We are in the process of hiring an architect to do formal drawings and have had our first successful meeting with City of Sequim officials. Some of the costs will be more than initially expected, but still reasonable, considering the extra space we will have for exercise, social events, health classes, cooking demonstrations, special events, and more! The two bonus amounts brought our total raised, in just 3 days to $45,480, and at the time of this writing, at least $2,500 more has come in.

We still need your gift in any amount. All gifts going forward will be matched dollar-for-dollar by funds from the R. Leo Shipley Estate. Kudos go out to Michelle Rhodes, our Development and Program Director, who personally called many of our donors, and to board member Brian Jackson, and his company, Home Instead, for alerting us to this great Give65 fundraising opportunity.

Another use of R. Leo Shipley Estate funds was the recent purchase of Lot #2, next to our existing site, Lot #3 of the Palmco Business Park, right across the street from us, here on East Hammond Street. This lot will keep our options open for additional parking in the future, should we need it. It is also a good investment, and helps diversify the various holdings that Mr. Shipley left to the Center.

The lot, originally listed for sale for $325,000, had been on the market for many years. The seller recently decreased the asking price to $139,000. After some negotiation and in recognition of our nonprofit’s proximity and needs, they agreed to sell it to us for just $127,000. This is just 39 cents on the dollar, when compared to its original price. The 0.61 acre corner lot, when paired with our 0.42 acre that we already own, will be a much more marketable commercial site as a combined 1.03 acre property, should we ever decide to sell.

By building our new Health and Wellness Annex on the west side of lot #3, we will preserve options for various ways the property could be used or sold as one lot or two lots in the future.

I want to thank your board of directors for their wise consideration and their unanimous votes on these two opportunities, to increase our capacity for our immediate needs with the annex building on lot #3, and the strategic move to secure the adjoining lot #2 as well.

I will close with two great quotes I saw recently from Peak Performance Coach Michael Altshuler, that I think apply to many situations:

See the need and sow the seed!

The bad news is, time flies – the good news is, you’re the pilot.