SCAC open house deemed a success
Published 10:15 am Saturday, April 26, 2008
SUQUAMISH — As the crowd of more than 100 people quieted down in the Suquamish Elementary School gymnasium Friday night, Suquamish Citizens Advisory Council Chairman Kevin McDonald was overcome with happiness and excitement at the turnout. He passed the microphone to Suquamish Tribal elder Gene Jones to begin the first annual SCAC Open House with a traditional prayer song, and stood back to watch the different cultures and groups of the North End community continue to build bridges and strengthen relationships.
“For a Friday night, I think we’re doing great,” said SCAC member Tom Curley. “I think it’s great the county and the tribe are here. It’s almost like there are too many people to talk to, and you want to talk to everyone… Ten years ago, this just wouldn’t have been possible.”
The event was considered a huge success by the committee, boasting about 40 presenters from different Suquamish and county groups and 75 to 100 community members arriving to see what information was available. Having emulated the Kingston Citizens Advisory Council’s extremely popular yearly event, the Suquamish council started small and was blown away by the people interested in learning more about its community.
“The SCAC is made up of a very diverse group of people, similar to Suquamish,” McDonald said in his opening speech. “We are very lucky to have that diversity in our community.”
He went on to thank Suquamish Elementary School Principal Joe Davalos, who has adopted a model which teachers and staff at the school utilize to bring students closer together.
The SCAC has taken that plan and expanded it to a community level, hoping for the same positive results the school has seen in its student body.
“The effort that the (SCAC) has made and come together and put together an idea, they said we need to have an open house and they did,” Davalos said. “I think it’s a great idea, and I think whenever you get people together, it’s a terrific thing. It’s kind of good to see the county, school and tribal representatives get together. I’m very, very surprised and pleased with the turnout.”
McDonald, Curley and SCAC member Peggy Lien said watching Suquamish Tribal Chairman Leonard Forsman and Kitsap County Commissioner Steve Bauer walking around and talking together during the open house was the epitome of what the evening was trying to accomplish.
Poulsbo resident Ilse De Groen said since moving from Suquamish to Little Norway, she has tried to keep an eye on what her old community has been involved in. She said while there weren’t any surprises at the open house, there was a lot more new information to be perused.
“I’ve been collecting all sorts of good stuff,” said Suquamish resident Keith Ost, who is new to Suquamish and was hoping to gain as much knowledge about his neighborhood as possible. “I just hear this is the first annual, I figured this was going on for a while, it seems like it has been.”
“I do, there are some similarities I see,” said KCAC member Steve Heacock of the Kingston and Suquamish open houses. “The smaller space makes it cozy, and helps bring people together.”
McDonald said the council will continue to hold the annual open house, and is hoping it will grow next year as it continues to reach Suquamish residents.
