March 06th, 2026

​Hello, Gualala Community Center (GCC) members.  I hope everyone survived the wet weather and is now enjoying the sunshine here on the North Coast. 
 
Website Update:
By now, I hope each of you has been able to log on to the beautiful, new GCC website.  Karen Wilder has done a masterful job transforming our website to a new platform that is more user friendly.  Now, you can actually join or renew your GCC membership, make a donation, learn about Pay ‘n’ Take, get the latest rebuilding news, find out how you can get involved with other great GCC volunteers, discover upcoming events and meetings on the new GCC Calendar of Events, review GCC financials, policies, and minutes of GCC Board meetings.  You can now see items available at the Pay ‘n’ Take clothing store and soon you will be able to preview items available at the regular Pay ‘n’ Take sales on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month.  Clothing store is open on Saturdays from 9:00 to 12:00.
 
GCC Membership Update:
As of March 1st, there are 394 GCC members.  If you know anyone who is not yet a GCC member or a member who has not renewed their membership, please encourage them to join GCC or renew their membership by March 14th. That is the current cutoff date for eligibility to vote in the June election of the Board.
 
GCC Rebuilding Update:
The members of the Build Local Professional Group have been working hard this month to answer the second round of Mendocino Building Department comments.  Answers and corrections will likely go out to the Mendocino Building Department early next week.  We are looking forward to the building permit being issued sometime in March or April. 
 
Monday March 9th, three metal shipping containers will be delivered to the GCC site.  These containers will replace the 40-year-old 40’container that is presently on site and allow for more efficient storage of seasonal and overflow Pay ‘n’ Take items.  When the old container is removed, the clean-up of the area can begin in preparation for grading and compaction of the building site.
 
Grants Update:
Currently, GCC has applied for or is in the process of applying for 4 grants.  These are: Mendocino Community Foundation for about 6K and the Sonoma Community Foundation for about 9K which will both be used for commercial kitchen equipment; Sonoma Clean Power will be used for Solar or HVAC; T-Mobile Homegrown Grant for up to 50K for a specific use that is in the process of being identified.  I am grateful to Kathleen Chesey for alerting us to the T-Mobile and other possible grants.  Whyte Owen is owed a big round of applause for his expertise, knowledge and help with these grants.
 
Volunteer Opportunities:
Your GCC Board has been quite busy establishing committees to help the GCC Corporation function more effectively. To date, new committees include the Finance Committee, Paul Cupich, Chair; the Bylaws Committee, Laverne Hancock, Chair, and the Membership Committee, Nancy Howard, Chair (to be approved at the March Board of Directors meeting).  Finance and Membership committees have openings for GCC members.  We plan to form a Media Committee soon.  Becoming a member of one of these committees is a wonderful way to learn more about the internal operations of GCC, and to hang out with fabulous GCC volunteers!  If you are interested, please contact Kathy McMurtery, office manager, at 707-882-3179 and she will facilitate your contact with the appropriate Chair.
 
GCC Media Presence:
A big “Thank You” goes out to Sally Shine and De Williams who are working with Karen Wilder to integrate the GCC Facebook Page and GCC Instagram with the GCC website.

March GCC Board Meeting:
As always, we invite you to attend our next Board meeting on Wednesday, March 11th at 2:30 p.m. at the Gualala Baptist Church, 37300 Church Street, Gualala. We are interested in your ideas, feedback, and participation.
 
DON’T FORGET!!!  Turn your clocks ahead one hour this Saturday night.
Best wishes from your Gualala Community Center Board of Directors.
 
President, Janet Pierucci
Vice President, Darla Buechner              Member: Paul Cupich
Secretary: Laverne Hancock                  Member: Nancy Howard
Treasurer: Colby Bibb                            Member: Whyte Owen