Clallam County Community Service awards to be presented Thursday

PORT ANGELES — Six people who made a difference in their communities will be given five awards Thursday when the Clallam County Community Service Awards for Public Service are presented.

Volunteers, all of whom have stepped up in diverse ways, will be given framed award certificates in the downstairs meeting room at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 301 E. Lopez Ave., Port Angeles. A reception will begin at 6:30 p.m., while the program will start at 7 p.m.

The reception and program are free and open to the public.

The annual award honors community volunteers “who have made a difference in Clallam County, who have made our communities a better place by doing extraordinary things for their neighbors, their community or the environment.”

This year’s recipients are:

• Jim Hallett, former Port Angeles mayor whose volunteer contributions have spanned decades.

• Jim and Donna Buck, Joyce residents who have educated county residents on how to prepare for a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake.

• Carol Sinton, whose volunteer work includes cleaning up parks, the Laurel Street stairs and downtown Port Angeles,.

• Kim Rosales, a Sequim woman who trains service dogs, and whose volunteer efforts include work for the Sequim Irrigation Festival, the Sequim Food Bank and the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula.

• John Brewer, whose volunteer efforts began before he retired as the Peninsula Daily News editor and publisher and have only increased since.

This is the 39th year of the Clallam County Community Service Awards, a program begun by the Peninsula Daily News and now co-sponsored by Soroptimist International of Port Angeles-Noon Club.

A blue-ribbon judging committee selected the honorees from 17 nominations made by individuals, clubs, churches, businesses and other organizations.

“The quality of outstanding nominees made it difficult for the judges to narrow down the field to a handful of recipients,” said Terry R. Ward, Peninsula Daily News publisher.

“Clallam County should be proud to have so many dedicated community volunteers giving their time, effort and energy to make our community better each day.”

Here is more information about this year’s recipients.

Jim Hallett

Nominated by some 15 members of the community, Hallett — a former Port Angeles City Council member and mayor and former Port of Port Angeles commissioner — has served on the boards of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula, YMCA, North Olympic Library System, United Way and Harbor Works. He also has served as president and treasurer of his church, Holy Trinity Lutheran, and as president of the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce.

He is known for hosting a radio show, Money Matters, as well as being a member of the Port Angeles Community Players and Kiwanis Club.

He is now co-chair of the capital campaign for a new Boys & Girls clubhouse in Port Angeles.

Former Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brooke Taylor described Hallett as “a unique combination of intellect and integrity, and a passionate advocate for socially responsible investing and giving. He has given freely of his time, talent and treasure to our community for decades and it is time his commitment to community service is recognized.”

Volunteer service “has been a hallmark of his life as indicate by the many organizations who have had the benefit of his steadfast service which continues to this day,” said former mayor Glenn Wiggins.

Said City Manager Dan McKeen: “Above all else, Jim is an extremely professional, caring, competent individual who always put his community above himself.”

Sheriff Bill Benedict said that, “Jim has reached out to me on numerous issues including the present opioid crisis, crime rate and what we can accomplish as a community to bring it down, and has supported me in a county-wide prescription disposal program.”

Said Norma Turner: “Jim is the epitome of a community member who gives back to his community in a variety of ways.”

Jim and Donna Buck

While Jim Buck has been most well-known, his wife, Donna Buck, is just as dedicated as her husband, said Rae Leiper of Joyce, who nominated the couple.

Jim Buck has “spent many hours researching the subject of the Cascadia earthquake,” Leiper said. “He knows the problem inside and out” and has worked with Clallam emergency officials to help write mitigation plans, with the state government to make sure the response effort is organized and with military leaders to put plans into place for relief efforts.

“Most importantly, he has been presenting to citizens about what they can expect and how to be ready for at least 30 days on their own before help and supplies arrive,” Leiper said.

Donna Buck serves as a fire commissioner, on the Joyce Fire Auxiliary and with the Joyce Emergency Planning and Prep (JEPP) Committee.

“With JEPP, she has done the bulk of the research about how to feed 300 people for three weeks … and made sure it’s properly stored … Donna has organized dozens of informative posters … and produced numerous brochures and leaflets about how to get ready,” Leiper said.

“Their dedication to preparing the Joyce Micro Island to make sure Joyce will be ready has helped get our community prepared.

“It has also made this little community famous as we recently received a FEMA Community Champions Honorable Mention Award … Recently BBC News came to video Jim’s presentation about Camping in Your House. So, their efforts are receiving international recognition.”

Carol Sinton

No one is more deserving of this award than Carol Sinton, said nominator Leslie Robertson of Revitalize Port Angeles, who described Sinton as a “Community Service Superhero.”

“Carol loves where she lives, and she spends nearly every waking moment working to make it better,” Robertson said.

Among her contributions are organizing a neighborhood watch group, cleaning up and repainting the Laurel Street stairs, participating in cleanups of Port Angeles and its parks, serving on the Light Up the Lincoln committee, repainting the Port Angeles welcome sign, and walking the Waterfront Trail and downtown area, picking up trash. She also regularly cleans up graffiti around town.

She serves as the administrator of the Revitalize Facebook page, as a commissioner on the Parks and Recreation Beautification Committee and as a Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce board member.

“She is a person of generosity, selflessness and integrity, and she does what she does for no other reason than because its the right thing to do,” Robertson said.

“She accomplishes all that she does behind the scenes, and she doesn’t do it for attention or accolades.”

Kim Rosales

Kim Rosales of Sequim “is my hero,” said Deb Cox, Puppy Pilots club leader, for her work in training guide dogs for the blind “while teaching pre-school, having teenage girls and volunteering with several other organizations.”

Said nominator Mary Budke, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula: “Kim never asks anything in return for her volunteerism and philanthropy. She is happiest seeing those she has helped succeed: that is her reward. Kim always steps up, often without being asked.”

Letters of support also came from representatives of the Sequim Food Bank, the Sequim School District — where she serves on the Parent Advisory Committee and is known as a Girl Scout leader and Sunday school teacher — Sequim Family Advocates and Sequim Irrigation Festival.

John Brewer

By the time John Brewer retired from the Peninsula Daily News, he had served as president of the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Port Angeles Downtown Association and Community Multi-Cultural Alliance. He was a past president of Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, a statewide press association. He had served on several community boards and headed a city-community group that tried unsuccessfully to build a convention center in Port Angeles.

But perhaps his biggest passion was the Peninsula Home Fund. The fund fueled by donations provides small grants to Olympic Community Action Programs to tide over North Olympic Peninsula residents who need a little help — who need, as John put it, “a hand-up not a hand-out.”

“The fund, which was created through an annual campaign by the PDN, had existed for a decade before John arrived, but it grew exponentially under his care. In 1998, the fund collected $30,462. Donations rose to a high point of $271,981 in 2014 before John’s retirement in 2015. During his tenure, the annual Home Fund campaign collected a total of $2.7 million,” said nominator Leah Leach, executive editor of the Peninsula Daily News.

Said former PDN publisher Frank Ducceshi: “He carried on what was a pretty good tradition by continuing to do it, and by trying to get more and more involvement by the public.”

Since Brewer retired, he has served as president of the Port Angeles Downtown Association (PABA), served on a board overseeing the Lincoln Theater and has been an active member of the Economic Development Corp., among other endeavors.

“John is one of the busiest retired people I know,” said Matthew Rainwater, present president of PABA, chairman of the county Republican Party and founder of Pennies for Quarters.

State Rep. Mike Chapman, who has known Brewer since 1999, said he was impressed with how much Brewer has contributed.

“Every time I talk with him he’s working with some other group or organization,” Chapman said.

Said County Commissioner Randy Johnson: “First and foremost, John Brewer cares.. . what is not seen is his passion to accomplish good things for the community without ever seeking recognition.”

“John spent many years coordinating as well as being co-host” for the Clallam and Jefferson counties’ community service awards, said Tammy Gallagher, president of Soroptimist International of Port Angeles. “We have seen consistent and exceptional efforts on John’s behalf to support community efforts and events.

“Please consider John Brewer to be a true community benefactor and worthy of this year’s award.”