Senior Center welcomes Michel Vekved to the team

||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER |||

The Orcas Senior Center non-profit is excited to welcome Michel Vekved to our team part-time. As a 20-year resident of Orcas Island, many of you may already know Michel from her work with Friends of the San Juans or Friends of Moran. What you may not know is that she began her career as a paralegal and that she holds a master’s degree in Organizational Development and Philanthropy. She loves to spend time hiking Turtleback with her black lab and good friends.

So, you may ask, what drew her to the Orcas Senior Center? She says it was the opportunity to meaningfully engage with the community and contribute in a helpful way to aging well on Orcas.

Michel was instrumental in helping launch the Buddy Check-In program. Working behind the scenes, her organizational skills were critical during the initial phases, as we organized scores of volunteers to call almost 2,000 seniors in a very short amount of time. Her talents did not go unnoticed, so when the opportunity came to take the role of Programs and Activities Coordinator, we were thrilled that Michel chose to join us.

Look for many new and exciting offerings from Michel, beginning with “the virtual vineyard,” a fun and festive hour of wine tasting and food pairing, offered in partnership with the Doe Bay Wine Company. You can also read about her continued work with Friends of the San Juans here: https://www.islandssounder.com/life/friends-of-the-san-juans-announces-100000-challenge-match-for-year-end-support/.