MIchelle and her horse Gino

For tirelessly volunteering on multiple chore shifts at the barn and for the many unsolicited hours she contributes, SAFE has chosen Seattle native Michelle Stokke as May’s Volunteer of the Month.

Michelle’s lifelong love of horses started with a pony ride at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. “It is actually my first true memory,” she says. “The leather saddle, pungent scent of pony, the soft fur, playing with the bits of mane I could reach and the sun shining through the trees … I was lost from that moment.”

SAFE first came to Michelle’s attention when her high school classmate Terry Phelps-Peddy invited her for a tour. Michelle started volunteering and enjoyed the comradeship in support of a good cause and being around horses. She misses her horse Gino since he was retired to southern California and admits she is quietly looking for a new companion.

A full time employee of the Boeing Company, Michelle enjoys spending time off with family, traveling, working on her house and garden, and reading.