I love Hope Elder. She’s in my heart. I find her positive, straight-forward, smart, compassionate, kind and sassy.
I dropped in on our former deputy mayor, unannounced, last Monday at the community supper located at Steele Lake Presbyterian Church, where she is the coordinator and has been for 15 years. Donned in her red Nebraska Cornhuskers apron, this football fan has the moves of a linebacker with the grace of a wide receiver when it comes to serving.
Do you believe in magic? Elder doesn’t just coordinate and serve at the community supper, she shops for the food and plans the menu. She spends her days off from working at the Auburn Medical Center scanning the newspaper ads for sales at all the supermarkets in the area. Produce comes from the community garden and dessert is day-past-expiration date cake donated to Multi-Service Center and passed along to the community supper.
The day I visited, dinner included chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese and a salad with fresh vegetables. Dessert was white cake with raspberry filling. From my view, all plates were clean and patrons grateful.
According to Elder, approximately 50 percent of the participants are homeless and 50 percent are able to pay their rent with little left over for food.
“We feed hungry people,” she tells me the community supper motto. She waves me over to meet a family with a 6-day-old baby.
As Stevie Wonder would sing — “Isn’t she lovely?” — she is perfect with jet black hair, shining eyes filled with trust and a beauty almost ethereal.
She is with her mother, father and healthy well-behaved 2-year-old sister. They’re a family enjoying a meal together in a community with no judgment.
So, I call her Baby Beautiful. She’s a wonder really, a gift, a light with hope and trust in her very being. She is the person we need to celebrate with health care, nutrition and an education that will carry her far.
What’s in her future? With family and community support, she can “sing in the sunshine, laugh in the rain.” She is “a child of the universe” with the right to be here, to prosper and grow with the help of Elder and her dedicated volunteers.
When it comes to Elder, I have always been curious to know why, when vacancies are filled by the Federal Way City Council, she has not been appointed? With all of her experience and knowledge, she is a first-round draft pick, the Heisman Trophy recipient, a future Hall of Fame inductee.
If she were a “Real Housewife of Federal Way,” her tag line would be: “Just win baby!” (A quote from Al Davis).
Diana Noble Gulliford was appointed to fill Roger Freeman’s City Council vacancy when he was elected state representative. Martin Moore defeated her shortly thereafter.
Lydia Assefa-Dawson was appointed to fill Linda Kochmar’s council seat when Kochmar was elected state representative.
She is currently up for election, not to be confused with re-election.
Carol Gregory was appointed to fill late State Rep. Roger Freeman’s seat following his untimely death. She is currently running for election, not re-election, behind Terri Hickel.
Why wasn’t Elder chosen when she clearly submitted her name for consideration (for City Council)?
The appointment process has never been clear to me. Maybe someone can email or call me to help with this quandary. If not, I’ll just have to ask Mr. Federal Way.
The community supper relies on donations. Please send your checks to The Federal Way Caregiving Network, P.O. Box 4717, Federal Way, WA 98063.
Contact Federal Way resident Judith Madden Magruder at judithmagruder@hotmail.com or 206-941-5977.
