Man gets highest chamber honor

Published 10:00 pm Friday, June 26, 2009

MARYSVILLE — Cal Taylor, who has served in leadership roles for both the Chamber of Commerce and the Tulalip Tribes, was honored Friday for his many years of service.

Taylor was selected for the Millikan/Howard Leadership Award during the ceremony presented by the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce.

The award is the chamber’s highest honor and is intended to recognize people who provide leadership and extensive service to both the chamber and the community. It’s named after the late Mike Howard and the late Ian Millikan. Howard had been recruited to develop a new governmental affairs division for the chamber, and Millikan was its first legal counsel.

Taylor, a career Army veteran, has served on the boards of the chamber and the tribes, helped negotiate the tribes’ first gaming compact with the state and was chairman of the Tulalip Business Committee. He continues to serve as a magistrate for the Tulalip Tribes’ courts.

The soft-spoken Taylor sent the audience into laughter when he approached the microphone to accept his award and said he had just returned from Argentina, a reference to the married governor of South Carolina, who this week acknowledged he’d just returned from visiting a girlfriend there.

Taylor thanked the chamber for the award, saying he was honored to have worked with Millikan and Howard and to have received help from so many others.

“Everything I do today, I try to do for all of Snohomish County,” he added.

Other honorees included:

Volunteer of the Year: Karen Hume, who helped develop the chamber’s Visitor Information Center and continues to volunteer there and with other community organizations. “I really wanted and needed this challenge,” she said, noting she volunteering gave her “great pleasure.”

Elected Official of the Year: Snohomish County Councilman John Koster. Koster, a former dairyman, said that people with business experience are lacking in government and he enjoys dealing with business issues. “There’s little else that I do that gives me more gratification than supporting small business,” he said.

Individual Business Leader of the Year: Richard Toyer. Toyer, a business owner who has served on the chamber board, talked about the importance of giving back to the community. “It’s really important to volunteer, not only for the good of your business, but for the good of your soul,” he said.

Business of the Year: HomeStreet Bank. Marilyn Boe, manager of the bank’s Marysville branch, thanked the chamber for the award and said service is an important component of the way the bank operates. “Our business success is directly tied to community success,” she said. After receiving the award, the bank presented a $2,000 check to the Salvation Army.