Volunteer Appreciation Picnic 2025

(L-R) Andra Weddington, Charlie Gavigan, Elizabeth Drake, Greg Voelker, and Mike Fraidenburg.

We want to extend a huge Thank You to all of our amazing volunteers who support us throughout the year! To all volunteers whether you were able to join us and for those that were not able to make it, we appreciate YOU. Your dedication and hard work do not go unnoticed, and we are grateful for your many contributions to the community building work of the DRC.

To show our appreciation, we hosted our annual Volunteer Appreciation Picnic on July 23rd at Tumwater Historical Park. 

​Congratulations to Greg Voelker, Charlie Gavigan, Andra Weddington, and Mike Fraidenburg (pictured above with Executive Director Elizabeth Drake), who we honored last evening as the DRC's Outstanding Volunteers for 2025 at our annual Volunteer Appreciation Picnic.

Thank You to Greg, Charlie, Andra, and Mike - and to all of the DRC's 140+ volunteers - for all you do to help build a more peaceful and civil community. Our volunteers are the heart and soul of the DRC.

Read more about our Outsanding Volunteers

Read below to learn more about the Outstanding Volunteers who were honored at the picnic last month. These four volunteers exemplify the work being done in our DRC community. The DRC could not do this work without our volunteers.

​So, thanks to ALL the volunteers for showing up! 

Greg Voelker

Greg Voelker. Some people just are mediators—and Greg is one of them. Although he’s the greenest of this group, he’s by no means a rookie. Greg brings the calm presence of a seasoned mediator and the heart of a community builder.

​Whether he’s facilitating community dialogues, supporting our Spanish mediations, or simply approaching each mediation with compassion and clarity, Greg is our next generation, and we are lucky to have him in our community.​

Charlie Gavigan

Charlie Gavigan is careful, thoughtful, approachable, and he leads with quiet strength. Longtime mediator and now also a conciliator, Charlie is grounded in our values and very active in our core work. He mediated 70 cases over a 3-year time period.

Charlie strikes a beautiful balance of strategic thinking and empathy. Charlie's humility and integrity make him an anchor in every space he enters—from the conciliator’s office to the mediation room to the training room!  ​​

Andra weddington

Andra Weddington - For 20-plus years, Andra has been a pillar for our community. This year alone, she contributed more than 120 hours to our multi-party mediation curricula and serving as the lead trainer. With her background in theater, she's a creative force behind the DRC’s role-plays.

​Andra’s also been a mentor for staff and for me personally. She’s a guru, a life-long learner, and a leader. And she’s too humble to accept any of those labels. ​​

Mike Fraidenburg

Mike Fraidenburg brings a steady rhythm of innovation to the DRC. From creating short learning videos to proposing new ways to engage the community, he’s always building in service of our mission.

​Mike supports staff development (including myself), he role models leadership, and he helps us stretch into the future with creativity and courage. In just one year, Mike gave over 250 hours developing our facilitation services—leaving a lasting impact through his consistency, initiative, and persistence.