OCA director settles into ‘dream job’
By MITCH LIES
For the Capital Press
For the better part of a week this past summer, Jerome Rosa’s mind was not on his Gervais, Ore., dairy operation. The veteran dairyman was considering accepting an offer to be the next executive director of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association.
A religious man, Rosa said he consulted his wife, Carole, and his son, Greg, and prayed over the decision for a week, even calling Jay Gordon, executive director of the Washington State Dairy Federation.
Gordon encouraged him to take the position.
“Jay said, ‘Jerome, the beauty about these positions is you are involved in issues that you care about and know about,’” Rosa said.
Still, Rosa said, there was the 600-cow dairy to run, and no family member prepared to run it. His son, Greg, two years out of college with a degree in business administration, was preparing to accept a job offer that would take him off the farm.
Still, the idea of heading the cattle association was too intriguing for Rosa, and when Greg agreed to stay and run the farm, Rosa made the leap.
“It’s a dream job,” said Rosa, 54. “How many people at this stage in their life get a fresh start in something they are really excited about?”
On the surface, to shift from running a dairy, which Rose did for 27 years, to heading a 2,000-member statewide association, appears a big change. Throughout his adult life, however, Rosa, has participated in administrative boards with an eye on politics.
“I enjoy that part of the job,” he said of the political duties associated with heading the organization. “I plan to be active this coming session, working on our issues at the Capitol with (lobbyist) Jim (Welsh) and Bill Hoyt, who is chair of our legislative committee.”
Rosa, in fact, eventually planned to seek political office and has built a resume for just such a run.
Rosa has served on school boards, was on the Oregon Dairy Farmers Board of Directors for 12 years, including a two-year stint as president, served eight years on the Oregon Beef Council, and recently served one four-year term on the Oregon State Board of Agriculture.
Rep. Vic Gilliam, R-Silverton, and Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton, who represent his district in the Oregon House and Senate, were aware of his intentions, he said.
“The goal was to take a run when there was an opening,” he said.
Like Jer-Osa Organic Dairy, that aspiration, too, now is on the back burner after the cattlemen hired him.
Curtis Martin, immediate past president of the association and one of three association board members who conducted the final interview with Rosa, said he’s known Rosa for several years and has been impressed with him.
“I’ve always been impressed with Jerome’s knowledge and his ability to address issues articulately and directly, yet do it in a way that is not abrasive or controversial,” Martin said.
After the final interview, he said, the three were convinced Rosa was a good fit for the organization.
“We were really impressed with Jerome’s enthusiasm and his knowledge of organizations and his ability to work with agencies, and his understanding of the political landscape,” Martin said.
“After visiting with him, we all thought to ourselves, ‘If we don’t hire Jerome, we have rocks in our head,’” Martin said.
Now two months on the job, Rosa said the position is all he expected and more.
“The depth and amount of legal issues facing our producers is more than I imagined,” he said. “I’m dealing more with lawyers than I thought I would.”
His favorite part of the job?
“The best part is getting on the ground and talking to producers,” Rosa said.