Making sure the coffee is fresh

HANSVILLE — The question isn’t so much what Hansville resident Bonnie Issacs has done, but what she has not done.

“Every time I turn around, there is Bonnie,” said Hansville Community Center Board president Becky Ellison.

From helping set up the book department for the annual rummage sale to making sure there is a fresh pot of coffee for events at the community center, Issacs has been tirelessly volunteering her time to the community for the past 15 years.

“(Issacs is) one of the reasons Hansville is the type of community that it is,” Ellison said.

To honor her, the community center board recognized Issacs at the Hansville Neighbor’s Luncheon Wednesday with its Citizen of the Year Award.

Issacs’ list of volunteer work includes being a trustee on the HCC board, being a co-chair of the rummage sale, a cook for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef and Cabbage party, a member of Ladies Aid and a mainstay at pancake breakfasts. Currently, she is on the steering committee for the Hansville Futures Project.

“She’s like the (Energizer) Bunny — she keeps going and going,” Ellison said.

Issacs was involved with the fire station merger when the Hansville district combined with North Kitsap Fire & Rescue in 2001 and was also an assistant backup secretary for the Hansville station. She was also one of five candidates who applied recently for the open NKF&R commissioner position. While she was not chosen, NKF&R spokeswoman Michéle Laboda praised Issacs for her strong qualifications and encouraged her at the luncheon to be a part of the agency’s citizens advisory board next year.

“I didn’t think I did all that stuff,” Issacs said with a laugh after receiving the award.

She’s lived in Hansville with her husband Johnny Issacs for 15 years. Her first act of volunteering was when the former owner of her current house got the Issacs involved with the rummage sale. From there on, she didn’t stop.

Issacs said she was very honored to receive the award but was a bit shy about accepting it.

“I feel embarrassed,” she said. “I’ve done it because I love to do it.”

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