Published:
Friday, June 24, 2011
Marysville Chamber awards business, community service
By Kurt Batdorf
SCBJ Editor
TULALIP — The Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce named the winners of its fourth annual business and community leadership awards on June 24.
Three individuals and the owners of two businesses were honored in five categories during the event at the Tulalip Casino during the chamber's regular monthly meeting.
The Volunteer of the Year award recognizes a chamber member or volunteer who has made substantial contributions of time, talent, skill and dedication, providing a benchmark level of volunteerism to the chamber and the greater Marysville-Tulalip communities. The award went to Tim King.
King has been a dedicated volunteer at the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce and Regional Visitor Information Center since Sept. 8, 2003. His family moved to the Getchell Hill area east of Marysville in 1944 when King was 3, so he calls Marysville his hometown. A 1960 graduate of Marysville High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy following his graduation.
While serving in the Navy, King's father died suddenly, and King was granted a hardship release. He returned to Marysville to run his father's home heating and oil business. In 1976, King sold the business and spent the next 27 years as a police and fire dispatcher and 911 operator, first with Marysville and then with Snohomish County Police Staff and Auxiliary Services.
As a business owner, King joined the then-named Marysville Chamber of Commerce and served as a chamber officer for several years.
King volunteered with the Getchell Fire Department, starting in 1960. He retired in 1989 as fire chief, which was still a volunteer position. He is also active in Mountain View Presbyterian Church, where he is a charter member and elder. King volunteers with his wife Jeannine as a camp host, spending up to 70 hours a month helping at Deception Pass State Park.
Marysville City Councilman John Soriano was named Elected Official of the Year. The award is given to an elected official at any level of government who has demonstrated a strong commitment to the chamber, its businesses and the local community, and who has substantially improved the business climate and encouraged economic development.
Soriano has lived in Marysville for nearly 20 years. He was elected to the City Council in 1999, making him the first Asian-American to serve on the council. He was re-elected in 2003 and 2007, making him the longest continuously serving member on the council. He's stepping down from the council at the end of his term this year to spend more time with his family.
Soriano was actively involved in getting the Marysville Skate Park built, a project he cites as special because it involved and brought in the views of the skateboarders who would call it their home park.
“He served, as his history will prove, because he wanted to do something, rather than be something,” said chamber president Caldie Rogers. “This is his legacy and gift to our business community.”
After receiving the award, Soriano said, “It's very special to me in the final few months of my final term. I really appreciate this.”
Lorraine Anderson, co-owner of G.A. Maxwell's Restaurant with her husband Ken, was named Business Leader of the Year, which recognizes a chamber member who has made a substantial contribution to the chamber and community. Criteria include community service and volunteerism, business practices and leadership on local business and community issues.
The Andersons arrived in Marysville in 1978 and bought property at 1204 Third St. that held a “grand old mansion” once owned by the eighth Mayor of Marysville. The Andersons now admit that they may have skirted a few building permit rules in preparation for the log building that would become home of the future G.A. Maxwell's Restaurant.
Construction began in 1987 and was completed in 1989. Ninety employees were hired for the grand opening because the Andersons wanted to make sure that all their guests were given flawless service. The restaurant now employs 49 people.
The Andersons give a five-gallon container of soup for a local church's weekly soup kitchen. Marysville cheerleaders have benefitted through the spaghetti feeds. Countless Little League teams and bowling leagues have been able to pay for uniforms, equipment and league fees with G.A. Maxwell's sponsorships.
Ken Anderson has served the chamber's board of directors until health issues forced him to resign in 2006.
“Thank you everyone for participating in this event,” Lorraine Anderson said. “We appreciate what you've done for us in Marysville.”
Marysville Floral won Business of the Year. The award is given to a chamber member business that has made a substantial contribution to the chamber and the community. The award considers criteria such as leadership by employees, community service, volunteerism, corporate citizenship, business growth, customer service, innovative business techniques and services, and adherence to high business and ethical standards.
Marysville Floral was founded in 1978 by longtime Marysville resident Linda Hartley and joined the chamber soon after. Hartley hired current owners Janna Mitchell and Nicole Walker as part-time drivers, a position in which every employee started.
Mitchell came to Marysville Floral from a small floral shop in Everett. That part-time position led to a job that Mitchell held for the next 16 years. In 1992, Walker walked in from the snow seeking a job. Walker thinks Hartley was impressed that she braved the snow to look for work.
Mitchell and Walker bought the shop in 2001. Marysville Floral has become one of the most respected florists in the state. A few longtime customers have moved to other states, yet they still call Marysville Floral for help because they know that Mitchell and Walker will take care of them. Other customers praise the shop's selection and prices.
Marysville Floral is a strong supporter of the Strawberry Festival, having donated the flowers for the strawberry pageant for many years. Mitchell and Walker also let local artists display their original works in the shop.
Mitchell credited the foundation Hartley laid for their success.
“We believe that customer service is just as important as the flowers we sell,” she said.
The Millikan-Howard Leadership Award is named after two leaders who helped the chamber transform itself into one that focused on economic development, legislative advocacy and return on investment benefits to their members. Mike Howard was recruited from Verizon to help develop and lead the chamber's new Government Affairs Division. Attorney Ian Millikan was recruited to serve as the chamber's first legal counsel. Both later served as chairmen of the board.
Millikan died two years ago at the age of 59 from a brain tumor. Howard died five years ago of cancer at the age of 57.
Janet Duffy is this year's Millikan-Howard Leadership Award recipient. She is a lifetime Washington resident. She has lived and worked in Snohomish County since 1976.
Duffy has been licensed in real estate since 1979 and a broker since 1985. She opened Residential Management Inc. in 1992, specializing in management services to the owners of investment real estate. In 2008, Duffy opened Windermere Real Estate/RMI with an office in Lake Stevens.
Duffy is a past board member of the Snohomish County Association of Realtors, chairing its political action committee and affordable housing task force. She developed a program that became the Homeless Endowment Fund, which assisted families with their security deposits and won a Points of Light award in 1992.
Duffy joined the chamber's board of directors in 1993. She became chairman-elect in June 2000 and chairman in June 2001. During her term as chairman, there was a great deal of downtown revitalization and the lease of the current location of the chamber and visitor information center was signed. As past chairman, Duffy served on the Government Affairs Committee and the Military Family Friendly Employment Initiative Committee. She continues to serve as a director of the Association of Washington Business.
“I was really quite startled to be nominated for this award,” Duffy said.
Kurt Batdorf: 425-339-3102, kbatdorf@scbj.com.
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