Month: May 2024

The acclaimed video series “The Band of Brothers” follows members of Easy Company in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment from their initial training in Georgia to their end of World War II at Berchtesgaden - home of Hitler’s mountainside retreat.  The second episode, entitled “Day of Days,” depicts their night parachute jump behind enemy lines as part of D-Day - the allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Next Thursday we will remember the 80th anniversary of the fateful day that marked the beginning of the end for fascist control of Europe.  I have been reflecting on that day - and the men and women who participated in the invasion and all that led up to it.  Not surprisingly, I have been reading a book - “Normandy ‘44 D-Day and…

We have a new addition to the team, and I’m delighted to introduce you to Vacsquatch - one of the most unique “employees” at the County. You may remember we just finished a public truck naming process and Vacsquatch was the winner by a landslide!  As with all our Planning & Public Works (PPW) equipment, it takes a skilled operator and often a team of employees to get the work done - and Vacsquatch is no different.  In this case, it takes a two-person crew - and sometimes flaggers -- to keep them safe on the roadside.  While still new to the work and honing their skills, they have already made quite a mark! I recently had the chance to meet Vacsquatch and try my hand at sucking up litter. …

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…

Even though our employee turnover rate is significantly lower than most governments (0.9% per month v. 1.6% average for state and local governments), our amazing Human Resources (HR) team conducted 848 recruitments last year!  That included screening more than 20,000 job applications! In the past, we used to post job opportunities on our website and hope good candidates would see them and apply.  But when you want to hire the best, that is just not good enough.  Our HR Recruitment team knew they had to aggressively market our positions - including getting these great County jobs in front of a much wider audience! And the HR team knew that the people who knew the opportunities the best and had the most at stake in hiring the best new employees were…

May is Community Action Programs (CAP) month around the U.S. and our team in Human Services deserves our appreciation for the important work they do serving our residents. Pierce County’s CAP helps residents with early childhood education, energy assistance, rental assistance, home repairs, home weatherization and more.  These are some of my favorite programs because of the direct impact they have on our neighbors.  The smiles that come with a new wheelchair ramp, a repaired roof, or a young child who can say their ABC’s are awesome. Carol Mensah manages the CAP division and give us a great explanation of the range of programs in this video: https://vimeo.com/940959568/91587b1e6e?share=copy My thanks to Carol  for her leadership - and for sharing her personal story.  Both Carol and Krysta are “paying it forward!”…