By Sarah Schrock
With the giving season is in full swing, one of the best gifts you can give is your time.
I want to recognize two outstanding community volunteers who, after giving countless hours of time, have recently stepped down from their years of service to Friends of the Pool. Patty Yates was a founding member of the organization and Carol Gaston joined the board soon thereafter.
Patty served as board president for the past three years. Her contributions were many, including a ton of solicitations for donations made face-to-face with people around town — a not-so-easy job to fill. Patty’s tenacity and persistence to keep asking for donations to the many organizations and individuals each year was critical to the survival of the pool. At board meetings, Patty would admit that people would evade eye contact with her in public to avoid being hit up for money. She is, unofficially, the official graphic artist for the numerous fish prints throughout the years, and most notably she’s responsible for the beautiful fish mural at the pool that keeps growing each year. Thank you, Patty!
Carol brought a traditionalism to the board that kept our goals attainable. She was a meticulous record-keeper, loved hosting the kids’ pool parties, and was unwavering to her commitment and insistence that the pool stays affordable and equitable to all valley residents. She also insisted that all thank yous be hand-written, and if you have ever received a beautifully hand-written thank you card with a fish on it, it was Carol’s penmanship that graced the paper. That adds up to hundreds of hand-written cards each year! Thank you, Carol!
Please make sure to extend a thank you to these women for their time dedicated to our pool open each summer, and especially the recent campaign to resurface it in 2016. The resurfacing campaign wore on a lot of us, as time and capacity for volunteering goes. But the show must go on, and we need a new cast of characters to fill the roles. Contact me if you are interested!
I know almost everyone in the valley sits on a board, and can’t fathom finding more time. Also, the sound of board meetings isn’t all that fun. When I tell my kids I am going to a board meeting, they ask, “what happens at a board meeting?” I often joke, “everyone gets bored at a board meeting … and in the boardroom, that’s the place where’s it’s most boring!”
But jokes aside, Friends of the Pool needs an infusion of board members who want to see the pool stay alive, and see a future for swimming in the valley. I know there’s some of you out there who want an indoor pool, great — join us! Help us achieve a future where swimming can continue in the valley!
Now, on to the other side of highway….
Come to the Holiday Bazaars, Nov. 18 and Dec. 2 and check out the recently renovated service kitchen in the Methow Valley Community Center. The bazaars run 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and offer hand-crafted, unique, locally made items that could make Etsy.com junkies green with envy. With the help of volunteer time and skill, the center staff upgraded the kitchen to make it more suitable for events and parties. Oh, and I hear the Community Center would also love some more board members to join their team. No one should be bored in the Methow, just join a board and get busy!
