Guemes Island Community Center Association
Enriching and Connecting Our Island Community
The 2020 Census: Act Now
Come to your senses
Complete the census
The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years. The 2020 Census counts everyone living in the U.S. on April 1, 2020. Census results determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and inform how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds are allocated by local, state, and federal lawmakers every year for the next 10 years. Your response is required by law. And, the U.S. Census Bureau is legally bound to protect your answers and keep them strictly confidential.
Has your voice been heard? If not, there’s still time to respond and to help make sure your community doesn’t miss out. Where there are more people, there are more needs. Help ensure that you and everyone in your community is counted.
Help with the count by becoming a paid Census taker. Click on the image above for more information. Sign up on Sunday, August 16 from 1:30 to 3:30 at the table outside the Community Center Hall. Please follow social distancing and mask requirements.
Meet Your Neighbor
Guemes Island Fire Chief Gerry Francis Retires - In July, Guemes Island Fire Chief Gerry Francis retired after 12 years of service to our community.
Gerry’s history with the Guemes Island Fire Department is chronicled in archived issues of the Guemes Tide (see guemestide.org). In the October 2010 issue of the Tide, Edith Walden writes that Gerry and his wife Lorraine “first moved to Guemes from Utah in 2004, when Gerry retired as a maintenance planner with Kimberly-Clark. They constructed their home on Samish Street in 2005. In November 2006, a storm threw a huge fir tree through their bedroom roof at 5:30 a.m., just missing Lorraine’s head. Gerry remembers the impressive help they received from then Fire Chief Carl Meinzinger and fire volunteers Bob and Nancy White. In 2008, at age 66, Gerry joined the Guemes Island Fire Department after seeing a recruiting flyer.” Gerry’s life was anything but boring after that.
The required firefighter training and rigorous emergency medical technician (EMT) training program are challenging for even young recruits. At age 66, Gerry excelled, graduating as class valedictorian at the recruit academy. Gerry was certified as an EMT in January 2011 after many hours of home study, classroom training, exams, and volunteer shifts in an ambulance and an emergency room.
The Board of Fire Commissioners for Fire District 17 appointed Gerry Francis to the assistant chief’s position in 2011. In 2014, Gerry was promoted to chief. As a first responder to many medical and fire emergencies on Guemes, Chief Francis has provided compassionate care to those in need. He has led his dedicated team of volunteers in protecting home and property from fire, as well as mitigating storm damage until other emergency responders can arrive.
Mentoring new firefighters strengthens every fire department while providing continuity of service. Gerry has mentored newly appointed Fire Chief Olivia Snell, who served as assistant chief for the past five years.
A grateful community wishes to thank Gerry Francis for his many years of service. In addition, we thank Gerry’s wife, Lorraine, who is also stepping away from the fire department where she served as Public Information Officer and “Chief Chef.” They will both be missed on the front lines.
Neighbor News
Guemes Island Fire Chief Gerry Francis Retires
In July, Guemes Island Fire Chief Gerry Francis retired after 12 years of service to our community.
Gerry’s history with the Guemes Island Fire Department is chronicled in archived issues of the Guemes Tide (see guemestide.org). In the October 2010 issue of the Tide, Edith Walden writes that Gerry and his wife Lorraine “first moved to Guemes from Utah in 2004, when Gerry retired as a maintenance planner with Kimberly-Clark. They constructed their home on Samish Street in 2005. In November 2006, a storm threw a huge fir tree through their bedroom roof at 5:30 a.m., just missing Lorraine’s head. Gerry remembers the impressive help they received from then Fire Chief Carl Meinzinger and fire volunteers Bob and Nancy White. In 2008, at age 66, Gerry joined the Guemes Island Fire Department after seeing a recruiting flyer.” Gerry’s life was anything but boring after that.
GICCA Stage Progress
Thank you to the community for your continued support as this project moves forward toward completion. Click here to view enlarged and updated slideshow & read more.
Building A Strong Community
Building a strong community is about getting involved. Of course, involvement is more difficult during a pandemic. We all miss the fun gatherings often sponsored by island organizations. These events helped build community and also helped raise money to defray operating costs.
While we can’t physically be together for fundraising events, we can still support our community organizations and community projects through financial donations. The Guemes Island Community Center Association (GICCA) has ongoing expenses to maintain its building and properties. The GICCA Stage Project is nearing completion and your generous donations continue to make that progress possible. We will soon be raising the roof at the stage - another significant milestone. If you'd like to get involved and help us "raise the roof," donations can be made through PayPal or mailed directly to GICCA at 7549 Guemes Island Road, Anacortes, WA 98221. In either case, please specify if you'd like your donation to go toward the Stage Project or to the GICCA General Fund.
Other island organizations also depend on community support. Donations can be made to the Guemes Island Community Church through their website. The Guemes Island Library has an updated online catalog and curbside pickup. Donations to the Guemes Library can be mailed to 7549 Guemes Island Road, Anacortes, WA 98221.
Thank you for staying involved while staying home and staying safe.
Heart-Felt Thanks
To the doctors, nurses, paramedics, pharmacy and other medical workers, police officers, home-care workers, grocery store personnel, delivery people, transit workers, airline workers, and anyone who serves the public and cannot stay home.....
Thank you for your bravery, dedication, and sacrifice.
You are truly heroes!
And to all of you who are not on the front lines and are heeding the advice of health experts to stay home, or wear a mask and physically distance if you must go out ... we applaud you as well!
Thank you for demonstrating respect for others and for doing the right thing.
Reality Check
A simple reality
We do many things to protect others from unnecessary harm. We don’t drink and drive. We don’t run stoplights. We don’t smoke on airplanes or in other indoor public places. The same principle applies to masks. When worn correctly, wearing a mask in public protects everyone else from the germs that are released every time you breathe, talk, laugh, cough, or sneeze.
Wearing is caring.
It’s as simple as that.
Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of AmazonSmile purchases to their customers' chosen charitable organization. Guemes Island Community Center Association is registered on AmazonSmile. So, if you’re already shopping anyway, why not let Amazon make a small donation to GICCA - at no additional cost to you or GICCA!
How does it work?
- Click on the AmazonSmile box (right) which brings you to the AmazonSmile GICCA page
(you might want to bookmark that page to easily find it again). - Sign in to Amazon as usual.
- Then, just shop as you normally would!
Click here to see how much you have made GICCA smile. Thank you!
Shop Now
