Darlene Huntingon, Trustee [2008]
Darlene was born in Snohomish at a very young age to Mary and Everett Olsen who took her and her siblings on the road stopping long enough in Renton to begin a relationship with her future husband in grade school. Dan picked up Darlene’s family tradition of traveling for work eventually moving back to Medina and finally settling in Snohomish in 1982. So it was around this time that Darlene joined the Historical Society that her father had co-founded in 1969; and she has served on the board ever since. In 1994, Darlene was award the prestigious Washington State Preservation Officers Annual Award for Outstanding Career Achievement in Historical Preservation. This award was not only for her work with our Historical Society but also for the restoration of many other buildings in Snohomish. Darlene is active in the Garden Club, the Chamber of Commerce and other area wide organizations that she shies away from listing.

Allison Merrill, Secretary [2008]
Allison grew up in Spokane, and after college moved to New York City, where she earned a Ph.D. in Medieval Art from Columbia University. After working for more than twenty years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the magazine publishing business, she decided to move back “home.” She chose Snohomish for its history and beautiful old houses. Only a few months after arriving she fortuitously met her husband, Steve Swartz. She now copy edits and proofreads for Random House.

Warner Blake, President [2009]
Warner’s nomination for President of the Snohomish Historical Society brings his involvement with the organization full circle since he took over editing the society’s newsletter from Victoria Harrington, the society’s immediate past president, in the mid 1990s. Around the same time, he began taking oral histories on videotape, which eventually led to the production of a full-length documentary about Eleanor Leight and her tap dancing troupe, the Leight Fantastics. The society’s first president, Everett Olsen, asked Eleanor if she would produce a vaudeville show to benefit the historical society 30 years ago. And it was while Warner was attending a Pacific Northwest history conference to present this documentary “To Dance with Eleanor” that he discovers the existence of Arcadia Publishers and their “Images of America” series. His book “Early Snohomish,” published this past August, was the result of that encounter. Warner is inspired by the accomplishment of the founders of our historical society to create Snohomish’s Nationally Registered Historic District -- he would like to see the organization that vital again. In a community that casts itself as a destination of historical interest, it’s essential that our historic society take on a leading role in collecting, preserving and interpreting the heritage of Snohomish.

Gary Ferguson, Trustee [2009]
Gary grew up in Snohomish, graduated from Snohomish High School, and left for college. On a trip home, he joined the Snohomish Historical Society as a charter member in 1969, after all, his mother, Ruth, was the Secretary! Gary returned in 1976 to work for the school district, and served on the city council, park board, library board, plus several city committees; plus, he and his wife, Penny, managed the Snohomish Saturday Market for over 20 years. Gary works part time as a social worker at Everett Housing Authority, and another part as a sailor.

Marcia O'Hair, Trustee [2009]
Marcia was born in Minnesota, but raised in Bremerton, Washington, where she graduated from East High School. Marcia worked in the medical field for about 30 years, 22 of these were at Hall Health Center (the U of W student health center). She began there as a clinic representative, moving up to medical assistant and then to executive assistant. Served on the Headstart board in Kent for four years and worked specifically with the parents, assisting them in completing forms and other needs for low income families. Marcia worked with United Good Neighbors, interviewing families that have specific needs and helping to provide for these needs. In 1970, she worked on the steering committee to organize the first food and clothing bank in Federal Way. Most recently, Marcia have been active in the Snohomish Senior Center, serving on the board and assisting with office needs. "I have always had an interest in history and historical architecture, so retiring here in Snohomish was for me an excellent choice. This interest is what prompted my desire to be elected to serve as a Trustee."

Edie Pierson, Trustee [2009]
Edie was born in Moses Lake but raised in Southern California. In July of 1980 she moved with her husband and two young sons back to Washington State. While her sons were in school Edie worked for Safeco Insurance in their data entry department. It was during the 80’s that personal computers came on the scene and Edie moved into the hardware/software department installing, testing and supporting the independent insurance agent office networks. After 30 plus years in the computer industry she longed for a change. That change evolved into a two-year culinary degree at Seattle Culinary Academy, personal chef/catering business and now a real estate career with John L Scott. Under the John L Scott Snohomish umbrella Edie’s business name is Pierson Realty Advisors. Being an independent business person allows Edie the freedom to get involved with her community. Edie holds the title of Realtor®, as a member of the National Association of Realtors. She is also an Accredited Buyer’s Representative having completed specialized training with REBAC, the Real Estate Buyers Agent Council.
Edie has lived around the city of Snohomish since 1983. In 2006 she moved with her husband of 33 years to an older home in town just outside the historic district. Her love of historic homes and Snohomish in particular fuels her desire to help the Snohomish Historic Society with their effort to promote and preserve the historical part of what Snohomish is all about. Edie is also a member of the Snohomish Garden Club and is Chair of the Friendship Tours for 2007 and 2008.

Penny O'Connell, Secretary [2010]
Daughter Kathy Gershwind recruited Penny and Bill O’Connell to Snohomish in the fall of 2002. Both were bankers in the San Francisco Bay Area and decided early retirement to the Pacific Northwest sounded like a good idea.
Penny is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Graduate School of Financial Management and has held the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in several Bay Area Community banks. She is currently employed by Queen Bee Home and Garden on First Street, “Being around everything I love two days a week is not a job, it’s fun!” v Penny’s hobbies are gardening and interior design.
Also actively involved in the community, she has served on the Board of Directors of the Snohomish Community Food Bank and has previously served as Treasurer of the Snohomish Historical Society. She is also a member of the Snohomish Garden Club and her garden has been featured on the Garden Club’s Annual Garden Tour.
Penny and husband Bill have two daughters, Kathy and husband Ron Gershwind of Hunts Point, Washington and Cary, husband Rob Paget and grandchildren Jenelle, 18 and Jared, 14 of Antioch, CA. Penny’s goal is to get daughter Cary and family to Washington, soon.

Chris Gee, Trustee [2010]

Marta Gronlund, Trustee [2010]
Marta has worked at the City of Redmond for 10 years. Her current assignment is the Communication Programs Manager, whose responsibilities include press relations for the City, website (www.redmond.gov) management and development, writing and editing citizen communications and developing and implementing community outreach programs. Prior to working for the City she worked with a leading Seattle public relations firm for three years and spent 13 years at Puget Sound Energy in various positions, including Space Planner, Facilities Manager and Community Development planner. She holds a BA in Commercial Interior Design from Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario. Marta lives in downtown Snohomish in a small cottage she recently renovated and is a member of the Old Homes Group. Her previous volunteer affiliations include Leadership Tomorrow, United Way or King County and Planned Parenthood.

Sayra Hill, Trustee [2010]
As a very community minded individual, Sayra enjoys living in Snohomish. She is an active member of the Historical Society, Old Homes Group, Garden Club and Snohomish Women Networking Group. She admires the local citizens, businesses and homeowners for their evolvement in the preservation and restoration of our historic town. Prior to becoming a resident Sayra dreamed of owning a vintage home of her own someday. A bungalow with a welcoming front porch in the historical district caught her eye. She wrote a note asking the owners to consider selling the home. Today Sayra lives in her "dream bungalow." She has had the pleasure of opening both the home and garden to the public for the historical society and garden club tours. Important passions in Sayra's personal life are family, friends, faith, gardening, writing, art, and owning a successful business as an esthetician. Her professional background is business management with leadership experience in team building, conflict resolution, educational seminars, and promoting special events. She as also served our community as a volunteer for the Visitors Information Center and as a board member for Historic Downtown Snohomish.

Eric Vannice, Vice-President [2010]
Eric Vannice, semi-retired, currently acts as a consultant for Kepner-Tregoe, Inc, as a trainer and facilitator in Problem Solving and Decision Making, Project Management, and Analytic Trouble Shooting. Through the delivery of a variety of workshops, he has improved the critical thinking skills of employees for such companies such as TransCanada Pipe Lines, San Diego Unified Port District, Chrysler, EnCana Energy, and Cisco Systems. Eric retired from the Port of Seattle where he was the Resident Engineer at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. There his ability to successfully manage the continuous capital improvements without disruption to passenger service or airport operations were recognized with numerous awards of appreciation. Eric’s engineering background combined with his experience in human performance systems and issue resolution methods allows him to address the needs of both public and private organizations. In 1977 Eric led the effort to save and adaptively restore the Interlake School in the Wallingford district of Seattle. That restoration, known as Wallingford Center, is now the centerpiece of that neighborhood.

Membership is not required -- simply an interest in keeping up to date with our activities!