Submitted by Bruce Dammeier, Executive.
I strongly believe in developing, promoting, and celebrating leadership. I attended the U.S. Naval Academy where leadership is foundational to every other subject or program. Our County Leadership Certification program is our effort to promote and develop a culture of leadership in Pierce County.
I appreciate other organizations that value leadership, as well. And the University of Washington-Tacoma (UWT) is one such organization!
On Tuesday night, I attended the UWT Milgard School of Business 22nd Annual Business Leadership Awards – and it was awesome! Chancellor Shelia Edwards Lange’s team did a great job. The honorees represented some of the best leaders in our community:
- Clint Stein, CEO of Umpqua Bank – Business Leader of the Year
- Dean Allen, CEO of McKinstry – Lifetime Achievement (for profit)
- Rene’ Ancinas, CEO of Port Blakely – Sustainable Business Leader of the Year
- Anne Jones, Owner/Broker Windermere Abode – Women’s Leadership Award
- Lyle Quasim, Civic Leader – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Community Leadership Award
- Dona Ponepinto, President/CEO of United Way of Pierce County – Nonprofit Business Leader of the Year
- Bruce Kendall, President/CEO Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County – Lifetime Achievement Award (nonprofit)
Congratulations to these deserving awardees! The whole evening made me proud of our community!
On Wednesday morning, I sat down with five of our colleagues as part of our employee engagement effort. This small, in-person, 90-minute meeting complements our virtual Employee Town Hall, but allows for much more in-depth discussions.
Our group included employees from Facilities, Human Services, Juvenile Court, Planning & Public Works, and Human Resources – and their length of service with the County ranged from less than one month to 22 years!
We talked about a wide variety of topics including key issues facing the County; what I am most proud of during my time as Executive; what is the best and worst part of working for Pierce County; the Good Neighbor Village partnership with the Tacoma Rescue Mission; our recruiting and hiring efforts; and much more.
Thank you to Chris Horne, Elsa Jaramillo, Kariann Lee, Adam Rorabaugh, and Kim Schwannecke for sharing their perspectives – and to Raul Leal-Trujillo for bringing us all together.
As I close, I want to express my profound sadness at the recent passing of Tacoma Councilmember Catherine Ushka.
I have tremendous respect for Catherine’s lifetime of serving her country and community – in the Naval Reserve, on the Tacoma School Board and on the Tacoma City Council. My deepest condolences to those who loved her, her professional colleagues, and those she served. May she rest in peace.
Take care of yourself, and each other.
THANK YOU Bruce Dammeier, for your weekly posts, especially this one – showing up for community, recognizing vital contributions of extraordinary members giving agency to good ends. “It takes a village,” and the welcoming outreach and breadth of vision among us all, with willing purpose to do the work of progress.
Bob,
It is ironic that you recited the phrase “It takes a Village.”
The County Executive and his staff have been active promotors and facilitators of siting a proposed Tacoma Rescue Mission Village in Federal, State and County designated Spanaway Marsh critical area wetland. Such a Village location with its 20 plus acres of asphalt covering and its narrow asphalt access and egress roadway will result in irreplaceable loss of Spanaway Marsh’s wetland natural functions and environmental values, devalue adjacent private property, and pose a potential catastrophic groundwater flooding event that will result in loss of property, structures and lives by all who reside downgradient of Spanaway Marsh.
The County Executive recognizes and praises the economic developers and social services providers, yet he and his staff denigrate those citizens and landowners who express legitimate concerns about Pierce County’s failure to act to preserve and restore its threatened and impaired wetlands.
They are forced to raise funding to hire a lawyer to argue the case of why such a Village should not be located in a Pierce County designated critical area wetland.
It should come as no surprise that as government continues to encroach more and more into every aspect of our lives, more and more people become less and less independent, choosing instead the easy path of subsidy. (Other people’s money)
We now have multi-generational groups who have been on subsidy for so long, they can’t imagine personal responsibility. This sort of apathy and surrender leads to all sorts of regret for everyone.
The expansion of government to create more jobs to extract from fewer and fewer producers is a clear path to economic failure. The worst part is that more and more elected leaders simply don’t care to address the unpopular economic realities, choosing a popular message to get and remain elected.
That’s why “they” now want to build subsidized public housing in a swamp.
Is that the best we can do?
These same governments are investing institutional money into investment schemes that are buying up housing structure, driving up the price, and leasing it back to the people.
Government’s answer? Raise minimum wage to the point no one can afford to hire the unskilled. Outsize the institutional welfare state that is government itself. Borrow trillions of dollars and call it a vibrant economy. Forgive student loans rather than admit the failure of the so-called “higher education” system. Tax the crap out of anyone who worked hard, saved, and invested over the years.
This whole mess has been referred to as a self-licking ice cream cone.
The economics around here seem more reaction to cause and crisis than planning and development.
As business and established wealth grows tired of this it will leave to a place where it is appreciated.
Why wouldn’t it?
That is what’s happening in cities across the country, leaving an unsustainable and unpleasant situation behind.
These issues are not being dealt with in an objective and sober manner, because our political posture won’t allow it.
Sure, some are hoping for a shift into communism as a desired outcome – Utopia.
I know. I’ve spoken with them.
After reading and living through the horrors of those experiments in the 20th century – no thanks.