I met Julie Remington 10 years ago at the Orcas Island Fire Department where she had been a volunteer for some time. She struck me as naive, but I soon came to see her as one of the most caring and compassionate people I have ever known. Diversity is her middle name, being of Hawaiian and Caucasian parents. She knows how we haolies can look down on others and refuses to see people even in those terms. Julie knows that there are limits that you can expect volunteers to serve but there are no limits that a volunteer properly motivated CAN serve. If the average Orcas Islander wants OIFR to remain mostly volunteer, it must cultivate its members and only those who have served as volunteers in some capacity can have that insight. I urge you to consider carefully those elected to guide the district as commissioners. Make sure one is a former volunteer with years of experience. I am voting for Julie Remington.

Mike Harris

Orcas Island