Rhonda Snyder and 29 of her Everett Windermere Real Estate employees worked hard Friday.
They weren’t selling houses, but volunteering at Depot Park, 2900 Bond St. in Everett, as part of Western Washington Windemere’s 20th annual Community Service Day.
Everett Windermere employees were among 47 other Puget Sound Windermere offices participating in the event.
“I think – especially as agents – it’s important to give back to the community we live in,” said Snyder, owner of Everett Windemere, 120 SW Everett Mall Way.
Her employees backed up her sentiment.
“We get so much from the Everett community, it’s nice to give back,” said Carolyn Minckler, an agent at the Everett Windemere.
On Windermere’s annual Community Service Day, established in 1984, agents and staff volunteer in the neighborhoods where they live. Now, more than 200 offices throughout the Western United States participate in the program each year.
Different offices can choose how they want to volunteer in their community, such as food drives, restoring historic places and donating their skills to help improve the area. Only a few employees remain at the office on service days.
The Everett Windermere employees chose Depot Park – built by Friends of the Old Everett Train Station volunteer group – three years ago, because they thought it needed improvements. Each year, more and more employees turn out, Minckler said.
“(Depot Park) is kind of a hidden gem,” Minckler said.
Depot Park founder Diane Rogers agrees, but said it was nothing but an abandoned piece of property seven years ago.
“I grew up along the waterfront here and I felt bad the train station was in such bad shape,” said Rogers, also the project manager for the Friends of the Old Everett Train Station.
So Rogers started Friends of the Old Everett Train Station, convinced Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railway to donate the triangular piece of land next to the old train station and began organizing groups and raising money to turn it into a city park.
“This is what our lifesaver is – large groups like (Windermere) volunteering here,” Rogers said.
Now, Depot Park has a variety of flowers, shrubs and trees visible from a brick and stone walking path. The park is also a popular place for locals who eat lunch at the benches, tables and recently donated wooden caboose, Rogers said.
Heather Andreini, assistant manager at Everett Windermere, said after three years of their group volunteering at Depot Park, this is probably the last time.
“Last year it was all overgrown … it’s not so much this year,” Andreini said. “We will probably devote the whole day next year to working at (Snohomish County Senior Services).”
This year the group split their day between volunteering at the park and constructing nine large garden beds from railroad ties at Senior Services in Everett.
“This way they will be able to plant flowers and vegetables,” Andreini said. “They just asked us a little too late this year (to work there all day), so now we are doing two projects.”
On Friday at Depot Park, the Windermere volunteers painted, pruned, weeded, cleaned and built walls to help beautify the already flowery park.
“It shows people we just don’t want to sell a house and get it over with – we stay in the community and help out,” said Lynn Malery, a receptionist at the Everett Windermere.
Rogers said that because of all who have volunteered at Depot Park throughout the years, it will soon become the trailhead of a new one-mile walking path leading to a beach.
Rogers said her organization has raised more than $75,000 for the park.
“This whole place will be a hotbed of activity,” Rogers predicted. “There’s no other parks in this area … people in this area use it as a getaway.”
Evan Caldwell: 425-339-3475; ecaldwell@heraldnet.com
Dan Bates / The Herald
Carolyn Minckler of Everett Windermere cleans up trimmings around shrubs Friday at Depot Park in Everett.
From left, Heather Andreini, Rhonda Snyder and Sheila Matsui spruce up the grounds at Depot Park. The group, which has performed the service at the park for the past three years, also constructed garden beds at the Snohomish County Senior Services Center in Everett during its 20th annual Community Services Day on Friday.
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