OPAL Celebrates 25th Birthday with Report to Community and Picnic

Saturday, May 17, Noon, OPAL Commons

— from Judy Whiting —

Watch your mailbox! Holding a preview copy of OPAL’s first “Report to the Community” is OPAL Executive Director Lisa Byers. Joining her are (left to right) Helen Bee, OPAL trustee; Penny Sharp Sky, OPAL co-founder and trustee; and Allen Smith, president of the OPAL board.

To mark 25 years of providing the Orcas community with a stable supply of permanently affordable housing, OPAL Community Land Trust will mail its first “Report to the Community” to every island household this week.

Then on Saturday, May 17, islanders are invited to celebrate with OPAL supporters, visiting dignitaries and OPAL homeowners, apartment tenants and staff at a barbecue picnic, beginning at noon.

“Everyone on the island deserves to know what OPAL has accomplished in its first 25 years, and what it means to the life of our community,” said Allen Smith, president of the OPAL board of trustees.

The community report includes an illustrated history of the organization by Carla Stanley, an OPAL homeowner. To demonstrate the impact of OPAL and affordable housing on island life, the OPAL staff pulled together a range of interesting facts and figures.

“Many of us who live here have decided that affordable housing is a sound investment in our community,” said Smith. “We invite everyone to spend a little time with the report. You will be rewarded with a better understanding of how OPAL works and why it’s important.”

OPAL’s 25th birthday picnic will be held at Opal Commons, the first neighborhood completed by the community land trust in 1994. In the event of rain, the party will be held at The Odd Fellows Hall.

Incorporated in 1989, OPAL serves 123 rental and ownership households and continues to accept applications from people who are not able to purchase a house on the open market. For more information, go to: www.opalclt.org or call (360) 376-3191.