High Five: Holly Swanson

Gallery owner has head for faces, names

Over four years ago my husband and I brought a print to Pacific Flyway Gallery and Framing. Owner/manager Holly Swanson was cheerful and patient, and expertly framed a print we’d never seen framed well before. This stunning piece is perfect above our fireplace.

I recently returned to consult Holly about a print for my home office. Imagine my surprise when she said, “Oh, it’s Deborah Chan, hello!” How had she remembered not only me, but my full name?

“I’ll recognize people, but can remember their picture before their name,” she said. “So I’ll say, ‘Oh, you collect raccoons, your name’s Bob.’ But as soon as you walked in, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s Deborah Chan.’ I’ve caught a couple of your articles, and your name’s on my mailing list. I remembered you had that cat print.”

Swanson, a framer for 21 years, has owned the gallery since 2000. She also sells original artwork and has considerable knowledge and a keen eye for what works. Her prices are competitive with the big craft store, too.

She loves most bringing a print, mat and frame together that pleases her customers, “and then seeing their faces when we show them the finished work,” she said with a twinkling smile.

Deborah Chan

Spokane Valley

Spokane police officers ‘phenomenal’

At 3 a.m. on Dec. 26, a pair of meth-crazed, ski-masked robbers broke through our dog door and attacked us while we were sound asleep. We were tied up, physically tortured and threatened with death as the robbers ransacked the house for 45 minutes.

Healing from such an experience will take years, but we are pleased to say that the response by the Spokane Police Department was absolutely phenomenal. In the time it took to speak to the 911 operator, a matter of seconds, the first cop was on the scene. Within minutes, our house and surrounding neighborhood swarmed with cops and K-9 units.

The police provided a coordinated, sophisticated response. They simultaneously saw to our safety and comfort, searched the premises for robbers, questioned us, identified key pieces of evidence, interpreted and protected the tracks, tracked them with dogs and launched an aggressive manhunt. Within 15 minutes, one group of the officers had tracked the robbers to a meth house about a mile away and had six adults outside for questioning downtown.

The next time you see a uniformed SPD officer, please consider the possibility that he or she is a thoroughly trained member of a first-rate response team.

William D. Robinson and Sharon S. Becker

Spokane

Patriot Guard shows its true colors

On Jan. 18, soldiers from the 396th Combat Support Hospital arrived home from Iraq. There to greet them at the Spokane Airport were about 200 people. Some were family members, noticeably excited and delighted. Others were travelers who stayed around to shout, “Welcome home.”

Also present were 38 men and women from the Inland Northwest Patriot Guard. They stood in line holding large American flags. When the troops came down the ramp, the Patriot Guard shouted joyfully, tearfully to welcome those heroes back home. Then, their job done, they tried to quietly leave the terminal. I say “tried,” because the 200 people in the terminal began to applaud, showing their appreciation to these big-hearted, selfless people, these patriots.

The men and women in the Patriot Guard serve as role models to the Spokane community. They leave the warmth and comfort of their homes to say “Welcome home” to total strangers. They travel winter roads to honor surviving families at funerals of veterans. They are taking action on their personal values. Because patriotism is one of their values, they do more than simply slap a bumper sticker on their car. These people are truly American patriots!

Mike Lovas

Commander of the Inland Northwest Patriot Guard