Join us in Seattle for our Annual Meeting on March 21, 2026.
This is our once-a-year opportunity to meet in person, enjoy coffee and pastries, connect with other members, hear about SFHS’s past year and our upcoming events. If you can’t join us in Seattle, we welcome your attendance via Zoom.
When: Saturday, March 21, 2026 10 PDT
Where: The Swedish Club NW, 1920 Dexter Avenue North, Seattle, Washington
Deadline for registration: March 6, 2026.
This year, we will feature presentations focusing on Order of Runeberg lodges in the Central District of the US Upper Midwest. Also planned is a virtual tour and information about the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock, Michigan, and a presentation on Finland, the Happiest Country in the World.
For those attending in person, the cost is $10 per person. You can either pay online when you sign up or at the door. Regardless of the payment method you choose, please be sure to register for the event using the form below to reserve your spot.
Those attending via Zoom can participate at no charge. The Zoom session will open at 10:00 AM PDT.
Deadline for Annual Meeting registration is on Friday, March 6, 2026. The sign-up form can be found at the end of this page.
Program
- Swedish Club NW Doors open for check-in
- Zoom session opens for virtual participants
- Fika service begins (beverages and pastries)
- Power Point presentation loop shown on Zoom and in-person
- Meeting welcome
- SFHS business meeting (30 minutes)
- Video and live presentations
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The archive at the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock, Michigan has something to interest everyone: genealogy, immigration history, sports history, Finnish-American music, oral history interviews, newspapers, photos, folk instruments, gorgeous textiles, and so much more! Archivist Joanna Chopp will discuss the importance of the collections and highlight some interesting examples from the FAHC.
Joanna Chopp is the archivist at Finlandia Foundation’s Finnish American Heritage Center, a position she has held since 2012. She studied History at Northern Michigan University and Archival Studies at UW-Milwaukee. Joanna is a 3rd generation Finnish-American, born and raised in the Copper Country. Her Finnish and Sámi heritage have always been a central part of her life, and she enjoys helping visitors and researchers at the FAHC explore their own heritage.
***
Kristiina Hiukka will address our group on what the world is learning about Finnish happiness. Finland has won the top spot of the Happiness Report for 8 years.
Kristiina is a professional leadership coach, consultant, trainer and author. She has coached and trained executives in Europe, the U.S., and Canada. Since 2009 she has served as the Honorary Vice Consul of Finland for Washington State. In this capacity she recently assisted in the production of a documentary about Finland, “Happiest Country in the World” to explore the reasons why Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for seven consecutive years. The documentary has been presented on PBS channels in the US and on Finnair’s international flights. Kristiina was knighted for her service to Finland in the Order of the White Rose.
- Meeting concludes
- Social time continues
Sign-up for the Annual meeting
Below you’ll find instructions for registering for the event using the sign-up form.
- Choose whether you will attend online or in person. Please note that you can register only one person at a time.
- Enter your contact information.
- Before completing your registration, please indicate whether or not you give photo and video consent to SFHS.
- If you’re attending in person, please choose your preferred payment option.
- Complete your registration by submitting the form.
- If you are attending in person and chose to pay online, you will be redirected to your shopping cart to complete the payment.
Please move on to filling out the form below.
The sign-up form
