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PRIEST LAKE — More than 30 Priest Lake leaders of non-profit organizations, churches and fire departments gathered for a community meeting to discuss common issues, concerns and how to resolve them on Saturday, March 21 at the Coolin Community building. The meeting was facilitated by the Priest Lake Chamber of Commerce and the Priest Lake Memory Gardens.
The result was positive according to the organizers of the event.
“We left the meeting excited and energized by the great turnout of people and organizations working to make Priest Lake a better place,” said local Realtor Steve Mumm who represented the Priest Lake Chamber of Commerce. “Action was taken to maximize recruitment of volunteers for many of the organizations present.”
Fostering a greater sense of community in all Priest Lake stakeholders was identified to create more participation and contributions by community members. Those present were given an opportunity to discuss their organizations, volunteer needs and goals for the coming year.
Information will be gathered to attract an intern from a local university or an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer with the sole responsibility to actively recruit volunteers from the Priest Lake community to participate in our many organizations that benefit the local area.
“We were able to invite representatives from 28 organizations we uncovered in the Priest Lake area,” according to Ron Hardin, Executive Director of the Priest Lake Memory Gardens. “Our Board of Directors had suggested such a meeting at our October 2025 board meeting.”
A special page of the Priest Lake Chamber of Commerce website will be directed toward listing the volunteer needs of these local groups so the community will become aware of these needs. Other action plans were discussed and will be implemented soon.
Organizations like fire departments and the EMS service require specially trained individuals, but other groups can use people with very little special experience. In many cases, only a desire to help is necessary. Training will always be offered to provide the skills needed to participate.
If you would like further information or desire to volunteer at Priest Lake, contact the Priest Lake Chamber of Commerce by calling 208- 443-3191 or contact [email protected].
