Scones, Krusty pups and piglets!

Scones, Krusty pups and piglets!

Executive
As a Pierce County native and Puyallup resident, I love our community celebrations that make our region distinct. Whether it’s the Buckley Log Show, Maritime Gig Festival, Daffodil parade or outdoor concerts at the Curran Apple Farm in UP, we have many great community traditions. But, for me, the granddaddy of them all is the Washington State Fair. Fall is all about school starting, football and the Fair! So of course I agreed to celebrate the opening of the new Farm at SillyVille. It is a great, new free hands-on opportunity for kids to connect to our farming heritage – and where our food comes from too. What child wouldn’t want to be a “farmer for a day” and feed chickens? Think of it as the counter-balance to Sue’s Tech Kitchen…
Read More
Dollars and sense

Dollars and sense

Executive
The culmination of thousands of hours of work and a depressing amount of paper is ending as I finalize the 2019 budget I will submit to the Council in September. Creating the budget every year may be a bit daunting but it’s a critical exercise in aligning the funds taxpayers provide with our priorities and our residents’ needs and expectations. It probably would not surprise you to learn that we received many millions more in requests than the funds we will have available to invest and spend. As a result, a work group from Finance and the Executive team has been spending much of our last two months in a windowless conference room on the 7th Floor.  We have been evaluating department plans and budget requests, assessing where our scarce…
Read More
Working together to keep our students safe

Working together to keep our students safe

Executive
No one wants to think about a shooter in one of our schools in Pierce County.  But, if we are going to do our best to keep our young people safe, we must not only think about such a horrific possibility but we must plan for it. That’s why I was so heartened to learn about the leadership our Sheriff’s Department demonstrated when they planned and hosted a recent school safety training session with area school districts. Chief Jim Heishman and his colleagues created the Pierce County Regional School Safety Summit to bring together educators, school administrators, law enforcement and fire personnel in a partnership to build and teach the curriculum.  Their goal was to bring a consistent approach to safety across all the schools and all the first responders…
Read More
Cookin’ up something fun

Cookin’ up something fun

Executive
Summer is upon us and that means it is a great grilling barbeque season.  And while barbecuing may be perceived as 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration – especially with the hot weather we’ve had lately -  the secret to success is always in the sauces you use and who you invite to share the great results with. Some of my favorite family and friend memories revolve around food.   As a new addition to the County family, I have been soaking up all the terrific outdoor opportunities and food options we have in Pierce County. And wow, Pierce County is cooking up a ton of good stuff!  Like a tech-filled wonderland for the mouth and the mind.  Yes, Tacoma is one of 10 cities on a national tour for Sue’s Tech…
Read More
What are you most proud of?

What are you most proud of?

Executive
When meeting with employees from our Facilities Department last week, I drew the following question from the hardhat (which contained all the questions they submitted): “Professionally, what are you most proud of?”  That is a very thoughtful question, and while I answered it with them, based on what immediately came to mind, I have continued to reflect on both the question and my answer. For the group, I broke up my answer into segments of my varied work life: During my service in the Navy, one of the highest compliments I ever received was from Construction Mechanic Second Class Faulkner while I was leading a 125-man detachment of Seabees working in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  Petty Office Faulkner was a great front-line leader, so it meant a lot to me when…
Read More