Becki Gaddum: Loving to volunteer in Spirit Lake

Becki Gaddum learned early on that helping others needs to be a way of life.

"My parents were both very active in the community and at church in South Carolina," the Spirit Lake woman said.

Gaddum has volunteered at the Spirit Lake Food Bank for 22 years and is the current treasurer.

"I started off volunteering an hour a month, but the food bank has grown into something bigger," she said.

The nonprofit serves an average of 85 families per month.

"It's all volunteer - nobody gets paid," she said.

Gaddum also serves on the city's Planning and Zoning Commission and Tree and Gem committees. She's also involved with the Spirit Lake Garden Club, which raises funds for youth scholarships with an annual wine-tasting event, and the Inland Empire MG Classics car club.

"I stay busy; it keeps me going," she said with a wide grin. "Some of my friends will ask me if I saw so and so on TV and I have to tell them that my TV hasn't been on in two weeks."

When she's not volunteering, Gaddum works part time as an office assistant at City Hall.

Locals often see Gaddum, who has lived in Spirit Lake for 24 years, walking her dachshund, Juliette, around town.

"She's well-known in town," Gaddum said of her dog. "She knows where all the treats are. She goes place to place to get treats and people have them for her."

Could you comment on the role of the food bank in Spirit Lake? It seems like there's a definite need.

It serves a purpose. We have a lot of young families with children who come in. A lot of them work, but they can't afford the extras. We want to make sure they get food and that their kids get fed. There's not much of a job market in Spirit Lake, so it can be hard on families. We also serve some people in Bonner County because they have Spirit Lake addresses. It makes me feel good to know that we are helping people.

In addition to the regular food distributions, how else does the food bank help?

We give Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets out. The Eagles in Hayden Lake and the Knights of Columbus in Spirit Lake really help us out during the holidays. The schools, especially Timberlake High School, also help out with donations. The community, businesses, people at the lake and churches all have been great about helping out.

What's your experience in Spirit Lake been like?

We moved here when my (late) husband got a job at the Navy base at Farragut. I've lived in the same house for 24 years. Everybody is nice to everybody. I wouldn't say that it's close-knit, but it's a nice community to live in.

How have you coped with the tragic loss of your husband Steve since he died during a train collision in 2007?

After he died, everybody thought that I'd leave and go south. But Spirit Lake is home. I have good friends and neighbors. It's been hard, but he would have wanted me to go on. He also volunteered for the food bank, and that's what he was doing when he went to town. I'm carrying on.

Steve was serving on the city council when he died. You ran for council in 2009, but weren't elected. Do you think you'll consider running for that board again?

I ran for council once, but I won't run again. I enjoy being on planning and zoning, making recommendations on growth. It's not very easy to get zone changes.

What have the Tree and Gem committees been up to?

The Tree Committee formed three years ago and was combined with the Gem Committee. We meet once a month. We became a Tree City USA (a designation given by the Arbor Day Foundation for communities that show sound urban forestry management, have a tree ordinance and maintain a tree board). There was a lot of paperwork required to get that. We're also doing an inventory of all the trees on city property, marking the ones that need to be taken out.

What programs does the Spirit Lake Garden Club take on?

We take care of the little park on Maine Street. We put in all the flowers and do the trimming and fertilizing. We make our money for youth scholarships through a wine-tasting event. We also make swags at Christmas to sell to businesses. We also donate some to City Hall, the police department and the food bank. Every year the garden club also donates to the Tree of Sharing.