After six years, Everett grandmother gives up crosswalk duty

EVERETT — Terri Amburgy’s mother always told her, don’t complain unless you’re willing to help make a change.

That might explain Amburgy’s presence outside Hawthorne Elementary twice every school day.

She became concerned with traffic hazards there about six years ago, when her grandson, Anthony Dodd, started kindergarten. So she became a volunteer with the crosswalk safety patrol — she’s been there just about every pickup and dropoff since.

Amburgy, 60, likes to “be that first smile for the kids,” she said. “I say, ‘Welcome to Hawthorne valet service!’”

She and her husband, Rod, bought their first house in Everett’s Delta neighborhood nearly 19 years ago. They own a massage business in Mukilteo. They both started as massage therapists, though her license lapsed as she dedicated more time to raising their family, home-schooling and volunteering, she said.

Amburgy also is well known around Jackson Park, where for 10 years she’s been stocking the “Mutt Mitt” station with free baggies for collecting pet waste.

She always seemed to be walking dogs, her own or her neighbors’. She figured, “I’m here anyway,” she said.

“For me, anything that I’ve volunteered in, I’ve seen the need and stepped up for the need,” she said. “You want kids to be able to play at the park.”

In addition, Amburgy long has been part of the Delta Neighborhood Association as well as Neighborhood Watch and Hawthorne’s PTA. In the past, her volunteer roles have been at the Everett Animal Shelter and hospice care through Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.

She’s a people person — and others figure that out quickly, she said.

She’s grateful to Holly Brown, the crossing guard supervisor at Hawthorne, for listening over the years as she kept pitching ideas for improving safety.

Amburgy feels good about the progress of the crosswalk program. She’s moving on to other ways of giving back. Grandson Anthony is headed to North Middle School in the fall.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @rikkiking.

Volunteers needed

The city of Everett relies on volunteers to stock the “Mutt Mitt” stations, which offer free baggies for dog waste. Stations in need of volunteers include Clark Park, the South Everett Forest Preserve, the Interurban Trail and the detention pond at Third Ave SE and SE Everett Mall Way.

More info: Contact Apryl Hynes at 425-257-8992, ahynes@everettwa.gov.