I wanted to convey my gratitude for all of the amazing community support for Multi-Service Center’s crab feed this year!

We had some unanticipated challenges but have already begun identifying solutions to fulfill our commitment in ensuring that these issues don’t arise in the future. I want to thank all of our attendees for their commitment and patience at the event.

Multi-Service Center is blessed to have incredible stakeholders who have helped to make this event a success. Our MSC Friends Committee is comprised of volunteers who work diligently to make each crab feed better than the last.

Our dedicated volunteers, staff and board of directors also spend hours and hours ensuring that the event runs smoothly and is enjoyable for all of our attendees.

In regards to Mr. Federal Way’s recent column, I am glad to know that Mr. Federal Way attends the Multi-Service Center crab feed! I did want to add some clarification regarding our partnership with the city of Federal Way, particularly as it relates to this year’s crab feed.

From the very beginning of our planning process, the Federal Way Community Center staff were helpful and collaborative.

Any time an entity tries something new, there are always risks. Despite the fact that the center had never taken on an event of this size, they were willing to take a significant risk and work with us on hosting one of Federal Way’s largest events.

When challenges arose along the way, Federal Way Community Center staff as well as the city’s Parks and Recreation Director John Hutton stepped up with efforts including but not limited to providing a generator to ensure that our electrical needs for the event were met.

The same is true of other city staff as well. As technical issues causing long lines became apparent, without hesitation Mayor Jim Ferrell, Deputy Mayor Jeanne Burbidge, Kathy Arndt and other city staff jumped in to help in whatever capacity they could including but not limited to communicating with the city’s information technology director to resolve issues and helping at the registration desk.

In addition, every city of Federal Way Council member was present and supportive of the event. Truly, the city of Federal Way went above and beyond to support the success of Multi-Service Center’s crab feed event.

We are working with the city to discuss options and changes for next year and are hopeful that we will be able to use the Federal Way Community Center once again.

Certainly there were unanticipated challenges that arose. Yet, I am humbled by the fact that our community partners pulled together to raise more money for Multi-Service Center than ever before to help those in need in our community.

Overall, the event was a success and our community will benefit as a result. I have no doubt that due to the efforts of Multi-Service Center staff, volunteers and our community partners, next year’s event will be even more enjoyable and successful.

Robin Corak, MSC executive director