys working at OTE because of the opportunities to build rapport with the traveling public, governmental entities, business leaders, and communities around the state. David lives in Ontario with his wife and daughters.
Heather Swanson
Heather is OTE’s Rest Area Administrator. Heather has been with OTE since 2010 and values the staff’s sense of humor. Heather grew up in Albany, Oregon and earned a Bachelor of Science in Geography from Western Oregon University. She and her husband have one daughter and also share their home with two dogs. Heather enjoys reading and participating in local activities with her family. She is a member of the Chapman Hill Elementary PTC Board, West Salem Neighborhood Association Board, and the West Salem MOM’s Club.
Terry Hauck
Terry is OTE’s Baldock rest area supervisor and started with OTE in 2010. Terry enjoys working for us and enjoys his coworkers and daily schedule. He says it is very gratifying to be involved with an organization that is making a positive and productive difference in people’s lives. Terry believes OTE’s vision and mission is cutting edge for Oregon and the nation. He served in the US Air Force’s Special Forces as sergeant. Terry and his wife share their Canby home with a rescue cat and a miniature dachshund.
Grant Christensen
Grant is OTE’s Baldock rest area assistant supervisor. He has been with OTE since 2010. Grant has a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Management from Indiana University. He enjoys working at OTE because he likes to be able to contribute to enhancing and improving the rest area for its visitors. He feels that his background in natural resources help make the rest area more inviting and will encourage more drivers to stop and enjoy the beautiful park-like grounds. Grant and his wife have one daughter and a Weimaraner dog who has been one of Grant’s best friends for over a decade.
Norm Nelson
Norm is a native Oregonian and is OTE’s Ontario rest area supervisor. Norm has been with OTE since 2010. Norm majored in business administration at Seattle Pacific College in Seattle, Washington. Norm likes working for us because he enjoys visiting with rest area visitors and finding out where they’re going and where they’re from. He also takes pride in helping Mother Nature put on her show and says the rest area is lovely with the roses in full bloom. Norm and his wife have three children, nine grandchildren, and a “spoiled” dog named Muffy.
Mark Grinde
Mark is our OTE Manzanita rest area supervisor and is a native Oregonian. Mark has been with us since 2010. He enjoys working for OTE because he values his coworkers. He’s also happy OTE has assumed responsibility of enhancing certain rest areas and making them safe for the traveling public. Mark and his wife have two grown daughters as well as an extended family of four dogs and two cats. He enjoys playing golf and visiting the Oregon coast.
Kevin Smolich
Kevin is Manzanita rest area’s assistant supervisor. Kevin has been with OTE since January, 2010. He lives in Grants Pass and attended Glendale College, majoring in general contracting. Kevin likes working at OTE because he appreciates his co-workers. He thinks it is terrific that everyone is willing to help each other and values the team work. Kevin has a daughter and plays bass guitar. He also enjoys camping and all kinds of off-road activities.
Jason Nash
Jason is Santiam rest area’s supervisor. He started working with OTE in December 2011. Jason graduated from OSU with a BS in agriculture and also served in the Oregon Army National Guard for eight years. Jason and his significant other have four daughters between them, and he coaches a girl’s soccer team in Albany. Jason looks forward to meeting the public and extending a helping hand at Santiam.
Nancy Tatum
Nancy is our Santiam rest area assistant supervisor. Nancy has been with OTE since 2010 and enjoys working for the agency because she likes being treated like family. She values thinking outside the box and interacting with the public. She loves being a part of the rest area improvements and ensuring the rest area is safe and clean for the traveling public. Nancy and her husband have two children. She is an avid horsewoman and enjoys trail riding on her blue roan Appaloosa horse. She says that together they’ve crossed many bridges and creeks and climbed to the top of a mountain. Nancy is famously known as OTE’s “animal whisperer!”
Joleen Odens
Joleen is the Boardman rest area supervisor. She moved to Oregon in 1979 from her home state of South Dakota. She fell in love with the Oregon scenery the minute she drove the Columbia River Gorge on State Highway 730. She worked with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) on the district landscape crew which managed three rest areas, city interchanges, and roadside spraying for all ODOT’s District 12. Joleen says she learned about OTE through a fellow worker and when the opportunity arrived to join the organization she was excited. She and her husband have three children.
Jon Tucker
Jon is Boardman rest area’s assistant supervisor and a native Oregonian. He has lived, worked, and traveled across the state. Jon and his wife live in Hermiston. They have two daughters and four grandchildren. Jon brings a passion for sports to his role as referee for girl’s basketball and as umpire to boy’s baseball.
Jeff Wherry
Jeff is Ontario rest area’s assistant supervisor. His background is in construction and maintenance. Jeff attended Boise State College and has been active in his community, serving as past chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and the School Board. Although Jeff is brand new to OTE in 2011, he says “I can see that I will enjoy working in a close knit employee oriented environment.” Jeff and his wife have four grown children and four grandchildren.
Randy Kleinschmit
Randy is part of the OTE sign operations crew and works as sign operations technician helping to install and maintain signs. He has been with OTE since April, 2010. Randy currently resides in beautiful Mt. Angel and is a native Oregonian. Randy likes working at OTE because he believes we’re a great company with a good crew of people and he really enjoys the job. Randy has many hobbies and is a bit of an outdoorsman. He likes to hunt, go fishing and go camping.
Josh Flores
Josh is a part of the OTE sign crew and is employed as a sign operations technician.
Josh LoBue
Josh is a member of OTE’s sign crew and is a native Oregonian. He’s been on board OTE since 2007. Josh likes working for OTE because everyone has such a good sense of humor and feels like family. He enjoys his work as a sign operations technician and loves traveling across our beautiful state. Josh says he and his wife “have a dog that has more energy than the both of us put together!” Josh enjoys paintball, gaming, and growing bonsai trees. He also participates in extreme four-by-four.
Luke Arendt
Luke is our operations tech in charge of kiosk repairs and brochure placement. Luke has been with OTE since September 2011 and enjoys working for an organization where traveling Oregon is a part of his job. He is married to the love of his life and has five teenage kids. He attended Chemeketa Community College studying human resources. He served in the United States Air Force and in Operation Desert Storm. Luke enjoys being in the outdoors—camping, hunting, and fishing, and spending quality time with family and friends.
Tye Kyllo
Tye is a Baldock rest area maintenance technician.
John Stratton
John is a a Baldock rest area maintenance technician.
Jack Schmid
Jack is a single father of two boys and is a Baldock rest area maintenance technician. He is a skilled journeyman carpenter. He also holds a commercial drivers license . Jack enjoys camping and hunting and spending time with his two sons. Jack says he likes his work as a maintenance technician at Baldock since “It’s exciting to transform the grounds into a park-like setting where people stop to enjoy themselves and get some rest.”
Jason Linder
Jason is a Baldock rest area maintenance technician.