Thank you! – We all want to thank you for the tremendous response to the city of Ocean Shores. We think you are pretty awesome too! Thank you from the bottom of our tentacles. Keep hanging with us…the best is yet to come!
The Coastal Interpretive Center is very important to the community and to our visitors. I truly hope it will be open again soon. All my guests who have had the opportunity to visit were very impressed and learned a lot about this community and surrounding area.
~Jennifer Tien
I urge you to support the ongoing operation of the Coastal Interpretive Center. We have a second home in Ocean Shores and many of my friends and work colleagues go to Oregon coast with their children. I encourage them to go to Ocean Shores instead and the Coastal Interpretive Center is my biggest plug. It is essential for tourism to have educational activities and for attracting younger visitors as future residents.
~Pamela Girres
The CIC is important for our future. In many ways, it is the important part of learning our Eco system for everyones lives. It is a must to have people come and learn what this means for everybody … and this is the place!!
~Michael Neether
Wanted to share with you the importance of the Coastal Interpretive Center and how we have enjoyed it as a family.
We bought a property fall of 2018 in town to create a new season of family memories as we have bigger kids now, 12 and 16 yr old. New season – new adventures. We have been to the CIC a few times and my kids loved it, my husband I really enjoy it as well. It’s a surprise gem and I feel a valuable and important asset to the community and visitors. It’s especially a fun thing to do on a rainy day (as we know, WA has many). Our neighbor, who is a full time resident in town, enjoys strolling through the Center quite often, as she and I have talked about it. Of course due to Covid we couldn’t visit during the 4th of July weekend, but were so wanting to bring our family friends and their kids to visit it with us. My hope is that there is room in the budget for the CIC! We have more to see and would love to bring our friends on our next camping trip to town.
~Emily Tran
I can’t imagine Ocean Shores without the Coastal Interpretive Center. I always enjoy visiting and it’s a great place to take visitors.
~Kathy Sandefur
My name is Joyce Thomasson. As a supporter of the Coastal Interpretive Center, a Board member of the Polson Museum, member of Robert Gray Chapter of Daughters of The American Revolution, I realize the importance of CIC, not only to Ocean Shores, but all of Grays Harbor. This center is very important to the education of our children and our visitors/tourists. There are a lot of visitors from other communities in our state and other states. This center is a wonderful teaching tool of the wildlife here.
CIC is the keeper of the Historical Robert Gray/Lone Tree monument celebrating Capt. Robert Gray’s entrance to the harbor that now bears his name.
~Joyce Thomasson
When we came to Ocean Shores and visited before moving here, we visited the Interpretive Center and learned a lot about Ocean Shores. We visited it on a regular base when coming down, then continued when we moved here, My husband started helping out with building little displays for the City owned center. Then when we had the downturn and the city separated from the Interpretive Center, we joined with other Citizens of this City to retain and maintain the Center. In order to manage we had to get a non profit status, board members, volunteers, maintenance, a manager and docents to run this Center. We had to rename it so it became the Coastal Interpretive Center in Ocean Shores.
We have educational programs for younger children and outdoor programs. We have programs for adults and free information for those with questions about wildlife, seashore, rocks and also a wonderful bookstore filled with information about plants, birds, sea life, rock tumbling, along with a hands on area for educational purposes. We also have the Ship room with its history on the area, of the Tribes in the area, the Catala and opening of this city.
Before this pandemic this was one of the places people could go to visit when it was too wet (rainy) outside to be at the beach. They could come down for free entertainment, just enjoy learning or finding something to take home of educational reminder of Ocean Shores and the Coastal Interpretive Center.
We have museums in the area but this is a one of a kind; it is information and local presentation of the community and people of this wonderful City called Ocean Shores. Keep a piece of history that keeps growing and presenting information to the young and older people as they visit this City.
I do the maintenance of the Taxidermy pieces in the Center. (I keep them clean, which keeps them preserved). This is one important commodity of Ocean Shores and I would hate to lose it. It is a place for people to meet, visit and learn all at the same time. And for those looking for something more to do we are always looking for volunteers who would like to share their time, knowledge and friendly personality. All are welcome. Come see us after this pandemic is over.
~Karen Hogan
My name is Connie DeCristofaro and I am the local branch ambassador for Hike it Baby, a non-profit aimed at getting families and caretakers outside in nature. I have hosted events in the past at the Coastal Interpretive Center and have received great feedback. It was a nice spot to have winter hikes when the weather didn’t permit an outside event. My kids personally love the hands on exhibits and the short trail outside. Our family lives in Hoquiam but we support the CIC and any improvements it may need.
~Connie DeCristofaro
The coastal Interpretive Center is very important to me because it has become a part of me and my family’s life. We have learned so much as we visit every year; and as the years went by, the family grew, and this is now a very big part of their lives, (and their friends and acquaintances). Please, continue this greatness!
~Jennine Knight
I think this place is a great asset to OS and surrounding towns. I’m the leader of a local Girl Scout troop and we took our girls to the Interpretive Center last summer. We even got a guided tour of the tide pools with lots of information about local ocean life.
We have used this field trip to discuss other local waterways and how to keep them clean.
~Rachael
Years ago I found a funny shell at Joe Creek. We had a little family shack there.
After a visit to Beachcombers Fun Fest, staff encouraged me to bring in my shell. Turned out to be a 24 million years before present fossilized clam. I have been an avid fossil hunter ever since. That nice staff have given me a lifelong desire to explore the coast. I also pick up litter every time I’m beaching it.
Win-win. Whoever knows where their next inspiration will come from.
~Susan C. Bonallo
This is Kevin Schneeloch with OS Cares group. I would like to express the love my wife and I have for the Coastal Interpretive Center. We have enjoyed this place 2x so far and absolutely loved all the displays and knowledge we have learned there. Our grandkids also loved it. Your center is so important to our town as it’s one place to go for individuals and families to see all of the history of our town’s species among other things that were so fascinating. We definitely feel this place is needed to educate so many that visit and live here in OS. We support the Coastal Interpretive Center 100%. Thank you.
~Kevin Schneeloch
There is such a wealth of information at the center. It is difficult to know what to focus on but I would like to mention the Natural Habitat room, and more specifically, the collection of birds on display there. That display alone has enabled me to identify so many of the birds that visit our shoreline and waterways. I don’t think there is another display like it anywhere else along our coast. It is an asset that would be a shame to lose. (And I am not even much of a ‘bird’ person).
Almost every fall we have an abundance of Cassin’s Auklets wash up on our beach, but 2014 was particularly hard on these birds. Many visitors to the center came in and asked what the birds were and why there are so many of them found dead on the beach. Unfortunately, we had to tell them they were, (and continue to be), dying of starvation. There is a great article about this phenomena at this site: https://www.washington.edu/news/2018/06/05/ocean-warming-junk-food-prey-cause-of-massive-seabird-die-off-study-finds/
~Jeannie Anderson
We visit Ocean Shores every year for our vacation. (We are from Eastern Washington – Yakima and Pullman). Each year we make it a point to visit the Coastal Interpretive Center. It is one of the highlights of our trip and we look forward to it. We were very sad it was closed this year due to Covid-19, but lan on visiting the center next year.
Please support this wonderful organization!! We learn so much and something new each year. It’s a very valuable asset to your community and I hope that you will support its continued growth.
~Julie Ackerman
My husband and I have lived here for 6 years and the CIC was the first place we visited before we decided to buy a house. Thoroughly enjoyed all the local exhibits from the beginnings of OS, the tsunami and beachcombing. Very educational. We bring all our visitors there.
~Cora Balzer
The Coastal Interpretive Center is an amazing resource for the younger generation. We took our Grandson for the first time in 2017 when he was just 10 months old and he was fascinated with touching all the pelts and was just as interested in all the hands-on activities and displays in the several years after. We are hoping this will be an annual educational event in which he will learn and explore new things as he grows. Please consider the CIC as a valuable asset to our community!
~Cyndi LaSala
I am a resident on Whidbey Island and a retired USN veteran. Over the years I have been active with WA state parks, Northwest Straits Foundation events, Skagit Fisheries Enhancement, etc. I am a financial supporter of the Oregon, Seattle, and Vancouver aquariums, especially supportive of rehabilitation programs for marine mammals. I became familiar with the CIC and chose to support it with an annual membership and then an ongoing monthly donation. On my yearly visits to Pacific and Ocean Shores, I discovered that the Center is one, if not, the most informative, comprehensive, and welcoming point of interest in this coastal area. As a many year citizen scientist, an amateur, the kind of individual that treats all things in nature as gifts, I cannot suggest a more deserving nonprofit organization for investment in monies to support and, hopefully, enable CIC to continue to educate all visitors and local educational benefits for local schools and local citizen science programs in Ocean Shores and its surrounds.
~Maddie Rose
As a full time resident of Ocean Shores, I would like to express how much the CIC means to me and my family. We were making repeat visits often, taking our visitors to learn and enjoy and really feel that the CIC is an integral part of Ocean Shores. Please do whatever necessary to keep the CIC open and continue to be the important part of OS that it is. There is so much knowledge housed in the CIC, it would be a travesty if it can’t remain open.
~Faith & Dave Tomizek
I am writing in support of the Coastal Interpretive Center’s request for inclusion in the City’s biennial budget. We are presently closed due to the Corona virus. In my opinion, the pandemic will subside with the development of a vaccine. When this happens we will be back to our normal operations of providing in-person educational activities. We have been very active in developing science modules for 6th and 7th graders in the North Beach School district, guiding hundreds of students from schools from southwestern Washington schools to the tide pools at Damon Point, and participating in the City’s summer program for Ocean Shores children. In the meantime, we are using this closed period to develop videos and other activities on our new website. And, perhaps most important, we are taking significant steps to become a world-class Interpretive Center as stated in our strategic plan by undergoing major renovations of our facilities and exhibits. Our desire to improve our exhibits has been noted by NOAA’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary who is supporting this project. Funds to undergo renovation of our facility and its exhibits is not being supported by City funds but with generous restricted donations from supportive individuals and organizations. We are hopeful that the city will continue their support as we become a world-class Interpretive Center which will not only be an attraction but also a destination for visitors to our city. Thank you for your support.
~Nevin Aspinwall
We have been coming for 3 generations and we want it to still be there for the 4th- our great grandchildren.
I just couldn’t imagine it not being there. We always drive by even if they are not open mid-week, but I know our children and grandchildren appreciate the beach and all the animals that live there and in the sea so much more because of all they have learned there over the years.
This pandemic is unprecedented but that is all the more reason you need to prioritize such a valuable nonprofit organization.
When the vaccine arrives we will be in line so we can safely come back to Ocean Shores to visit and beachcomb.
~Rick and Dee Sperling
As a visitor who has been coming to OS for more than 20 years I want to share the impact of the Interpretive Center. My children grew up coming here.
The several times a year we visit Ocean Shores always includes a trip to the Center. I am a single homeschool mom and the availability of such an extraordinary educational resource for my children is priceless. Although we live most of the year in Eastern WA, my children know more about the Pacific Coast than any of their peers (and quite frankly, more than most adults).
The education of our children on the importance of the history and the preservation of our priceless ocean and coastline is worth any amount of money it takes to keep such a remarkable resource available to every visitor.
The loss of such a treasured stop during our times in OS would be devastating, not only to my children and now grandchildren, but to every budding conservationist and naturalist who stumbles upon the gem of the Interpretive Center.
Please continue to support this amazing resource and the selfless people who have invested in its daily operation and upkeep!
~Michele Reeves
The Coastal Interpretive Center is a great value to our community! When we have guests visiting, we almost always spend some time there and everyone loves it, no matter what age they are and no matter how often I go in, I learn something new.
Please continue to support this educational venue, thanks!
~Cristena Geddes
My family and I enjoy the Cultural Interpretive Center! We find it informative and enjoy going through the exhibits and chatting with the docents.
Its museum like quality helps visitors understand the history of the area as well as provide an educational experience that balances the activities elsewhere. Doesn’t every city need a museum to showcase its history, people, activities, flora and fauna?
Please keep the Cultural Interpretive Center.
Thank you for supporting the diverse needs of all Ocean Shores citizens and visitors.
~Jackie and John Fisher
I would like to express how amazing the Interpretive Center is. Taking middle schoolers on informative nature walks, showing the history of Ocean Shores with displays and videos, and the helpful information that any of the workers are willing to give. Whenever we would go it was never empty and kids and adults both enjoyed themselves. I always enjoy seeing what Ocean Shores looked like when it was a major destination back in the 50s and 60s.
~Adam Eldridge
Thank you to each and everyone of you for your leadership during these unprecedented times. I appreciate your continued focus on the health and welness of our community and your support for our local economic vitality in each of the difficult decisions with which you are faced.
Please accept this request for your robust support for our local Coastal Interpretive Center on behalf of the educators and 770 students that attend our district. Since arriving in North Beach as Superintendent in July of 2018, I have been impressed with the resources and educational partnership offered by the CIC to our entire district. Especially thankful to Nevin Aspinwall for his love of children and passion for learning that he has so readily shared in each of our buildings within the district.
We are all faced with challenging decisions during these uncertain times…and I encourage you to continue to view the CIC as an “essential service” both to and for our children with the North Beach School District as well as to our entire community.
Thank you for your consideration!
~Andrew E. Kelly
I am writing to tell you and the City of Ocean Shores how much the Coastal Interpretive Center has meant to m family over the years. My parents, former residents of Ocean Shores, Margaret, and James Chittenden (now deceased) took me to the Interpretive Center in the 1980’s and my fascination with seashells and the ecosystem of our beaches began. Later, due to my passion for our waterways, I joined the Surfrider Foundation and we spend many volunteer hours cleaning our beaches every year.
In the early 2000s, I took my young kids (now 18 and 21) to the center and they were in awe of all the hands-on exhibits. This is where they formed their passion around the ocean and all that lives within and near it (and they especially loved learning about Big Foot!) 🙂
This amazing gem in Ocean Shores is so critical to the future leaders of our communities. Now more than ever we need this interpretive center to provide educational opportunities for our youth. Our oceans and ecosystems are in need of human help and the best way to get that help is through continued education. The est way to get that education is in hands-on, interactive interpretive centers such as this beautiful space in Ocean Shores.
I urge the City to do whatever it can to keep this beloved community space.
~Sharon, Blake, Alec and Anna Ilstrup
This is Vince Stevens, a resident of Ocean Shores. You may not realize it but the only bookstore in Ocean Shores is located at the Coastal Interpretive Center. This bookstore contains many of the best resources about the ocean, marine life, vegetation, environment and local history. It has a treasure of educational books most appealing for children. Funding the Interpretive Center is important to me and the city of Ocean Shores.
~Vince Stevens
As lifetime members of the Coastal Interpretive Center, we cannot emphasize enough the value of their presence and programs for Ocean Shores residents, vacation owners and tourists as well as those up and down the coast. The natural and cultural information easily accessed on site and online provides opportunities to learn about, appreciate and protect what we all share. We have enjoyed the various exhibits several times while docents have answered questions we have always wondered about as well as identifying mystery beach finds. Field trips for students are critically important so that they can experience first hand the wonders of the area. If students have not personally experienced such opportunities, they will not care nor be invested in the future protection of the coast’s flora and fauna. Please consider appropriately funding the CIC so it can continue its valuable contribution to the community.
~Linda and James Hoff
A.O. Damon was my great grandfather. My earlier memories are of living at the Beach on the Minard Ranch which is still in the family. While I’m obviously proud of my family’s heritage in Ocean Shores, I’m also proud of the work that the CIC has done to maintain both the natural and cultural history of the Ocean Shores area. The committed staff and volunteers make every trip to CIC with out-of-town friends a joy and an education. CIC supports the community, and needs continued community support.
~Chery Sullivan
The Coastal Interpretive Center is one of the best organized and most interesting representations of local history Ocean Shores could ask for. It’s important that people from outside our area have a window through which to look back at our history because this has seen so many changes. The fact that current information about the area and the creatures who inhabit it is also well represented, seems just as important to me. I’ve never been in the facility when there weren’t curious children examining shells and asking questions while parents and grandparents indulge in “remember when” as they look at the pictures and read the stories of the early settlers in the area. Please don’t close the Interpretive Center.
~Rae Munger
My name is Jean Stevens, a resident of Ocean Shores. I have been on the Board of Directors of the Coastal Interpretive Center as treasurer, then secretary for 6 years. For the purpose of the biennial budget planning for the City of Ocean Shores, I am asking that the Council support the request for funds for the Interpretive Center. All of the finances at the Center are carefully managed and reported to the board to track the dollars and support the mission. As treasurer for 4 years, I can attest that the Center’s funds are stretched by thousands of hours of volunteer time which provide labor, designs and other talents. This brings the focus of understanding and education to 15 to 20,000 visitors per year. These rich experiences give visitors the interest to return to Ocean Shores as part of their beach experiences. Thank you for your approval.
~Jean Stevens
As a member of a large group of dedicated beachcombers, I was introduced to the Ocean Shores Coastal Interpretive Center by the beloved former director, Gene Woodwick. She made an indelible mark on my life and my visit with her and this wonderful museum has always been a treasured memory. Gene has since passed on, but the museum stands as a wonderful tribute to the hard work of Gene and her colleagues dedication to education, and to the inspiration for the love of the ocean that it takes for people to go one step further and be willing to protect it. Gene;s commitment to this cause stood strong for many years, and I encourage the Council to continue this inspired legacy for the benefits that it can help bring about. The oceanographer Jacques Cousteau once said, “The sea is the universal sewer.” This museum can be part of the inspiration to reverse this trend. Would you want to be a part of that?
~Debbie Bushong
First, a brief resume of our community activities. Dianne and I have been full time residents of Ocean Shores for the past 15 years and have been actively involved in the community through participation in such activities as the Fishing Derby, Parks Board member, Planning Commission member, OSCBG Weatherwax property and Trails preservation member but focused in the last 8 years on volunteering at the Coastal Interpretive Center (CIC) including the Weatherwax Stewardship support.
For both Dianne and I it was a natural connection in focusing our volunteer time on the CIC with our long time interests in Nature and History. The CIC offers a fantastic outlet for residents to learn about our local history and ecology from the educational resources at the Center and interfacing with many of the docents and experienced volunteers as well as summer programs and tours. But our volunteer time at the Center is much more than our learning opportunities, it’s more about sharing. Sharing our information with visitors thru one on one contact with both residents and visitors and group tours thru answering questions, providing quality informational exhibits as well as our expanding educational programs offered at the Center.
As Example, my favorite experience was a few years ago when I led a group of elementary school children around our outside grounds and we all sat around the garden exhibit that illustrated our local geology. I picked up a handful of sand from the exhibit and asked the question where did all this sand come from to form our unique peninsula of Ocean Shores? To hear their answers and then see their eyes light up when I explained was such a treat for me. (If you don’t know the answer please stop by the Center, it’s outside and open to the public, but keep social distancing!) This reinforced my belief on the importance of hands on learning experiences for children of all ages available at the CIC.
So, please continue to support the CIC’s main focus of our local history and nature through education. Thank you for listening.
~Jerry & Dianne Mergler
I have been visiting your city’s Coastal Interpretive Center since I was a child. I now visit with my two children, ages 5 and 8 years old, and this continues to be a highlight of our trips. While we live in Gig Harbor, our family owns a timeshare near the jetty. We consider Ocean Shores our second home.
The Center provides vital educational opportunities to the City’s local citizens and visitors. Run by skilled and passionate volunteers, the facility boosts the tourism industry and provides hands-on first-hand learning for locals. It has been wonderful to see the Center’s ever-evolving and expanding content with programs that appeal to all: geology, animal science, local history, preservation, prevention, child-centered exploration, nature trails, plan area, outreach, the list goes on.
My 8-year-old son aspires to be a geologist and gemologist. I attribute this to his experience with the volunteers and resources at the Interpretive Center, where his first curiosity was triggered in the geology room and handling rocks/minerals native to the local area. How relevant that we could then head out to Damon Point and find the very rocks he learned about! We even bought a rock tumbler at the Center and this has become a permanent hobby and learning adventure in our home.
I urge you to approve the budget proposal and any/all support and resources you can provide for Ocean Shores’ Coastal Interpretive Center. It truly is a vital resource that must be preserved as a highlight of our city. We want this for generations to come!
~Nicole Hicks
My children, grandchildren, and now my three great-grandchildren have enjoyed the Coastal Interpretive Center for the last 16 years. In my opinion, the CIC is an iconic educational facility that Ocean Shores should continue to support. I believe Ocean Shores should include the CIC in its marketing campaign to encourage both new home buyers and tourists to make Ocean Shores their destination of choice.
Ocean Shores’ continuing financial support is crucial to CIC’s growing role in helping local schools fulfill STEM educational goals, and providing hand’s-on learning experiences about the remarkable natural resources that make Ocean Shores such a great place.
~Greg Cox
The Coastal Interpretive Center is a valuable asset to the City of Ocean Shores. It provides educational information on not only the history of the city itself, but on the flora and fauna that is native to the area. The Center also provides displays on Grays Harbor logging, the Quinault Nation and local shipwrecks including the well-known Catala.
I have had the pleasure of volunteering at the Center for a couple of years, and love the enthusiasm and delight of the school groups that do field trips to the Center and do tidal pool tours with knowledgeable guides. The CIC is going through a metamorphosis now, and I can’t wait to see the new and improved Interpretive Center.
Like the library, the CIC is a very important, educational and entertaining part of the Ocean Shores community. Please continue in your support of this local gem.
~Patty Lavallee
I live across the street from the Coastal Interpretive Center and see first-hand all the people that go there to learn about not only the Pacific Ocean, local birds and wildlife but about how all of this affects our daily lives. They learn lessors from the past about nature so that we can preserve everything on this planet for the future. The gracious volunteers are constantly learning the newest information from our scientists so that they may teach everyone about the latest information. I have talked to many tourists and they love all the information that is available at the CIC and return there every time they visit Ocean Shores.
~Diane Blair
My name is Ellen Bagley, a resident of Ocean Shores and I have been a member of the Board of Directors of the Coastal Interpretive Center for six years now. I am speaking in support of the City’s approval of funding for the Interpretive Center. As a volunteer at the Center when hundreds of visitors have come in, I can say that the children’s education wit the exhibits is impressive. Children have commented on the pictures with turtles wrapped in a six-pack ringed plastic holder that they know to cut those rings and not throw plastic in the ocean. It is our opportunity to reinforce this.
Visitors come from other nations and coasts. They enjoy seeing what the Pacific Coast is like. They learn and compare the Pacific Coast to theirs. These are small examples of how the Center reaches out and educates. Thank you for approval of funds to continue these education moments that help bring visitors to Ocean Shores.
~Ellen Bagley
As one of the newest board members fo the Coastal Interpretive Center, I am writing to thank the City Council for your past support and to encourage the Council to continue financial support of our operations. My name is Donna Hogerhuis and my husband, Dan, and I recently purchased land in Ocean Shores. I have a Masters Degree in Museum Studies and was pleased to be asked to join the CIC Board last fall. As a professional and volunteer, I have helped organize several community and Tribal history or cultural centers. I was impressed immediately by the efforts of CIC’s board to establish a solid foundation for growth. This was evident to me by the board’s dedication to complete a detailed strategic plan last winter, and by the recent direction to remodel the Center. CIC did not give up during the pandemic, but took advantage of the necessary facility closure to develop a plan, and find the funds to renovate the Center.
As Chair of the T-LEAF (Trails, Landscape, Exhibits, Accessions Facility) Committee, I am helping to lead this effort. The CIC will be using two grants and a generous donation to fund the widening of narrow, outdated hallways, install new flooring and lighting, and open u the exhibit area for new, refreshed exhibits. We have already packed the entire collection in these areas for the remodel. We are planning a professional collection storage area within the building, updating exhibit and collection policies, and will be providing staff and volunteer training on museum, cataloging and membership software. All of this work should be completed by spring of 2021. It will certainly increase public interest to visit the Center.
Your support is vital to our efforts to continue our programs. I feel that CIC is one of the most visited areas in Ocean Shores—and repeatedly, like a family tradition. There is not an hour that goes by, while I was working in the Center packing collections, that I could look out the window and see visitors walking the grounds examining our outside exhibits. I often stopped to talk with families, couples, and individuals to get some feedback. All were interested in the remodel and commenting that they are excited to come back to see the new exhibits. In addition to the exhibits in the remodeled space, we are also planning a large exhibit in the south gallery. The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Port Angeles, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the CIC are collaborating on an exciting new exhibit called “Life on the Edge.” This exhibit will include the Pacific coast ecology, NOAA’s science and technology, and information on shipwrecks and navigating the ocean. Almost all areas in the Center, except our popular Habitat Wing, will be new in 2021 with redesigned exhibit space. As a professional int eh museum field, I can see the potential for growth with community programming, events, and exhibits. Your continued support will go a long way, and assure success at the Coastal Interpretive Center.
~Donna Hogerhuis
I encourage you and the Ocean Shores City Council to support our Interpretive Center. It is an important key to passing on the history, culture, and wildlife of our area. It’s enjoyable to visit and we always find books to purchase for our grandchildren.
~Deanna Lokker
I just wanted to say how much the field trips to the Interpretive Center meant to the groups that visited there. They were so attentive, curious, questioning and thoughtful. I had no idea how much their time there meant to them, as despite living near the coast, many of them had little prior experience looking closely at the creatures, flora and artifacts around them. Nor did they have much prior experience observing them or their environment closely until they got the guidance given by the questions and background given to them by Center volunteers.
As a retired teacher, I was thrilled by the written comments that came back from these young kids after their visits there. On other days, I was so happy over the very positive comments we got from walk-in visitors and their guests to Ocean Shores after their often-accidental discovery visits to the Center.
I hope it will be there for years to come!
~Joan Michik
I am sending this email to say the Center is one of a kind. I have sent way over 60 people there and visiting is always at the top of my list. As an adult I still find interesting and unusual information when I visit. Pretty sure I turn into a ten year old kid, because I am fascinated with the shell collection, book area, rocks, etc.
The Center is important for young and old. The only other place that compares in the Whale Museum on Friday Harbor.
~Karen Guillies
The Coastal Interpretive Center has been around for literally decades now. Ups and downs come and go, but never before have we been in a situation of dyer need as today. Like many other non-profit organizations, The CIC’s donations and fundraising events have come to a complete halt. We hope and pray that this pandemic will be over soon and we can get back to business as usual for generations to come. In the meantime, we still have bills to pay and programs to plan for.
We are in the process of doing a major remodel job on the original end of your building. These dollars are grant funds and they have to be used for their designated purpose. These grants were in place long before our present situation and I’ll have to say with the down time in the building, now we can get it done without turning any of the public away.
So, structure wise, when we all end this unprecedented situation we are in, the building will be in great shape! I just hope and pray that we, as a non-profit, will have the personnel and funds to be in the same shape. It is probably more important now that we have the support of the City of Ocean Shores than ever before. So, please continue your gracious funding support to the Coastal Interpretive Center for not just our part, but on behalf of an icon that has enhanced this city for decades and hopefully for generations to come.
~Dennis Hogan
The Coastal Interpretive Center, which includes overseeing Weatherwax, is a vital, unique and ongoing low-cost resource for the city and surrounding areas. It is not just a building.
Education: The Center provides a low-cost delivery vehicle for educational programs to our young folks to help them understand and respect our local environment. In addition, the Glimpses Lecture Series provides low-cost educational opportunities to our adult community through offering insights and real-life topics of interest. The City could find it virtually impossible to effectively offer both of these educational opportunities n their own without the Center.
Economics: The Center is an economic driver for the City through attracting additional visitors, partnering with businesses, and drawing folks to the southern end of the City.
Stewardship: the Center is a unique facility on the Washington coast. It is the harbinger of our city’s history and of our most valuable resources including our beaches, waterways, and forests. Without the Center, we would be just another beach town with no historical or environmental consciousness.
~John Ford