Errors and Omissions
Due to a production error, quotations from two people nominating Darlene Hilgeman for a PRT Good Neighbor award were misattributed in the February issue. It was Marynell Spicer, not Barbra Ellis, who mentioned Darlene’s cat sitting (“I call her the cat whisperer. People plan their vacations around her availability”) in her nomination; and it was Barbra Ellis, not Marynell Spicer, who said that Darlene “is always ready and willing, with a cheerful face and smile, to help those in need. A Good Neighbor indeed!”
The PRT regrets the error.
Patagonia Pool Update
Thank you for your continued support of the Patagonia pool! As the new PRAC Board President, I can assure you that we’re trying to live up to your expectations to have an open pool soon.
As part of that effort, PRAC reorganized late last year. The other board members are Karen Riggs (Treasurer), Cheryl Stadlman (Secretary) and Anne Townsend (Board Member and Past Treasurer).
We are lucky to have many enthusiastic and talented people helping with the cause of keeping our beloved pool operational and we’re thankful for each of them.
While some of their work is visible, we’ve also been working hard behind the scenes to seek funding, organize with a new structure, fine tune our agreement with the school and get insurance in place. The latter has been difficult, mainly due to our increased management responsibilities and restructuring, but we like a good challenge and are continuing our efforts.
We have a lot of great fundraising events in mind, so we’re excited about having more fun with the community besides just a dip in the pool.
We do expect to open in early April: please stay tuned for details!
We are scheduling with the school for an all-hands community meeting to discuss the pool in greater detail and we welcome everyone and your input. Check the PRAC Facebook page for the yet-to-be determined date.
By the time you see this, we will have had a pop-up craft sale in front of Global Arts/Trading Post on February 22. We are planning another yard and bake sale for the end of March. These are always very successful. Check our Facebook page for exact dates when finalized. Thank you Jan Herron, Patricia Mellor and Team!
Led by Terri Schindel, we are also busy applying for grants, and other team members are excitedly planning fundraising events.
We are always in need of more volunteers: grant writing, planning fundraising events, pool maintenance, etc. And we currently have one vacant Board position.
Our email address is: patagoniapool1@gmail.com; website: patagoniapool.org, and Facebook page: facebook.com/PatagoniaPool/
Beth Lofquist
Patagonia Regional Aquatics Center President
Get & Give
A few years ago, Cassina Farley and I got together to talk about scheduling events that didn’t conflict with our two arts programs. We decided to check in with one another before listing our events to ensure we didn’t schedule on the same day or time. That meeting developed into a trusted relationship that respected the core values of both organizations.
Since then we realized that it was important to find a simple mechanism to address these needs of the community at large, especially now that there is much more activity in Patagonia; so many events, gatherings and fundraisers. The thought of creating a working relationship with all the community-focused nonprofit organizations in town came up.
On Feb 7, Cassina Farley, Linda Shore and I, as a “self-appointed steering committee,” invited nonprofit associations to come to a “Meet and Greet” at the Wild Horse Restaurant.
The idea was to get to know one another and to focus not only on the needs of each organization but also on their resources for sharing. Everyone had a chance to write their needs on the “Get” list and to put their resources on the “Give” list. The committee met and reviewed the responses, recognizing the common needs in the Get category( volunteers, funding, professional administrative resources, grant writers etc) and in the Give category (space, tech support, tables, chairs, fundraising opportunities, etc.)
It was obvious from the responses that we needed a “hands-off, maintenance-free, no one in charge” networking system. A one-stop shopping experience!
We agreed that one of the best ways for the nonprofits to communicate with one another was to give them a communal name: “Patagonia Corp of Nonprofits” (a coalition of nonprofits has a better chance of receiving grants) and to set up a group email address where nonprofit group leaders can send a request to the group or an individual for help with a particular need on their Get list or draft an email message letting them know what they can offer from their Give list; inform them of upcoming events to avoid double booking, and if necessary, plan meetings to discuss their special projects, thus eliminating the need for maintaining a community calendar.
Patagonia has over 20 nonprofit organizations, getting to know one another in person—and putting a face to a name on a list. I fervently believe that personal contact with others who are working towards the same goal inspires us to share more of our corporate and personal gifts. We all are beneficiaries.
And I don’t have to miss Movie Night at the Tin Shed!
Christina Wilhelm
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