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The Board of Commissioners is the governing body of Lewis County Hospital District No. 1. Doing business as Arbor Health, it is the parent organization of Morton Hospital, Morton Clinic, Mossyrock Clinic, Rapid Care Clinic, Randle Clinic—and soon, the Packwood Clinic.
Our board members operate under this job description as they work to ensure the continuance of "fostering trust and nurturing a healthy community," per Arbor Health's mission.
Introducing Our Board of Commissioners
Tom Herrin, Chairman
Tom Herrin joined the Hospital Board of Commissioners in January of 2020.
Tom works for Hampton Lumber, serving as the shipping supervisor for the company’s Washington State operations. He has spent his entire working career in the timber industry. After graduating from high school in Northern California, he worked in a plywood mill in Southern Oregon.
He moved to Washington State in 1981 where he got a job working in the wood for 3-1/2 years before getting laid off. It being November, he decided to take a job with the, then Cowlitz Stud Lumber Company (Hampton Lumber purchased the company in 1999), to just get him through the winter months. Apparently, that “winter” never came to an end. Over 35 years later, he retired Hampton, after working his way up through the ranks.
Tom said he was approached by a community member with the idea he run for one of the open commissioner positions. Considering his strong desire to see our community prosper and his enjoyment of volunteering for community projects, he did just that.
Craig Coppock, Commissioner
Craig Coppock, of Mossyrock, joined the Hospital Board of Commissioners in June of 2020, being appointed to fill an unexpired term. Having been a constant at the board meetings as a community member for the previous couple of years, he moved into the position well versed in the recent history of the hospital district as well as an understanding of current challenges. The initial interest in assisting the hospital board stemmed from Arbor Health’s 2018 activities seeking new diversified candidates. Craig understands that good health is a keystone to quality life.
Craig and his wife, Laura, moved to Mossyrock in 2013 to purchase the Mossyrock Hardware retail store. Since that time, they have become very active in their new hometown and supportive of community events.
Craig’s employment and education background before purchasing the hardware store was dramatically different. He enjoyed a successful 25-year career as a major crime scene investigator, working for several different law enforcement agencies in investigation, fingerprint identification, photographic documentation as well as counter terrorism efforts with the U.S. Department of Defense and was overseas supporting Operation Enduring Freedom for 20 months. He also taught university-level forensic instruction for seven years.
Craig and wife Laura were raised in Okanogan County here in Washington State. Craig is fond of the memories of walking down Omak High School’s main hall and seeing all of his relative’s senior photographs with grandparents in the class of 1928 and fathers, mothers, aunts and uncles, sisters, brothers, and cousins appearing in following years. It is a bit like time travel. His family homesteaded in Omak back in 1904.
Craig is active in the Morton Gun club promoting safety and community activities and is seen out with his family participating in many other outdoor activities including photography and motorcycle riding.
Wes McMahan, Commissioner
Wes McMahan has deep roots in East Lewis County. He was born in Randle, he is a direct descendant of one of the town’s namesakes—and his middle name, in fact, is Randle.
Wes joined the Hospital Board of Commissioners in 2020. This was not his first elected position, however. He was elected as a district commissioner for LCFPD No. 14 (Randle Fire Department) in 1982. Then in 2007, he was elected as a Commissioner for Columbia County 911 Communications District in Columbia County, Oregon and then re-elected in 2011.
In addition to serving as fire commissioner in his younger years, Wes also volunteered as a firefighter and emergency medical technician, which is when he found his intrigue in medicine. That led him to pursuing a career as a registered nurse, which he enjoyed for over 26 years. During that time, he worked as an emergency department nurse, the trauma program coordinator at St. John Medical Center in Longview and served as Cowlitz County Emergency Medical Services Program Manager. He also worked 16 years at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. His specialty was Heart Transplants, artificial heart devices and was a Rapid Responder for inpatient emergencies. During those years, Wes also earned a Medical Ethics Fellowship from OHSU’s Department of Ethics.
In Longview, he served as National SafeKids Chapter Co-Chair advocating for child safety and injury prevention. While at OHSU, he volunteered for CardioStart International and served on Cardiac Surgery Missions in the countries of Grenada, Romania and India.
Wes retired from Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) in December of 2016 and moved back home to Randle.
Van Anderson, Commissioner
Van Anderson was elected to the Hospital Board of Commissioners in 2023 to begin serving in 2024. A White Pass High School graduate, he grew up in Packwood and resides there today. After high school, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in classical studies from the University of Idaho.
After graduation, Van worked with the AmeriCorps Program at the Cispus Center located South of Randle from 2003-2004 and then joined the Habitat for Humanity of Washington DC as AmeriCorps then staff from 2004-2009.
Van came back home to the Big Bottom Valley where he first worked remotely on the Script Encoding Initiative under the National Endowment for the Humanities grant, which was underway from 2009-2014, and then the Student Leadership Program for the Washington School Principals’ Education Foundation in 2014, where he remained until 2020. Van then joined the White Pass School District in 2021, where he is currently employed.
Van is active in his community, having volunteered with the White Pass and Morton-White Pass athletics programs off and on since the 1980s. He has been a volunteer for the White Pass Historical Society as well as the White Pass Community Scholarship Fund, serving as a volunteer and officer. Today he is also active with the Livable Packwood non-profit housing organization, serving as founding board member and officer.
Chris Schumaker, Commissioner
Chris Schumaker was elected to the Hospital Board of Commissioners in 2023 and began serving in 2024. He previously served a one-year appointment to the Board of Commissioners. Chris has been a long-time Lewis County Resident and has resided in Randle for the last nine years. He grew up in the Okanogan Valley, located in Eastern Washington. He has earned a Bachelor of History and a Master of Educational Administration from Central Washington University. He also has a superintendent's degree from Seattle Pacific University.
Chris has been working in education for 23 years. He has been a paraprofessional, teacher, coach, athletic director, vice principal, principal, and superintendent. Recently, he was the principal of White Pass High School for eight years. After serving as a one-year intern superintendent for the Wishram School District, he will be taking over the superintendent duties at Toutle Lake School District.
Chris Schumaker's commitment to his community is evident in his active involvement. He has dedicated his time and energy to nurturing young talents as a youth sports coach and guiding and mentoring future leaders as a Boy Scout troop leader. His community engagement reflects his passion for fostering growth and development beyond his professional responsibilities. He brings that same passion and commitment to his commissioner position. He wants to help Arbor Health reach and serve all the residents of East Lewis County.
