Reaping benefits of Sultan Harvest

Every year, Sultan Harvest embodies the city’s informal theme of “big heart, little city” — an adage proclaimed by former Sultan City Councilmember and Sultan Harvest committee co-chair Kristina Blair.

This year’s free community Thanksgiving dinner embodied that theme at record levels.

Sultan Harvest served a record number of guests and Thanksgiving Day meals this year in the Sultan High School commons. A total of 372 community members attended, with 600 dinners served, including to-go meals. A total of 121 volunteers helped make the event a success, acting as cooks, servers and dessert distributors. Eighty to-go turkey sandwiches were crafted at the sandwich-making station, which enjoyed much higher use in its second year. 

“We almost had a line out the door,” Blair said of this year’s attendance.

Sultan Harvest organized by the Sultan Harvest Committee with support from the Volunteers of America Sky Valley Services Center (VOA). It was created 15 years ago, based on the concept that nobody should eat alone on Thanksgiving. Former VOA Director Dave Wood, who passed away in 2011, created its catchphrase: “Sultan Harvest, where nobody eats alone.”

The community event was initially held at Sultan City Hall, but moved to the VOA A-frame on First Street after about three years. It eventually outgrew the A-frame, so it’s taken place at Sultan High School for the last three years.

Sultan Harvest typically comes together through a strong network of volunteers in the Sultan community, Blair said, and this year was no different. From Crosswater Community Church member Eric Carlson, who passed out slices of pie, to his 10-year-old daughter Hannah, who helped with Santa photos, the event embraced the volunteerism Sultan is known for.

Patriotic community advocate Dave Sivewright, also known as the Highway 2 Freedom Runner, spent the day volunteering with his wife, Christina, celebrating the couple’s third year volunteering at the event. Other volunteers, like Sultan resident Dale Doornek, have been around since the very beginning. 

“I remember them cooking turkeys on the back porch at city hall,” Doornek said.

When the event first began, that was where they did the cooking. The majority of the food preparation and the cleaning took place behind Sultan City Hall, a setup that passed muster with the Snohomish Health District in one of the early years. The food was served inside Sultan City Council Chambers, with leftovers distributed to attendees, much as they are today.

The event has grown since then, as has its core of volunteers. Volunteers Nita and Wayne Lea, with help from 2-1/2 Men Barbecue owners Ken Marshall and Larry Seaunier, handled the bulk of the cooking this year. Galaxy Chocolates owner Kathryne Paz donated her time to bake pumpkin, apple, chocolate and lemon cream pies for the event, offering a larger selection than last year.

“Everything except the pecan, Kathryne made,” Blair said. “She was just a godsend.”

Monroe residents Rosie and Harvey Tatel worked together to entertain kids. Rosie took charge of the craft table while Harvey dazzled many young ones with his 1948 model train set. Other volunteers helped pass out blankets, coats, hats and scarves to families in need. Much of the warm clothing was gathered by Sultan Harvest Committee member Christi Smither, who tasked her Gold Bar-based Girl Scout troop with collecting donations.

Sultan High School tech guru Dave Moon donated photography equipment for printing out digital Santa photos festooned with the holiday message, “Happy Thanksgiving 2016.” Along with Hannah Carlson, Sultan City Councilmember Russell Wiita helped coordinate photos with Santa, returning for his second year to help with that part of the event. Wiita, who had plans to visit with family later in the day, said he enjoys donating his time on Thanksgiving.

“I think it’s important to be involved, and it means a lot to the people that come to this,” Wiita said. “It doesn’t take much from me to help out.”

Former Sultan School District staffer Jeff Aikens celebrated his eighth year as the official Sultan Harvest Santa Claus.

Blair hopes to continue making Sultan Harvest better every year, with a long-term goal of achieving 501(C)3 nonprofit status. That would help the event become more sustainable, because donations would be tax-deductible. Her husband, Steve Slawson, is also a volunteer at the event. 

Sultan Harvest is especially meaningful to Blair and other volunteers, who encourage guests to offer their thoughts in a guest book that gets passed around during the meal. Some of the responses were extraordinarily touching this year, Blair said, as they are every year. One family-of-four thanked organizers for the “wonderful dinner,” adding they have been homeless since Oct. 10.

“You gave us the first full meal we’ve had in quite some time,” they wrote. “We appreciate it so much.”

This was a fantastic year, Blair said, and she’s already looking forward to doing it again next year.

“I really just want to thank the entire community for showing up and being present and enjoying the food,” Blair said. “And showing all the love they showed.”

To learn more about Sultan Harvest, make a donation or learn how to get involved next year, email volunteer@sultanharvest.com.