A+plus
SEQUIM GAZETTE
SEQUIM GAZETTE
FEATURES/NEWS Wednesday, April 20, 2011 • A-13
Wednesday, April 20, 2011 • A-13
A closer look at our region’s economic development
OFF THE BEAT Bob Spinks Note: This is the first of a multi-part series that examines economic development efforts on the Olympic Peninsula. Employment in Clallam County continues in a four-year downward spiral, according to the state of Washington. That translates into an 11.3 percent rate of unemployment, better than last year’s high of 12.3 percent. Those are numbers that far exceed state and national unemployment levels. With double-digit unemployment, you would think economic development would be the critical topic on the Olympic Peninsula. Often bandied about, the phrase “economic development” is often misunderstood. The process is complicated by politics, personalities and limited resources for luring new business, so it is a mystery to many. There are many players in the jigsaw puzzle that makes up economic development. The brightest stars in this arena are the Port of Port Angeles (the port) and the Clallam Economic Development Council (EDC). The port’s executive director Jeff Robb has multi-generational ties to the Sequim area and is responsible for the airport, marine, industrial and economic development duties of the port district. Many significant projects face Robb and the port daily. There is the $8 million Black Ball Terminal project with construction beginning next year; the groundbreaking for the port’s Composites Manufacturing Campus including construction of a $4 million, 125,000-squarefoot building to kick off that expansion; the Central Waterfront Plan to enhance marine operations and to accommodate larger vessels; the Lincoln Park tree removal project to increase airport safety; and much more.
What is economic development? Economic development, while hard to define, seems to have many people thinking they know it when they see it. Clallam EDC Executive Director Linda Rotmark notes that economic development is not quick. She likens it more to farming a crop versus being on a fast track to instant prosperity — a growing cycle that can take years before a full harvest is realized. The Clallam County Economic Development Action Plan published in May 2010 defined local goals: “Increasing the number of family wage jobs was a critical component of economic development. Business retention and growth were also seen as critical. Importing money while exporting products and services, increasing individual and community wealth, and building the tax base were also cited.”
See SPINKS, page A-18
by MATTHEW NASH Sequim Gazette
Smile brightly, wave proudly and ready yourself for a day in the life of a princess. For one year, four teen girls will take time away from school and give up weekends to be the faces of Sequim. This year’s Irrigation Festival royalty — queen Taylor Willis and princesses Marissa Haner, Stephanie Laurie and Abigail Vidals — took the plunge April 9 for their first parade, the Daffodil Festival Grand Floral Parade in Tacoma. Some people might think royalty is one and done at the May 14 Sequim Irrigation Festival’s Grand Parade, but these girls and a number of volunteers work countless hours to promote Sequim and the longest-running festival in Washington. “This is truly a labor of love,” said Lynn Horton, royalty mom for five years and past kick-off dinner organizer. She and other faithful devotees including her husband, Guy, and Joe and Tawana Borden accompany the royalty to every appearance, including about 15 parades through October. Horton keeps tabs on the girls, driving them to events in a lipstick red minivan, while reminding them they always represent Sequim. “Being silly in the car is OK but once outside, it’s a different matter,” Horton said. For a chance to be royalty, the young women learn a lot they might not normally know, such as Sequim’s history, public speaking and
What it takes to be a Sequim princess
ing to dinner and later taking a dip in the pool to relax. Maybe excitement got the best of her, but the princesses said queen Taylor Willis sang late into the night. The girls needed to be up by 4:30 a.m. to ready for departure at 5:30 a.m., a police escort for the float at 6:30 a.m., judging at 8 a.m. and the actual parade at 10:15 a.m. The schedule did leave for a lot of stop-and-go, but the girls got to see some of the daffodil parade’s many entries.
Royalty reception
Top, glistening teeth and perfect hair were no problem for royalty, from left, princesses Abigail Vidals and Marissa Haner and queen Taylor Willis. Above, after judges come by, queen Taylor Willis, top, unwinds, while princess Stephanie Laurie unstraps herself to trade places with princess Marissa Haner. teamwork. Rules include no public displays of affection while serving, mandated community service, no complaining, and maintaining grades and demeanor to standards of Sequim athletes. Joe Borden, former festival chairman, said the girls mature greatly over the year they’re together. “If you talk to them today versus at the last parade, it’s like they are totally new people,” he said. In order to receive a college scholarship after one year, the girls must sign and uphold a contract with the festival.
Tacoma bound In recent years, the girls
have become more hands-on with assembling and disassembling the float, rain or shine. “We’ve wanted them to take more ownership in the float because it’s theirs,” Horton said. Royalty had no qualms with helping in Tacoma. They arrived the afternoon of Friday, April 8, to unload their bright carousel float next to other meticulously decorated floats. Borden said Sequim’s float cost about $3,000 and used all volunteers whereas other city’s floats have cost as much as $30,000 to build with professional builders. After a flat tire repair,
Sequim’s team got to work. Inside a massive barn, a sea of floats from across the Northwest lined up with people prepping thousands of daffodils to be stapled or placed in baskets. Sequim’s royalty competed to finish stapling rows upon rows of daffodils to boards. The girls were dirtiest at the end of the day as they sat and knelt on the barn’s dirty floor. By the time Sequim’s float was good to go, Horton and the girls had been pulling a 14-hour day.
Celebration Everyone took a breather in their hotel rooms before go-
Sequim royalty queen Taylor Willis, in pink, and princess Stephanie Laurie, in purple, meet several of the daffodil princesses who were enamored with the local girls’ dresses.
Princesses Marissa Haner, left, and Abigail Vidals gladly sacrifice their cleanliness to finish stapling daffodils to boards for the Sequim Irrigation Festival’s float.
The four Sequim Irrigation Festival royalty journey to the royalty reception. Along the way they passed floats, marching bands, a pancake breakfast and dozens of performers.
Marching bands, hot rods and plenty of princesses passed by Sequim’s float. Sequim’s court said they were eager to meet other royalty. Their first friendly greeting was with royalty from New Westminster Hyack Festival Association in British Columbia. An ongoing tradition is to exchange pins from each others’ festivals. By the end of the day, they had pins from Canada, Oregon and across Washington. The biggest surprise for royalty was at the royal reception at a neighboring bank. Inside, most of the parade’s royalty participants shook hands, shared Sequim pins and got to know each other. Sequim’s pink and purple dresses stuck out among the 23 Daffodil royalty all in yellow. Horton said when the girls took off their black capes, the large group of royalty “oohed, aahed” and said, “Look at their dresses.”
See PRINCESS, page A-14
A police escort leads Sequim’s carousel float to the Daffodil Parade, which ends near the Tacoma Dome.
Queen Taylor Willis is full of energy at 5:30 a.m. on April 9 as she puts on final hair spray touches before traveling to the Tacoma Daffodil Festival Grand Floral Parade.