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Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Exceptional women
7
By ANNE ENDICOTT
Pamplin Media Group
O
nce upon a time, when Gresham
was a small rural farming suburb of
Portland, folks didn’t think twice
about helping someone in need.
They shared a meal with a stranger, rallied
around their neighbors in troubled times
and performed unseen tasks to make the
community a better place.
Fortunately for Gresham, that small-town
spirit still resonates with Cory Williamson.
“I grew up in a town in Montana with a
population that is still probably only 400 peo-
ple,” Williamson said. “I saw how people in a
small town help each other. I’ve always felt
it’s important to give back. You can’t just ex-
ist.”
Williamson, 67, is no glory seeker. She is a
study in refinement and elegance, with an
underlying steely determination for commu-
nity advocacy, and a lengthy and accom-
plished career in mortgage finance and busi-
ness ownership. She has served on numer-
ous committees with the East Metro Alliance
of Realtors and champions major fundrais-
ing events with the Gresham Elks Lodge.
The mother of three boys (including Gresh-
am Mayor Shane Bemis), Williamson is also
a devoted grandmother to 11 and great-
grandmother to two.
Yet her passion lies in the time spent
among those most people shy away from —
the homeless. Once a week, Williamson dons
an apron to slice, stir and serve a balanced,
home cooked afternoon meal at a local day
shelter.
Williamson came by a fondness for the day
shelter’s visitors — whom she refers to as
her “peeps” — by accident. In 2011, shelter
volunteer and Elks club acquaintance Mary
Hay approached Williamson asking if she
would be willing to sponsor pizza once a
month for the shelter’s guests.
“I went to see what was going on,” Wil-
liamson recalled. “It took me about five min-
utes to see that $150 in pizza,
which wouldn’t fill people up
anyway, could be spent in
such a better way for food
that was better for them.”
Williamson took on the
task of shopping and cook-
ing and now prepares a
meal of nearly 60 servings
each week. She’s become ac-
quainted with those who fre-
quent the shelter on a regu-
lar basis and wants to en-
sure they leave well fed. She
also quickly recognized the
lack of basic essentials
among those at the shelter
and immediately enlisted
family and friends to help.
“I’m always asking them
to bring hotel soaps and
shampoo to me,” Williamson
said. “Sometimes I think
they all wonder, ‘What’s she collecting
now?’”
But Williamson also is keenly aware of
networking opportunities. She sits on the
Gresham Housing and Development Sub-
committee, a volunteer City Council adviso-
ry committee charged with interviewing
grant applicants for nonprofit groups such as
Albertina Kerr and Human Solutions. Rub-
bing elbows with organizations that support
her compassion for the homeless has proven
invaluable.
“(Being on the committee)
allows me to establish rela-
tionships that can and have
come in handy,” she said. “I
know who to call to make
contact with at the agency
to help someone who needs
their resources. I don’t look
at it as giving somebody a
handout. I look at it as a
hand up to help them move
forward.”
Williamson recalls quite clearly the first
winter she volunteered at the day shelter
and witnessing firsthand the lack of protec-
tion against the elements visitors had. She
purchased sleeping bags, hats, mittens and
socks from her own pocket. Eventually, she
enlisted the help of the Gresham Elks.
Malia Bafford, past exalted ruler for the
Gresham Elks, says Williamson’s compas-
sion and selflessness in helping others is a
gift to both the lodge and the community.
“Cory has a deep commitment to the less
fortunate in the community,” Bafford said.
“She goes out of her way to take care of any-
body in need, with a love and grace that you
don’t see very often.”
In March, at its annual banquet, the
Gresham Elks recognized individual law en-
forcement officers, firefighters and commu-
nity members for superior volunteer service.
Bafford presented the prestigious Citizen of
the Year award to an unsuspecting William-
son, who joined an elite group of past win-
ners that include her son, Shane.
“I was looking for people who make a dif-
ference not only in the lodge but also in the
community,” Bafford said. “There wasn’t
anybody more deserving of the award. Cory
just has so much humility and grace.”
Williamson arrived at the banquet unpre-
pared and, in her opinion, underdressed, giv-
en the scope of the award she would receive.
“I got there thinking I was there for some-
thing else,” she said, laughing. “I’d been told
it was a volunteer award, but I hadn’t writ-
ten down anything to say. Then, when I
found out it was Citizen of the Year, all I
wanted to do was go home and change my
clothes because I wasn’t expecting anything
that big.”
Williamson is a mover and shaker in her
own quiet way who leaves a positive impact
on those whose lives she touches and those
fortunate to work beside her. She makes no
judgment on what brought people to their
current station, preferring to breathe opti-
mism into their future. It’s a lesson she
learned from her father.
“My dad had to quit school in the sixth
grade and went to work in the mines in Bill-
ings (Mont.), to help support his family,” she
said. “He bought a bar, and his dream was to
own a bowling alley. He eventually did open
a bowling alley, above the bar, and I remem-
ber him putting all those floor boards in by
himself, on his hands and knees.
“The things he did to bring himself from a
sixth-grade education to a successful busi-
nessman is inspirational. You can do any-
thing if you want.”
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■
Cory Williamson serves up a meal and comfort to those less fortunate
PHOTO BY JIM CLARK
From left, day shelter volunteers Mark Ames, Williamson and Mary
Hay prepare nearly 60 servings of food, to ensure no one leaves the
shelter hungry.
A small-town heart
takes on
big-city problems
“I’ve
always felt
it was
important
to give
back. You
can’t just
exist.”
— Cory
Williamson,
homeless shelter
volunteer and the
Gresham Elks’
Citizen of the
Year.