Washington Spokane East Stake

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

We literally had an army of volunteers that accomplished an amazing community service.

Please join with us in thanking all who helped make our Day of Service such a BIG success.

Ward JustServe & Other Specialists

• Marla Kepler – Adams Ward
• Nate Purcell – Autumn Crest Ward
• Forrest Humble – Bella Vista Ward
• Jo Humble – Bella Vista Ward
• Ron Winton – Chester Creek Ward
• Sarah Winton – Chester Creek Ward
• Jeff Higham – Dishman Hills Ward
• Laverl Randall – Freeman Ward
• Branden Jeromchek – Horizon Hills Ward
• Greg Davis – Opportunity Ward
• Alejandra Husein – Spanish 4th Branch
• Mary Lou Nowels – Sunrise Ward
• Kirby Muir – Chester Creek Ward

Each Ward has one or two JustServe Specialists to help promote service opportunities in their ward. They were asked to get the word out and invite people to come and bring tools and equipment. This was a 2+ month project with ongoing follow up to make sure we gathered enough people to complete our projects. Lots of work – lots of blessings! Thank you.

Project Leaders

Our Project Leaders got everything organized for our Day of Service and then made sure everything came together so the work got done! These leaders carried a big load and were responsible for the success of our work. We owe them all a big thanks.

Quadrant Leaders

The Mica and Chester Cemetery’s were so large and needed so much work, we divided them into 4 quadrants and assigned 4 quadrant leaders to help direct the work. That way everyone could find someone nearby to help tell them what to do – they kept everyone working. And they did a super job – the one remark we heard over and over again – the cemeteries never looked better. A big pat on the back to our Quadrant leaders – this is where the rubber hit the road and the work got done.

Dump Trailers

Our heroes are on this page...these projects would not have been possible without these dump trailers. It’s a big ask to have people bring their expensive equipment that most of them use in earning their lively hood. And not only did they bring them on the Day of Service – many of them came back on the following Friday and Saturday to finish the hauling. Huge, huge, huge thanks to each of you.

Parking Attendants

• Don Holmes – Bella Vista
• Sheldon Gubler – Bella Vista
• Dan Elliot – Adams
• Matt Rice – Adams
• Jay Kessler – Adams
• Monte Moss – Bella Vista

Being a parking attendant was definitely a challenge...we thought there would be 60 to 70 cars – there ended up being 109 cars. We had to work at finding a place for everyone to park and then we ended up blocking in a few people which created some problems. A special thank you to Jay Kessler – Mark left to go visit the other projects and Jay ended up in charge. First KXLY news came to check out our Day of Service and no one else was available to be interviewed, so Jay had to pinch hit on the fly and talk to the reporter. And then we had a few people that needed to leave that were blocked in. Jay got to deal with that until Mark got back. Triple thanks to Jay for being such a good sport!

Website Creator – Signs – Social Media
And Family History

• Cameron Spear – Spokane Valley Stake (Mark’s Son – lucky him!!) — Created and updated our dayofservice2025.com website
• Karen Spear – Autumn Crest — Created signs for Mica & Chester Cemeteries
• Emily Corbitt – Horizon Hills — Posted to Ward & Stake Facebook Pages, took photos, helped with our flyer and way too many other things.
• Ryan Boland – Horizon Hills — Find-A-Grave Coordinator

Thanks to each of you for sharing your special talents – we had community members that responded to the website, saw the signs and acted on the Social Media. And more members came because they were also reminded and encouraged to come. You made our efforts more visible and successful. And thanks for helping turn our hearts to our ancestors on the other side of the veil. Thank you for giving your time and using your abilities to help us all let our light shine.

Cemetery Map Game

Photographers

• Taraka Pyper – Autumn Crest – Made the rounds.
• Judith Van Bockern – Bella Vista – Mica
• Annie Dufton – Bella Vista – Mica
• Sofie Dufton – Bella Vista – Mica
• Lexie Mortensen – Horizon Hills – Valley Mission & Edgecliff Parks
• Deborah Davis – Horizon Hills – Valley Mission & Edgecliff Parks
• Nancy Burleson – Spanish Branch – Saltese Cemetery
• Emily Corbitt – Horizon Hills — Made the rounds
• And thanks to everyone else who uploaded photos

To add and view photos go to: dayofservice2025.com.

A picture is truly worth a thousand words. Hundreds of photos are worth a library of books. Thanks for sharing your talents to help us better tell our story. And a great story was told by our actions and by capturing our work with pictures. You have helped us to capture a story worth remembering. Thank you. And thanks to everyone else who also shared photos.

Sign In

You played such an important part – we were able to quickly get people checked in and assigned to a place and job. You made that happen. And we were able to track who came and joined with us. It is important to know who came and from where they came, so we know how successful our efforts were to include everyone.

The Unknown Volunteers

There were about 75 people who were given an assignment to complete during our Day of Service. (We had 504 volunteers in total.) Our intention was to name and thank each of you individually. We want to apologize to those who should have been included on one of our lists but were inadvertently left off. We want you to know that your service was appreciated. And we thank you. Feel free to reach out and we will correct the error of our ways and add your name to the appropriate list.

Donations & Support

We had two additional donations that we want to thank and recognize.

BIG PROJECT – BIG THANK YOU!!!

This was a huge undertaking – made possible by the donation of your time and use of your equipment and tools. We had 504 volunteers – it took everyone of you to finish our projects. Thank you for showing up and working!

And a 1000 Thanks to Each of You

Keep reading to the end for a summary and some photos of our Projects. Remember, go to dayofservice2025.com to post or view photos.

September 11 National Day of Service & Remembrance

In the aftermath of 9/11, the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance organization was formed:

• In 2025 it is expected that more than 30 million people will participate helping others in need and rekindling the spirit of unity that brought Americans together in the days following the 9/11 tragedy.
• Our stake has honored those who lost their lives by engaging in worthwhile service in our community.
• We hope you feel good about the service you have given and that by joining together to serve, you feel closer to your community.

Valley Mission and Edgecliff Parks

Opportunity and Chester Creek Wards — 113 Volunteers

We added a mountain of bark to each of these playgrounds. We have great Parks in the Spokane Valley, and you made them even better by adding new bark to the playgrounds.

Valley Mission & Edgecliff Photos

Edgecliff Park Photos

Saltese Cemetery

Spanish 4th Branch — 46 volunteers

We picked up pinecones (about a million) and raked pine needles. The Cemetery board member that oversaw our project at Saltese, said that the cemetery has never looked better. Many of us have family and friends buried at this cemetery – what a great way to honor our memories of them.

Saltese Cemetery Photos

Chester Cemetery

Dishman Hills, Sunrise and Autumn Crest Wards – 145 Volunteers

Neighbors who walked by stopped and asked us what we were doing. They stayed and helped. We had several people who saw our sign, scanned the QR code to get details and came. Wendy Johnson, the President of the Cemetery board member brought the original cemetery records to share with us. When we told her that our Family History Library could help digitalize these records and make them available to everyone, she was elated. She has already visited the Library. And Wendy told us the cemetery never looked better!

Chester Cemetery Photos

Mica Cemetery

Freeman, Horizon Hills, Bella Vista & Adams Wards – 200 Volunteers

That’s right, we had 200 people who arrived in 109 cars. What a nice problem, we thought we might have to find parking for about 60 – 70 cars. We had cars parked everywhere. Good thing we had so many volunteers, this abandoned cemetery was literally a jungle. We transformed it into a paradise. Neighbors saw signs inviting them to come. They came and were grateful and said they would come back if we had more to. One neighbor went home and brought his trailer back to help. And then he came back the following Friday with his trailer to help with the final hauling.

Mica Cemetery Photos

Rinse and Repeat

We invite you to also serve individually and as families by going to JustServe.org to find additional service opportunities right here in the Spokane Valley. Please invite others to join you. Thank you again for all you do.

Thanks for making us look so good.
Nate Purcell and Mark Spear
Stake JustServe Specialists