Thank you.

Just two words, but they need to be said more often and not just during Thanksgiving.

Thank you to United Good Neighbors (UGN) and to all the people who will donate to the upcoming 2017 campaign.

UGN has pledged to provide funding for Bayside Housing in Port Hadlock to help more people make the transition into homes; The Boiler Room in Port Townsend to help young people; and Ecumenical Christian Helping Hands Organization (ECHHO), which lends out medical equipment and provides free rides to doctor’s appointments. Those are just a few of the 20 county nonprofits that stand to benefit from the 2017 UGN campaign, which aims to raise $170,000.

Jefferson County is lucky to have so many nonprofits that care for so many different groups, from young people to old people to those with disabilities to those who need mental health care to those who need housing.

Thanks to the churches of Jefferson County for doing so much. They don’t always get in the news, but they quietly care for people who have often given up hope and don’t know where to turn.

Thanks to all the hundreds of volunteers in Jefferson County who have donated time and then more time for so many causes. It’s hard to keep track of all the volunteers, impossible to name them all.

But if you see someone with “volunteer” on their name tag, thank them next time one of them helps you.

Thanks, too, to all the public servants in Jefferson County, from the police officers who warn us about speeding to the auditor’s office employees who keep track of who is running for office to health care workers who care for us in the emergency room and clinics, and the teachers who teach our children.

School will be out in a matter of weeks. If you haven’t thanked your teacher for being there for your child, do so. Teachers matter more than we sometimes realize.

Thanks, too, to the people who give us so many amazing events to attend in Jefferson County – from the Rhododendron Festival to the upcoming Race to Alaska to the Steampunk show to the Fourth of July bash and the All-County Picnic in August. Where else in the United States could you possibly find a county that does emergency preparedness by holding a picnic with live music and corn on the cob?

More than 200 young people are set to graduate from four high schools in Jefferson County this weekend.

They will have learned a lot of lessons in the 12 years. They’ll have learned about math and science, reading and writing, and maybe even a little about politics and gardening. They’ll no doubt all be versed in technology and they’ll probably all know how to take a selfie.

Hopefully, they’ve also learned the two words that we often forget to say.

Thank you.

– Allison Arthur