Snoqualmie resident Carol Peterson was recognized for her more than 50 years of service to the community during a city council meeting last week.

“Carol has spent countless hours on public service,” Snoqualmie Mayor Katherine Ross said in a statement. “She has lived in the Snoqualmie Valley for more than 60 years and during that time has made a true impact on the city and our community.”

Peterson and her late husband, Charles, who served as a city councilmember and mayor, worked together to make Snoqualmie a better place. Peterson served on the Snoqualmie Parks Board, playing a role in putting up the classic Snoqualmie welcome signs. She also helped establish the city’s first parks. She planted flowers, maintained city landscapes, and helped coordinate painting the old City Hall building along with advocating for the City Council Chambers mural.

“We’re all born with different talents and I figured out early on that one of mine was organizing,” Peterson said during a speech this week.

Peterson played a vital role in community health care by successfully lobbying for federal funding to build Snoqualmie Valley Hospital in the 1980s. Earlier this year, Peterson retired from her appointment on the city’s Health and Human Services Committee, where she served as a community voice for providing vital services for those in need.

Among her many volunteer efforts, Peterson has served on the Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank, Reclaim and many others. She helped form organizations such as the Mount Si Senior Center and has also volunteered for Children’s Services of SnoValley, now Encompass. She organized children’s athletics, Campfire groups, and her gardening club. She has also volunteered at the Snoqualmie Valley Methodist Church for 60 years.

In addition to her local service, she worked as an aid for U.S. Rep. Julia Butler Hansen and her successor, Rep. Don Bonker.