“You are an excellent speaker,” state Rep. Rob Chase, former Spokane County treasurer, told author Patrick Hutchison on Saturday morning at the Southwest Washington Writers Conference. “You could probably go around the country speaking at builders’ conferences. You’ll get to travel.”
The W.F. West High School graduate whose memoir “Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman” hit the bestseller charts credited his father with helping him as a speaker.
Attorney Lewis Hutchison, who won election to the Lewis County District Court shortly before his death, served on the St. Joseph’s Catholic School Board. A couple of times a year for school fundraisers, he’d ask his son to give a speech to the entire congregation from the pulpit.
“I was like 7, and so I think I got any speaking jitters out early,” Patrick said.
As writers’ conference coordinator, I had asked Patrick to repeat questions from the audience, so when Jana Kaye of Newberg, Oregon, told him, “This is really inspiring,” he turned to the people in the auditorium and repeated, “She said, ‘This is really inspiring.’”
Laughter erupted, as it had most of the morning during his presentation while he shared about Cabin’s journey to publication, punctuating the tale with the same humor peppered throughout his memoir, which had me laughing aloud in the car as I listened to him narrate the story.
I don’t know how anyone could have been bored last weekend with so many activities taking place in Lewis County. Throughout the Centralia College campus, people celebrated the centennial of the oldest continually operating community college in Washington state. In South Lewis County, more than 230 people on Saturday night enjoyed the Toledo Shindig to raise money for local students. On Sunday evening, hundreds of people gathered at the Veterans Memorial Museum to honor Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist, husband and father of two who was shot and killed on Wednesday during a speech at a Utah college.
On Friday evening, more than a hundred people flocked to the TransAlta Commons for the second annual Evening with Authors sponsored by the Lewis County chapter of the American Association of University Women. The event, which featured 32 raffle baskets and donations of appetizers from 10 local restaurants, raised at least $3,500 for Hope Alliance, which serves victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, said Donna Loucks, AAUW treasurer. Patrick also graciously donated his speaking honorarium to the cause.
Sharon Lyons of Toledo, an AAUW member who brainstormed creation of the Evening with Authors that dovetailed on the existing Southwest Washington Writers Conference, said she heard only positive comments about this year’s Friday night fundraiser.
People liked the conversation between moderator Doris Wood Brumsickle and the two authors, Patrick Hutchison and Jane Porter, a California writer of 77 romance and women’s fiction books who also founded and runs Tule Publishing.
“Her questions and rapport with the speakers was just plain fun,” Lyons said. “Others, and these were both men and women, said the two authors were engaging, interesting and funny. Almost every one of these folks bought books.”
She also praised local restaurants for donating appetizers.
“The 10 restaurants outdid themselves in trying to offer something tasty and attractive,” Lyons said. “It was fun. It was hard work. … People loved it. All the food was gone by the time the authors spoke — and there was a lot of it.”
Jane Porter shared the story of her writing journey and the heartache of her husband’s battle against terminal prostate cancer. She discussed her working routine but noted she quit focusing so much attention on her writing in recent months to spend more time with her husband and family.
Tears sprang to my eyes when she said she’s living her best love story now.
Her husband is a good friend of Chehalis native James Lintott, who treated him and their 16-year-old son to a fishing trip while Jane taught a hundred writers about pacing, dialogue and writing stories. His foundation also sponsored the writers’ conference this year.
When I offered to reimburse her airfare, Jane told us to keep it for scholarships. She and her husband with their son visited the University of Washington and the Oregon State University campuses before flying back home to California.
Former AAUW President Laura Hewitt praised the authors, restaurants, and volunteers who made the Evening with Authors so successful.
“We so appreciate the restaurants for offering a nice variety of food samples for attendees,” she said. “It’s a fun evening and a wonderful opportunity to raise funds for such a worthy cause.”
Jan Leth of Centralia, who first suggested inviting Patrick Hutchison to the Evening with Authors, said she nearly had a panic attack when she feared he might not show.
“When I reached him and he said he was three minutes away, my heart started beating again!” she said.
Leth described the writers’ conference as a marvelous idea. “Lots of work, but well worth the effort for those of us who love to read and write!”
We have so many volunteers who help make the conference successful, including Robin Montgomery, a teacher at Centralia Christian School; Jaimee Walls, who works in Vancouver but runs the website and registration; Aimee Cardenas of Morton, who works for Microsoft; Sue Miholer of Salem, former business manager of Oregon Christian Writers, who proofed everything; Don Harkcom of Lacey, a massage therapist; Amy Flugel of Napavine, who copies evaluations and handouts for us; Debby Lee of Centralia, who ordered bags; Sandra Crowell of Olympia, who sent out press releases; and of course Book ’n’ Brush of Chehalis, which runs the bookstore for the conference and Evening with Authors at minimal cost.
“Book ’n’ Brush loves supporting the SW WA Writers Conference,” owner David Hartz said. “The writers conference for 11 years has been a place where people can find guidance and direction from other authors who have more experience and are willing to share and help.”
The bookstore wants to help authors succeed.
“Wanting to write and be published is not easy,” Hartz said. “It takes hard work and can be a lonely journey. The writers’ conference is a critical source of knowledge to help encourage people to get their ideas written and published.”
Hartz invited a dozen local authors to join the two nationally recognized speakers to meet people and sign books during the Evening with Authors. He said the bookstore sold $4,400 in books and merchandise over the two days.
“It is amazing to see the sharing and networking that the attendees benefit from talking to other authors and taking the classes,” Hartz said of the writers’ conference.
La Quinta gave our conferees a 15 percent discount on hotel rooms. All proceeds from the conference benefit scholarships awarded through the Centralia College Foundation.
Money flowed freely toward good causes on Friday night in Centralia and on Saturday night in Toledo, where the annual Shindig raised $85,342 to help kids in need, with two sponsors providing large donation checks.
“We provide in-school pantries [for] weekend food, clothing, help with sports gear, music instruments and more for our students in the Toledo School District,” organizer Cyndi Philbrook of Farmers Insurance said.
About 230 people attended the Shindig, which also gives out scholarships.
“It was a wonderful evening, and the support from the community was simply amazing,” said Dawn Merchant of Dawn’s Delectables.
The Shindig featured a dinner catered by Bonanza BBQ with a large charcuterie table provided by The Crowded Kitchen.
“The silent auction was well-attended with brisk bidding and good-natured rivalry over items,” Lyons said. “People were generous in all the bidding, with some live auction items going for $1,000 and more. … A pie honoring Don Buswell went for $1,000.”
Buswell, who lived most of his life in Toledo, passed away this summer just shy of his 103rd birthday.
It’s wonderful to see so many people come together to enjoy a fun evening, encourage one another, and support those in need. That’s the definition of community.
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo and president of the Southwest Washington Writers Conference, can be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.
