Life Must Be Lived as Play: Partnership provides inspiration to make big dreams come to reality

You can’t say Mary Blake doesn’t have vision: After all, when she started work as the general manager of the Sunset Empire Park & Recreation District in Seaside, the district’s main asset was a swimming pool facing the threat of closure. But during her time at the helm of the district, the swimming pool not only stayed open, it expanded. The district also updated the community center and added a multipurpose synthetic turf field. It added a skatepark. The district now includes the Mary Blake PlayHouse, a community meeting place that was named in her honor as she retired. It’s an impressive list. But Blake gives credit to Oregon Community Foundation for giving her the inspiration — and the tools — to dream even bigger. Read the full East Oregonian article here.