Thankful for friends of the Sun Tribune

It’s that time of year when we thank God for the many gifts we’ve received and recognize as blessings. Some of mine are the people I call friends of the Sun Tribune.

If I miss somebody, please don’t consider it a slight. Consider it a result of a mind that has become cluttered with 44 years of interviews, with memory banks that are more difficult than ever to access.

First I must mention Royal’s Sharon Chesterman. She offered to provide us a community calendar right after we came on the scene. She has done five years’ worth of them.

Royal resident Christa Lee is another great friend of the Sun Tribune. She has done lots of pictures for us, particularly when she was following her own children. Two Fridays ago she did the Charles Wright-Royal football game at my request.

Also on my list are the coaches of the various sports teams in Royal and Mattawa. They send in scores, stats and commentary each week, which also makes me thankful for texting and emailing.

There is one among them I must single out for special mention. He is Royal boys basketball and golf coach Pete Christensen. Pete sent me some football pictures when we started. I used them and thanked him.

When I asked Pete how much he wanted to be paid to provide more photos, he said he was doing at his pleasure. He just continued to do it. This year, Pete sent soccer and volleyball pictures as well.

What makes this act of kindness from Pete even more special is that the success of Royal football is one of the reasons basketball struggles. Often he doesn’t have full team practices until Christmas vacation. Already this year, games have been rescheduled.

Another person who helps immensely is Lisa Dorsing, who has a photography business. She does a lot of team photo work, and she graciously loans me those photos.

Both school districts are helpful when I call, but Wahluke has a few people who go above and beyond. They include Andy Harlow, Sean Langdon, Mike Smith and Arthur Morken. They keep me posted on how the STEM and CTE programs and their schools in general are advancing.

I need to mention Alice Warness, who started contributing this year. She is the pastor of the United Methodist Church in Royal and provides our Living with Faith column.

From out of the blue, Alice called and asked if she could do a column. She sent me a sample, and she was off and running.

Three new friends of the Sun Tribune are brother and sister Tyler Allred and Kate Allred and Avery Anderson. Tyler helped me cover the eighth-grade science fair last spring.

Kate and Avery helped me with the RIS Veterans Day Assembly earlier this month. They took down notes and names for me as I photographed the event.

Happy Thanksgiving to them and to all of you. When you count your blessings Thursday, think of people who make your life better.