It is an honor to receive volunteer of the month. Our family has enjoyed living in Issaquah Highlands, so much so that when it was time to move, we knew we had to stay somewhere in the community. Our family bought our first Highlands home in 2007 just off 15th street. Ten years later, during a birthday party of all things, we lucked out and found our current home in Roanoke Woods, next to Bear Park.
Over these 12 years, we watched the Highlands add homes, amenities, businesses, and residents. And we made lots of friends. Public service has always been important to me, however our family kept us busy. I volunteered where I could; coaching soccer, baseball, football and eventually joining the Issaquah Little League Board. My sense of pride in the Highlands compelled me to contribute in other ways.
I discussed several options with my beautiful wife, Nicole, including volunteering for one of the Issaquah Highlands Community Association (IHCA) committees like the Architecture Review Committee (ARC) or Finance Committee. Eventually I settled on running for the IHCA District 6 board seat. Thanks to the support of my neighbors and friends, I won the board seat. It is a great experience and over the past year I learned about the inner workings and complexity of running a large community association.
IHCA accomplished some amazing things over the years and the current and past board members continually impress me. In addition, Sarah Hoey, the Executive Director of the IHCA, and her team do an amazing job keeping the Highlands running.
What I learned is we need more volunteers to keep this large community moving forward. It’s easy to volunteer, you will meet some amazing people, and you will get a say in the future of the community. I encourage you to sign up today: https://www.issaquahhighlands.com/connect/volunteer/.
Photo (top): Volunteer of the Month Greg Underwood with his family (left to right) Mason, Carter and Nicole.
