The San Juan County Council has unanimously selected 4th District Council Member Richard Fralick to chair the council for the next year and 1st District Member Lovel Pratt as vice chair. Second District council member Rich Peterson has served as chair for the past year.

Fralick, a 28-year resident of Orcas Island, has a long history of community involvement, including service as a member of the Board of Freeholders, the board of the Orcas Medical Center Association, the Orcas Island School Board and many other community organizations.

He was elected to a four-year term on the council in November of 2008. After a career as a researcher, scientist and teacher he now owns and operates All Dreams Cottages on Orcas, where he lists his job titles as: bookkeeper, carpenter, concierge, designer, gardener, host, housekeeper, landscaper, painter, plumber and repairman. He holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Pittsburgh and Certificates in Medical Engineering from the University of Washington.

The newly selected council vice-chair, Lovel Pratt, was also first elected to the council in 2008. Before serving on the council, she was a long-time member and twice chair of the San Juan County Planning Commission. Pratt is the co-owner of Mulno Cove Farm and has been active in agriculture organizations and issues in San Juan County as an officer of the San Juan Farmers Market Association, Food Systems Education Coordinator for the WSU Extension program, and she has been honored for her work in promoting affordable housing.

The Chair of the San Juan County Council presides over council meetings and is the ceremonial head of the county. In the absence of the chair, the vice-chair takes over those duties. Fralick and Pratt will assume their new positions at the Jan. 12, 2010 council session.