Where do you live: Montesano, WA
Profession/Day job: Employment counselor at WorkSource Grays Harbor
Loyal to: (bobcats, grizzlies, whatever)I was a Grizzly, my kids go to Aberdeen, my fiancée’s go to Montesano and my kids play sports in Montesano so I have strained allegiances.
Best Harbor Moment: I think there are many great moments in Grays Harbor. We’re like Stallone from Rocky 1, not too pretty and we never seem to win the championship but we keep getting knocked down and we pull ourselves back up. We pull together as a community, which we have seen with the 2007 Storm and most recently helping a community member with an aggressive cancer. There’s a lot of negativity in our community but there are major positives to build on once we band together to do so.
Favorite Coffee Stand: Heron Street Coffee Man, hands down. Though, I am pulling for my friends the Whisenhunts to get the Central Park stand off the ground.
Favorite Local Business: WorkSource Grays Harbor-I’m biased, I know, but we really do work hard to help the community of Grays Harbor. We live with the worst unemployment in the state but the jobs are there. We want to help you find them. There are plenty of great businesses in Grays Harbor. The Pasha Group, Imperium Renewables, and the D&R Theater are all very exciting for the jobs, innovation and entertainment they bring to our area. This is what we need to get reinvigorated.
Grunge, Metal or Country: All the above. I am definitely a 90’s rocker with a strong affinity to Grunge and the Northwest Scene but I truly do love most all types of music. The one exception is “new” country. Give me the Outlaws any day but keep your pop with a twang.
Beach, Forest or River: I love the beach but not the really easily assessable ones. I don’t go out by the Shilo very often, more of a remote Ruby Beach type of guy. Though I do love the Rainforest and Quinault. Favorite outdoor adventure or day trip: Like I said, taking the family to Ruby Beach is my favorite get away in Grays Harbor.
Best way to stay dry on rainy days: I’m a huge movie fan, so either in the theater or on my couch sounds like a great day.
Define the Harbor in one word: potentialful. (you didn’t say it had to be a proper word)
If you could change one thing about the area, what would it be: I would work to bring new industry here. We have serious infrastructure for new opportunities. The Port has been the one bright spot but it has not netted nearly as many jobs as is needed to truly turn us around. I know we have the labor force. With some true innovation with industry and local area partners working in workforce development we could create a new job market and put people back to work in family wage jobs. That is truly my biggest passion: creating opportunities for working folks to provide in a meaningful way. I know we have the potential, it’s just a matter of convincing new jobs to come our way.
Grays Harbor's best kept secret: Its people. The problem is it seems that’s a secret even to the people in this community. If we could create meaningful partnerships in the community to achieve economic and social development I believe this county could achieve a new identity. We have created Nobel Prize winners, goliaths of industry, and artists that have truly changed the landscapes of their forms. Grays Harbor has been great before and we could be again but it would take a real movement, a revolution. Viva la Revolucion!
Ahem, I seem to recall you also spent some time as a Wildcat.
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