Ken Neher busy connecting Garden Terrace with the community
Ken Neher, the executive director of Garden Terrace, reached out to me recently to talk about what’s happening at the senior living center that caters to folks with limited incomes. It’s one of the wonderful assets in this community that make our community stronger. Garden Terrace is a nonprofit that was started by the Church of the Brethren and it opened in 1971.
Ken has had a fascinating background. A graduate of the University of Laverne in California, Neher was a long-time owner of Burger King restaurants first in Wenatchee and later in Omak. After selling the restaurants, he worked for the Brethren Church doing development work. He sees great opportunities to connect Garden Terrace to the rest of the community. He and his wife Marsha have been deeply connected with the Sunnyslope Church of the Brethren. His history is one of adapting to unexpected changes and developing personal resilience.
Neher told me he loves Garden Terrace because it allows him to use so many skills he developed — fundraising, food service management and caring for other human beings. We chatted about some of the amazing personal stories of residents at Garden Terrace. We’re going to be working to find ways to bring some of those stories to our readers in coming months.
Our community has strongly supported Garden Terrace. We’ll need to keep supporting the organization. Ken and his team are putting on a garden party for the community on Saturday Aug. 19, from 9-3 followed by dinner gala fundraiser that night featuring a comedian from Spokane. If you want a cool inside look at Garden Terrace, check out the video that’s on their web site at gardenterrace.org. While you are at it, you can sign up for the dinner gala.
We are so fortunate to have such talented and community-spirited people like the Nehers in our midst.
