In Praise of WHUUF’s Unsung Heroes. November 2026

By Jen Fife-Adams

When Rev. Tracy asked me to write November’s message, I knew exactly what I wanted to share with everyone: the oh-so-secret folks in the background who help make WHUUF work. There’s a lot of people I could write about!

How many of you know that member Mo Peace bakes for our post-service coffee just about every week? She has a tiny kitchen at home, but still, she shares her baking gifts with us. My particular favorite are her lemon bars. She also bakes gluten-free goodies for Rev. Tracy occasionally.

Michelle Paquette has supported WHUUF in many ways, but one of the small, thoughtful things she does is to take home laundry from the kitchen to wash. She and Nancy Kneipple consistently keep our linens clean and allow us to walk our talk and use cloth napkins and clean towels.

Rick Tangeman and Gary Joaquin are just two of the folks that make sure that lights stay on, our furnace works, the clocks keep ticking and that the internet works. We also appreciate the time that Michael Heinrichs, Rob Casiano, Kelly Asheton, and Craig Anderson give to these areas.

Our Program Managers help things run smoothly on Sunday mornings: Scott Winters, Karen Haley, and Joyce Gotsch ensure that all the little things go right from water in the Joys and Sorrows bowl to accessible doors opening the way they’re supposed to. Thank you so much to them for removing some of my anxiety!

Did you know that Virginia Quimby, Larry Schick, Cheryl Anselone, and Janet and Tim Oliver ensure that we raise additional funds for WHUUF through the BottleDrop program? They refill the blue bag space by the Forest Hall doors, take full bags that are left by renters, and Cheryl monitors the funds raised and reminds me how wonderful this program is! This small program has raised thousands of dollars to support WHUUF and has made certain that many bottles and cans have been recycled.

Finally, there are folks that I don’t even know about. Folks that straighten up closets, refill toilet paper rolls, take trash out to the bin, pick up trash in the forest, help people park better, and clean up after messy bathroom folks. If you’ve done any of these things or something I can’t even imagine, thank you! You help make this place the best workplace I’ve ever had!