STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Dusk was settling Monday evening as nearly a hundred men and women made their way into Topnotch Fine Furnishings in Ketchum.

They were not there to hunt for a new sofa but to toast The Advocates COO Tricia Swartling,  who had been crowned Idaho’s 2025 Nonprofit Leader of the Year by the Idaho Community Foundation at a Boise gala celebrating Gem State philanthropists and volunteers.

Swartling greeted all comers at the door in a tiara she’d been given to wear at the Boise ceremony.

Elaine Phillips helps herself to champagne as celebrants begin to trickle into the party, which featured an array of lavish hors d’oeuvres, including jalapeno poppers and candied bacon on a stick.

Many she recognized as current and former board members; others, as donors; some, as those she worked with during the fledgling days of The Advocates 35 years ago.

“She was extremely dedicated. Focused. Determined,” said Nancy Mihalic, who first met Swartling while volunteering with the Crisis Hotline.

Swartling was tapped to head The Advocates when it was a small volunteer program that sprang from the efforts of several women in the valley to help a woman who was being abused.

Under her leadership, The Advocates opened the area’s first shelter, expanded transitional housing to 22 apartments, built youth dating relationship programs, started a Skills for Success program for women seeking skills to enter the workforce and launched The Attic Thrift store, which raises funds for The Advocates’ counseling and other programs.

Joanne Wetherell and Elaine Phillips were among those raising a toast to Tricia Swartling.

She also helped establish a coordinated community response with law enforcement, social services and healthcare organizations, while mentoring nonprofit leaders across Idaho.

There was no shortage of comfy chairs or sofas for supporters to lean into as they listened to the many tribute speeches while sipping wine and enjoying such appetizers as flank steak strips on avocado toast.

“She’s dedicated 35 years—not just of her career—but her heart and soul,” said board president Dayna Buxton. “She’s taken The Advocates from a small volunteer organization to a multifaceted organization. We touch thousands every year.”

Jeanne Cassell was among those who hired Swartling so long ago.

Shannon Nichols, the communications manager at The Advocates, lays back on a bed to take a picture while Board President Dayna Buxton talks.

“When we came together, people told us we don’t need (The Advocates). There’s no need for that,” she recalled.

Swartling started out in a small office with a desk and telephone above Copy and Print. Initially, all she could offer someone in crisis was three nights in a motel.

When donations started rolling in, Swartling was quick to call the donor and thank them as she tried to cultivate their engagement.

“One donor said she gave to five charities and Tricia was the only one to call back,” Cassell said.

Jennifer Gennuso and Sandra Flattery prepare to sign well wishes on a board offering a timeline of The Advocates beginning in 1991.

In a bid to find a shelter, The Advocates looked at every old house in Blaine County. The organization eventually built a facility on a lot that had been donated, figuring it would be cheaper than trying to address the remodeling needs of older homes.

“We built it under budget and ahead of schedule!” Cassell said proudly. “When Tricia inherited some jewelry, she organized a jewelry sale at my house and donated the money to The Advocates,” she added.

Swartling told the group that, although hundreds of people attended the gala in Boise, she was disappointed that neither Idaho Gov. Brad Little nor any of the other legislative leaders attended.

“I wish they could have heard how disappointed I was in Idaho for not accepting federal funding,” she said, noting that that money could have gone to better educate children and make for healthier parents, more viable workers, thriving children and a stronger community.

Swartling thanked her staff.

“I raise the money—they’re the ones on the ground doing the hard work.”

The Advocates have raised $68 million over the past 35 years, Swartling said. Some of that is helping to raise a “nice new building going up in Hailey that will add 20 new units of transitional housing.”

“We could fill it up if we opened tomorrow,” she said, noting The Advocates has a waiting list. “Why do we do this? Because of people like Jenny.”

She recounted the story of the mother who left an abusive marriage and found shelter with The Advocates before segueing into transitional housing and, finally, a home of her own.

“I have a job. I have a new home,” Swartling said, as she read a note from Jenny. “You showed me the way. You gave me the tools and resources to freedom.”

DID YOU KNOW? Topnotch is having a 15 percent off sale in honor of Tricia Swartling through the weekend. Ten percent of all sales will be donated to The Advocates.