OSTA: Empowering Park & Marina Residents
If you are an Oregon Manufactured Home Park or Marina resident who owns their home, but rents the space or slip in which your home is located, then we are here for you.
OSTA is your support network, a trusted source of information about your rights, and your advocate for more secure housing through improved legislation.
Through these efforts and initiatives, we enhance your quality of life.
OSTA is a nonprofit, grassroots organization that seeks direction from members, avoiding a top-down approach, regarding decision-making on critical issues affecting members’ lifestyle choices, quality of life, and rights as residents in manufactured housing and floating home communities.
OSTA works to provide an expanding array of programs, information, and services to its members. It is an organization focused, not only on protecting the rights of homeowners as residents in parks and marinas but an organization that supports all aspects of manufactured and floating home living.
To enable this to happen we rely on members, teams, and colleagues, across the state who support this common vision. This work requires time, investment, and dedication to serve our 80,000+ residents and we rely solely on memberships and donations to achieve our goals.
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OSTA: Empowering Park & Marina Residents
OSTA Update: Announcing The 2026 Annual Conference
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Welcome to this OSTA update. What is in this episode? We've made some summer improvements to the newsletter. You may have noticed in the last issue that it’s stronger, with more contributions, new perspectives from board members, and an easier publishing workflow. We even shared that a printed copy is returning, which helps people who want something tangible to share at meetings, with neighbors, or inside new OSTA chapters.
Then we lay out the full roadmap for the OSTA Annual Conference. Here is the venue information.:
OSTA Annual Conference
October 3rd, 2026
10 am to 4 pm
Hilton Garden Inn in Clackamas
12566 SE 93rd Ave, Clackamas, OR 97015
Tickets: $35 / $60 premium. With a 1-year membership and a new Residents handbook.
Free Parking, Coffee, Snacks, and Lunch will be provided.
Register early, as only 150 seats are available. You’ll also hear practical travel guidance from PDX, a strong warning about third-party hotel booking apps, and ideas for turning the trip into a staycation with nearby food, shopping, parks, and wineries.
We close with what we’re building next: more videos, more training, and clearer support for chapter organizers who want to help residents get the services and fairness they deserve.
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Email: bbateman@oregontenants.com
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Welcome And What’s New
SPEAKER_00Well, hi everybody. I've got some new information on the new technology we're using to keep you informed, and we got information on the OSTA Annual Conference. So come on in and let's talk about it.
Podcast Tech Fixes And Links
SPEAKER_00Hi, everybody. Welcome to another OSTA update. I'm Bill Bateman, part of the team here at OSTA, the Oregon State Tenants Association. And it has been a busy, busy couple of months. We've had some tech issues trying to get the podcast, that's what you're listening to now, to show up on the website. Seems linking content is a concept WordPress can't get around. But I think we've got it figured out. And to make it even a little easier, wherever you find this podcast, at the bottom of the information section where it tells you about what's going on, we're going to include a link that'll take you directly to the source. And of course, you can use iTunes, you can use Spotify. We're on all the major aggregators. So if that's easier for you, we want to make sure you can keep informed.
The Newsletter Returns In Print
SPEAKER_00And good news, the newsletter is back, and it is better than ever. We're getting more contributions. We have new board members who've got some new perspectives, and we're really happy to hear from them. And a new easier way to get things into the publishing queue. So the newsletter is back, and there is even a printed copy that's going to be easier than it was before. So we're making a lot of good
Annual Conference Date And Location
SPEAKER_00progress. And those are just some of the things you're going to be hearing about at the Osta Annual Conference. This year it's going to again, I'm very surprised because the date kept bouncing around, but uh it's again going to be on October the 3rd, 2026. This year we're going to be in Clackamas at the Hilton Garden Inn. Hilton Garden Inn in Clackamas, October the 3rd, going to kick off at 10 a.m. Uh early registration at 9. We're going to run to about 4 o'clock or till they kick uh kick us on out.
Ticket Prices And What’s Included
SPEAKER_00And uh the prices, I'm very pleased. We were in today's inflationary times when uh lunch for two can cost $60. Uh, we have a price of $35, and that includes free parking, coffee, snacks, and lunch for you will be provided. The $60 premium package includes membership for a year and a new handbook, and those are really good. Those are very, very popular. So that's what it's going to cost. You might uh start making your reservations now. I have included the link to the Hilton Garden End, and there are supposed to be some discounted room rates available.
Book Rooms Directly With Hotels
SPEAKER_00I always advise that you call the hotel. I don't like using online reservation apps. I just went through a terrible kerfluffle uh trying to cancel reservation for an event we thought we could attend and then had to cancel on for a number of reasons, and they couldn't cancel it for us. The hotel said the source had to cancel it. The source said they had no record of our reservation, but they did want to charge the credit card. Had to get our credit card company involved. Bottom line, book directly with the hotel, save your reservation and confirmation number, and uh if you're using a credit card, I recommend it because they will help you if things get goofy. Need to point out, this was not the Hilton Garden Inn or anything like it. This was a totally different company. I'm just using the story as an example of how quickly a good idea can get complicated.
Getting There And Hotel Amenities
SPEAKER_00Now, if you're going to be coming into the Portland airport, uh you can take the max rail down. Uh we're working on getting some shuttles and some uh train shuttles, but you do have the max rail. Now the max rail is I think still $2. I haven't been up there in a while, and it's a 15-minute walk from the Max Rail station at Clackamas Town Center to the Hilton Garden Inn. So that's something to consider. There's a lot of stuff to do. So the hotel itself has a full service restaurant serving, of course, the three basics breakfast, lunch, and dinner, have a bar and lounge for relaxing after the day's sessions, a coffee shop and cafe, a 24-hour snack deli, and there's usually some complimentary coffee and tea hanging around in the lobby. And if you're feeling a little uh like Rocky and you want to keep your uh keep your glutes toned, uh a fully equipped fitness center is available.
Tickets Go Live And Seat Limit
SPEAKER_00Now a link to order the tickets has just been completed and it's going to be live on our website soon. So you might even want, after you're done listening to this, go check in and see if it's up yet. And you can order your tickets. Uh, there is a maximum of 150 people. The room will hold 150 people, and it's a good idea. Get your tickets now. First come, first serve. If you're gonna be booking for a group, uh book it on one reservation with everyone's name included. We had that problem last year. Yeah, I'm with him. Uh it got a little confusing, so we're working on making that a little less stressful for this year.
Shopping Food Parks And Wineries
SPEAKER_00Now, it's also been a good idea to make this kind of a staycation. Uh you're coming down or you're heading up to uh Clackamas, you may not get up here all the time. Well, just in the area. There's a lot of places to shop if you're a shopaholic, the Clackamas Promenade. I'm sorry, yeah, promenade. There's a lot of good places. There's the Clackamas Promenade and the Clackamus Town Center, shopping and dining outside the hotel. They got Target Coles, World Market, Nordstrom, Old Navy, Jay's Wide Shoes. Now, that may not be of interest to many people, but for me, uh, wearing a 15, yeah, it's good to know he's up there. Petco, all kinds of good stuff up there. And I saw the list of dining options. There's uh Jimmy John's, there's Chick-fil-A, and there's Crumble Cookies. So I I'm good. I can check off my list. And of course, there are many restaurants in the area. Also, if you're gonna stay for a couple of days, there's a nature park, there's a couple of nice ones up there, and a couple of very nice wineries. Uh Willamette Valley Vineyards, Happy Valley, that's about three miles from the hotel, and uh Tumwater Vineyard in West Lynn. So there are many, many options of things to do. So if you want to come up and spend a couple of days, make a weekend out of it, that's fine. We're looking forward to seeing everybody on October the 3rd. Program begins at 10, doors open at 9. Uh, first come, first serve last year. It got uh it filled right up. And that was we only had 100 seats, we've added 50 this year, so 150 seats are available, and we hope you're going to get yours today. So that's what's going on.
Speakers Workshops And Big Guests
SPEAKER_00Uh the program, we're gonna continue with trying to get as many good guest speakers as we can. We'll have information from the legal profession. That's a high point. Everybody always seems to enjoy it, and uh we're gonna do that again. We'll have some of the same workshops and we're gonna have new information. We're also working on some special guests, no guarantees, but I'm shooting high this year. I'm I'm I'm I'm hitting for the fences. Uh it may be the guy from the parking lot again, but uh I'm I've written to the governor's office and I hope that she'll be able to attend. Uh, this is something that uh we think is valuable, and I know she supports us as well. So Osta annual conference, tech issues are being resolved, the newsletter is back and better than ever, and I'll include as many links as I can in the login area so you'll be able to track this information down firsthand.
New Videos And Chapter Organizer Training
SPEAKER_00More as it develops. We'll have more on some of the new videos I'm working to get put out. Uh, we've got a whole series, and we also have some training for our new OSTA chapters. We'll have more information on that as well. How to be a good OSTA chapter organizer, how to get the most, and how to help your residents get the services and the fairness that they deserve. So that's it for this week. I will be back again. Thank you for tuning in. Uh, share this with your friends freely. Please like, please support, please uh share. It helps us grow and gain space on the listening platform, and it helps us as Osta gain new memberships, and it helps you getting the information out in just another easy, simple fashion.
Share The Show And Stay Safe
SPEAKER_00It's a hot one out there, be safe. I hope you are not involved in the fire. I'm in Southern Oregon, and we currently have level three evacuations happening within 30 miles from us. So uh I hope things are good in your area. I hope things get better here. Stay cool, stay hydrated. We'll talk to you next time.
