Bob Drewel’s titles over the years — Everett Community College president, Snohomish County executive, Puget Sound Regional Council executive director and interim chancellor of WSU North Puget Sound at Everett — don’t begin to cover how he has cared for others and looked out for his community.
“You have a responsibility to participate as a community member. This community is blessed with more than our fair share of folks who feel that way,” he said Thursday.
Drewel, 70, shared his philosophy of generosity and gratitude after being honored Thursday morning with the Raili M. Hanson Inspirational Award for Community Service. He received the award, given annually by the Bethany of the Northwest Foundation, at “Breakfast with Bethany,” a fundraising event at the downtown Everett Holiday Inn.
The honor is named for the late Raili Hanson, the wife of former Herald Publisher Larry Hanson and for 40 years a nurse at Everett General Hospital. Raili Hanson, who died in 2010, was a longtime member of the Bethany foundation board.
“She was as strong a person as she was kind,” Drewel said.
Bethany of the Northwest, a nonprofit organization, operates several Everett-area retirement and care facilities. Ken Hammond, the foundation’s development director, said the breakfast raised more than $61,000. The money will directly support the needs of disabled seniors cared for by Bethany through the agency’s Dignity Project.
“Raili is smiling this morning as I introduce this year’s inspirational award recipient,” Larry Hanson told the crowd. “Bob was an inspiration to Raili because of his exceptional commitment to our community over the years.”
Hanson said his wife “appreciated Bob’s positive energy, his talent, leadership and passion,” qualities that contribute to building a caring and vibrant community.
Drewel has served the region for decades, beginning in 1984 as Everett Community College president. He was elected Snohomish County executive in 1991 and finished his third term in 2003. He retired in 2013 as executive director of the Puget Sound Regional Council. That wasn’t the end of his public service.
He is now the senior adviser to Washington State University’s President Kirk Schulz, after serving as interim chancellor of WSU in Everett, and is involved in WSU’s fledgling medical school campuses in Spokane, Vancouver, the Tri-Cities and Everett.
Under the umbrella of what’s now the Community Foundation of Snohomish County, the Human Services Endowment Fund in Honor of Bob Drewel was established in 2003. To date, more than $270,000 in grants have been awarded to local human services organizations, Hanson said.
For years, Drewel put his powers of persuasion to good use as a charity auctioneer — a “professional beggar,” as he described himself in The Herald in 2012. Those fundraising days began in the 1980s, when he officiated at Everett Community College Foundation events.
Drewel has more than earned a leisurely retirement, but doesn’t plan to step away from community engagement. “Bob has been successful in everything he has attempted except retiring,” Hanson quipped.
Drewel serves on a Mission and Healthier Community committee, part of a governing board for the Providence Institute for a Healthier Community. “He’s a treasure,” said Scott Forslund, executive director of the Providence Institute.
Another project getting Drewel’s attention is the partnership between Arlington and Darrington in the America’s Best Communities competition. He traveled to North Carolina with Arlington Mayor Barb Tolbert and Darrington Mayor Dan Rankin to pitch the Arlington and Darrington Community Revitalization Plan to a panel of judges. Next spring, finalists will be judged on their progress and could win a top prize of $3 million.
“Snohomish County has an extraordinarily bright future,” Drewel said. And reflecting on Thursday’s honor, he added “at the end of the day, it’s about how people who live in a community treat those who need help.”
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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