This Thanksgiving season, we contacted various elected officials on Whidbey and asked what they are thankful for.

Here are their answers:

This Thanksgiving I am very grateful for the generosity of our amazing island communities. We live in a beautiful area and it is made more beautiful as we reach out with a giving heart to our neighbors.

Helen Price Johnson, Island County commissioner

I am very thankful for having family and extended family members. Having a Navy husband, it’s the family back home that mentally supports and loves you. There are also the ones in your extended family, the people in the community that are there for my joys and tears that happen everyday. The church friends, the parents of your children friends, neighbors whom check up on you, other Navy wives. In many ways they become closer to me than my own family because I see them almost everyday. They surround me, bring friendship and understanding, and give you that precious hand to hold, to feel their warmth and caring. I am most grateful for our community here in Oak Harbor, that welcomed and embraced me and gave us a new home.

Beth Munns, Oak Harbor City Council

In my 13 years here, I have witnessed Oak Harbor’s pride in our schools and student successes grow exponentially. I’m so grateful for our community’s generous support and for the hard work, dedication, and compassion of our OHmazing staff. From the contagious joy of an exuberant kindergartener performing a music concert to the enthusiastic optimism of a senior at graduation, I am thankful to have such a sense of purpose and meaning in my work.

Above all else, I am grateful for a faith that sustains me, to have an incredible family, and to live in a country in which I enjoy so many freedoms, protected and paid for by the men and women of our armed forces. I think, especially, of our military families with loved ones deployed this holiday and I am thankful for the sacrifices these families make.

Lance Gibbon, superintendent of Oak Harbor schools

I’m thankful for the island and its people who turn out to express themselves; to support their friends, neighbors and associates, to face tough challenges of making a small city work, and are willing to commit time, creativity, and energy for existential causes like preserving our environment and addressing climate change as they did just last week. And who smile and laugh together while making music, art, dance, and wisdom. What a wonderful place to spend my latter years with my lifetime partner Anna Marie; she keeps me productive, humble, and thankful; thereby closing this circle of love.

Peter Morton, Langley

councilman

I am thankful to be living in a community in a beautiful location in the world that has an abundance of creativity, energy, optimism, energy, and caring for others

I am further thankful for the opportunity to serve this community.

Tim Callison, mayor of Langley

I am thankful for a community that cares and shows up to express their concerns and priorities. I am thankful for the incredible talent and dedication of Island County staff. Finally, I am truly thankful to work with my two colleagues who work hard and consistently demonstrate their integrity and commitment to Island County.

Janet St. Clair, Island County commissioner

I am thankful for the unconditional love of my family, the joys of friendship and that the two are increasingly interwoven. And I’m thankful for caffeine.

Jill Johnson, Island County commissioner