January 2022
A Personal Message from the Director
Sorry for the delay in getting this newsletter. As you will see below, we were dealing with some severe weather-related challenges. I just didn’t have a chance to sit down and do my part. Everything else would have been done on time. We will be back on schedule in February.

This year started on a weird note, but I am confident we will make 2022 a great year. I think the Covid crisis will ease as the year goes on and we can be back to normal in no time. I wonder how many times I have said that in previous newsletters?

We had a great Ribbon Cutting ceremony for Pines last month. U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer and I cut the ribbon and welcomed the assembled guests to tour the partial furnished building. Thanks to all who attended in person or online. Even though some parts weren’t quite finished, and you had use your imagination a little, the building received rave reviews! Those parts are done now. I can’t wait to show it off to everyone. We held our Board Meeting in the Pines meeting area this weekend. We are just waiting on some fire alarm equipment for the sleeping rooms, and we will be ready to welcome overnight guests. Everything else is done. If the equipment gets here, we will host a couple weekend events in Pines during early February so you can try it out. Watch your emails for more details. I also plan to do the landscaping work party on Saturday April 30th. Save the date!

Winter Eliot and Scottish Arts have canceled for 2022, but other bookings are still holding strong. We shall see as the year progresses. We have changed all our Covid related policies to be in affect month by month to work with all the groups fairly, given the current situation at the time. Just know we will always put guest safety first and will work with you to get through this.

We look forward to a busy year ahead. We hope you are here on campus adding to the demand. We miss a lot of our friends and can’t wait to welcome you back home.

Thank you for everything,
Chuck
Seabeck Board Retreat was the first meeting held in the new Pines!
Winter Storm 2021/22
What a hard way to finish 2021 and start 2022.

When you see the Puget Sound Weather forecast, you often hear the phrase, “No low land snow except for parts of Western Kitsap County near Hood Canal.” It turns out that is where we are located. Downtown Seabeck doesn’t get hit as hard as the areas around us, but we usually see snow once or twice a year. It goes away fairly quickly as the falling snow turns to rain. This last storm broke some of those rules.

Like everywhere in Puget Sound, it snowed on Christmas night and then got really cold. We got hit pretty hard and I closed the campus for what turned out to be ten days or more. Staff couldn’t get here. Some staffers didn’t have power at home for days. Gloria was stuck at the beach with her travel trailer unable to move. Buster and I were isolated here. Luckily, I had some practice from the Covid crisis. The temperature dropped in the low twenties. While the rest of Western Washington was digging out, the greater Seabeck area got hit with a devastating new storm of extremely heavy, wet snow and ice. It closed all the roads with ice and downed trees. Again, we were isolated. I was at home one night when Buster started growling. I went outside to see what was bothering him, and I could hear limbs snapping off all over the campus. They sounded like gunshots. I went inside and about twenty minutes later a huge limb came down striking my house and destroying the back portion of the structure. It took out the power on the way down and hit the hot water tank, sending it across the room and pulling the pipes out of the wall. I ran out and shut off the water. We later found out I was walking around live wires in the dark, so I got very lucky. I secured the house and moved to Inn 100. Later that night, another huge limb fell on the house from the front, wrecking the deck and ramp. It mostly missed the house and my car. Again, very lucky. Buster and I now live in Inn #100, and I keep a fire and generator going at the house to keep the cats and fish comfortable. I hope to get power and cold water restored this week and move back. The back of my house will be a total replacement. All in all, I feel very glad nothing irreplaceable was harmed.

Almost every tree on the campus lost limbs. We are still assessing the damage, but it looks like a dozen or more trees were total losses. I am sure there and many more down in the forest. We haven’t been able to get up there to check yet. Many of the old apple trees were harmed. Trees hit Firs and Colman and there appears to be no damage. There was no wind during this event, so I think the weight brought everything straight down, sparing more damage.

We are all OK and back to work. The crew is cleaning up debris and I am starting to rebuild Cypress House. We will be good as new in no time.
Mystery Donations to Seabeck ...
Can you help us solve the mystery donations we recently received?

The First one is $10,000 from Assetmark Trust as a “normal distribution” received the first part of December. This is a wonderful donation and we would love to thank the person or persons that sent it to us. If you want to stay anonymous, please call the office and let us know. I'm sure someone would love to take the tax deduction on this.

The other is shares of FaceBook stock received the middle of October. Thanks for this also but we would love to know who donated this.

If anyone has information about either of these donations, please call the office at 360-830-5010 and let us know so we can thank them personally.

Pines Update
Chuck and Derek Kilmer cutting the ribbon at the Pines dedication ceremony.
Photos from Seabeck - The December Snow
photo by Cathy Musgrove Wagemans
photo by Peggy Maurer
photo by Peggy Maurer
photo by Carol Genengels
photographer unknown
Seabeck photos by Chuck
I bet it's as cold inside as it looks outside!
COVID-19 Precautions
Chuckle of the Month
Ways to Donate to Seabeck
WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT
SEABECK CONFERENCE CENTER
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.

Seabeck Conference Center
13395 Lagoon Dr NW
Seabeck, Washington 98380
360.830.5010 Email | Website