||| FROM HILARY CANTY for ORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION |||
What a week! On Tuesday, the community fully funded the Pea Patch Match! WOWZA!!!
So very grateful to all who contributed. Next stop is closing! We are waiting on the completion of a couple of tasks the seller agreed to accomplish prior to closing. Once those are checked off, OICF will transfer the funds to OPAL Community Land Trust and they will complete the purchase of the property. AMAZING!!!
This has been a great community wide effort with the Boards and staffs of OPAL CLT, OCRC, OI Food Bank and OICF working diligently to complete the surveys and studies needed, secure the funding, and start development plans through countless hours of meetings (thank you to the Rural Technical Assistance team for their excellent facilitation skills). Thank you also to Mary Clure for providing her professional skills to complete the transaction. It has been a great start to what promises to be a long and successful community partnership resulting in a fantastic community campus to serve all.
Wednesday was the Economic Development Councils’ Community Leadership Lunch in Friday Harbor where I was giving the Keynote speech. The inter-island ferry was not running, so Thomas Bridge and his Island Water Taxi service came to the rescue. We were so fortunate that he was available. It is deeply concerning that the inter – island ferry can no longer be considered reliable. The situation has reached the emergency level, as it is not possible to interact with our County government, serve on juries, attend key hearings and carry out business without this service.
The EDC Lunch itself was lovely and Victoria Compton and her team did a great job. I was honored to be recognized for Community Leadership and enjoyed giving the Keynote Address. I appreciated the opportunity to reflect on what lessons we learned from the pandemic and how we might carry those forward to improve the quality of life for many of our neighbors. We have the opportunity to do better.
Saturday the exchange is hosting a big swap meet and Trashion Fashion show at the Grange. The meet starts at 10 with the Fashion show at 3. It is always great to see the amazing garments made from reused materials.
I hope you have a lovely weekend.
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