On an Alki-area patio Sunday night, one last “group hug” photo for the man who has orchestrated them outside local landmarks as part of the job he’s just left. The occasion, a gathering to wish Clay Eals good luck in his next round of adventures, after four and a half years as the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s first executive director. That’s Clay in the red shirt, with wife Meg, to the left of “It Takes a Village”; his successor Jeff McCord is second to the right of it. In a short speech not long before the photo, Clay recalled deciding to take a risk in jumping from a full-time job to what was potentially a very part-time, short-term role that became so much more. “Don’t be afraid to take a risk,” he urged all within earshot, voicing gratitude for everyone who helped make SWSHS a “happening organization.”

P.S. This is just our unofficial photo; Sunday night’s “official” group-hug photo – like the ones for the Log House Museum totem pole (2014), the Alki Homestead rescue (2015), the Admiral Theater renovations (2016), the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse and West Seattle High School centennials (both this year) – was taken by Jean Sherrard.