Highlights from 2024
The Highlands Council team had an incredibly busy and fulfilling year of community building in 2024! The year began with a challenge—a burst pipe over our main office in Blakely Hall. Despite this (wet) setback, we quickly reopened with some modifications during the restoration work.
Reflecting on the past year, there are numerous highlights to celebrate! Some of my favorites include:
- Celebrating Persian and Muslim cultures in Issaquah Highlands for the first time, thanks to amazing volunteers, with Nowruz and Eid al Adha festivities.
- Hosting eight high-quality exhibitions in the Art Gallery at Blakely Hall, showcasing the talents of over 50 diverse local artists.
- Designating Blakely Hall as a resilience hub to support the community before, during and after a disaster. Now the real work begins!
- Bringing new neighbors together through “New Neighbor Socials,” which will continue throughout this year.
- Launching the Speed Neighboring event, a fantastic way for neighbors to connect in a low-pressure environment. (Join us for the next event on March 7!)
- Expanding our Village Markets to full vendor capacity, offering a high-quality market experience for attendees each time. Did you know we now receive over 100 vendor applications for every market?
- Maintaining a balanced budget for the 2023–24 fiscal year by cutting expenses and utilizing external funding to counteract low Community Enhancement fees from the slow real estate market.
Highlands Council staff wishes you all a wonderful New Year!
As we step into this new year, I am deeply grateful for the incredible team I work with, our collaborative board leadership, the insurance that covered our burst pipe repair, our amazing partner organizations, and the inspiring community of Issaquah Highlands that we are honored to serve.
Cheers to 2025!
Lindsey Pinkston is the executive director of Highlands Council and a Wisteria Park resident.
As published in the winter 2025 issue of Community Connect magazine >>>
