RIVER CROSSING

Leader’s Legacy –Briggs brought innovation to Valley Partners

By Craig Howard Current Contributing Editor

Fridays at Spokane Valley Partners during the tenure of Ken Briggs often meant the mild-mannered CEO donning a Hawaiian shirt and strolling around the campus on Broadway Avenue.

While the weather may not have been of the tropical variety, Briggs was known for a sunny countenance that made staff, volunteers and beneficiaries of the programs at SVP feel at ease. If he saw a stray piece of garbage on the floor, Briggs didn’t leave it for the janitor.

“I’ve always been a person who was away from the desk,” said Briggs who oversaw the Valley’s largest social service organization from 2006 to 2016. “I’ve always believed in a management by walking around and never thought any job was beneath me. Never assign a job you’re not willing to do yourself. I checked in with staff and volunteers daily and often joined them in tasks to better understand challenges.”

Briggs took over SVP at the age of 55. By that time, he had compiled an impressive resume that included high-level administrative roles at local entities like Community Frameworks and Nova Services as well as Northwest Center Industries in Seattle. He also brought a master’s and bachelor’s degree in psychology from San Francisco State University.

“When I joined Valley Partners, I was looking to be part of something that was grassroots,” Briggs said. “I wanted to show them the possibilities of what could be done.”

Briggs faced a steep challenge when he took over the CEO seat, specifically related to the merger between the food bank and the component then known as Spokane Valley Community Center. With the help of Matt Ewers, board chair at the time, Briggs helped calm the stormy waters created by the transition and proceeded to lead a major upgrade of the food bank. Briggs also spearheaded a series of other capital improvements to the site that once housed a church, adding a new roof, boilers, a commercial kitchen and improved entry access.

“It was this ancient steamship,” Briggs said. “I ended up doing some of the maintenance myself.”

Along with prioritizing infrastructure improvements, Briggs made a point to address underlying issues that aggravate poverty for many residents of the greater Valley area.

“Ken helped me understand how much of the conditions of poverty are structural in nature,” said David Stone, director of Emergency Services at SVP who was hired by Briggs and is now in his 12th year with the agency. “This let me understand not only that services are needed but that alone is not enough, the structural problems creating poverty need to be solved too.”

Briggs brought his institutional knowledge to Whitworth University where he was part of the adjunct faculty in sociology from 2011 to 2021. He would often take his students on field trips to SVP, touring the food bank, clothing bank and nearby community garden.

“We talked about how society makes change and that change can happen in a variety of ways.” Briggs said. “Classical activism is not always magnificent. Sometimes there are small matters that take effect. You never know what these actions are going to add up to in the long run.”

Briggs made key hires during his decade-long tenure like Stone and Development Director Don Kaufman that brought enhanced stability to SVP that is still felt to this day.

“Don was a terrific addition,” Briggs said. “We worked together on every grant for five years.”

A native of San Francisco, Briggs spent his formative years in the Bay Area before moving to Seattle in 1979. His father passed away from colon cancer when Briggs was only 9. When he moved to Spokane in 2000, Briggs returned to some of his ancestral roots. His mother’s family settled in the Logan neighborhood of Spokane in 1896.

After leaving SVP in 2016, Briggs took a year off before resurfacing in a part-time role as warehouse manager of Project Beauty Share, a nonprofit that provides personal hygiene, cosmetics and beauty products to nonprofits serving women and families. Briggs was at Project Beauty Share until 2021.

These days, Briggs is perhaps best known as the husband of Spokane City Council Member Lori Kinnear who has served on the city’s governing board since 2016. The couple met in Palo Alto and have been married since 1973.

Over the years, Briggs has been in high demand as a board member and has served for organizations like SNAP, Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium, Friends of the Centennial Trail, the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, Community Minded Enterprises and others. He was also executive director of the Spokane Lilac Festival from 2004 to 2006.

Outside of work, Briggs has played the Great Highland Bagpipe for over 60 years and is accomplished in areas like glasswork, carpentry and gardening.

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Briggs

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CEO of Spokane Valley Partners in 2006, how much did you know about the Valley in general and what level of need existed in areas like food security, utility assistance and affordable housing?

A: Lori and I have a number of friends in Spokane Valley, some for over 40 years. We have had many discussions of community affairs during our many visits. My work with Community Frameworks involved affordable housing development regionally, including the city of Spokane Valley. I served on several boards of organizations with a regional or statewide area of operation, including the Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium, Community Minded Enterprises and Spokane Baptist Association Homes. I also learned much of Valley history following the debates and votes over whether to incorporate it as a city. Despite being born and raised in San Francisco, I have deep roots in Spokane, my mother’s family emigrated here in 1896. I enjoy researching family history and genealogy and, in doing so, have run across much regional history. I was well aware of the demographics of Greater Spokane Valley when I became CEO of SVP.

Q: How would you characterize the support from the community Spokane Valley Partners received while you served as CEO?

A: Much of the support was in place when I arrived. However, it was not fully developed and key information was not in a robust, fully addressable database. The major areas of financial and programmatic support were and, I believe remain, financial support from faith congregations, families, businesses, capital project support from foundations and government grants and county fees for service. Our Rotary and Kiwanis clubs were always there when we needed them. Our golf scramble and Ladies’ Night Out provided us needed funding and were wonderful opportunities for networking and developing new relationships. And at the heart of the organization, were our invaluable volunteers, without whose generosity none of the work would be possible. We also offset some building expenses by rent from other on-site agencies. With the board and our development committee, we created a strategic approach to outreach and marketing the organization. This required extensive networking with our chambers of commerce, congregations, service clubs and other service providers by not only me, but also our program managers and development director.

Q: You brought an extensive background in a wide variety of nonprofits when you took over Valley Partners. How did this experience feed into your work over the decade you spent there?

A: What I brought to the organization was 25 years of hardearned experience balancing a business acumen with a missiondriven approach to program development and management. I had many incredible mentors and teachers along the way. In Seattle, I worked as a division director for Northwest Center Industries, a large vocational rehab organization with hundreds of employees, HR department, social entrepreneurial business units and government contracts. I constantly tested the limits that the bureaucracy imposed. To his credit, and my appreciation, our CEO gave me considerable latitude to operate a nod to what my units accomplished. However, the loudspeakers on our seven-acre campus quite often bellowed: “Ken, please report to Jim’s office”.

Q: I’m guessing the food bank is one of your proudest achievements in the time you spent as CEO of SVP. What were the keys to this project reaching fruition?

A: Shortly before I joined the organization, the Spokane Valley Community Center and Spokane Valley Food Bank had merged into the Spokane Valley Community Center and Food Bank. Former food bank board members were invited to join the surviving entity (Community Center) board. Prior to the merger there was considerable animosity between the two organizations and this carried over to the newly merged board and staff. My leadership skills were tested as never before. The attitude of some, not all, of the former food bank board was, “Can’t do it that way, we’ve never done that, if it isn’t broke don’t fix it.” They were well-aware that in my former work, continuous improvement was essential. They also knew that I was certified in time and motion analysis and that I had led business units through ISO 9000 certification. None of this seemed as important as preserving a comfortable old way of doing things. I give credit to the majority of the board and Chair Matt Ewers for helping me navigate this difficult time and arrive at resolutions to many old disagreements. It was clear that the food bank was our largest and most complex program and the one with the most community impact. It was also clear that food bank facilities were woefully insufficient and that processes and systems were archaic and inefficient. I immediately tackled major reorganization, renovations and the addition of a modern warehouse. Further capital improvements included reroofing, new boilers, a new commercial kitchen and a new entrance and ramp to the lower level. Working within the constraints of a former church was a challenge. I credit Don Kaufman our development director and Rustin Hall of ALSC Architects without whose work, we would not have completed such an ambitious transition.

Q: At places like Nova Services and NWC Industries, you were part of vocational rehabilitation efforts that helped people find hope and opportunity. What were some of your takeaways from those stops in your career?

A: While at NWC, most of my responsibilities were production oriented. I did have two service coordinators and multiple trainers within my units that reported to me. I developed a deep respect for, and understanding of, our service recipients with physical, developmental and intellectual challenges. I came to understand that those we served each had a story to tell, faced adversity and were at a disadvantage in society. I also learned that with the appropriate support and opportunities they could achieve amazing things. This was equally true of those served at SVP. There remains much untapped human potential in the community and organizations must serve as the catalyst for improvement.

Q: In your time as a teacher at Whitworth, how did you try to prepare students for a career in sociology-related fields that perhaps fell outside their comfort zones?

A: I was an adjunct faculty member in the School of Continuing Studies at Whitworth for 10 years where I taught courses in Social Intervention Strategies. I credit the university for allowing faculty to provide students with an array of viewpoints. Most of my students were already working with various social agencies and needed to complete this degree to advance in their fields. Students learned to use sociological imagination to explore public issues while examining a variety of social problems. The emphasis was on the methodology of direct action, protests, demonstrations and other political activism and less so on direct service, the work of public charities. Through reading, case studies and simulations, they examined steps, strategies, approaches and skills used to make change while developing an understanding of neighborhoods, communities and organizations. The case studies often revealed serious gaps in students’ knowledge of the root causes and meaning of social disparities. Together we addressed those gaps. The process of making change is rarely comfortable. The satisfaction comes with the completion of a successful campaign.

Q: Finally, you embraced running early and rediscovered it later in your life. What did it teach you over the years?

A: After running track in high school and college, I quit running for 30 years. In 2003 at age 52, I finished my first marathon. Fourteen years later I had completed 93 marathons and 41 ultras (runs of 50K 100K, 50 miles and longer). I learned that, for me, successful long-distance running requires patience and perseverance. I also learned it can be a meditative experience. In 2015, I also was reminded that life is fragile as I went into sudden cardiac arrest near the finish of a “routine” marathon. I was saved by the quick CPR of a nurse running just behind me. Long story, subsequent testing revealed no cardiac abnormalities. This experience also reminded me that arrogance and conceit can lurk just below the surface. I walk and run with our dog Maggie five times a day now for fitness of mind, body and spirit.

2023 February Malicious Mischief

The maps provided depict where citizens have reported Vehicle Thefts, Burglaries, Malicious Mischief and Thefts. The Spokane Valley Police Department and the Spokane County Sheriff’s office analyze this data to determine high crime areas and where to allocate resources. Citizens who have been a victim of crime are encouraged to call 911, if the crime is in progress, or Crime Check at 4562233, if not in progress, to report a crime.

2023 February Theft Hotspots

Safety Tip Of The Month

The Benefits of Installing Security Cameras on Your Home

Deputy Chris Johnston, Crime Prevention Unit

Spokane County Sheriff’s Office/Spokane Valley Police Department

Not long ago, most homeowners likely believed that installing a security camera system on their home would be too costly, too complex, and difficult to operate. Now, however, advances in the technology of these systems have made them affordable. And, if someone like myself can set up and operate one of these systems, anybody can!

CCTV, or “closed-circuit television” systems, are a fantastic way to protect your home. Let’s discuss some of the many benefits of having a CCTV system installed as a form of home security:

1. Visible video cameras are an excellent deterrent! Bad guys, particularly burglars who are looking for a home to enter, just might think twice about breaking into your house if they believe they will be recorded doing so. In this way, the presence of cameras may help prevent you from becoming the victim of a crime. Which leads me into the next benefit…

2. Recording creates evidence! If a burglary, theft, or some other type of crime should occur, law enforcement can often use the video recording from the system to identify, and even prosecute, the perpetrator. The CCTV system that I have on my home helped me do exactly that, on more than one occasion!

3. The ability to check up on the kids or elderly family members in real time. It’s always nice to have another set of eyes on your children as well as your aging relatives when they are home alone. Adding remote video will allow you to log in and check up on them from your office computer, tablet, or smart phone. Indoor cameras can also be used to keep an eye on younger kids and their babysitters.

4. Checking up on your pets. Ever wonder what mischief your furry friends are getting into when you’re away? Worried about an older pet that might need special attention? With a home security camera, you can ensure that your four-legged loved ones are safe and sound. And, not gnawing through the leather on your new sofa!

5. Saving money on homeowners insurance. Most major insurers will offer lower premiums if you choose to protect your property with a CCTV system. If you piggyback an existing security system with CCTV, such an advanced system could net up to a 15% discount on rates. This, of course, depends on many other factors, but I have been informed that such discounts do exist.

So, what to do now? It’s time to do your homework, and begin shopping! It’s important to first ascertain what your specific needs are, and what your budget will allow. Most modern systems are digital, so there are no pesky cassette tapes to replace- the data that is recorded by the cameras is stored to a hard drive (or the cloud), just like your home computer. Some questions to ask yourself should include:

1. How many cameras do I need?

2. Do I need/want cameras indoors, outdoors, or both?

3. Do I want cameras that are activated by motion, or always on?

4. Do I want the ability to check the cameras remotely, as discussed above?

5. Should I use wired, or wireless cameras?

6. Is IR, or infrared technology important (this allows recording in dark conditions)?

7. Do I want audio monitoring as well, so I can hear what happened/ is happening?

There are other less expensive ways to achieve a little bit of video security, such as “doorbell” cameras, and even systems that have only one or two channels. Just remember, like anything else, you get what you pay for. I installed my system a few years ago, at a cost of roughly $2000. There are systems for $500, and there are systems for $20,000. Doorbell cameras can be had for around $150.

So, if you’ve been considering a CCTV system, now is a great time to do some research and see what’s available to help protect your home.

Be safe, everyone!

2023 February Burglary Hotspots

Spokane Valley Districts