Veteran Support group director to leave post

Published 1:30 am Friday, March 20, 2026

FORKS — The founder of Sarge’s Veteran Support is leaving the organization after 15 years.

“I’m not retiring, I’m just leaving here and working at a new job,” said Cheri Tinker, the founder and executive director of Sarge’s Veteran Support.

The decision to move was driven by a need to be closer to family, she said.

“I have family in Oregon and we have family in the Tri-Cities and in Spokane,” Tinker said. “Moving from the Peninsula makes it easier for my family to visit my mom and for her to go back and forth. The Peninsula is challenging to get back and forth when there’s any kind of emergencies. There’s all kinds of family dynamics when it comes to getting close to people.”

The decision to leave was not made lightly and took several years to make, she said.

“It was a horrifying decision to make when it came to leaving Sarge’s,” Tinker said.

Tinker opened Sarge’s Veteran Support in August 2011 as a shelter for veterans in Forks.

“I was working at West End Outreach Services and we were seeing a huge percentage of homeless veterans in our county and it was horrifying to me, and my boss said ‘Why don’t you just create a shelter?’” Tinker said. “I didn’t know anything about doing that, but I got a bunch of like-minded people together.”

Without applying for it, the group received a $50,000 check from the First Fed Community Foundation because they heard what the group was trying to accomplish and believed in their work, Tinker said.

The group then received a $25,000 Ben Phillips Foundation grant and a $500,000 appropriation from U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, and that allowed the organization to purchase a two-story apartment building Forks.

That building was renovated and became Sarge’s Place, a homeless shelter for veterans.

Since then, the organization has expanded its reach. It now has the Outpost in Port Angeles, a four-plex for veterans and families; Camp Sol Duc in Forks, a house with two apartments in it that houses two Vietnam War veterans right now; Hobucket House in Forks, a seven-bedroom group home named after Jimmy Hobucket, who was a founding board member, Vietnam War veteran and a Quileute Warrior; and LtCol James Minsky Place in Sequim, a six-bedroom home for elderly and disabled veterans paid for with a donation from the James Minksy estate.

“We’ve just been trying to meet whatever needs are needed within the different communities in Clallam County,” Tinker said.

Tinker plans to leave in April after new Executive Director Paul Shane begins March 31.

“We’re planning on having some kind of event in April where we’ll have me and Paul there to kind of metaphorically hand off the agency to Paul,” Tinker said.

She is set to begin her new job as the deputy director for the Metropolitan Youth Symphony in Portland, Ore., on April 13.

“They have a $12 million contract for a remodel and construction of their ensemble and recording space,” Tinker said. “They need help with grant writing and donor development. I love creating projects, so it’ll be good.”

Tinker took music lessons her whole childhood and is excited about this fresh perspective of helping children, she said.

“The symphony doesn’t turn anyone away. They have scholarships for kids,” she said. “I believe music is a huge mental health component, I think it’s so good for everyone, and that’s one area the symphony is branching out from. They’re delighted that I can help them make sure they’re connecting those dots for the kids.”

Despite excitement for her new job, Tinker said she’s feeling very sad about leaving Sarge’s Veteran Support and the Peninsula.

“It’s been quite a grieving process,” she said. “I’ve been here 30 years. I had moved from Seattle and just really have grown to love Forks and the whole Peninsula, so it’s very dramatic to leave here.”

Tinker said she’s proud of the impact Sarge’s Veteran Support has had on veterans during her time with the organization.

“We’ve had about 500 vets come through our care here,” she said.

The board has plans to expand the organization with a new shelter in Port Angeles which will accommodate men and women, Tinker said. For that reason, Shane will be working from Port Angeles rather than from Forks.

“Most of the vets we’re serving are in Port Angeles and Sequim or in Port Townsend,” Tinker said. “We just need to make a shift to have our care be more centrally located in Port Angeles.”

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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.