To begin with, a big “Thank You” to members of Finlandia Foundation Seattle Chapter who attended the annual meeting of the chapter on April 23.  For those of you unable to attend, minutes of that meeting appear elsewhere in this newsletter, thanks to the work of our ever-capable secretary, Karoliina Kuisma.  I am particularly pleased with the slate of officers and other board members elected at the meeting.  Having worked with many of these folks in recent years, I know what a committed and talented group they are. While I offered an abbreviated “State of the Chapter” report at the annual meeting, I’d like to flesh it out in this last President’s Message from me.

 This important 40^th anniversary year provides a better-than-usual opportunity to reflect on the past, present and the future of FFSC.  While a number individuals – some still with us, some passed on – could be cited for their roles as charter members of our organization,  one who clearly deserves mention is Sylvia Summerland, who died on November 14, 2007, in a Lynnwood nursing home at age 92.  The establishment of Finlandia Foundation Seattle Chapter grew out of her desire to see the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra come to Seattle in 1968.  Sylvia decided that organizational support of Finlandia Foundation would be useful in bringing this orchestra here.  Accordingly, in January of 1968, a local chapter was organized, and in March the orchestra performed.  Within the following year, Finlandia Foundation Seattle Chapter (known then as Seattle Chapter of the Finlandia Foundation, Inc.) was already sponsoring a film series, conversational language classes, and appearances by Finnish musicians.

 It is significant that over the past year, FFSC has continued in the tradition laid down four decades ago.  After a long hiatus, the film series resumed in 2006 and, now in its third year, draws a loyal and enthusiastic audience, as exemplified by the response to the April film, Uusi ihminen (The New Man), shown in conjunction with our annual meeting.  Language classes continue to be a major service of FFSC.  Students may study Finnish at three levels for three terms, beginning in the fall and continuing through the spring.  Our teachers are excellent and earn high praise from those they teach.  And as for performers from Finland, we are true to our origins, as in sponsoring the Helsinki Police Choir concert last July.  However, we are now more likely to cooperate with other organizations in bringing talented artists to Seattle.

 That leads to an observation about one of the major changes in FFSC since its inception.

While there was only a handful of organizations with an interest in Finland in our area in 1968, there are now many.   Increasingly, then, we have sought opportunities to cooperate with others in making possible special events in our area.  Examples abound over the past year.  FFSC worked closely with the Nordic Heritage Museum to bring the wildly popular cello-piano duo, Jussi Makkonen and Ville Matvejeff, to the Mostly Nordic concert on May 11.  On April 9, we teamed with the Finnish American Chamber of Commerce Northwest and the Cornish College of the Arts to present the excellent Finlandia Foundation Lecturers of the Year, Mark Coir and Susan Saarinen.  In February, FFSC entered into its third or fourth co-sponsorship with the Northwest Film Forum; this time to support the rewarding Finnish New Wave Film Festival.  A cooperative effort with Cappella Romana in January resulted in the stunning and unusual “Arctic Lights” program of Orthodox choral music from Eastern Finland.  

 Over the past year, there was also an extraordinary degree of working together by the dozen or so Finnish organizations to celebrate the 90^th anniversary of Finnish independence.   That yhteistyö (Such an expressive word!) produced a Summer Festival on August 25^th that drew some 450 people to Vasa Park to experience Finnish food, music, games, dancing, and exhibits.  Through the fall, a series of informative lectures were held through the efforts of the UW Finnish Program and the Nordic Heritage Museum.  In November, the festivities continued with the annual Finnish Community Bazaar.  Capping the celebration were a family-friendly program (in association with Suomi Koulu) and a gala dinner-dance at the Nile Country Club.  None of the 300 attendees at these December 2 events will soon forget the experience.  It’s difficult to imagine that there was any spot on earth, outside Finland itself, where the nine decades of Finnish independence were more ardently commemorated than among us.

 Last year, FFSC also maintained active connections in Finland as well.  Mia Spangenberg represented us in October at the biennial Expatriate Parliament in Helsinki.  Our organizational membership in Suomi Seura produced many benefits, including s cache of books that went to the University of Washington Library.  We also received two grants from SS – one for music for the 90^th anniversary gala and the other to support our highly regarded newsletter.  Indeed, this past year has been a good one for the newsletter, under the strong editorship of Paula Price, with improved paper quality adding to its strong appeal.            1                   

What’s in the future for Finlandia Foundation Seattle Chapter?   One of the most exciting prospects is the placement of our organization’s records and documents in the archives of the University of Washington.  Up to now, four decades of historical records have been

stored in a variety of locations uncollected, uncatalogued and unavailable.  With this development, materials will be in a location where they are accessible to scholars interested in FFSC for years to come.  The establishment of this archive is a fitting symbol for the unity of our past, present and future.  Year-by-year, as with this year, the course of our organization will unfold through developments great and small, and the

record of those developments will be preserved and available for those who care to know the continuing story of what Sylvia Summerland and her compatriots started in 1968.