My husband Terry and I moved to the Columbia River Gorge in 1993 and were struck by its beauty. We signed up for a field trip with the Lower Columbia chapter one weekend in 1995, drove almost two hours to board the bus in Tualatin, then drove three hours back up the gorge (practically past our front door) to learn more about our own geology and the impact of the Ice Age floods, then back to Tualatin and the drive home.
Ter thought that there should be a closer IAFI chapter and waited patiently for someone to start one, but since no one stepped forward, he did it himself. I tagged along with him to board meetings until one time in about 2013 when I had something else planned, but when he got home, he informed me that he had “volunteered” me for store manager. After he died in 2015, the love and support from the board and members helped me decide to stay in that position, and here I still am, and loving it most of the time(except when it is time to do reports).
I enjoy staying at home, so the current situation hasn’t been a strain. Our three daughters live close enough for occasional visits and lots of phone calls. I was a member of Sweet Adelines for 20+ years and sang tenor in several quartets, have studied classical music as a coloratura soprano until this past year, am a member of the Oregon/southwest Washington chapter of MENSA, and retired in 2013 from teaching and doing social service work with Head Start.