Farewell January, hello February.

Another year is speeding by. In addition to giving us an opportunity to think large and make a host of new resolutions, January highlighted the grand re-opening and re-naming of our building, the Waterfront Park Community Center. With dignitaries from the city, parks and senior center organizations present and food a-plenty, it was a memorable beginning to a new year of activity and promise.

Many thanks are due to a host of dedicated workers who put their all into making it happen, on time and on budget, a rarity in this modern world. It is a testament to their belief that where there is a will, there is a way.

First, of course, came the visionaries, the re-model volunteers. These included former Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center board members Tom Kilbane, Joan Treacy, Richard Buchanan, Delores Bussell, Bob King and former city council members Debbie Vancil and Bill Knobloch.

Current Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center board members Don Fisher, as board president, guided the project from start to finish; Don Doman, an architect, volunteered hundreds of hours; Huck Murdoch and Dick Melton worked tirelessly to tie the Warming Center to the new facility; Judy Tingley, as treasurer, managed the funds; Judy Duffy, the Thrift Shop manager, moved the shop out of the way and brought it back when the work was done.

Thanks are also due to Lynn DeVrees, for her interior design; Clay Eaton, a member of the senior softball team, who used his skills and background to oversee the ordering, delivery and assembling of the furnishings for the center; Del Miller, the attorney who negotiated the center’s new 40-year lease with the city of Bainbridge Island; and Dan Martin, who helped in so many unseen ways with the move of the offices to the East Wing during construction, then back again for our return to the newly rebuilt West Wing.

How many wonderful people it took to make our “home away from home” remodel a reality and worthy of the grand ribbon-cutting party we enjoyed in January. What a perfect way to start a new year.

But now it is February. No need to feel let down; we’ve one more celebration to come. Save the date: Friday, Feb. 15 and note the time: 6 p.m. for the dedication of Judd Huney Hall, located in the Waterfront Park Community Center and formerly referred to as the Commons.

Judd Huney was an amazing man, and an integral part of the history of Bainbridge Island.

In fact, among many other accomplishments, he was responsible for the first annual Rotary Auction, a cultural staple on this island of ours. A celebration of his life and his many contributions is long overdue.

The central section of the Waterfront Park Community Center was initially designed and constructed in good part by the Bainbridge Island Rotary, who intended the space to be known as the Judd Huney Room.

For years, Islanders have simply referred to it as the Commons, but now, at last, in our newly named and refurbished building, those intentions will be realized as Judd Huney Hall reclaims its identity at 6 p.m. Feb. 15.

The evening’s dedication program will be emceed by Ralph Munro, Washington’s longtime Secretary of State.

Huney’s daughters, local personalities Suzan Huney and Judy Kutz, and others will regale the audience with stories of Mr. Huney’s life and good works. Surely an evening of inspiration and fellowship to enjoy and celebrate. Be there!