March 2024

Still no definitive answer on the septic issues. We have done some pumping and planning. We ran a camera test down each line and are waiting for the analysis to be completed. One of the benefits of this should be the elimination of that odor that hangs around Pines and Meeting House each summer. We found an unnecessary and poorly placed vent pipe near the area. When we do some other work, that will be capped and should stop that foul smell up there.

The swim dock is next on the list of projects. It might be turning into a larger project than originally thought, but it will still be ready for summer. We are also totally revamping the old laundry room near Huckleberry due to a massive leak in the wall. We are also redoing a room in the Inn and Reeser this spring. There is a possibility that Reeser bathrooms might get done this fall/winter. Stay tuned for more information about that in future newsletters.

I was in Courtney, BC for a Rotary Youth Exchange event last weekend. We gather all the inbound students there for a midyear check-in. We had just finished a service project and I was walking down a random street when I looked into a car and saw two long-time Eliot guests staring at me. Dan and Juliana Leahy and I both recognized each other at the same moment. I didn’t know they lived there, and they had no idea I was visiting. To be honest I wasn’t exactly sure what town I was in. I would have said I was in Comox. Anyway, we had a nice visit and couldn’t get over how small the world really is. It was great bumping into them.

The days are getting longer and the trees are already budding out. By the next newsletter we should be enjoying Spring.

Until then stay warm and dry and have a Happy Easter.

Chuck

Happy 22nd birthday Seabeck Conference Center!

As you may know, we have hosted guests since June 11, 1915. However we didn’t incorporate until 1936. February 29, 1936. We are a leap year baby, so this is just the 22nd time we have had our real anniversary.

1. Without leap day, our calendar would be off by about 24 days every century, or every 100 years!
2. The first leap year was introduced in 46 BCE by Julius Caesar of Rome.
3. People born on a Leap Day are sometimes called leaplings.
4. More than 4 million people around the world are leaplings.
5. On non-leap years, some leaplings choose to celebrate their birthdays a day early on February 28, while others choose to celebrate a day later on March 1.
6. There is an international club for leaplings! The Honor Society of Leap Year Babies has over 10,000 members worldwide.
7. Some cultures that use a lunar calendar – a calendar that is based on the moon’s movement - add a whole leap month every three years.
8. The Summer Olympic Games are held every four years on leap years.
9. Since 2024 was a leap year, the next leap year will be in 2028. That means the next leap day is 1461 days away! 
10. There are 525,600 minutes in a typical calendar year. On leap years, there are 527,040 minutes. What will you do with the extra 1,440 minutes this leap year?

If it’s summer at Seabeck, Eliot Institute is there! Eliot is an organization that provides four all-inclusive camps for Unitarian Universalists, their families, and friends. We welcome all people to join in creating an intentional community of all ages that’s filled with fun, engaging speakers and activities, and connection.

Each year Eliot Institute holds two week-long family camps in July and August, a five-day Creative Arts camp, and a special Winter Eliot to usher in the new year. It’s your chance to enjoy all that Seabeck offers—from the salmon bake beach to the Pines lounges—while making art and music, exploring ideas of justice and equity, and developing friendships that can last a lifetime.

Our 2024 camps are as follows:

July 13-20 “Creativity Games and Storytelling” with Guy Nelson

Aug 3-10 “Exploring and Celebrating Sexuality, Gender, and Faith” with Alex Capitan

Aug 10-14 choose your workshop during Creative Arts Eliot

Dec 28-Jan1 “The Practice of Evidence-Based Hope”

Visit the Eliot Institute website for more information and to register for any camp.

--See you at camp!



photo by Jason Wolfram - February 16th

photo by Kay Capps - February 17th

photo by Staci Fuller - February 26

Do you want to help us lay the foundation for the next decade of Seabeck Conference Center? There are many ways, not all of them involving huge disbursements of cash. Here are some creative ideas you

might not have thought about:

Cash Donation Today

Tax-deductible gifts via check, credit card, in person, or online. Please consider

upping your regular gift by another 10 percent.

Automatic Monthly Payments

Gifts can be deducted periodically from your bank account, making larger donations easier by spreading them over time.

Low-Cost Appreciated Stock

Avoid paying the capital gains by giving full-market value to Seabeck Conference Center.

In-Kind Donation

We are always in need of furniture, lighting, rugs, and much more - the market value is tax-deductible.

Multi-Year Pledges

A great way to ensure support will be there when we need it year after year.

Designated Gifts

Donate to a targeted project or capital campaign.

Commemorative Gifts

Donate a bench or rocking chair in honor of someone or something important to you.

A Bequest in Your Will

Your gift can be a specific sum or a percentage of an estate after other bequests. Just add an addendum to your existing will.

Life Insurance and Savings Accounts

Same as retirement plans, except those payments made to Seabeck Conference Center are exempt only from estate taxes.

IRA's and Retirement Plans

Your estate receives a charitable deduction for the full gift amount on estate and income taxes, while we receive full donation value. Non-charitable heirs receive only a part of the value (since inherited assets are subject to estate and income taxes).

Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)

A QCD is a direct transfer of funds from your IRA custodian, payable to a qualified charity. QCDs can be counted toward satisfying your required minimum distributions (RMDs) for the year, as long as certain rules are met. You must be 70-1/2 or older to be eligible to make a QCD.

All gifts are welcome. Seabeck Conference Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and your contribution may be tax-deductible. If you have any questions, please contact our Executive Director, Chuck Kraining at

(360) 830-5010 or email him at chuck@seabeck.org.