Daschel hopes to keep things rolling at Vision 2020

Chairperson-elect of group said entity is progressing

A leader with an extensive career in the car business hopes to keep the momentum revved up at Vision 2020.

Jacie Daschel, co-owner of two Discovery car dealerships in Moses Lake will take over as chairperson of the group handling the revitalization efforts of downtown Moses Lake on July 20, replacing P.J. De Benedetti, who served two one-year terms.

Vowing to maintain the group's momentum, and hoping to deliver tangible results, the new chairperson described Vision 2020 as a simple group of citizens who want to make Moses Lake a better place.

Daschel said that the group is experiencing a new influx of people, which is different from the members that founded the group in 2002. She said that the rotation has led relative newcomers such as herself to start taking over leadership positions.

This new leadership, she said, want to make sure that the group continues to be a success, keeping people on task and "keeping the ball rolling."

Her role as chairperson, she said, will include contacting different people of the community, and making sure that progress is being made on the ideas and projects of the group.

"It's easier to come up with a great idea than to follow through with it," she said.

Born in Pasco, raised in Oregon and a graduate of Portland State University with a degree in business administration and finance law, Daschel arrived to Moses Lake in 2001, after stops in Spokane, where she and her husband had owned a chain of used vehicle dealerships called Truck Land.

She first went to a Vision 2020 meeting in 2003, trying to find out, she said, what was going on and how she could help. Now as chairperson, Daschel said that her goal will be to keep the group on the right track to completing projects like bringing a signature element to the city.

A signature element is considered a project that will become a trademark of the city, such as the Space Needle in Seattle.

"We need a reason for tourists to get off Interstate 90," she said of the project, which some expect will be built on Pioneer Avenue between Third and Fifth.

Another project is the placing of recognition signage, stating Moses Lake the home of a particular person, event, or group such as the state champion drill team known as the Molahiettes. A third idea is the installation of a community reader board sign.

These designs still have a way to go before they become reality, and that has contributed to a perception of Vision 2020 as a group in transition, almost in a lull, perception Daschel strongly refutes.

"We are not in a lull," she said. "Some people who are not involved may be impatient, but if you are involved, you know what it takes to go through it."

Daschel said that since may people do not see results, they equate that with a lack of progress, which she said is incorrect. On the other hand, the danger of falling into a lull is ever present, and it demands continued action.

"I hope to keep people moving in the way to get something done," she said. "That's how you break out of lulls."

Hurdles remain on the path to cutting ribbons, however.

"Money is always a challenge. If we had more money, it would not take 100 years to do things," she said.

One of the reasons for the focus on the signature element and the recognition signage, she said, is because they are projects that are more likely to be funded.

Although neither project is complete, Daschel hopes that something will happen that will turn the doubters into supporters. A tangible result on a project would make those warily watching believe more in the effectiveness of the group, she said.

Until then, she counts the exterior improvement made by several downtown business owners to their properties as concrete signs of progress.

"The key to a strong city is a strong downtown," she said, later adding that the central area should not be the only part of the city Vision 2020 should be concerned about.

Daschel came to the top spot of Vision 2020 after she volunteered for the position. Nobody else volunteered, and she became the second chairperson in the group's history.

When her term is up, in July of 2005, not only does she hope to see a start to the construction of a project, but she would like to see a more patient, more involved community. Earlier notice of the group's monthly meetings might do the trick, she said.

Daschel would like to have Vision 2020 having developed a pool of future leaders by the time her term is up.

"I don't want it to be only me," she said. "I want to get more people involved in being the public face of Vision 2020."

Now, though, the top job is hers, and she said that though being the face and voice of Vision 2020 is "probably not my favorite part of the job," she said she will do anything she needs to do to ensure the group's success.