SWSHS Elects New Officers, Shares Big Plans for an Upcoming Permanent Exhibit
November 21, 2024
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society held its annual meeting last Saturday at the Log House Museum, which currently features the exhibit, Seattle’s Forest: The West Duwamish Greenbelt.
SWSHS members gathered to hear about the organization’s accomplishments in 2024, including increasing online access to museum collections, and to learn new details about the organization’s strategic and interpretive planning.
Members also gathered to elect a new slate of Officers to lead SWSHS’s Board of Directors in 2025. Officers include, incoming President, Kathy Duncan; incoming Vice President, Jason Plourde; Secretary, Nancy Sorensen; Treasurer, John Sweetland; and Membership Secretary, Megan Simkus. The biographies of SWSHS’s 2025 Officers are shared below.
Programs and Outreach Director, Elizabeth Rudrud, shared new details on SWSHS’s plans for an overhaul of the museum’s exhibitions. A multi-year interpretive planning project supported by Maritime Washington National Heritage Area began earlier this year. The planning will help the historical society design a permanent, interactive exhibit at the Log House Museum that will highlight the historical and cultural significance of Alki Beach, prioritize interactive museum experiences and the display of historical society artifacts, share diverse stories from across the Duwamish Peninsula, and extend to the exterior of the Log House Museum, where several artifacts are currently on display, including the original Alki Beach Lady of Liberty.
Planning for this exhibit is well underway and has included participation from community partners, regional heritage and museum professionals, and the Duwamish Tribe. The project is rooted in SWSHS’s 2024-2026 Strategic Plan and takes inspiration from a Peninsula-wide community survey conducted by SWSHS in 2023. The competitive, inaugural grant from Maritime WA funds this project through the design phase. Keep your eyes out for updates on the project next year.
Kathy Duncan, incoming SWSHS President, states, “I’m honored to have the opportunity to continue serving the board, Southwest Seattle Historical Society members, and our community. We have exciting plans for expanding programs and services.”
You can visit the Log House Museum Fridays and Saturdays, from 12-4pm and this Saturday November, 23 from 7-9pm for Alki Holiday Lights. SWSHS will provide complementary cider and crafts and host a Bake Sale to raise funds for the Society. The event coincides with the arrival of Argosy’s Christmas Ship Festival at Alki Beach. Learn more about SWSHS programming, including Alki History Walking Tours and Words, Writers, Southwest Stories at www.loghousemuseum.org
Kathy Duncan, incoming President, has over 25 years of project management experience in a variety of industries including defense, geospatial data, real estate, and healthcare. In her free time, Kathy especially enjoys reading, kayaking, walking west Seattle’s beautiful parks and neighborhoods with her dog, and gardening.
Jason Plourde, incoming Vice President, has been a SWSHS board member since December 2022. He is an Alki resident and a middle school teacher in Seattle Public Schools. Prior to teaching, he has had decades of experience in nonprofit management and as an ASL interpreter.
Nancy Sorensen, Secretary, is an attorney in Southwest Seattle. She is a longtime member of the Board of SWSHS and a lifelong Seattleite.
John Sweetland, Treasurer, Grew up in Fauntleroy, managed hotels for 26 years, and is a retired Navy veteran. John started volunteering at SWSHS in 2016, joined the board in 2018, and became treasurer in 2020.
Megan Simkus, Membership Secretary, is a Security Practitioner with over 20 years experience in the e-commerce, retail, and financial services industries serving in a variety of positions; including Information Security, GRC, and Internal and Third-Party Risk Management. She has been involved with the SWSHS Log Museum since 2019 as a volunteer on the Events Committee, and thereafter joined the DEI committee. Megan became a Board Member in 2020 and has served as an Executive Committee Member as the Membership Secretary since 2022.
Elizabeth Rudrud serves as the Historical Society’s Programs and Outreach Director. She has worked with regional museums for over ten years. She joined SWSHS as a board member in 2019, and as a staff member in 2023.
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society operates from the Log House Museum at Alki Beach. Learn more at www.loghousemuseum.org or contact museum@loghousemuseum.org.
