Our Lummi Island Community

About your Lummi Island Community Association (LICA)

“Putting Unity back in Community”

WHAT IS LICA?

Defining and detailing the ‘What’ of LICA is important, yet perfunctory: a nonprofit officially since Sept. 24, 1982, with requisite by-laws, a mission, a board of directors, et al.…Previously, for many years in its relaxed, captivating, and often funny history—all marvelously archived—the precursor was known as the Lummi Island Community Club.

The reason for the strike-through of ‘What’ is that the more important, definitive, and heartbeat question is, “WHO is LICA?”

And the answer is one word (with an asterisk): *You.

The asterisk represents more specifically that *You means you’re a home or property owner and/or a resident of Lummi Island.

Moreover, who doesn’t love the word “free.” In those categories—owner or renter— you’re automatically a member and pay no dues. Nor is anything required of you for membership. How easy is that.

This also is easy: Participate. Jump in, head-first, feet-first, or even just wade. Remember the old military recruitment slogan, “Uncle Sam Needs You!”? As a living organism, to remain vibrant within the esoteric appeal that brought you here, Lummi Island needs you!

A good time to start is, well…now. Today. Right here on this page you can sign up to help rid the roadsides of trashy stuff in April. LICA (you and we) does that every year in the spring, before the weeds grow. So, take a minute, sign up to volunteer; and then come back for a bit more about “Who is LICA….”

OK, so you’re back. See how easy that was. And thank you. Feels good, eh?

LICA is a living, ever-evolving coalition of community-loving and community-serving denizens. It’s been that way, as Club and as official Assocation, for-dang-near-ever.

Important interjection: the use of “we” going forward means “you and I and us and them and everyone,” not we the board or site editors. As in….

We pick up trash together. We deliver food to homes and people wherever it’s needed. Sure, go ahead, sign up now as a volunteer driver. (The demand has doubled, even tripled for Meals on Wheels during the pandemic.)

We raise money together for grants that support community nonprofits. We fold newsletters, gab, and laugh together. We eat together—lots and often. (When [not if] COVID-19 subsides we’ll resume the monthly membership meetings around tables of potluck. We’ll schedule salmon and pancakes, hot dogs or burgers, or sneak snacks together.

We have forums. We have a newsletter. We have a digital Paul Revere’s horse delivery of immediate important matters. We have a phone book. We have each other. And, we have fun.

Scroll down a bit and you’ll see links to all manner of ways to dive, jump, or wade in. To attend. To serve. Sometimes an hour or so. Sometimes longer. Always vital, and gratifying. Just walk outside and look around you for the why.

Literally, though, why a formalized Association? Because it makes sense to coexist and coalesce as a community. i.e., Commune, if you want to get technical about the root word. Homeowner and neighborhood associations have formed for-dang-near-ever across the U.S. A group of professionals in this niche posted a good blog detailing the what-fors of community associations.

So there you have it.

Welcome to LICA, You.

Services

Through your donations, our advertisers and sponsors – all supporting our annual budget, we provide a variety of things to the community & your Volunteering makes them happen.

    • Sponsor of Meals On Wheels And More on the Island
    • Sponsor of the Island Blood Drives
    • Publication of the Tome / eTome
    • Distribution of the Brown Betty
    • Publication of the Printed Community Directory (Phone Book)
    • Maintain and Augment the History Archive
    • Annual Roadside Cleanup Event
    • Ferry Park Orchard & Trail – Mowing & Trimming
    • Our Community Grants are provided to organizations on the Island or that Benefit the Islanders, when we have funds available.  
    • Sponsor Advisory Committees and Workgroups to assess the needs of the Islanders as requested
    • We assist other organizations with Hybrid Zoom meetings as requested
    • We sponsor and/or provide logistical support for Island Events
    • Communicate with Agencies like Public Works, WTA, WDOT, etc. on behalf of the Islanders
    • Host Candidate Forums during Elections
    • Provide This  Resource & Information Community website for the Islanders,
      and additional features for Organizations, Agencies, Businesses etc. that help them communicate:
      • Direct access to creating their own events on the Community wide Calendar/Event system
      • Direct access to creating their own Announcements, Articles and Posts
      • Provide for their member only communications areas
      • Access to our Pre-Publication areas
      • more always being researched and added ..

Activities

Communication is a main activity of LICA. The Tome is produced monthly (except for August and December) and between issues, Brown Betty provides updates and information that is more urgent and timely. The Tome is mailed to every address on the Island and Brown Betty announcements are sent via e-mail. 

LICA makes grants to community organizations with allocated funds available. These grants have supported activities that benefit Lummi Island. Recipients have included Friends of Island Library, The Lummi Island Grange, Parish Nurses, LI Heritage Trust, LI Health and Wellness Resources Committee, and Meals on Wheels, to name a few.

Other activities include bi-annual blood donation drives, Meals on Wheels, an Island-wide road clean-up, and candidate forums.

Meetings – Board of Directors

  • The Board of Directors meets monthly. Currently the meetings are conducted via a Zoom video conference.

Meetings – Membership

  • The meetings are preceded by a potluck (if announced)
  • Membership Meetings meet in person, and are also available via Zoom videoconferencing
    • General Membership Meetings are held Every month except July, August, November, and December 
    • The Annual Business and Elections meeting is held in February  
  • Following the business update, a program of community interest is presented if possible
Zoom Recordings

Mission

    1. Focus on the preservation and improvement of Lummi Island to provide the environment and conditions desired by members of the community;
    2. Provide leadership in the identification of community needs;
    3. Endeavor to inform the residents of the community in matters that may affect life on Lummi Island;
    4. Communicate with government agencies to endeavor to represent the interests and concerns of the community, without bias;
    5. Cooperate with other organizations and persons on matters of mutual interests and concerns.

The Tale of LICA

Feb. 9 is our birthday. Sorta.

The precursor to LICA formed, informally, on that date in 1966 when 35 islanders gathered at The Willows Inn – then the home of Lehr Miller. (He became the first editor of an iconic newsletter, nowadays known as The Tome of Lummi Island.)

LICA sprouted from that visionary klatch that had a strong sense of community, which is still both the backbone and the heart of the organization’s existence. One written source stated that they met “to form some kind of community organization that could actively represent all Island residents (and) stressed that this is an all-Island club….(that would) urge all residents to join and contribute their talents to the development of our community.”  

The result was the Lummi Island Community Club (LICC)….

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The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

    • The Lummi Island Community Club Newsletter became The Tome.
    • The LICC became incorporated as a nonprofit in 1982 but remained the Community Club.
    • A few years later, at the recommendation of board member Sheila Marshall, the name changed officially to LICA (spelled out on Washington Sec. of State documents signed by Board secretary Paul Davis on Jan. 30, 2006).
    • However, the first public notice of the changeover didn’t surface until 9 months later under this double headline in the September issue of The Tome:

LUMMI ISLAND COMMUNITY CLUB IS DEAD
LONG LIVE LUMMI ISLAND COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

Our esteemed long-time editor of The Tome, Paul Davis, wrote:

“Yes, it is official—we have legally changed our name effective immediately.  Our acronym is also changed from LICC to LICA (pronounced “Like-uh”)…

We feel that this new name better reflects our mission and what we have been doing for the past forty years and plan to continue doing for the next one hundred and forty years. We hereby relinquish the acronym LICC to the Civic Club and/or Congregational Church.”


Lehr, the instigator of the LICC, led the original initiative until an election of a slate of officers. Ray McFarland became the first president. Lehr started the newsletter in July of ‘66. All editions and its various iterations of it over the next 54 years appear in a remarkable, archive compiled by Paul Davis since 1997 .

Again, more-change equals more-same. The newsletter continued under two other editors and then with many different names created by Davis (who took over in 1981) because, he said, he was “bored with the name ‘Newsletter’.”

Lehr wrote the entire publication himself with a very personal, informal style. (Sound familiar? Read them along with our distinguished Mr. Davis’s works.)

For an example right out of the gate, Lehr wrote in the first edition:

“We are not a group of malcontents, do-gooders, reformers, hermits or promoters, nor was the Club formed because we had an ax to grind or because we felt the community was beset with insurmountable problems that needed remedying.

On the contrary, it was spawned by a group of Islanders who loved this island and had a real desire to retain as much as possible the charm and beauty existing while at the same time fully realizing that change and growth are inevitable.”

(Sound familiar? Read about our activities.)

LICA evolved from and continues to build on the original mission of the Community Club. Perhaps you’re familiar with the famous line drawn from Shakespeare—a rose by any other name is still a rose, smelling just as sweet.

At the core of its existence, the Club purposefully avoided engagement in (a.) partisan political advocacy; (b.) promotion or support of any church or religious program, or (c.) anything controversial or biased in nature.

The unwavering commitment to those established ideals continues after 55 years.

As a community-member, community-minded entity (which, again, means you and I and you and you) LICA functions through community-volunteer projects as a wholly nonprofit regulated by 501(c)(3) status.

Key word: volunteer. Sign-up lists only. No employees, no payment of any kind to board members or officers. LICA’s principled purpose, arising from that gathering at the Willows in ’66, serves to educate and inform all Island residents about topics and matters of utmost importance—and in many cases of urgency—to our community welfare.

Read further insights into the history by visiting this site’s pages on by-laws and The Tome.

And, by volunteering, put your name in the LICA history book.


The Board that assigned LICC as a nonprofit in 1982:

Paul Davis
James Dickinson
Gary Gaines
Carl Hanson
Richard Holland

William Moye
Jules Peterson
Tormod Semmen
Vera Semmen

The Board that assigned the name change to LICA in 2006:

Grace Briskey
Paul Davis
Carl Hanson
Bill Lee

Ian O’Callaghan
Ben Rogers
Larry Roteman
David Thorn

NPO Status

Our roots serving Lummi Island date back to 1966.  We are a WA State Non-Profit, exempt from federal income tax under IRS 501(c)(3) and  Listed as a public charity under IRS 509(a)(2). We are also listed as a Public Benefit NPO. 

    • Section 501(c)(3) is the section of the Tax Code that describes religious, scientific, literary, educational and other charitable organizations exempt from federal income tax. All charities are further subdivided, however, between public charities, which receive broad public support from gifts or fees, and private foundations, which receive almost all of their income (other than investment income) from a very narrow group of persons, such as a single individual, family or corporation.
    • Section 509(a)(2) covers organizations that receive their support from a combination of gifts, grants, contributions, and fees for their exempt services.

Access our listing on:

Current Board Members

Rotation est. February 2018 after June 2017 Bylaw Revision. To track Board history, each board position is assigned the number shown.
     4 Even # positions up for election in even years
     5 Odd # positions up for election in odd years
Officers are selected each year by the Board of Directors

Documents

Board History

The first slate on record was elected in February, 1967 — a publicity of Ray Konecke, Marion Tuttle, Gus Johnson, and Lehr Miller who instigated forming the Community Club (renamed the Lummi Island Community Association in 2006.) He was editor of the monthly newsletter through April, 1976, though never elected to the board.

During the 53 years of archived records since the Community Club inception, 20 different individuals have served as president.

Members with a significant number of Years served:
     Paul Davis       46    Carl Hanson      21    Phyllis Lockwood 18
     Jerry Anderson   12    Ian O’Callaghan  10    Charles Antholt   8
     Bill Lee          8    Sheila Marshal    8    Larry Roteman     8

      • Paul Davis has the longest stretch of community service as a board member, starting his 46th year in 2022.
      • In his second year, 1977, the board selected him as Treasurer, which he has been until December 2022.
      • In 1981 he became editor of the Newsletter (which he later renamed The Tome.)
      • In 1997 he became our Archivist and Paul has spent the last several years piecing together a wondrous set of Lummi Island Archives, including this history of board members.

Years of Service

We wish to acknowledge and Thank all the members of Our community who have worked hard to Serve it over the years.  Members in yellow are serving a term in 2023

Peggy Aiston            2 1969, 1970
Shirley Aiston          1 1975
Jerry Anderson         12 1969, 1970, 1971, 1978, 1979, 1092, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2009, 2010, 2011
Charles Antholt         8 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009
John Arntsen            7 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2015, 2016
Rod Aschenbrenner       4 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
Sue Aspelund            2 2015, 2016
Joe Belanger            2 1972, 1973
Connie Berry            6 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Sam Berry               1 1967
Karen Blakeley          1 1979
Jack Blampied           1 1993
Mike Bobbink            1 1980
Norma Bohl              1 1994
Hilton Boykin           1 1972
Kay Boykin              1 1972
Grace Briskey           3 2004, 2005, 2006
Randy Brooks            1 1973
Ken Brown               4 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
Marvin Burger           1 1977
Beverly Busch           2 1995, 1996
Bob Busch               1 1995
Carl Calhoun            1 1976
Tom Carlisle            1 1981
Carol Chaudiere         4 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Isaac Colgan            1 2015
Edward Collier          2 1973, 1974
Bill Daley              3 2020, 2021, 2022
Paul Davis             46 1976 through 2022, LICA Emeritus: 2023
Bill Day                6 1991, 1992, 1993, 2000, 2001, 2003
Lynn Day                2 1994, 1995
Dave Dickinson          3 1973, 1974, 1975
Mit Dickinson           1 1968
Tom Doyle               2 1989, 1990
Anita Edwards           1 1989
Si Eldred               3 1967, 1974, 1975
Maggie Evans            1 1985
Donna Feeley            1 1973
Bob Fodor               4 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
Gary Gaines             3 1973, 1976, 1977
Martin Gerke            3 1971, 1973, 1974
Leo Gilfillen           3 1967, 1968, 1970
Bill Godfrey            1 1997
Elaine Granger          2 1990, 1991
Janet Granger           2 2016, 2017, 2018
Louis Green             4 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Gregory Hall            4 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Carole Hammond          3 1977, 1978, 1979
Carl Hanson            21 1980 thru 1992, 1995 thru 1998, 2001 thru 2011
Bill Hawley             3 1969, 1970, 1971
Vern Hawley             4 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971
Pat Hayes               2 2007, 2019
Dick Holland            3 1979, 1980, 1981
Malcolm Hutchings       4 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Anne Jewell             1 1989
Bud Jewell              3 1991, 1992, 1993
Mary Johansen           1 1967
Gus Johnson             6 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971
Libba Johnson           1 1969
Lylene Johnson          3 1974, 1976, 197
Rich Johnson            2 1974, 1975
Walter Johnson          2 1990, 1991
David Jones             2 2009, 2010
Chuck Keiper            1 2010
Susan Kilgore           1 2008
Ray Konecke             1 1966
Taynin Kopanos          1 2015
Alan Krum               3 2020, 2021, 2022
Bill Lee                8 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012
Wynne Lee               2 2014, 2015
Sharon Lipscomb         1 1967
Phyllis Lockwood       18 1968, 1973, 1974, 1976 thru 1990
Tim Lockwood            3 1974, 1975, 1976
Gene Long               3 1973, 1974, 1975
Ray Louis               2 2016, 2017, 2018
Cathy Luke              3 1976, 1977, 1978
Lester Luke             2 1967, 1968
Gayle Lurenz                              2   2021, 2022
Samya (Clumpner) Lutz   5 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2015
Sheila Marshal          8 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
Harriet Mason           3 1995, 1996, 1997
Gloria Maxwell          ½ 2016
Sandy McCandless        3 1985, 1988, 1989
Colleen McCrory         1 2002
Ray McFarland           3 1968, 1969, 1970
John McGregor           1 1085
Mike Mc Kenzie          1 2020
Carol McKinney          4 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Jerry McRorie           1 1990
Lehr Miller             1 1966
Pam Miller              3 2017, 2018, 2019
Lyne Morris             2 2002, 2003
Lee Mosley              
Bill Moye               4 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981
Joan Moye               3 2008, 2009, 2010
Gerri Neuman            5 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980
Kay Niedhamer           2 1971, 1972
Kent Nielson            4 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Julie Norman            2 2016, 2017, 2018
Ian O’Callaghan        10 1996 thru 2005
Judy Olsen              3 1999, 2000, 2001
Carl Otto               1 1968
Art Pabor               2 1973, 1974
William Peel            1 1967
Clara Peterson          1 1976
Jules Peterson          2 1967, 1968
Lois Peterson           6 1980,1981, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992
Chuck Pierson           4 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972
Esther Pierson          1 1971
Jesse Powell            

Harris Purvis           1 1972
Bill Richardson         5 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973,1974
Ben Rogers              2 2004, 2005
Will Roehl              3 1977, 1978, 1979
Clifford Rohrbacher     1 1975
Mary Ross               8 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017. 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022
Larry Roteman           8 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013
Bill Sager  

Jackie Savage           2 1980, 1981
Luella Schuller         2 1971, 1972
Ray Schuller            4 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975
Kjerstin Secord         2 2018, 2019
Tor Semmen              1 1990
Vera Semmen             2 1991, 1992
Les Shanahan            2 1971, 1972
Linda Sheek             2 2013, 2014
Mike Skehan             4 2011, 2012, 2018, 2019
Bill Smith              5 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975
Craig Smith             2 1991, 1992
Tamia Sorensen          1 2012
Victoria Souze          7 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Curt Stocker            6 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
Shannon Stocker         2 1994, 1995
Phil Stoufer            1 1989
Susan Sykora            1 1972
Wally Sykora            1 1972
Leo Travenshek          4 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999
Terry Terry             4 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
David Thorn             6 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014
Bryan Thurber           2 1993, 1994
Kathy Thurber           3 2000, 2001, 2002
Ron Tripp               1 1969
Grace Tuttle            2 1969, 1970
Floyd Tuttle            1 1981
Marion Tuttle           2 1966, 1993
Mary Jane Van Hoesen    2 2016, 2019
Danielle Walters        1 2022
Susan Watson            3 1992, 1993, 1994
Tom Weatherby           2 2012, 2013
Kim Wolfe               1 2018
Dale Wright             4 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970

Updated: 2023/03/03 @ 12:19 am Tark Henderson

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