PORT TOWNSEND–The Northwest Maritime Center on Monday applauded two of the donors essential in the construction of the center.
Officials installed plaques for the Jim and Nelly Tretter Gallery on the center’s second floor, and named the boardwalk in honor of employees of the Port Townsend Paper Corp.
“We decided to commemorate these naming opportunities together because these were the two parties who really launched the program,” said maritime center Executive Director Stan Cummings.
Jim Tretter, a retired pharmaceutical executive, estimated that he and his wife have contributed around $300,000 in support of the center.
“When we moved to Port Townsend [in 1995], we made a commitment that we would do what we could to support the community,” Jim Tretter said.
Added his wife: “You can’t take it with you.”
The Tretters’ names are on a plaque inside the gallery that holds several examples of maritime art.
Cummings said having your name on a building does as much for the recipient as the giver.
“We get leverage whenever someone allows us to use our name as a donor,” Cummings said.
“People know that you’ve given, and it will encourage them to give, and it generates more donations.
“In charity, there is a mutual benefit, and we don’t get the same benefit from anonymous gifts.”
Port Townsend Paper was represented by its senior vice president and mill manager, Roger Loney.
“We are deeply involved with the community and have a history of supporting maritime jobs,” Loney said.
“We move a lot of our products on ships that you can see pass Port Townsend, right out in the bay.”
To aid with construction, the company contributed $100,000 before construction, which Cummings said was a very important donation.
“These are the two principals from that period,” Cummings said of the Tretters and Loney.
“If not for their foresight and generosity, it is unlikely that the [maritime center] would be here today.”
________
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
