By COREY BUCHANAN

Swyt ’ s guest bedroom was covered with artwork slated for the Charbonneau Festival of Arts . Once the Charbonneau Arts Association decided to transition the event to the online realm , she took a photograph of 150 pieces so she could post them to the virtual gallery she built from scratch . When the festival was over , Swyt ’ s husband Joe got the house back .

“ I didn ’ t sleep from April to the end of November . There was a lot on my shoulders and I didn ’ t want to let anyone down ,” she said .

For her efforts , including work with the Clackamas County Cultural Coalition , Boys & Girls Aid Cypress Branch , the Charbonneau Arts Association and other organizations , Swyt was selected as a finalist for the Rotary Club of Wilsonville ’ s First Citizen award , given to an outstanding volunteer in the community . Heart of the City Director Lyn Whelchel

PMG PHOTO : JAIME VALDEZ

Elaine Swyt was selected as a finalist for the Rotary Club of Wilsonville ’ s First Citizen award .

and governmental volunteer Aaron Woods were also nominated .

“ She ’ s extremely easy to work with . She ’ s just delightful ,” said fellow Cypress Branch Boys & Girls Aid volunteer Diann Harland . “ She ’ s one of the hardest workers I ’ ve ever known . If you ask her to do something she does it as fast as she can .”

Swyt wanted to get to know her community better upon moving to Charbonneau in 2005 . She first started out with Cypress Branch , which raises money for the Boys & Girls Aid program for children in foster care . Then , one volunteer opportunity

seemingly led to another .

Along with her friendliness and work ethic , Swyt possessed a unique asset she could provide to many of her groups : internet savvy .

Swyt started her own web design company in the 1990s and is still running it to this day . She noticed that many of the organizations she was involved in didn ’ t have much of a web presence when she came aboard . And she did her part to change that , designing websites and helping people use technology to communicate with each other . During the pandemic , she ’ s facilitated groups ’ acclimation to Zoom so they

can continue to operate .

“ She ’ s the one who does it all . Without her I don ’ t know what we would do ,” Harland said .

Eric Hoem , the former president of the Charbonneau Arts Association , said the 2020 festival would have been canceled without Swyt ’ s work to design the virtual gallery that included about 1,000 pieces of art from 70 artists , as well as portfolios , a 3-D gallery and musical performances free of charge .

“ It ’ s a life-saver . We absolutely could not have done it without Elaine . No one else has that expertise . If we would have tried to hire that ( work to be ) done , it wouldn ’ t make sense because we wouldn ’ t earn any money for our nonprofit . There would be no donation to give to art programs ( festival proceeds go to Wilsonville High School and Canby High art programs ),” he said .

Swyt also helped the Cypress Branch hold a virtual auction in 2020 as a substitute for its annual fundraiser . She said they raised over $ 50,000 . For the Clackamas County Arts Coalition , she assisted the transitioning of the grant review process to Zoom .

“ I hope I have done my

part to use my technology skills to help our community stay in touch and share our fears and hopes , at a time when we cannot do that in person safely . To be there and make whatever it takes to make that happen has been my mantra since the beginning of this pandemic ,” Swyt said .

Swyt was previously a member of the Wilsonville government ’ s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and also helped build the city ’ s first iteration of its Explore Wilsonville tourism website . Not to mention , she runs the Charbonneau Live news website , and is involved with the Charbonneau Golf Club Board and the Charbonneau Women ’ s Association .

Once she decides to retire , Swyt hopes to spend her time honing photography skills . She already seems to have an artistic touch as attendees of the Charbonneau festival have awarded her a People ’ s Choice Award every year since 2015 . Swyt has also managed the silent auction at the festival for many years .

“ She will spend hours setting up a very attractive silent auction . She does all of

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