Lopez Center for Community and the Arts 2025 Spirit Award recipients announced

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 11, 2025

By Sarah Carson

Lopez is a small but mighty island that has dozens of incredible programs available to the community. Many of these resources are not solely funded by the public or private sector; volunteers fuel them.

In fact, volunteerism is the essential ingredient to much of what Lopez residents benefit from, including the fire and EMT department, Lopez Fresh Food Bank, Lopez Community Land Trust, The Lopez Library and many more.

Each year, The Lopez Center for Community and the Arts recognizes an individual or couple with the Spirit Award. The Spirit Award is bestowed upon people who “consistently improve the lives of all Lopezians and give to the community in extraordinary ways: unselfishly, reliably, lovingly, with tolerance and integrity.”

This year LCCA is celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Spirit Award by commemorating Paul Henriksen and Christa Campbell. Henriksen and Campbell have been Lopez residents for over 40 years and have been pillars of the community since the beginning.

Henriksen and Campbell both came to Lopez to be staff at Camp Nor’wester, Henriksen in 1978 and Campbell in 1982. Henriksen worked as a caretaker and facilities manager, and Campbell was the dietician. Henriksen would often take his meals in the kitchen where Campbell worked, and they soon became good friends. Henriksen had a partner at the time, so their relationship remained platonic.

In October 1982, Campbell received a call from her camp “tipi-mate” that Henriksen was now available. Campbell cleverly found an excuse to reach out to him by sending him a Thanksgiving card. (Who knew there was such a thing?) Her efforts paid off, and they began to date that winter.

She moved permanently to Lopez in 1983, and they were married in 1985. While Henriksen continued to work at the camp, Campbell commuted off-island for several years, providing nutrition services to various public health organizations in Skagit and Whatcom counties. In 1989, the owner of Camp Nor’wester asked Henriksen and Campbell to become the directors.

Henriksen was hesitant to take the offer. He knew that being the director meant being responsible for 95 staff and 380 kids and was akin to being “the judge and the jury.” However, the future of the camp was at stake, so they went ahead and accepted the offer.

Camp Nor’wester was founded on the ideas of environmental stewardship and community service. Henriksen and Campbell continued to implement this philosophy, seeking to both nurture and challenge the children. They taught them not only individual responsibility but also responsibility for their group. Thousands of kids attended the camp over the years and were deeply touched by their experiences.

Henriksen and Campbell had two children — Makena in 1988, and Lars in 1990. The camp became a way of life, with marketing, hiring seasonal staff and infrastructure work attended to in the winter and spring, camp in the summer and cleanup, repairs and the making of the camp video in the fall. Directorship had a seasonal rhythm that governed their years.

Their proudest accomplishment was transitioning the Camp to nonprofit status in 1996 and relocating it to its permanent and forever home on Johns Island in 2000. They stayed on until 2012.

Although Henriksen and Campbell’s most public role was as camp directors, they worked and volunteered almost tirelessly.

Henriksen was a school bus driver (on call to drive for 40 years) and Kung Fu instructor. He volunteered for Little League when the kids were young and chaperoned trips to Nicaragua when they were teens. He worked and volunteered for Lopez Community Land Trust as a carpenter and supervisor, was an advisor to the FLIP board, and served on the boards of the Historical Society and Yacht Club.

Campbell volunteered for the preschool and later served on the school board. She was a member of the San Juan County Land Bank Commission. She volunteered for several years for the Tour de Lopez and the Village Lighting events before she became director of the Lopez Chamber of Commerce. She was on the board of the Catherine Washburn Medical Association, where she helped to facilitate the partnership between the University of Washington with the local health clinic, and served on the first Lopez Island Hospital District commission.

Since they worked so well together as co-camp directors and parents, Henriksen and Campbell volunteered together at times, including for the San Juan Islands Audubon Society and the Primary Intervention Program at the elementary school and most recently as riser raisers and libation servers for the Lopez Center for Community and the Arts.

Henriksen and Campbell have met thousands of Lopezians and neighbor islanders over the years through camp, volunteerism, work and social events. Campbell waited tables her first year on Lopez, and she said that was one of the best ways to get to know the community.

Campbell and Henriksen are now enjoying a quieter — although not dull — life. They have raised their children, built a home and bought a camper for long road trips. Henriksen has filed to run for his third term as Port commissioner. Campbell, for the first time in a long time, is not active on any boards but mentioned that she was quite interested in helping out at the local cemetery. Not to let a good opportunity for a joke go by, Henriksen quipped, ”We’ll volunteer to be interred there.”

Henriksen and Campbell are exemplary community members and living examples of the qualities that the Spirit Award seeks to celebrate. Join the LCCA and the Lopez community in honoring them on Saturday, June 14, from 3-5 p.m. There will be speeches, stories, an award ceremony and, in spirit with the recipients, camp treats and refreshments.