Sequim saw plenty of goodwill, kindness and even some unexpected heroism in this past year, from major fundraisers to support refugees from Ukraine to a record-breaking effort by Agnew resident Ian Mackay to efforts that may have saved the life of a Sequim Police officer.

Here are some of the stories that filled our hearts in 2022:

Winter

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash / Gregg Vella meets with Clallam County Fire District 3 firefighters from “A” Shift on March 1, a few weeks after they worked together to pull him from a house fire. Firefighters said the rescue was likely a once-in-a-career opportunity for many of them.

Fire District 3 firefighters helped save a life when they pulled 68-year-old Sequim resident Gregg Vella from his burning Woodcock Road residence on Feb. 13. The firefighters said afterward it’s a once-in-a-career thing to be able to safely and successfully pull someone from a fire. Vella thanked firefighters personally on March 1.

In February, Sequim teen Ruby Coulson and a group of fellow high school students began tackling some big statewide topics as part of the Legislative Youth Action Council, serving as a voice for younger constituents in Olympia. Coulson was chosen for the role from hundreds of applications, one of 11 to start a two-year term during the 2021-2022 school year.

Photo by Keith Thorpe/Olympic Peninsula News Group / Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County CEO Colleen Robinson, left, talks with Julie Maron, the organization’s family resource manager, on the porch of a completed Habitat house on Maloney Court in Port Angeles on March 24.

In early March, Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County received a $1 million donation from Mackenzie Scott, a billionaire author and philanthropist. The gift was part of a $436 million offering to 84 Habitat for Humanity affiliates across the nation. Clallam Habitat CEO Colleen Robinson said the organization had already purchased raw land in Sequim and would use the new funds to develop infrastructure development for 10 fourplex townhomes — affordable workforce housing for people who engage in “sweat equity,” aka volunteer hours toward the construction of those houses.

Members of Soroptimist International of Sequim in early March agreed to send $30,000 to help refugees from Ukraine displaced to Poland. Club member Linda Klinefelter said the Soroptimists posed the question to the group on March 8 and the agreement to offer the support was unanimous. At the time, the United Nations reported that about 2.5 million refugees had left Ukraine to neighboring countries, with at least 1.5 million of those to Poland.

Spring

Photo courtesy of David Piper/ Locals hold a ribbon cutting for the new home of Margarita Chuga, second from right, and her three children. She was widowed last year, and the late-Mike Piper paid for it before his passing and his son David, third from left, wanted to help build it in Chiquimulilla, Guatemala.

In late April, former youth pastor David Piper joined a team of helpers to build four houses and distribute 50 wheelchairs in Guatemala. One of those houses came from a donation from Piper’s late father Mike Piper, a Sequim real estate agent, Costco employee and touring comedian.

In April, a scholarship created to honor Kurt Grinnell — a longtime Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe councilmember and fisheries/aquaculture expert — earned its 501(c)3 nonprofit status, allowing it to distribute funds for tribal (U.S.) or First Nation (Canada) members seeking careers in aquaculture or related fields.

Mariia Bush of Sequim, who grew up in Lutsk, Ukraine, organized a popular fundraiser — Ukraine at the Table — in April. The one-day, sold-out event at Bella Italia in Port Angeles raised more than $30,000. Organizers added a second fundraiser, a two-day event on Nov. 8 and 9 that raised another $22,000.

More than 100 volunteers from local churches and Habitat for Humanity turned out on April 30 to revive “Beautiful Day,” an effort to beautify several locations across Sequim with refreshed paint, landscaping, new playground equipment and more.

Pre-teen Josephine Johnson, featured in a Sequim Gazette article in early May, created and sold her art to help Ukraine refugees. She turned her passion for painting into a fundraiser, donating more than $1,000 from her artwork to UNICEF to help those displaced by the Russian invasion.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Four members of the Sequim High School Class of 1947 gather for a reunion at the Mariner Café on May 3. They include (back row, from left) Mary Ellen (Dryke) Pogue and Ramona (Heaton) Robb, with (front row, from left) Robert Clark and Dorothy (Daniels) Ludke.

In early May, four of Sequim High’s Class of 1947 — Robert Clark, Dorothy Daniels (now Ludke), Mary Dryke (now Pogue) and Ramona Heaton (now Robb) — reunited to share memories and a meal at Sequim’s Mariner Café.

Photo courtesy of Becca Pace / Ten-year-old Carter Pace smiles under one of Becca Pace’s knitted beanies which are available for sale at etsy.com/shop/HugYourHead and the Southern Nibble food truck. Proceeds from sales are used for supplies for Pace to knit beanies for free distribution at Seattle’s Children’s Hospital, where Carter is being treated for medulloblastoma, a brain cancer.

Ten-year-old Carter Pace inspired his mother Becca’s knitted beanies. Pace was diagnosed with a brain cancer — medulloblastoma — in July 2021. Becca now knits beanies and sells them on Etsy, with proceeds going to supplies to knit beanies for free distribution at Seattle Children’s Hospital, where Carter receives treatment.

Sequim High grad Koda Robinson saw a dream come true not long after graduation, heading to Maryland to attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis with a full scholarship.

Summer

A kickoff drive on June 28 marked efforts by several local churches — Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and Trinity United Methodist Church — to compile kits with housewares for Ukrainian refugees over the summer months.

Agnew resident Ian Mackay set a Guinness World Record for longest distance traveled in a mouth-controlled motorized wheelchair on Sauvie Island near Portland, Ore., in late June. He rode 184.4 miles in 24 hours.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen / Betty Zander and Julianne Coonts work together to cut fabric for blankets for children in need as part of the Sequim Serger Squad. The group provides blankets to children locally and globally.

Formed in July, the Sequim Sergers Squad — named after the specialized sewing machine they use — cut and sew pieces of flannel and fleece into blankets for children in need locally and globally. The group meets the first Monday of each month at Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church.

A Dungeness Community Church effort to send dozens of wheelchairs and other medical equipment — held for 18 months in storage — finally got underway to Guatemala on Sept. 20. The donation included 146 wheelchairs, 152 walkers, 280 canes, crutches and walking sticks, and 18 boxes with more than 200 wheelchair parts.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Sequim Police chief Sheri Crain tells, from front left, Ryan Ross, Daniel Anselmo, and James “Mike” Blouin on Sept. 12 that “It’s incredibly heartwarming and reassuring to our staff that there are people in our community who are willing to put themselves at risk for us” after they helped an officer when he was attacked during a traffic stop in May.

Three men — Daniel Anselmo, James “Mike” Blouin and Ryan Ross — were honored with Citizen Commendation Awards in September for coming to the aid of Sequim Police Officer Daniel Martinez, who in the early morning hours of May 19 survived a near-fatal attack.

Fall

In late October, members of the Olympic Peninsula Academy’s Parent-Teacher Organization celebrated the finishing touches of a new playground equipment shed, funded by local sponsors and built by an OPA family.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula 34th-annual Auction & Dinner on Nov. 12 raised a record $343,000 for local youth programming.

In mid-November and mid-December, local organizations distributed thousands of meals through the Family Holiday Meal Bag Distribution days.

With a record 66 participants wheeling their way across town, the 2022 Sequim Cranksgiving event on Nov. 19, raised 2,885 pounds worth of food and $4,935 in donations for the Sequim Food Bank.

The Olympic Medical Center Foundation set event records at the May 22 Great Olympic Peninsula Duck Derby ($124,000), the Sept. 30 Harvest of Hope ($372,000), and the Festival of Trees ($232,000) over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Now in its seventh year, Sequim teen River Jensen continues her “River’s Christmas Project” in 2022. A junior at Sequim High, Jensen gathers toiletries, winter hats, gloves and other items to share with various are agencies just prior to Christmas.

Photo by Keith Thorpe/Olympic Peninsula News Group / Ian Mackay of Agnew, center, prepares to lead a group of wheelchair, bicyclists, runners and others on a portion of Sea-to-Sound, a three-day, 74-mile multi-modal group ride along a section of the Waterfront Trail in Port Angeles in August. Earlier in the year, Mackay set a Guinness World Record for longest distance traveled in a mouth-controlled motorized wheelchair.

Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Jackie Ragghianti helps fellow Dungeness Community Church attendees organize wheelchairs, walkers and more on Sept. 20 at All-Safe Mini-Storage, with equipment to be shipped to Guatemala to help people with mobility issues.

Photo courtesy of Ruby Coulson / Ruby Coulson of Sequim is a member of the Legislative Youth Action Council advocating to the legislature to help youth across the state for various issues including mental health.