Toast of the Town: Celebration of Community Resiliency

Released: April 26, 2021

Toast of the Town: A Celebration of Community Resiliency video #15. Each year we award our Lifetime Achievement Award to a local community member who continuously contributed to our region. In the year of a pandemic, it is fitting to recognize Sue Sharpe for her years of service to the health and well-being of everyone in our county and region.

 

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Released: April 23, 2021

Toast of the Town: A Celebration of Community Resiliency video #14. Learn how our own NW Pathology rose to the challenge of processing testing from the beginning of the pandemic for not only our local needs but also a national response.

 

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Released: April 21, 2021

Toast of the Town: A Celebration of Community Resiliency video #13. Whatcom County Community Helpers along with their sister groups were a true community led response to the pandemic. These amazing community members organized and transformed their lives to respond to needs of their neighbors. We could only interview Emily, but our appreciation is truly widespread.

 

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Released: April 19, 2021

Toast of the Town: A Celebration of Community Resiliency video #12. Our Whatcom County Health Department Director started in this role the week the pandemic was began. Erika Lautenbach has continued to display this level of leadership as she has served as a point person for our response and our connection to regional and national efforts.

 

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Released: April 16, 2021

Toast of the Town: A Celebration of Community Resiliency video #11. As one of our leading manufacturers in our region, Superfeet responded quickly to begin making PPE safety equipment for front link workers. This effort led to saving many lives.

 

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Released: April 14, 2021

Toast of the Town: A Celebration of Community Resiliency video #10. The Resilience Fund of the Whatcom Community Foundation was set up as a community led response and philanthropic effort to get local dollars quickly to those who needed it. Our Community Foundation is continuing at the cutting edge of building support networks for many through our region.

 

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Released: April 12, 2021

Toast of the Town: A Celebration of Community Resiliency video #9. Sometimes heroes are rarely seen as they work behind the scenes. Tyler Schroeder, Deputy County Executive has worked for Whatcom County for years, and this tenure proved so valuable as he led many of the initiatives that helped our county react to the pandemic and set up us for recovery.

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Released: April 9, 2021

Toast of the Town: A Celebration of Community Resiliency video #8. Community is all about pulling together, and especially during the tough times. The pandemic has impacted our restaurants substantially. Herb Neimann’s Steakhouse in Everson graciously offered their large tented area to three other local restaurants.

 

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Released: April 7, 2021

Toast of the Town: A Celebration of Community Resiliency video #7. The collaboration of the Whatcom County Library System and the Bellingham Public Library has created numerous engagement and educational opportunities for our community and young learners during this time of digital first and remote learning.

 

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Released: April 5, 2021

Toast of the Town: A Celebration of Community Resiliency video #6. Emily O’Connor, Executive Director of Lydia Place has been a fierce advocate for our community and an equitable recovery for all with her work in building support for youth and families with children.

 

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Released: April 2, 2021

A Celebration of Community Resiliency video #5. During the pandemic, Bellewood Farms & Distillery saw a need in the community and quickly shifted their distillery from award-winning spirits to life-saving hand sanitizer.

 

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Released: March 31, 2021

Learn how Whatcom Family YMCA rose to the challenge of providing safe childcare for essential workers and first responders during the pandemic and so much more!

 

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Released: March 29, 2021

“We had to build the plane as we were flying it.” That is what Gina Stark, economic development specialist for the Port of Bellingham said about the work she did to help local businesses secure grant funding so they could keep their doors open.

 

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Released: March 26, 2021

Toast of the Town: A Celebration of Community Resiliency video #2. When COVID-19 hit, and many families faced income uncertainty, Övn Wood Fired Pizza in Fairhaven really stepped up. They gave away nearly 2,000 pizzas, no questions asked.

 

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Released: March 24, 2021

Toast of the Town: A Celebration of Community Resiliency video #1. Learn how the Bellingham Food Bank’s Farm to Freezer program supported local farms that had been devastated by the pandemic while at the same time ensuring food security in our community.

 

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Originally posted: March 17, 2021

Starting next week, we will be launching our brand new “Toast of the Town” video series.

Be sure to check our Facebook page for those videos.

This past year has been rough. Join us as we celebrate fifteen businesses, entities, and individuals in our region who stepped up in big ways to make lives better in our community.

Here is a video from Troy Wills of First Federal to tell you a bit more (link to YouTube):