Hello Friends,

Our membership, and the wider community, have entrusted us with the responsibility of stewardship of the Historic Chinook School. We take this responsibility seriously. Friends of Chinook School (FOCS) are deeply grateful for the continued financial support from members like you. Your generosity helps us keep the lights on, fund our community-centered programs, such as the Food Bank, and helps us accomplish our mission.

The last year brought many changes!

With heartfelt gratitude for their years of hard work and dedication to FOCS, we bid goodbye to long-time board members; Loma Billups, Laura Osborne, Joanne Leech, and Denise Heckes.

And we welcome our new board members, elected at our last annual meeting; Nancy McAllister, Katherine Mack, Leslie Hall, Trina Goulter, and Aaron Schlosser. We are so happy to have this amazing, professional, and dedicated group added to our board.

We are proud to announce that many people in the community have stepped up to volunteer: Susan Carney, Maria Brooks, Samantha Engel, Evelyn Luethe for our event and program assistance, Denise Tucker for grant and technical writing, and Sound Engineer, Ron Baldwin. We are looking forward to working with you in the coming years as FOCS continues to bolster the economic and recreational benefits of the community. We always need volunteers so please consider joining our fun and enthusiastic team!

Here’s a look at some of the many things we’ve accomplished this year:

  • A Washington State-mandated revision of our Bylaws
  • Implemented term limits
  • Participated in a strategic planning process
  • Upgraded our sound system in the event center
  • Introduced three new fundraisers
  • Hired a new bookkeeper, Jalene Marler
  • Transitioned to an interim treasurer
  • Created a veteran’s history/memorial program
  • Re-instituted the 4th of July Parade

This fall the Water Music Festival comes to the Chinook Event Center along with the return of Oktoberfest on October 8th.

We are looking to expand our marketing to promote our unique and historic event center. We will be using more social media sites to spread the word about our fundraisers, activities, and rental opportunities. You can help by sharing our online content on your social media sites. Please check out our website for more information about FOCS and our calendar for upcoming events at:www.FriendsofChnookSchool.org.

Please note, due to increased printing and mailing costs we will send out one membership newsletter per year.

Looking forward to seeing you at Oktoberfest on October 8th from 5-9 pm!