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Washington state`s oldest residential program turns 45
A Washington state treatment organization that a former marketing director once labeled the addiction treatment field’s best-kept secret has stood the test of time as the state’s oldest residential facility, and on Monday it will quietly commemorate its 45th anniversary.
Sundown M Ranch announced the milestone this week with a typically business-like, modest news release with no frills. In the short statement, executive director Scott Munson gave credit to a dedicated staff.
Last summer, when I interviewed nationally known Sundown marketing director Len Baltzer about his planned retirement at the end of 2012, he cited Munson’s own rise from jobs in the trenches at the facility as an example of why Sundown has been successful: It has nurtured leaders from within.
Baltzer added in the interview, in recalling his first visit as a consultant to a facility he had never heard of prior, “You just feel the love there. I’m a firm believer that that’s what gets people well.”
Sundown M Ranch officials say the organization has reached more than 116,000 adults, adolescents and family members in its 45-year history.
