Announcing Changing Faces and New Faces
Changing Faces
Please join the entire Hoffman Board of Directors in thanking three departing board members. Dedicated community members, we feel pretty emotional about these folks. But hey! none are actually leaving the Hoffman but have reached the by-law limit for consecutive board service. They all remain as vital volunteers.
Dave Dillon: Sixteen Years Board Service
David is an original Center board member and was a personal friend of the Hoffman Center’s namesakes—Lloyd and Myrtle Hoffman. Having served from the very beginning, Dave wins the award for sticking with the Hoffman through thick and thin. What else would you expect from a career Naval officer but honor and service.
Dave has done it all and still does. Need someone to help fund raise, communicate, set up the audio-visual for an event, chair the board, or paint the planter boxes? There is no task too big or small. In addition to his multi-faceted board service, Dave serves as the Hoffman Center’s building manager (or as we say “the super”) and as audiovisual specialist. He also leads the Film Program, on hiatus during Covid.
Says Dave about his years on the board, “As the last of the original board members, I can reflect back to the earliest days of the Hoffman Center in 2004. We had lots of ideas back then for what the Center could be, but we listened most closely to the community.
To this day the Center’s success is a testament to the citizens and visitors who have participated in programs, created new ones, and generously contributed time and financial support to grow it into a cultural icon on the north coast.
I know Lloyd and Myrtle Hoffman would be pleased with what has been done in their names.”
Vera Wildauer: Nine Years Board Service
Vera co-founded the Manzanita Writers’ Series in 2008, bringing regional authors to the coast for readings and workshops and encouraging local writers to share their work during Open Mic. First elected to the board in 2009, she left after her first, three-year, term for personal writing projects. Unable to stay away (there was a great deal of arm-twisting involved) Vera returned as a board member in 2014 and completed the maximum two, three-year consecutive, terms of service in 2020.
Vera’s contributions to the Hoffman are almost too numerous to list but let’s try: beyond co-founding and leading the Writing Program offering classes, contests, practice sessions, author talks, and publications, Vera served as board president from 2014 through 2018, leading the Hoffman through stressful financial years to a point of stability. During that same time, Vera spearheaded the selection and implementation of the key operational systems that enable us to function today: email marketing, donor management, the website builder, credit card processing, submission software, and online education resources.
Vera continues as a key volunteer of the Hoffman, leading the Writing Program along with a cadre of talented writers and remains responsible for the day to day maintenance and updates of our website.
Vera observes about her years of service “Looking back, I am amazed what a small group of dedicated people was able to do. There were so many moments that took me out of my comfort zone, but wow, how great to be able to make such a difference in our community. I look forward to seeing the Hoffman continue to thrive.”
Marcia Silver: Six years Board Service
Marcia moved to Manzanita full-time in 2013. By 2014 she was elected to the Hoffman Board and found it a way to get involved in her new community. Now six years later, she has completed her maximum two, three-year consecutive, terms.
For many years, Marcia has volunteered in a great number of roles and 2020 was no different. Marcia organizes the hosts who staff the Hoffman gallery and at times, hosts herself. She has led numerous Writing Lounge sessions. She chairs both the Grants and Scholarship Committees. Her consummate editing skills have been instrumental in all of our communications with the community in editing letters, broadcast emails, website updates and news posts, our bi-weekly newsletters, and our annual report. She has assisted the Art of Aging/Art of Dying program (on hiatus during Covid). Marcia finished her board service in the role of Vice-President.
“Working with talented, resourceful people to keep the Hoffman Center alive enriched my personal experience of the arts and, most importantly, gave me the opportunity to serve as well as be a member of our larger community.”
New Faces
Please join us in welcoming our newest board member,
Manzanita resident, Candace Kramer.
In 2006 Candace and her husband Drew Prell restored a Manzanita cottage that had been built in the 1940s by a Norwegian shipbuilder. To engage with the local community, they ran a Supper Club, bringing locals, old timers, and vacation homeowners together in the “Gather” dining garage space. They frequently donated their cottage for lodging to writers who came to town for the Hoffman Center’s popular Writers Lecture Series.
Kramer was a designer for Neil Kelly Remodelers. In 2014 Candace and Drew renovated their Lake Theater & Cafe in Lake Oswego, designed by architect Richard Sunderleaf in 1940, to include a kitchen and event space for music and film, working with the local Library and City on educational programing. While Manzanita is now her full-time home, Candace still works for Windermere Realty Trust as a Broker in Residential and Multi-Family Real Estate in Portland.
Candace hopes to help the Hoffman reach the whole community and to assist us in realizing our long-term goals. She has a particular interest in music and may seek ways to enhance our music-related offerings.
We are really pleased to have someone with Candace’s professional background and passion for supporting the arts join us.
She will be an important member as we look forward, plan and implement the future of this important community asset.
Mary Roberts
Board President
