Cultivating Connection: HDFFA’s Mission and a Growing Need
The High Desert Food & Farm Alliance (HDFFA), a Central Oregon non-profit, is dedicated to building a healthy food and farm network through “education, collaboration and inclusion,” believing “everyone deserves good food”. Their extensive community work, reaching over 75,000 people in 2024, relies on strong communication, especially for their board, which includes remote members. After witnessing the effectiveness of a quality video conferencing system at Newport’s Market Meeting Room, HDFFA’s Sharon Maier-Kennelly recognized the potential to upgrade their collaborative capabilities by having their own video conferencing system.
The Challenge: Big Aspirations, Bright Rooms, and a Budget for Good
Inspired to enhance their meeting quality, HDFFA faced the dual challenge of ambitious technological goals and the practical constraint of a $5,000 Meta technology grant – funds specifically aimed at leveraging technology for community benefit. Their existing meeting space further complicated matters with a significant amount of backlighting due to windows, which can hinder video clarity, and the need to ensure all participants, even those seated furthest away, were clearly visible and did not sound far off.
Enhance AV’s Solution: Smart Design, Seamless Technology
HDFFA partnered with Enhance AV, Oregon-based experts in “cutting-edge technology and personalized solutions”. Enhance AV designed a system addressing HDFFA’s specific needs and budget. This included an 86-inch Samsung Commercial display for clear visuals, its anti-glare properties helping to counter the room’s bright conditions. The core of the system was a Barco ClickShare Bar, an all-in-one device providing high-quality audio and video with AI-powered camera framing to ensure all participants were clearly seen, regardless of backlighting, distance or how many people were in the room.
Enhance AV’s team meticulously calibrated the system to HDFFA’s room, optimizing the technology’s focus and ensuring a “plug and play” experience. This customization was key to transforming individual components into an effective, integrated solution that met the non-profit’s unique environmental and operational requirements.
The Impact: Clear Communication, Maximized Resources
The result was a resounding success, providing HDFFA with a customized, budget-friendly, commercial-grade system that allows them to “host their own video conferencing from their offices, saving them money and time on a system that is truly plug and play”. This upgrade directly translates to more effective and inclusive collaboration, crucial for an organization focused on community impact and serving remote board members.
The new system delivers significant cost and time savings, enhances ease of use for all staff, and empowers HDFFA to operate more efficiently. By delivering this within the $5,000 grant, Enhance AV demonstrated its ability to provide high-value solutions for local community organizations. For HDFFA, the investment strengthens their capacity to fulfill their mission of supporting a thriving local food network.
We love it! It has really helped us be able to connect to all those we serve in central Oregon.
– Sharon Maier-Kennelly | Executive Director
Partnering for Community Impact: About Enhance AV
This project with HDFFA exemplifies Enhance AV’s commitment to “understanding your unique audio-visual needs and delivering transformative solutions” . It showcases their expertise in creating tailored AV systems that enhance communication and productivity for diverse clients, including non-profits with specific budgetary and environmental challenges.