Today we are interviewing West Central Community Center employee, Louise Stamper. Many of you may recognize her name as she has been very active in the West Central neighborhood. We are excited to share some of her story with you today.
West Central Community Center: What you do here at West Central Community Center?
Louise Stamper: I am the stand-in receptionist when our main receptionist is out for lunch, has appointments or is sick. I direct people to the various departments, answer the phone and transfer calls. I am also the resource specialist at the Center for those who need energy assistance or to find a food bank or the number for Toys for Tots and sometimes just a place where they can take a shower. I try really hard to keep up on the resources available in Spokane. I also write articles for WCCC’s newsletter and blog. I have a journalism degree from Gonzaga so try to utilize that for the Center.
WCCC: What is your favorite part about your job?
LS: Working with people. I like helping people and communicating with people. I am a social butterfly in that sense.
WCCC: How long have you been in the West Central area?
LS: We moved here in 1992, straight into the West Central neighborhood. We didn’t know much about it except that there were old Victorian houses, lots of beautiful scenery, and friendly neighbors.
WCCC: Tell us some of your accomplishments in the area.
LS: I started with Block Watch and then became involved with C.O.P.S West, serving as president there for three years. While there I started and ran a free summer program for kids with absolutely no money at all and a sizable volunteer force who were incredible in their love and dedication for these kids. I started a basketball team called the Westside Ballers from a group of teenagers who had started a gang called the Westside Mafia. I worked closely with the Spokane Police Department for this program and enjoyed the outspoken and very public support of Police Chief Terry Mangan. As a result we garnered a lot of press which in turn gained us a budget, finally, for both programs! All three of my sons attended Holmes Elementary, which encouraged me to get very involved as the PTA president, reading tutor and the volunteer, volunteer coordinator for the school. I’m also a CASA – a Court Appointed Special Advocate. CASA’S are well trained volunteers who are appointed by a judge to represent a child in cases where Child Protective Services is involved and the child has been made a dependent of the court. I’ve been a CASA for over 18 years and will always serve as one as long as they will have me.
WCCC: What has intrigued you about this area?
LS: The People. They are so willing to stretch out a hand to help and encourage instead of shunning or judging.
WCCC: When people talk about the stigma of the neighborhood, what is your response?
LS: My knee –jerk response is to become upset and angry. But I try to use it as an opportunity to tell the other side of the story of the neighborhood. The side about the people who live here who are not afraid to get involved, who are kind and supportive of their neighbors. That side of the neighborhood’s personality.
WCCC: What is the biggest misconception about the area?
LS: That it is a lost neighborhood. Or that most of the people are drug addicts, too lazy to get a job, not fit parents, and that everyone is poor and so must be ignorant. Those things may exist but they are not the majority.
WCCC: What is your favorite part about the area?
LS: I like being so close to the river and Centennial Trail. We love to walk the dogs down there. It is so accessible to people, even those in wheel chairs. And the sense of history as one of the first neighborhoods in Spokane in the late 1800’s. You can see that reflected in the old houses, and right now people are restoring those old houses.
WCCC: Where are you from?
LS: Johannesburg, South Africa. I was born and raised there and immigrated to Manhattan, NYC when I was 19. My father was Belgian and my mother was a fifth generation South African of Dutch descent. I’ve lived in the USA for 35 years. I’m a naturalized citizen. I’ve been married for 30 years and we have three sons.
WCCC: Why Spokane?
LS: We moved here from Southern California, from Riverside, near L.A. I was working for a mortgage company. After our second child, we decided we didn’t want to raise our kids there. At the time a branch of the same mortgage company opened in Spokane. My supervisor from Riverside had moved to Spokane and she told me to come on up, there would be a position for me. So within two weeks, we were in Spokane.
WCCC: If you could be anywhere now, where would that be?
LS: In Heaven – with a few good books and an eternity to read them in!
WCCC: Who is your biggest inspiration?
LS: Jesus. Just love the way He loves me.
WCCC: What has been one of your greatest achievements?
LS: It is still coming. I am going to write a best-selling book!
WCCC: What do you do in your spare time?
LS: I read a lot. I love to read. I write some, not as much as I should. I knit, crochet and do crafts. I also spend a lot of time with my dog.
WCCC: Do you have a favorite quote?
LS: “Never, never, never give up.” – Winston Churchill
WCCC: What is your favorite meal?
LS: Reuben Sandwich from Monkey Business Café!
WCCC: What is the one thing people may not know about you?
LS: I ran against Steve Corker, Cathy Reid, and Judith Gilmore for city council in the late ‘90s. Steve won and the rest of us have been extremely grateful to him ever since!