By Marianne Lincoln

I may be losing track now of how many times I have helped a group form and accomplish a major milestone for their community. However, I can still pinpoint where it started and who to blame (in a good way).

My father was into airplanes. I mean, really into airplanes. So by the time I was born, my parents had started a flying club called Western Travelairs at Thun Field in South Hill Puyallup. There were pilots that dropped in to visit Thun Field and were socially accosted by these guys hanging out at the airport on weekends. They, too, joined the club. Once a month they held meetings, no one can avoid the paperwork part of being a group. But also each month, in the good weather months, they had fly ins, potlucks, dances and managed to build themselves a clubhouse. By doing so, they were able to engage their wives and families in the fun of owning a private aircraft. It became a very large extended family and a healthy way for kids to grow up.

We all had at least 75 other parents with which to model our existence. There were also another 80 to 100 kids to hang out with as well. We were all part of setting up tables and chairs, cooking potluck dishes and even digging holes in the ground when an out-house had to be relocated. We had fly in campouts where a truck took our heavy stuff up the mountain so the family could fly to their destination. Then that truck took us to swimming holes, the spring for water and locations to begin or end a hike.

Organization, meeting, minutes, event planning, and press releases were all part of my years growing up. Even now, my sister and I think nothing of putting together a party for a large number of people. Tables, chairs, 5-gallon drink dispensers, etc. are in our garages.

When I hear someone say, dang we need to fix this, then another, and another, I get out my calendar and say, let’s get together and talk about it. Yes, my Google email is maxed out from all the group emails with attachments, a small price to pay for success. Goggle docs takes up space too, it has not been my friend. I forward all those heavy emails to another account to be stored. And there are at least 5 different email addresses I have to check on throughout the day along with 10 social media accounts on Facebook I have to shift between.

The first test of my organizing ability was a small group of 8 people that wanted to build a chapel at the Women’s Corrections Center. The religious groups were using the same building as the education services at the prison. (People between 18 and 21 are still eligible for public school if they have not yet graduated, even if they are in prison.) The retiring Chaplain, 3 teachers, 1 staff member and 3 volunteers for religious programs had a meeting. We presented to the Corrections Department, but heard the state was not going to pay for it. So we filed for a state corporation license, an IRS identifier, and a 501(c)(3) status request, form 1023. After 5 years of speaking and appealing to local churches, recruiting skilled construction trades, writing monthly newsletters, and holding monthly meetings, we partnered with Bates Technical College Construction Trades and built a chapel.

Next was the Spanaway Community Association. I will say it was unfortunate I did that in the middle of a campaign for the State Legislature. It added partisanship to the mix which was not helpful. So I do recommend against a key organizer running for office during startup. However, having a member be a current office holder can be very useful. Tapping those elected officials to come to events and get praise for helping the project works extremely well. Cross Park is a good example of that, followed by the Parkland School project. Both benefitted from the state legislature allocating funds.

Family Promise of Pierce County started up and immediately applied for County and state grants that were available for their cause. They made very quick progress to some great success stories. Yet, grants, unlike direct allocations often need matching funds. So fundraising events and tables at other community events help raise awareness and get the donations much needed to back up the grants. Even hours of volunteers need tracking because those hours can help back up grant funding.

It may sound daunting, but it actually is not a difficult as it may seem. Especially if you have someone already familiar with the process to join you on the board. The more the community knows how to do this, the faster they can begin resolving problems, even when the neighborhood is unincorporated. In fact, some of you live in housing developments with unreasonable HOA’s (homeowner associations). You might consider organizing and replacing them. Why live like that?

Of course, the old adage is write your Congressman. Honestly, one letter is not usually enough. A group of letters is better. Even better is a room full of speakers for public comment that overwhelms their chance to have dinner. I can remember two County Council meetings that went from 3 p.m. to 9:30 or 10:30 p.m. The public got their point across through turnout. It is always best to start that reaction to a proposal in the committee meetings. long before the topic is up for a final vote. At final vote, the members have already ascertained that they have enough voted to pass something you do not want. So watch their agendas and get to them early. Our Pierce Communities Coalition* and the Pierce Prairie Post both try to send up red flags on that kind of controversial topic hitting the agenda.

And occasionally, have a picnic. Not everything needs to be a meeting. Just being together chatting is helpful also.

Ground zero, if you are hearing complaints about the same thing over and over again, like on the Spanaway/Graham Blotter on Facebook, nextdoor, or through the grapevine, take a chance. Mayfair got a playground; Sprinker got a Skateboard Park. Set a time, date, and place and have a small meeting, you might just succeed in fixing the problem. If you can’t fix it right away, you can at least stunt the blow.

You really can make a difference!

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*Pierce Communities Coalition is a network of community association leaders from Summit-Waller, South Hill, Frederickson, Midland, Parkland, Spanaway and Graham. Those groups share the hot items with each other. It is not an official non-profit, just a convening group by email and in person when really necessary.