It was an inspiring day, made better with the gathering of many old friends, some new ones and of course the opportunity to hear from and talk with our Democratic leaders and ACLU of Washington. Thanks to all who could join us!

- A public forum featuring WA State Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer on the connection between climate change and insurance availability and costs, presented jointly by WIDC and Whidbey Climate Action

Thank you to all who joined us at the Coupeville Library for another "Coffee and Conversation." It was a good exchange about dealing with the current threats to democracy. It also a warm gathering of many Islanders working together to stand up for democracy and community.

WIDC celebrated its first annual “Serving Out Loud - Grethe Cammermeyer Building Community Award” at a memorable event honoring the lifetime achievements of Col Grethe Cammermeyer. Grethe, our friend and a longtime leader on the WIDC Board, was honored by local leaders including Rep Rick Larsen with video visits by Barbra Streisand and Glenn Close. Major General (Ret.) Trish Rose brought the audience to its feet with her stirring remarks ending with “We must all be like Grethe - we must all choose positive, choose powerful.”

We had a great time at the first Whidbey Island Democracy Fest! WIDC joined the League of Women Voters, Indivisible Whidbey and other pro-democracy groups at the Greenbank Farm for a lively and informative day all focused on democracy: learning, engaging and taking action! Community booths included information and activities for all ages. WIDC’s table, shown here with Helen Price Johnson and Marshall Goldberg, was a popular spot with prizes for answering questions from the “Democracy Wheel,'‘ a short survey on important constitutional questions, free copies of the Constitution, and a post-it board where people could fill in their own answers to the question: Considering where our country is right now, what is your top concern?