Making a difference in our community

Cannon Beach residents Rock and Lila Wickham are valuable members of the community who volunteer their time with several local organizations.

Lila is an RN and coordinator of the Cannon Beach Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) which she established in 2015. The thirty-one member MRC consists of doctors, registered nurses, social workers, a pharmacist and a veterinarian. In 2021, MRC volunteers contributed more than 1,400 hours administering vaccines, along with testing and contact tracing, at an estimated value of more than $100,000 for the Clatsop County Health Department. MRC volunteers routinely join with the Cannon Beach Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) to provide support and first-aid at community events, such as the annual Sandcastle Contest.

Lila has five years of experience working as an RN in a hospital intensive care unit (ICU), eighteen years directing an eight-county health department in Idaho, four years at the Oregon Health Authority overseeing county health departments, and fifteen years as the Environmental Health Director for Multnomah County overseeing health inspections and emergency management while applying for and obtaining multiple grants.

After Lila and Rock moved to Cannon Beach full-time in 2014, Lila realized that creating an MRC would significantly improve emergency preparedness for our small community, which will likely be isolated in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Since 2015, Lila has successfully obtained nearly $130,000 in grants to purchase fifteen public service radios, two repeaters along with generators, medical and pediatric supplies, pet supplies, four large shelter tents, three hand washing stations, three showers and other emergency supplies.

Rock is an active member of the Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) and “like a rock” can often be seen helping Lila with multiple MRC projects. Rock and Lila volunteer at the Cannon Beach Community Food Pantry; while Rock shops for supplies every week and actively participates in the distribution of food every Wednesday. Rock is also a member of the Cannon Beach American Legion, after serving three years in the Army from 1967 to 1970 in Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Okinawa.Rock is a strong, reliable and supportive member of the Cannon Beach community.

Lila is on the board of the Cannon Beach Arts Association, which sponsors an annual summer art camp for children ages 4-17.

Lila and Rock have four grown children and a beloved dog named Mojo. Rock and Lila are as busy as ever in “retirement” and contribute significantly to making Cannon Beach a better place. Thank you, Rock and Lila, for all that you do in making a difference for the community of Cannon Beach.