PORT ANGELES – Long-time public servant and Executive Director of First Step Family Support Center in Port Angeles is retiring, and her colleagues are hosting a community party in her honor.

Venita “Nita” Lynn has led the organization since its infancy for almost 40 years. She began her work with what would become First Step Family Support Center in 1983. A western Washington native raised in Poulsbo, she attended Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, graduating with a degree in Sociology. In Clallam County, she began her work as a home visitor to new moms and dads, teaching parenting classes, and facilitating support groups for young parents.

Early successes inspired her to expand First Step to reach an increasingly wider portion of the community, and by the late ‘90s her work was known around the state for its innovation. In 1997 she was awarded the prestigious Governor’s Child Abuse Prevention Award, and twice was honored with the Soroptimists’ Women of Distinction Award.

Everyone in the community will have a chance to thank and celebrate Nita Lynn at a community party in her honor on June 30, from 4:00 to 6:30, at Vern Burton Center in Port Angeles. All are welcome.