Like many veterans who call Medical Lake and the surrounding area home, Lorin Ray-Abbott arrived via the U.S. Air Force and fell in love with the community. Now one of Medical Lake’s newest city council members, Ray-Abbott stayed here after she retired from a 25-year military career.
Still, Washington wasn’t an unfamiliar stop for Ray-Abbott, who grew up in Puyallup. She joined the military shortly after high school primarily because she was interested in the GI Bill benefits that would allow her to attend college.
“We weren’t poor, but we didn’t have a lot of money,” she said of her family. “That was how I was going to see the world and get educated.”
And see the world she did. Her first posting was in Japan and she also spent time stationed in South Korea and Germany. She earned degrees in human resources and logistics management.
She started out in logistics for several years, then transitioned into being a First Sergeant. First Sergeant is a role, not a rank, Ray-Abbott said, and involves a little human resources, administration and discipline. “I loved that job,” she said. “It beckoned to me.”
She held the position for eight years, then went back into logistics when she was sent to Fairchild Air Force Base before she retired in 2013. At the time, Ray-Abbott’s youngest daughter was starting high school and she threw herself into school activities, becoming a self-described “cheer mom.”
“As a single parent with three kids, I was never as involved as I wanted to be,” she said.
After she retired she initially stayed in the area because she didn’t want to make her youngest daughter move again. Then, she realized she loved Medical Lake too much to leave.
Shortly before Ray-Abbott joined the Air Force in 1987, she met her now husband, Guy Abbott. “We fell hopelessly in love,” she said. “He asked me to marry him before I left.”
The two exchanged love letters for a year. But in a time before computers and cell phones made connections easy, they lost touch. They would each end up marrying and having a family, then divorcing. In 2010, Ray-Abbott’s superiors told her she needed to sign up for Facebook because that was how airmen communicate. She did, then started searching for people she knew. She found Abbott, who was living in Everett at the time. They started messaging, picking up where they left off decades before.
Ray-Abbott had requested a new position in Nebraska, but was instead informed that she was being transferred to Fairchild. After she moved back to Washington, she and Abbott began visiting each other. They married a little over 14 years ago.
Her husband supported her desire to apply for a vacant city council seat last fall and Ray-Abbott said she’s been learning non-stop ever since. One of the hardest things has been to learn the terminology common to city governments and Ray-Abbott said Google has been her best friend.
She spends hours pouring over each packet of documents to prepare for each meeting since she wants to make sure she understands everything. “You can read the packet and still not know what vacating the right-of-way means,” she said. “You have to look it up and research. It’s more than just showing up for a meeting. You have to understand it so you can see what is best for Medical Lake.”
When Ray-Abbott applied for the position, she voiced that she wanted the town to do more to fill empty buildings in the downtown area. “There were just so many buildings that were closed, unused,” she said. “I learned that we’re all over that, which is great.”
She learned the city is also on top of restoring and making improvements to burned areas around Medical Lake and the trail system that goes around it, which was another one of her concerns. “Now I just want to be a part of making those come to fruition,” she said.
Ray-Abbott said she doesn’t consider herself a politician and didn’t expect to be selected for the seat, particularly after she met the other two finalists that the council interviewed.
“I really thought it was not going to be me,” she said. “I was surprised, because they were both amazing.”
Lorin Ray-Abbott was appointed to the Medical Lake City Council back in December. Lorin came to Medical Lake during her service in the Airforce where she retired after 25 years.
How long have you lived in Medical Lake and what brought you here?
I have lived in Medical Lake going on 13 years now. I was transferred to Fairchild AFB and subsequently retired after 25 years in the Air Force. At the time, our youngest was just entering high school and we wanted to allow her the opportunity to graduate with her friends before moving again. When she graduated and was entering college we realized we had fallen in love with Medical Lake and moved a half mile down the road.
Why did you decide to apply for a vacant seat on the Medical Lake City council?
The decision to apply for the vacant council seat was a two or three-fold decision. As stated, we fell in love with Medical Lake and its small town charm. We got involved, mostly through the High School booster club and the Founder’s Day parade. We watched our little city grow, stumble, get back up and grow again and all the while hoping and dreaming of it becoming a purposeful destination. Interestingly enough, I met another resident of Medical Lake and we struck up a conversation regarding the vacancy and some of the prerequisites, like living inside city limits. It planted a seed, so I approached my husband on the topic. We were both feeling the urge to get more involved due to some of the top issues affecting our nation at the time and it seemed like an opportunity to do so. Then I received a phone call from another friend telling me I should apply. I kind of felt I was being guided to it and in all honesty, I felt maybe they were having trouble finding applicants, so after a brief conversation with the Mayor, I “volunteered” via application.
What have you learned in your time on the council that surprised you the most?
Having not been on the council very long, I am still learning…everything. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there were multiple applicants for position 6. The two that I met were brilliant and engaging and I realized how many others love Medical Lake as much as I. Finally, I was surprised to learn how much of a private person I had become since I retired. All of the sudden, I am being publicly interviewed, strangers take interest in your private life and now can’t go to the store in my slippers!
What do you think is the most important thing you’ve learned in your time on the council?
The amount of preparation that goes into just one Council meeting is remarkable and I’ve really only seen a piece of it. The City and staff are like ants, always working and so organized, it is very impressive. For me, I learned the importance of preparation. There is a lot of research and reading involved prior to a meeting and while unexpected, it is definitely necessary. Finally, going into this position with all my dreams, I learned that those dreams were aligned with the city all along. They already have a finger on the pulse of the issues most important to me, so my focus has shifted a little from creating change, to being a part of the solution.
What are your goals as a city council member?
My goals as a council member are to learn as much as I can about helping our city grow while maintaining and/or improving all the reasons our residents love living here.
What do you like to do for fun?
For fun, I would say I love making memories. I like planning parties and events with my family, we do like to go all out. I love Halloween and haunted houses and we used to have the Halloween House over in Fox Ridge before we moved! I also love gardening, not vegetable gardening though, plants and flowers. I even like mowing the lawn and pulling weeds, I find it cathartic. My home is full of house plants and I insist it is not hoarding if it is plants. Finally, I love to travel and stop at all the historical markers, I call them “brown signs”. If it is in my 100 must see places in your lifetime book, all the better.
