Retired educator and longtime Sammamish volunteer Tina Butt has seen in many ways both the need for, and the benefits of, community service.
“My parents were volunteers and I just grew up knowing that you have to give back,” she said. “When I was in the school district, I saw how many wonderful things happened for children because of community volunteers.”
Last March, Butt was one of four honorees recognized by the SAMMI Awards Foundation with the 2016 Circle of Service Award. The award recognizes those who “complete the Circle of Service” through longstanding community involvement, inspiring others to give back.
Butt has lived in the Issaquah-Sammamish area since 1975, when she moved to the area with her husband from Connecticut.
Her career in education spans 45 years. Prior to retiring in 2011, Butt worked as an elementary teacher at Issaquah Valley Elementary and was principal at Apollo Elementary and Issaquah Middle School.
She was assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction in the Issaquah School District and also worked as executive director of teaching and learning in the Mukilteo School District.
Over the course of her 37 years as an active volunteer, Butt says most of her work has been with local chapters of Kiwanis. She was a founding member of the Sammamish Kiwanis and has served on the board for the Kiwanis of Issaquah, most recently completing a term as president in 2015.
“To be a member really gives you a sense of the town,” she said.
Butt has also served as treasurer with the Together Center, which aims to provide local residents with access to human service agencies, and additionally was a board member with Issaquah Community Services, which helps local residents with emergency financial assistance.
Currently, Butt says her work with Eastside Friends of Seniors is the work that is closest to her heart. She sits as president of its board of directors.
“[Eastside Friends of Seniors] connects the volunteers in our community with those in need of personal services,” she said. “Most of the people we serve are between 75 and 80. Their children used to be here and moved away. They can call and say, ‘I have a need.’ We identify the needs and have a client service where they can call for a ride, or they might need light housekeeping work or friendly visits.”
Butt said she discovered Eastside Friends of Seniors when her husband became ill while she was still working, making the task of getting to medical appointments difficult.
“I felt that panic you have when there is only the two of you. You don’t have children around who can help with travel and yet that doctor’s appointment is your spouse’s life,” she said. “That’s how I came to know about the organization. It’s a thriving rich, vibrant part of our community and it’s a niche organization that meets an important need. It helps people stay in their own homes.”
Butt said she remains active with her volunteerism because she believes “it is part of what makes the whole system of a community work.”
“There is something very enriching about knowing you’re being useful and of service to others,” she said. “It’s wonderfully rewarding knowing you’re a part of a living, breathing organism that is a community. You’re not sitting back watching as part of a community; you are part of the energy of the community.”
