Andrey Ivanov, founder of Flash Love, and Taylor Wilkerson, the current leader of the organization’s affiliate Spartan Challenge, were present to accept the award
Leah Anaya
For Clark County Today
At the quarterly dinner meeting Friday night, the Clark County Republican Women (CCRW) celebrated their annual achievement night, honoring several people and groups for their contributions to the community. During the event, multiple awards were given, to include a special presentation for the organization Flash Love. Flash Love was the Impact Award recipient of 2022, meaning CCRW collected donations from members throughout 2022 and presented the total amount to the organization at the dinner.
Andrey Ivanov, founder of Flash Love, and Taylor Wilkerson, the current leader of the organization’s affiliate Spartan Challenge, were present to accept the award. Ivanov expressed his gratitude for the award and mentioned that the organization is working hard to empower the youth of today to take on the responsibility of their future. This includes, he said, the youth growing disciplined and learning to follow their values along with putting in the work necessary to secure their success in life, along with assisting those around them who may be less privileged than they are (such as, Ivanov specified, the elderly, single mothers, and the disabled).
Ivanov expressed the importance of the community partnering with organizations like Flash Love to support the youth in their mission. “Imagine youth going into communities and helping the less fortunate by taking care of their yards, building relationships, and loving on the people who rarely see love,” the Flash Love website states. These are the core reasons for Flash Love’s existence, according to Ivanov. These are the seemingly small steps that will heal the broken nation.
Following the receipt of the award, which totaled over $3,500, Ivanov pledged to gift $500 of that to Young Conservative Americans for Liberty (YCAL), a group led by two graduates of the Spartan Challenge, the group’s founder and President Ruby Ruiz and Vice President Aodan McKinley. YCAL’s mission is to encourage and help youth to learn about the US Constitution and empower them to get active in their community to support their conservative values.
Ivanov said the money awarded to Flash Love will be used to host even more community engagement and youth-led service projects, such as garbage clean up on the sides of highways in the wake of homeless encampments (to include the hauling and dumping of the garbage) and responding to the homes of the elderly and single mothers who reach out for assistance with things like cleaning out gutters and roofs or landscape maintenance.
The day before the dinner, the Flash Love trailer, which is housed at the US Digital office building in Vancouver, was hitched and stolen in broad daylight around 3 p.m. on Thursday. Ivanov said the trailer contained approximately $14,000 worth of gear and equipment for the Spartan Challenge, which is in week two of 10 at the time of this report.
The cameras at US Digital were able to catch an image of the vehicle associated with the theft, which is a white SUV with damage on the passenger side and no license plates. The vehicle appears to be the same used in the theft of the Goldie’s BBQ trailer earlier in the week. The Flash Love trailer was seen near Mall 205 in Portland still attached to the SUV Thursday evening, but it has still not been located at the time of this report. The Flash Love trailer has been seen as listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace.
Some have speculated that the two thefts at prominent faith-based organizations may mean that the thefts are targeted, but police have not confirmed the notion at this time.
The CCRW dinner also saw a change of leadership, as the group’s president, Liz Pike, stepped down, with the vice president, Liz Cline, taking over the position. Cline has been a vocal advocate for groups like Flash Love and assisted in the CCRW’s adoption of the YCAL group, providing seed money to get that group started. Cline has demonstrated a clear passion for encouraging young adults to get active in their communities and in politics to set the stage for the future of conservatism in the nation, but even more specifically in Clark County.
For more information on Flash Love, or to make a donation, go to https://www.flashlove.org/.
Also read:
- BPA responding to widespread weather-related outages
Bonneville Power Administration crews are responding to more than 40 transmission outages caused by extreme weather across the Northwest. - Letter: A call for competent Interstate Bridge project management
Rick Vermeers argues that unchecked scope, rising costs, and missed timelines threaten the survival of the Interstate Bridge Replacement project unless light rail is removed. - CRESA officials ask public to call 911 only for emergencies during weather events
CRESA officials are urging residents to reserve 911 calls for life-threatening emergencies during weather events as storms continue to cause power outages and hazardous conditions. - Rep. John Ley introduces bill to balance representation on Washington transportation boards
Legislation introduced by Rep. John Ley seeks to change how transportation board seats are allocated and prevent funding penalties tied to population-based representation rules. - Woodland man arrested, charged with murder
A 67-year-old Woodland man was arrested after deputies found a deceased man hidden on his property following a 9-1-1 report of a homicide. - Wild windstorm knocks out power, closes roads, and cancels school throughout Clark County
A powerful windstorm tore through Clark County, leaving tens of thousands without power, forcing widespread school closures, and blocking roads with downed trees and debris. - Northwest just finished warmest fall on record, scientists report
Scientists report the Pacific Northwest experienced its warmest fall on record, with snowpack at the lowest level for this point in winter since tracking began in 2001.
wpDiscuz
