The Initiative for Rural Innovation & Stewardship (IRIS) plans to showcase success stories when it teams up with partners to convene the 9th annual NCW Community Success Summit in Pateros on Thursday, November 15, 2018. “Pateros Strong” is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Pateros School Gym in Pateros, WA.   
          “We’re thrilled to work with Pateros to host the Summit this year,” said IRIS Board President Brooklyn Holton, and to learn more about how they have strengthened their whole community that stretches south to Wells Dam and west to Carlton.” 
          Pateros Mayor Carlene Anders says she likes the way the summit brings people from the region together to hear each other’s stories and to build on their successes. “We’re starting to lose touch with each other even in rural areas as our dependence on technology grows,” she said. “But” she added, “we can sit together at the summit and hear those stories of success that can improve our communities and are important from an economic, environmental, and even spiritual perspective.”
         Summit planners aim to highlight some of the stories that brought Pateros together after the Carleton Complex Fire in 2014 as well as those from other parts of the region.  IRIS is gathering success stories that contribute to the kind of community we want to live in – one that maintains diverse, healthy ecosystems, fosters a high quality of life for all, and bridges cultural and political divides.  
          While many stories have already come in from across the region there is still time to submit others from the region including Grant, Douglas, Okanogan and Chelan counties. Visit www.irisncw.org to download the Success Story Exchange form and submit by August 15.  
           IRIS is working again with the local school district to engage a team of faculty and students in many aspects of the summit including the design for this year’s summit logo. Pateros High School freshman Ruby Germaine said she was inspired to design it as a billy goat “standing brave in front of the towering flames to symbolize how strong our small community can stand in the face of jeopardy.”    
            An advisory committee is also working with IRIS to plan other elements of the summit that will include lunch catered by Sweet River Bakery, live music, and sponsor displays.   Event planners anticipate that more than 180 people from Pateros and across the region will participate in the summit this year. An annual celebration of success, the summit also serves as a fundraising event that will enable IRIS to continue the cycle of highlighting success through 2020 and beyond.
            IRIS is proud to acknowledge our 2020 Legacy Partners including the Port of Douglas County, Community Choice, The Wenatchee World, and Wenatchee Valley College.  Annual sponsors for this event include the City of Pateros, Pateros School District, Craft3, Molina Healthcare, Okanogan Conservation District and the Regional Innovation District Coalition.   
            For more information about sponsoring, contributing to the summit scholarship fund, or helping with the 2018 NCW Community Success Summit contact the IRIS office at 509-888-7374, irisncw@gmail.com. An agenda and registration information will be posted on the IRIS website later this summer.
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The Initiative for Rural Innovation & Stewardship (IRIS) fosters sustainable rural communities in NCW by gathering and sharing success stories that enhance a sense of belonging, inspire action, and build community. We believe that thriving communities in a healthy environment create success. On the web at www.irisncw.org. Since 2009, IRIS has convened the summit in a different rural community each year. By 2020 they plan to distill much of what they have learned to produce a multi-platform book, “Thinking Like a Community,” that will connect success stories from Pateros and across the region and provide a springboard for action that can help the next generation thrive.