PORT ANGELES — Five Clallam County residents will receive 2025 Community Service Awards on Thursday for their contributions to volunteerism.
The winners are Heidi Simpson of Port Angeles, John and Karolyn Burdick of Clallam Bay, Sherrilyn Phillips of Port Angeles and Paul Forrest of Port Angeles.
The free ceremony will be at the Port Angeles Senior & Community Center, 328 E. Seventh St. The evening will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m. and the program will follow at 7 p.m.
The awards, presented by Peninsula Daily News and the Soroptimist International of Port Angeles-Noon Club, recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the Clallam County community.
“The Clallam County Community Service Awards are designed to honor the longstanding efforts and dedication of those individuals who generously contribute their time, energy and resources to build and strengthen our community,” said Eran Kennedy, regional publisher of the Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. “These awards are an outstanding opportunity for our community to celebrate and recognize those who make a positive impact in the lives of others.”
The five recipients were chosen from many nominations by the judges, who were Cherie Kidd, Soroptimist International of Port Angeles-Noon Club; Rod Fleck, the attorney and planning director for the city of Forks; Steve Burke, a commissioner for the Port of Port Angeles; Sara Maloney, the director of philanthropy for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula; and Lorie Fazio, the director of operations for the Clallam Economic Development Council.
Heidi Simpson
Simpson has volunteered with many organizations on the Peninsula, including the Port Angeles Lions Club, the Hurricane Ridge Ski Team and St. Andrew’s Place Assisted Living Community.
“As a member and president of the Lions Club, she has initiated projects for the benefit of the community, in her support of local families in need and in organizing charitable events,” nominator Judi Lindberg said. “She has been a natural leader for numerous projects.”
Simpson has sold hot dogs at the Clallam County Fair, supported the junior rodeo and mentored teenagers at the YMCA through a youth and government program.
For more than 10 years, she and her husband Ken, who co-own Angeles Electric in Port Angeles, ran the Ski and Snowboard School at Hurricane Ridge, said Roger M. Oakes, on behalf of the board of directors of the Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Education Foundation.
“The school had been in existence for many years, but Ken and Heidi brought it to a whole new level,” Oakes said. “They brought innovation and quality, professional instruction to the endeavor. There was significant innovation, organization and dedication as well as many hours on and off the hill, making sure each child had the equipment they needed and safe transportation to the Ridge.”
The youth and government program teaches teenagers how to read and write legislation and debate with proper decorum, nominator R. Michell Gentry said.
“At the time, the YMCA did not have an operational program,” Gentry said. “Heidi stepped up and volunteered to get it started again. This is typical of Heidi. See a need, fill a need.”
John and Karolyn Burdick
The Burdicks actively work on conservation with the North Olympic Land Trust and the North Olympic Salmon Coalition, volunteering with water management decision-making and working in the Hoko-Lyre Watershed on habitat restoration, said nominators Roy E. Morris Jr. and Dr. Nancy Messmer of the Friends of Hoko River State Park.
They have welcomed fifth- through eighth-graders from Clallam Bay School to plant 60 trees as part of the “Plant for the Planet” campaign, Morris and Messmer said.
They also cared for the Clallam Bay Community Garden for several years, with efforts that included harvesting and distributing vegetables, nominators Larry and Laurel Burtness said.
“Their unwavering commitment to the Pysht, Clallam Bay and Sekiu communities has made a lasting impact on the lives of those who call this area home,” the Burtnesses said. “Their dedication, leadership and willingness to step up when others hesitate makes them ideal recipients of this honor.”
The Burdicks also have volunteered for decades for the North Olympic Library System’s Clallam Bay branch. Karolyn led the Friends of the Clallam Bay Library group as president, said Adele Kelley, who worked at the branch for nearly 34 years before retiring.
“She had a dream to enlarge the local library branch,” Kelly said. “With her determination and leadership, the group fundraised, wrote grants and collected donations. She worked with the North Olympic Library System board of directors to make that dream come true for her community.”
John Burdick is the president of the West End Youth and Community Club, said nominator Karin Ashton, the secretary of the club and visitor center volunteer coordinator.
“As such, he has been responsible for upkeep of the Sekiu Center in Sekiu,” Ashton said. “During the time he has been active in this club, we have had many upgrades to the building, including a full painting of the exterior of this original schoolhouse. Even the plaque on the building commemorating the school was put on the building through John’s effort with this club.”
Sherrilyn Phillips
For more than 20 years, Phillips has been the designer chair for the Olympic Medical Center Foundation’s annual Festival of Trees event. She’s been involved with foundation for 34 years, spending time year-round to help make medical care better on the Olympic Peninsula, said Bruce Skinner, the executive director of the OMC Foundation.
Skinner called the designer chair position “the most time-consuming job in the foundation.” He said Phillips is the only person who has designed a tree for every one of the festival’s 34 years.
Along with her husband Bob, Phillips has been a major financial donor to the foundation, Skinner said. And she’s served on the OMC Foundation board and executive committee for 25 years, including as president of the foundation in 2021.
In addition, Phillips has been a member of Chapter IV of the Philanthropic Education Organization (PEO) since 1998. PEO raises funds for women’s continuing education, said Dottie Foster, the chapter president.
“Sherry has always taken a leadership role in helping us achieve our goals and objectives,” Foster said. “She consistently gives her time and efforts in any way she can, including fundraising, administrative duties and volunteering for whatever needs to be accomplished.”
Phillips has served as PEO’s president, held various other offices and been chair of various committees, Foster added.
Nominator Cindy Bruch Schlaffman said Phillips acquired her altruistic nature at a young age when she joined the Girl Scouts and Rainbow Girls, learning the skills to be a leader and a committed member of her community.
“She continued to hone these skills throughout her teen years by serving on many committees involved in the extra-curricular activities of her high school,” Bruch Schlaffman said. “Always the first to raise her hand, there wasn’t a class function that Sherry was not involved in a leadership role.”
Phillips graduated from Port Angeles High School in 1960 and is still organizing events for them, nominator Marie Brackett Marrs said, including a gathering this summer for their 65th reunion.
“When I think of Sherry, I think of a strong yet humble woman who has spent her life actively volunteering in support of issues she feels strongly about: medical advancements benefiting all, education for women, keeping in touch with old friends, her deep Christian faith, love of county (and her hometown),” Brackett Marrs said. “She does this with charismatic enthusiasm that attracts others to work along with her.”
Paul Forrest
In addition to serving for more than eight years on the Port Angeles Parks, Recreation and Beautification Commission, Forrest is the architect of the city’s Shade Street Tree program, which has offered six species and more than 300 trees to residents during the past two years.
“Paul took it upon himself to ground-truth the city of Port Angeles’ Street Tree List, dedicating years to the propagation, growth and testing of many tree varieties,” city manager Nathan West said in his nomination letter. “Through this process, he determined which species are the most resilient to natural environmental barriers, including extreme heat, cold, drought and deer.
“Despite facing multiple challenges and difficult growing seasons, Paul remained committed and ultimately led the way to the success of our inaugural City Shade Street Tree distribution event in 2023.”
Forrest was acknowledged for his efforts when he received the city’s Arbor Day proclamation in both October 2023 and October 2024, West said.
Forrest and his wife Gail visited Port Angeles in 2007 and took the time to tour the Carnegie Library, Port Angeles Parks and Recreation Director Corey Delikat said. The main exhibit at the time included photos from the city that were taken 50 years earlier. Forrest told his wife at the time that the area had a lot more trees then than it did in 2007, Delikat said.
“Four years later, after moving to Port Angeles, Paul continued to think of ways of adding additional trees throughout the city which eventually germinated into an idea: What as a contribution to civic engagement if I could launch a street tree program?” Delikat said.
Forrest’s goal was to increase the city’s tree canopy from 24.5 percent, excluding ravines, according to a 2011 report, to 40 percent, Delikat said.
From 2020-24, Forrest averaged 1,000 volunteer hours per year to develop the City Shade Program, Delikat said.
“His service of 5,000 hours over this timeframe is equivalent to 2.5 full-time employees,” Delikat said. “He did this on his own time and money with the assistance of Shore Road Nursery, who allowed Paul to utilize space and water to grow his initial 1,000 trees on their property.”
Forrest selected trees, raised them at the nursery, provided presentations to service clubs and organizations, met with city staff on the development of the program and guided tours of the trees at the nursery, Delikat said.
“Paul personally researched, propagated and grew thousands of trees that would become the foundation for City Shade,” said Navarra Carr, the city’s deputy mayor.
“These newly planted trees will provide a wide variety of benefits that enhance the quality of life in our community,” West said. “As they mature, they will filter pollutants and improve air quality, provide habitat for local wildlife, prevent erosion, reduce stormwater runoff and offer shade that cools our streets, sidewalks and lowers our home energy bills.”
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Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 360-417-3531 or by email at brian.mclean@peninsuladailynews.com.
