“There really is no better way to feel connected to your community than to take part in the supporting and building of that community.” – Johnna Masterson
Congratulations to Johnna Masterson on being named Issaquah Highlands’ 2020 Volunteer of the Year! With her giving spirit and heart for community, Johnna earned this recognition for her dedication to making Issaquah Highlands a place for everyone to call “home.”
Since moving to the Central Park neighborhood from Kirkland with her family 12 years ago, Johnna has looked for ways to connect with neighbors while showing her four boys the importance of giving their time. Over the years, the family has been involved in several Highlands Days, Green Halloween, winter celebrations, Highlands Youth Advisory Board (HY) events, and more.
On top of starting her own small business, Inspired and Organized, Johnna has become even more active in volunteering with Highlands Council over the past couple of years. In 2019, Johnna volunteered to write a column for Connections to share her expertise in home organization. Seeing a need for residents without garages to have a way to participate in our community-wide garage sales, Johnna hosted Yard Sales on Village Green last year. Knowing that people may need help getting organized before the garage sale, she taught hands-on “Sell $mart” workshops before each sale at Blakely Hall.
Acting on her desire to help small business owners network in a meaningful way, Johnna started the connection-based Issaquah Highlands Business Networking Group in January, blending the best parts of other networking meetings and events. With over 200 members, Johnna continues to bring this inclusive group together online during coronavirus closures, helping business owners support each other through the changing business landscape.
Early in the coronavirus crisis, Johnna was following discussions on neighborhood Facebook groups and recognized there was a lot of fear around the need for childcare and food. To help ease that stress for families, she set up “IH Helping Neighbors in NEED,” an online signup form to connect neighbors who need a little extra help with neighbors who are able to provide that help. In just a few days, Johnna was able to connect 75 children and their families with volunteers who were happy to help provide food and other essential items.
We hope learning more about Johnna and other community volunteers in this feature inspires you to get involved in our community. We would love to meet with you to discuss new ideas or just help you feel more connected! Please reach out and let’s chat.
Photo (clockwise from top right): Johnna with her four sons; Johnna (far right) with attendees of the first IH Business Networking Group meetup; Johnna and her son at 2019’s GAME ON! Highlands Day; and Johnna (left) attends Halloween Bingo at Blakely Hall.
