EVERETT – The commander of Naval Station Everett wasn’t on the list. Neither were any high-ranking members of his staff.
A police officer made it. So did a woman who helps people in the Navy who have significant problems. There was also a housing manager, a supply officer, a couple of computer specialists and a recreation coordinator.
The list, which was the subject of a special Everett Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Wednesday, was intended to showcase Navy members and civilian employees at Naval Station Everett.
There were 12 in all, intended to highlight the 12th anniversary of the Everett base and how important the base and its people are to Snohomish Count.
Linda Johannes, manager of Everett Mall and a chairwoman of the chamber’s Naval Affairs Committee, reminded the group that the late U.S. Sen. Henry M. Jackson of Everett was the first to think of Everett as a great location for a military base.
Jackson, whose Grand Avenue home overlooked the area now occupied by the Navy, “looked out and saw a deepwater port and thought, ‘Navy, let’s put them together,’” Johannes said.
Johannes noted that the community promised it would embrace a Navy base if one were built here.
“We said we would embrace not only the bricks and the mortar, we said we will embrace the people of Naval Station Everett and bring them into our homes and hearts,” she said.
The chamber picked 12 people to recognize “A Dozen Years of Dedication.”
Those honored at the luncheon were Shauncey Maver, Catherine Smith, Mack Seitz, Rolando Regala, Nicholas Wetz, Joseph Meno, Vernette Little, Elbert Pama, Brian Schmitz, Richard Morris, Joseph Girten and Jeannie Kitchens.
In addition to the recognition, the 12 were each given flowers and a bag of gifts from the business community.
Prior to the presentation, base commander Capt. Eddie Gardiner and members of his staff talked about the base and how it evolved until today it has 6,310 employees and an annual payroll of $185 million.
He noted that the base should get new quarters for enlisted bachelors this year. He also said the base hopes to build a three-story parking garage and a $10 million training center to keep from sending people to San Francisco or elsewhere for training.
Such a facility would make it harder for officials to shut down the base, Gardiner noted.
So would adding another aircraft carrier, which Gardiner said could be done with a minimum of cost. But he admitted he didn’t know if Everett would be successful in its bid to get it.
Other staff members talked about the base’s strong environmental record, noting it regularly wins awards for its recycling program and for energy conservation. Mike Hakanson, the base command chaplain who recently returned from Iraq, noted that at any given time, 15 people based at Naval Station Everett might be working on an individual deployment in the country.
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