Milestone: Local groups, individuals earn Pacific Northwest Summit Awards awards

By Sequim Gazette Staff • October 18, 2023 1:30 am
Photo by Shanna Paxton Photography Washington Festival and Events award winners from the Olympic Peninsula include, from left: Gail Ralston, Washington Festival and Events’ Volunteer of the Year; Jess Grello, office manager for Field Arts & Events Hall; Peter Metz, Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts (JFFA) board member; Kristin Smith, box office and patron experience manager with the Field Arts and Events Hall; JFFA executive director Kyle LeMaire; JFFA operations manager Kari Chance; Victoria Jones, executive director/race director for the Port Angeles Marathon Association; Lindsay Fox, chief growth officer for the Olympic Medical Center Foundation, Bruce Skinner, executive director of the Olympic Medical Center Foundation.
Photo by Shanna Paxton Photography Washington Festival and Events award winners from the Olympic Peninsula include, from left: Gail Ralston, Washington Festival and Events’ Volunteer of the Year; Jess Grello, office manager for Field Arts & Events Hall; Peter Metz, Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts (JFFA) board member; Kristin Smith, box office and patron experience manager with the Field Arts and Events Hall; JFFA executive director Kyle LeMaire; JFFA operations manager Kari Chance; Victoria Jones, executive director/race director for the Port Angeles Marathon Association; Lindsay Fox, chief growth officer for the Olympic Medical Center Foundation, Bruce Skinner, executive director of the Olympic Medical Center Foundation.

The North Olympic Peninsula was well represented at the Washington Festival and Events Awards Gala on Oct. 10, earning a collective dozen 2023 Pacific Northwest Summit Awards.

The Washington Festivals & Events Association (WFEA) is a corporation dedicated to “promoting the common business interests of the festivals and events industry in Washington state.” The association looks to assist members and the special event industry to improve and advance industry standards by offering professional and leadership development, and technical assistance statewide for the festivals and events industry.

Gail Ralston of Port Angeles, a board member with the Field Arts and Events Hall, was named Volunteer of the Year.

Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts (JFFA) earned the 2023 Grand Summit Award for organizations with budgets less than $150,000, while the Port Angeles Marathon Association (PAMA) earned the 2023 Grand Summit Award for groups with budgets more than $150,000.

JFFA also received awards for Newspaper Tabloids and Mobile App. PAMA received the best promotional Video for the Jamestown S’Klallam Glow Run, the Best Lifestyle Event for the North Olympic Discovery Marathon, and the Promotional Item for Run the Peninsula.

The North Olympic Peninsula Chapter’s Event of the Year went to the grand opening of Port Angeles’ Field Arts and Events Hall.

The City of Sequim received an award for its Sequim Sunshine Festival in the Brochure-Postcard-Direct Mail Piece division, while Olympic Medical Center Foundation’s Red, Set, Go event received an award in the Ticket & Invitations division. Lexie Winter’s Photography earned an ward for Best Photo for its St. Patrick’s Day Run/Walk entry.