Happy New Year. I was sorta sad to see 2015 fade into history. It was a great year for Seabeck and for myself as well. I'm sure 2016 will be even better!

The kitchen project is completed. The new floor looks and works great. The cupboards and shelves all got painted and the oldest butcher block counter was rebuilt with a beautiful new stainless steel top and double sink.

Spruce is open again and looking good. The update of the lighting and carpet was well over due.  We hope this will this space much more useable and cozy.

Work is underway for the installation of campus wide Wi-Fi. The trenches are dug for the fiber optics and the new internet service has been ordered. This project should be up and running by February 1st. It will provide reliable and hopefully fast internet service to every sleeping and meeting room here. This will make a big difference in guest comfort and will allow us to book some groups that won't come here because we don't have reliable internet services. This is especially true of new groups wanting to use the Meeting House.

We are starting to make plans for the summer already. Didn't the Christmas lights just come down yesterday? You will see some new guest amenities and menu items. It's a tough job testing new food items, but our staff is up to the challenge!

Speaking of staff, Jodie has compiled the 2015 guest comment cards. The overall rating of excellent went from 63% in 2014 to 72% in 2015.  98.4% of respondents rated us excellent or above average! Not bad, uh? Congratulations to the Seabeck staff on a great year!

Thanks,

Chuck

John was born and raised on Long Island in New York where he began his working career as a bayman, catching fish and shellfish. During his college years, which he admits were probably a few too many, he worked in the Houston, Texas construction boom and later maintained his landlords Victorian multiplexes in

Buffalo, New York.

 

After graduating Buffalo State College with a BS in Industrial Technology, John was recruited by Boeing to work in Renton as a production planner.  Fellow Boeing workers introduced John to the Hood Canal area on weekends, and he determined that this would be his home some day.

 

The Lockheed Martin company soon recruited John to work in Sunnyvale, California. While at Lockheed, he moved from production to project planning where the core of his professional career was spent performing planning, scheduling, budget analysis, and performance measurement.

 

In 1997, John's wife Shannon was offered a position in Kitsap County and California was history.  By 1999, John had completed commitments at work, sold the home and followed Shannon to Seabeck, where they still live.

 

Since returning to Washington John has worked in grounds and maintenance for WA Parks and Recreation, Seabeck, WA Department of Corrections, The Port of Bremerton and Seabeck yet again.

 

In his free time John enjoys sailing, gardening, back yard birding, and tinkering.

Eliot Institute comes out to Seabeck at the end of every December to celebrate the new year. This year we had some cold winter temperatures. It looks like snow on the ground in this picture, taken by Alex Koerger, but it's actually lots of frost that just would not melt during the day.
 

When donating your gift, look into your donation options. There are a wide variety of methods by which you can make a contribution to the future of Seabeck Conference Center. You should consult your tax advisor to determine which method will work best for accomplishing your individual goals.

Donations options include:

* Gifts of Cash

* Gifts of Commodities

* Bequests, Memorials, & Honor Gifts

* Stocks, Bonds, and Mutual Funds

* Land or Gifts that Can Be Used or Sold

All gifts are welcome. Seabeck Conference Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and your contribution may be tax deductible. If you have any questions, please contact our Executive Director, Chuck Kraining at (360) 830-5010 or email him at [email protected].