We, the undersigned, express our support for Linda Gudmunson. Many of us have known her for most of our lives. We have known her as a coach, mentor, and as a friend. She has made positive and dramatic impacts on our lives. We would like to join our voices to the message below, which was written by her fellow track coaches in Skagit County:

"We, the undersigned, express our support for Linda Gudmunson. Many of us have known her for most of our lives. We have known her as a coach, mentor, and as a friend. She has made positive and dramatic impacts on our lives. We join in the message below, which was written by her fellow track coaches in Skagit County: "To Whom It May Concern: The Coaches of the High School Track Programs in Skagit County would like to express our disappointment in the dismissal of Linda Gudmunson as Head Track Coach at Mt. Vernon Christian High School. All of us have worked with Linda for decades. She has proven to be one of the kindest, friendliest, and respected coaches in our county. Watching how she works with her athletes is truly inspiring. She is a teacher, a mentor, and a positive influence to every athlete who has had the opportunity to be coached by her. We have seen how she interacts with her team. We have seen how supportive she is of our teams. She is a Hall of Fame Coach in every sense of the word. Seeing Linda dismissed for an infraction that amounts to a clerical error is frankly, hard to believe. It is impossible to accurately weigh an athlete the day before a meet and not have their weight change due to diet and water intake and fluid loss at the time of the competition. These forms have always been the best estimate of the athlete's weight, then only typically confirmed by a physical weigh in at the state meet an hour before the competition. The violation in question was not even enforced correctly, as the athletes were never weighed in at the meet in the first place. Many of us have seen the rule in question violated numerous times, and the only time it comes into question is when athletes are actually weighed in and that weight is compared to the weight on the pole once they are on the runway. This never occurred at the meet. Linda was penalized and served her penalty. To retroactively decide to elevate the penalty and subsequently fire her is actually hard for us to believe. Coaching is hard. There are a lot of things that go into coaching and it is a job that requires passion and dedication in order to do it well. In this day and age, it is very difficult to find good coaches who are willing to dedicate their time to pour their energy into helping kids succeed on and off the track. You have a coach who has served the students of Mt. Vernon Christian for 39 years. She is the only coach the program has ever had. We feel that deciding that this is the direction Mt. Vernon Christian has decided to go is a real disservice to the kids in the program as well as to the legacy of a coach who is considered one of the best our county has ever seen. We hope you are willing to reconsider your decision."