Dear VWC members and friends,

I am happy to introduce myself, Lynn McKibbin, to you all as your new President for 2013.  Having been a VWC member for several years and an active Board member for the last 3 years, the opportunity to run for and serve as your president feels just about right for me today!  During my tenure, I hope to see the membership grow in numbers, activity and service involvement throughout our beautiful Valley.  I also will be actively involved in updating and improving our governance documents and procedures so that our club SHINES like a lucky penny

I have made my home in Boulder Creek for the past 23+ years when I relocated from Long Beach CA with my 4 year old son, Loren, to work for Santa Cruz County’s Health Services Agency (HSA) in 1989 – just in time for the earthquake!!  Fortunately, I was able to clean up my mess with lots of help from new friends and neighbors, supportive co-workers and even some helper-strangers from “over the hill” who got word of our plight in isolated Boulder Creek via the VWC’s emergency networks and came over to board up my wall minus 1 brick chimney.

After recovering from the quake, my position as manager for the HSA family planning and prenatal clinics and women’s programs took off and expanded to my role/position of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Director for HSA  via our  CA Department of Health Services grant & contract.  In addition to operating clinics within HSA, I added various community collaborative works and I participated in program development for Healthy Start (both Watsonville and SLV), the Children’s Network, our Perinatal Substance Use Council and “Go For Health”.  It was through these and other collaborations that I rubbed elbows with SLV advocate-icons of the VWC like Mary Hammer, running the Valley Resource Center (now MCR-Mountain Community Resources), and Nancy Macy – all over the place with Environmental issues and leadership in the VWC (and hiking the streets of my neighborhood in the early winter mornings waving hello to me as I climbed in my car for the drive to my Santa Cruz office). I decided that I wanted to be just like them and I joined up!

I was quite busy, though, raising my son, Loren, and participating in his life with Boy Scouts (1999 Eagle Scout), soccer, school, jr guards and other such fun that boys and moms can create as he proceeded through the SLV school district K-12, and holding down a full time career and so had to delay my VWC membership until I had time to be active with it.  I retired from HSA in 2008 finally, and here we are now — 2013 — all caught up and glad to be a better person for the journey!

I am happy to be the President of VWC for 2013!    Lynn