Meet the Presidents: Board of Directors

Val Gorder

Val has been on the Rebuilding Together Seattle's Board of Directors since 2006. She first learned of Rebuilding Together Seattle when an acquaintance asked her to visit a project worksite on Spring Rebuilding Day to see what RTS was all about. Val ended up making several runs to Home Depot for the project and after a day of watching RTS in action, she was hooked. Val was elected as President of the Board of Directors in 2009.

Val chose to get involved with RTS because it was a good match for her: “I really wanted to help out those in need in the community that I had recently moved to,” she said. “Plus, I really liked how hands-on RTS is. I enjoy being very involved and actually doing a lot of the work at the sites along with the regular board duties."

Val is so proud of the mix of people that make up the members of the Board of Directors including all the knowledge that they bring and respect that they have for each other. She enjoys being President of such an amazing group of people.

Val loves getting to meet the homeowners, going on previews and being aware of what is going on in her local community:  "You can always read about what is happening in your community, but it is a whole different perspective to actually see the real issues right before you," Val expalined. “It is that firsthand knowledge and the passion of the volunteers, the other Board of Director members, and RTS staff that gets me energized.”

Witnessing the accomplishment at the end of a day of volunteering with RTS is a big driving force in Val's commitment to RTS.  "A person can work for years and years on something and not get out from under and we can make that difference in one day.  We can help them get to the next step, and get them out of that feeling of being overwhelmed with a project," Val explained.  "A lot of hands is what can make the difference."

Meet The Presidents: RTS Youth Board

Patrick del Valle

The Rebuilding Together Seattle Youth Board is a service group of high school students in the greater Seattle area who support RTS and its mission through volunteering year-round.

Patrick is a Junior at Seattle Prep High School and this is his first year as Co-President of the RTS Youth Board.

Patrick has been a volunteer with RTS for three years and on the RTS Youth Board for two. He first got involved with RTS when he joined family friends on Spring Rebuilding Day 2008. Patrick enjoyed himself so much he decided to sign up with the RTS Youth Board.

Patrick is drawn to RTS for the simple reason of liking to help out those who need it: “If I can sacrifice a few hours on a Sunday to improve someone’s living conditions, I am more than happy to do so,” Patrick explains. “There is also such a great sense of accomplishment during the rebuilding days…few other service projects I have done can match the satisfaction I get from completing a project with RTS.”

Patrick also likes getting to know students from other high schools in Seattle and enjoys seeing them come together for an organization like RTS. A lot of his friends who participate in service projects also support RTS: “I think they are surprised at how fun some of the rebuilding days are after seeing a job description like "paint east exterior wall" and instead of it being monotonous, it ends up being incredibly fun!”

Meet the Presidents: RTS Youth Board

Scott Ferron, RTS Youth Board Co-President

The Rebuilding Together Seattle Youth Board is a service group of high school students in the greater Seattle area who support RTS and its mission through volunteering year-round.

Scott is a senior at Seattle Prep and is Co-President of the RTS Youth Board. Scott first got involved with RTS his sophomore year, through a community service club at Seattle Prep.

After Scott’s first Spring Rebuilding Day one of his friends asked him to join the Youth Board. He enjoyed SRD so much that he jumped at the chance. “The best part about being on the Youth Board is seeing people from high schools all over the area come together to work on a project to help the community,” Scott explained. “RTS brings groups of students from different high schools together to do something meaningful to make our city better.”

Scott is enthusiastic about RTS’ mission because he believes that “everyone deserves a home that they can call their own and where they can be independent.”

Join the RTS Youth Board facebook page to be kept up-to-date on service projects throughout the year. To become a member or find out more about the RTS Youth Board, please contact Margie Thirlby at mthirlby@rtseattle.org or at 206-682-1231.

Meet the Presidents: Young Professionals Society

Christian Nossum: Young Professionals Society President

The Young Professionals Society (YPS), sponsored and staffed by RTS, is a service organization of young professionals who support RTS and its mission.  Along with service events, YPS also has several social events throughout the year.

Christian became involved with Rebuilding Together Seattle when his friend, Michelle, brought him to the first YPS meeting in 2008.  He was immediately hooked and hasn’t missed a YPS meeting ever since! Christian became the President of the Young Professionals Society in June of 2009. 

There are two things Christian loves: “Homes and helping people- it’s my job!”  As a real estate agent, RTS was a natural fit for Christian.  He sees YPS as an easy way for young professionals to gather and be like-minded about giving back to the community.  “Most people that volunteer their time are usually really good people, so it’s fun to see the dynamic of these people getting together for a cause and getting to know each other," Christian explained.  "It’s a great way to meet people who are all in the same place in life and share a passion for giving back to the community.”

Christian loves that RTS is not only about helping homeowners, but also about helping communities:   “The way we help these individual homeowners is by improving their homes, and by improving their homes we are helping out the community and, essentially, RTS volunteers make up that community, so it’s this great cycle of giving and improvement.”

To join YPS or learn more about the group, contact Christian at Christian@DealsInSeattle.com or visit the facebook page here to become a fan to get updates on socials and service events throughout the year.  Christian is a Seattle Real Estate agent- visit his website at http://www.dealsinseattle.com/!  Christian has committed to donating $500 to RTS for every person that uses him as their real estate agent to buy or sell a home that is an RTS volunteer, Board of Director, or staff member (Donation based upon the successful closing of the transaction).

Christian and Brenda volunteering at a YPS service project in West Seattle

Meet The Presidents

We decided here at RTS that it would be a good idea to get to know the President of the RTS Board of Directos, the President of the RTS Young Professionals Society, and the President of the RTS Youth Board.  Keep your eye out for these three posts in the near future!!