Good afternoon everyone! I just had a couple of thoughts to share with you before I introduce you to yet another wonderful community member. First, I wanted to say that this blog is for all of us, so if you have nominations for "Our Community's Finest", please contact me. Give me some history and your nominee's involvement with our community and please include your name with a good contact number. People deserve to be appreciated for their contributions so let's show off our assets! Secondly, It would be wonderful to hear your positive experiences posted in the comments if you know or have interacted with the folks recognized in the blog. It's going to take all of us, but if we all give a little, we will all grow a lot : )

    This Sunday morning at 9:00AM, there will be a Boggy Garden Party at Terry Home. This is a great chance to donate your time, effort, and gardening skills to some fantastic and deserving community members. Bring your gardening gloves and lets get to work! If you aren't familiar with Terry Home, here is a link to their webpage http://www.terryhomeinc.org . The address is 138 3rd Ave. SW, Pacific 98047.This is community building at it's best and I hope to see you there!

I am pleased to introduce Dale Eaton who is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Dale has been a Pacific Resident for almost 30 years. For more than 5 years, Dale's been a dedicated volunteer at the Pacific Community Center as well as at the Pacific Senior Center. He plays an active role in community building and is friendly to everyone he meets. Dale takes pride in his involvement with the youth in our community and he said it's important to him to keep the kids safe and out of trouble. Dale is an artist who particularly enjoys drawing mice on Harleys. He also likes washing cars to earn extra money. Dale wants to see a skate park added at Pacific Park for the community to enjoy.
Thank you Dale for being such an asset to our community! Stay tuned for more of Our Community's Finest = )

    Community Announcement: tonight at 7PM the Pacific Seinor Center will host "Movie Night". They will provide Popcorn and beverages. The featured movie will be "Oh Brother Where Art Thou". Please feel free to bring snacks if you'd like. This event is for adults only, so  please come and enjoy the movie with some fantastic people!

    When this blog first began, I had little education about the history of the town I call home. I must say that in the past few weeks, that has significantly changed. I have grown as a person and the lessons I have learned in this very short period of time are ones I won't quickly forget. I've had the pleasure of meeting some incredible people. I was reminded why politics isn't my calling. Most importantly, I was able to figure out where my efforts will be most effective. I believe we all play important roles, but if your role is one you can put your heart into, the possibilities are endless and the work seems almost effortless. 
    This blog will be focused around community building. I am excited to get to know you all. I hope you will feel free to comment here. Thank you for reading and have a great evening = )
   

It is my pleasure to introduce to you Jack and Marge French. This lovely couple have been residents of Pacific for 53 years. Jack was a Pacific Councilman for 6 years from 1969-76. He also worked for Boeing for 38 years . Marge worked for the City of Pacific as a Court Clerk and Police Clerk from 1964-79. Later Marge went back to school where she became an LPN and she worked as a nurse in the years following. The French's raised their 2 daughter's here in Pacific, and what the family enjoyed most about Pacific is that it was a small community. When asked what goals they had for Pacific, the couple agreed they would like to see it restored back to a community "where everyone is involved". Marge said she'd like to see a skate park added in Pacific Park. Thank you to the French's for their hand in community building and of course for being fantastic neighbors!
    Stay tuned for more of Our Community's Finest = )

    How would you like to see your community members recognized just for doing what they do best? What would that be you ask? Why being their wonderful selves of course! We have so many folks in our community who are outstanding citizens. Many have been long time Pacific Residents, some volunteer or work in Pacific, we also have some newcomers who we are proud to have, and I will be introducing you to these excptional neighbors of yours here in my blog. My plan is to present at least 2 new individuals or couples each week. I am looking forward to this because I think getting to know your neighbors for the first time (or again for many) is key to strenghtening our community. My first interview was tonight so check back tomorrow! These blog entries will be titled "Our Community's Finest" and I am looking forward to meeting you all! 
    

    So much has happened in the past couple of weeks and so quickly! I have learned a lot in this short period. Needless to say, dealing in politics is messy! I'm doing my homework though and now that I'm over the migraine of a lifetime, I have regained focus. I had to do a personal check to make sure that with the time crunch, expectations of myself, expectations others have of me, my ultimate goal, and my own values and integrity were all balanced. My goal remains the same, returning Pacific to it's citizens and creating a sense of community. Time will continue to fly, but decisions still need to be well thought out. Expectations of myself include honesty, making positive changes in my community, and not losing sight of my goal. As far as other people's expectations of me, I just have to stay true to myself and keep my boundaries in line with my moral code. If I continue to conduct my own checks and balances, my integrity will remain in tact. It's a delecate balance in a situation like this, but I believe it can be done sucessfully. 
    I'm curious where other folks are at with this. What suggestions do you have for improving our community? What qualities do we have that we can build on to make our community stronger?  If it was soley up to you, what would our community look like? These things are importand because if we have a vision, we have a starting point. Think about it because it really is the people who make the community! Therefore we need to really make "Our City" our own....a place where we are happy. 
    I hope to hear from you all, your opinion matters! Goodnight and thanks for reading : )