This week, we focus a lot on health—the fitness programs at Mount Si Sports, youth activities at Si View Community Center. Most of those activities involve getting active and in motion. There’s another way that you can get involved for health, and it will affect not just your own well-being, but that of thousand of people inside and outside this Valley.

Consider running for the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital District’s board of commissioners, and having a vote and a say in crucial big-picture decisions.

Granted, politics on the board are pretty hot of late. You’ve got new commissioners who are asking no-holds-barred questions, sometimes coming to grips with established board members who have been on board with the vision for a new hospital on Snoqualmie Ridge that dates back seven years. Conversation on the board can get pretty scrappy. But the hospital district needs people who have patients and health care foremost in mind, who want to balance goals for a serving a growing Valley with prudent spending and fair burdens for the taxpayer.

If you join the board, you’ll likely attend a regular monthly board meeting and a meeting of one of the district’s committees, perhaps two. Commissioners are paid $114 for each day or portion of a day spent in official meetings of the district.

And, if you pass muster with a majority of the board, expect to run for office next fall. You’ll experience the full experience of democracy in action.

To apply, send resumes and letters of interest by regular mail to the hospital address, 9575 Ethan Wade Way S.E., Snoqualmie, WA 98065, or by e-mail to valerieh@snoqualmiehospital.org. Resumes will be accepted until close of business on Friday, Jan. 17.