Vision: To offer many different directories that are easy to use as well as informative.

Uses for Kitsapinfo
• Entertainment Choices
• Event Planning
• To help all people especially youth find activities that are meaningful to them
• Expose business and organization web sites
• Networking Opportunities
• Community Issues
• Military Discounts
• Student Discounts
• Plan for company
• Newcomers to find an easier way to get involved.

History of Kitsapinfo
In order to know how Kitsapinfo came about, you have to know a little about myself. My name is June Watterson and I was raised mostly in Illinois and moved to Tucson in 1976 to go to the University of Arizona. I became a schoolteacher and lived in Tucson for 20 years. On Halloween of 1995, I decided I needed a change so I grabbed an atlas, looked it over and saw this peninsula in the far northwest corner of the country. I liked the way the peninsula looked and decided to move myself and my 13-year-old daughter, Summer, to the peninsula that was on the map.

As a single parent and a schoolteacher, I didn't really have very much money and I had a contract I had to finish out. So Summer and I spent the next 8 months saving every penny we had. We ate peanut butter and jelly, cereal and spaghetti for 8 months. I packed up a 13-year-old classroom, took care of all the necessary errands and on June 10, 1996, the two of us and a U-Haul left for an unknown peninsula that was on a map. We had less than $4000.00 to start a new life. We did not know anyone or anything about the area that we were coming to. We did not know that the peninsula was called Kitsap, we did not know about the military, or Microsoft, coffee, ferries or even about all the rain. We just came and decided whatever happens happens.

Now, I must admit that I felt pretty confident that I would get a teaching job here in Washington. I had already received my Washington Teaching Certification and had come to this area with excellent references. What I did not count on though was there are plenty of elementary teachers in Kitsap and it is who you know in this county and not what you know. Needless to say, I could not even get an interview.

Moving to Kitsap was much harder than I had ever anticipated. I was used to roads on a grid; Kitsap's are not. I was used to sunshine to help find East and West; you rarely can count on that here. Many streets are not very well marked and many people in this area assume that everyone knows where Waaga Way, Gorst, Manette, Southworth, Manchester, etc. is. They also assume you know the difference between East and West Bremerton (when it always seem to me that it should be North and South Bremerton). I had to replace my back brakes on my car before my front ones because I was constantly turning around. However despite all the hardships, I found that Kitsap County to be breathtakingly beautiful and most of the people I met were amazingly wonderful. I knew I wanted to make Kitsap County my home for good.

After school started back up, I came to the realization that I was not going to get a teaching job and so I took a job for a local funeral home and cemetery selling pre-arranged cemetery plots and funeral arrangements on a straight commission basis. This was very hard. I had never really been in sales and I would have to go to people's houses (and of course, I was always lost) and talk to them about their inevitable death. I met many wonderful people but soon found out that I could not make a living doing this. So I took a job selling ads for the phone book.

Now, being a teacher for so many years, I have to admit I was pretty blind to the business aspect of the world. I really did not know that business owners bought the ads in the yellow pages. I learn quickly, though, and found that I really enjoyed meeting business owners and learning about business.

I sold ads for the phone book for quite some time and then moved on to other types of business-to-business sales. I sold copiers, hotel rooms, Internet ads and a few other things. I found I liked selling advertising the best, but I felt frustrated because I could see that many of the people that needed it the most were the people that could not afford most types of advertising. I found that getting the word out about an event or a business offering a sale was difficult for both the customer and the business owner. I also found that there was a perceived idea that there was nothing to do in Kitsap County and yet I kept running into more and more events, clubs, forums, etc. There were many things going on, the problem was that few people knew about them.

From 1996-2000, I had many altering changes in my life and learned to rely on Jesus as my inspiration. One night in December of 2000, as I was about ready to go to sleep, I had this vision of how to put the events in a format that was easy to use and could be sustained through revenue. The next day, I had already ordered 2 business lines and started making a business plan. I was ready to start this new venture.

However, God in his awesome power had other plans, and for quite a few months there were many changes in my life and Kitsapinfo got put on hold -- but it was not forgotten.

I dreamt of putting it together every day, and just kept it in the front of my mind. I had already talked to a few people about putting it together, when I ran into Jeff Campbell.

Jeff was a co-worker with whom I had worked previously. I told him about my idea and he was willing to help from the start. God bless him, he not only designs and manages the site, he researches all the vendors we need, helps me to understand a lot of computer and Internet technology and most of all listens and changes with me as we try to devise a constantly better Kitsapinfo. Between the 2 of us, we have put Kitsapinfo to you as the public to help you sort out activities and businesses that are meaningful to you.

We invite you to use Kitsapinfo as you need it, share it with others and always please feel free to make comments, suggestions or even compliment us if you would like. It is here for the public to use and is meant to help everyone in the County as a thank you for the blessings I have received living in this most wondrous place.

Please enjoy Kitsapinfo, use it to help yourself, others and your community.