Bing Subelbia receives 2022 People Leader Award
DNRP Assistant Operations Manager Bing Subelbia has been honored with the People Leader Award, one of King County Executive’s Performance Excellence Awards which highlights a leader below the department or division leadership level who directly manages staff. The People Leader Award is one of three Leadership Excellence Awards honoring King County leaders who embody the Executive Branch values and drive for results that make King County better for employees and customers, and move King County closer to its True North: Making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive.
Within the Parks Division of the Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP), Bing oversees the Parks Beautification Program, part of King County’s Jobs and Housing Program that connects people experiencing homelessness to employment, subsidized housing, and career services. With her leadership, Parks hired 27 people experiencing homelessness, and many have secured stable housing. Watch the video to learn how Bing’s compassionate leadership has changed the lives of participants in the program and brought a positive shift in how her team views people experiencing homelessness.
“Bing’s compassionate leadership has changed the lives of the participants in this program,” said April Putney, Deputy County Executive.
Congratulations Bing! View the award announcement and watch the video here.
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Voting materials available in 7 languages
New this Primary Election: King County Elections now provides ballots and voting materials in Russian and Somali. Voters can now receive their voting materials, from ballots to voters’ pamphlets to ballot alerts, in seven languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
Sign up to receive voting materials in the language of your choice at https://kce.wiki/languages.
For more information about King County elections visit www.kingcounty.gov/elections.
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FMD flies the flag for Pride, manages flags for county buildings
Crossposted from the DES Express
Each year during the week before the LGBTQ+ Pride Parade, Facilities Management Division (FMD) staff prepare to raise the Progress Pride flag at the Administration Building. Graphic designer Daniel Quasar’s Progress Pride Flag added five arrow-shaped lines to the six-colored Rainbow Flag, which is widely recognized as a symbol of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) community. It’s one of many flags FMD manages for special holidays, sports team accomplishments and other events. In addition, FMD manages lowerings of the American flag at county buildings for deaths of notable people and for significant local and national tragedies.
In any given year, FMD raises more than 10 special occasion flags and lowers the U.S. flag to half staff upon receiving official requests from the Executive or the Governor. It’s not a simple act. Read more.
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One week to Election Day
Election Day is Tuesday, Aug. 1. You have one week left to fill out, sign, and return your ballot.
Ballots need to be in a drop box by 8 p.m. sharp on Election Day, August 1, or have a postmark on or before Election Day. Vote Centers open this Saturday, July 29, for those who need in-person assistance.
Please remember that employees may not send their ballot to Elections via interoffice mail. They must use a regular mailbox or drop box – no stamp needed.
Call King County Elections with any questions at 206-296-VOTE (8683), and for more information visit www.kingcounty.gov/elections.
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Celebrating the more than 100 young people who graduated from DCHS youth programs this school year
Crossposted from Cultivating Connections
More than 100 young people celebrated earning their secondary credentials (GEDs or high school diplomas) last month with programs in the Children, Youth, and Young Adults Division (CYYAD). Many of these young people also earned college credits simultaneously. Read more.
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Employee discount to Bumbershoot 50th Anniversary Arts and Music Festival
Bumbershoot is offering an employee discount as a thank you to King County employees and part of a commitment to keep ticket prices down and affordable.
King County employees can buy tickets to the Bumbershoot 50th Anniversary Arts and Music Festival at the discounted price of $50 per day or $85 for the weekend plus service fees.
Bumbershoot takes places Saturday, Sept. 2 and Sunday, Sept. 3 at Seattle Center. Performers include Sleater‐Kinney, The Revivalists, ZHU, Jawbreaker, AFI, Brittany Howard, Fatboy Slim, Phantogram, Band of Horses, and many more. The festival will also feature roller skating, nail art, a huge range of food and drinks, wrestling, performance art, robots, make-up artists, a cat circus, and much more.
Use this link to access the discounted tickets with Promo Code KingCo and learn more about Bumbershoot here.
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As Duwamish River is made cleaner, local artists help community connect to its waters
Crossposted from Clean Water Stories
The Duwamish River has many sides to it – industrial corridor, habitat for migrating salmon, ancestral waters for the people who have long inhabited its shores and waters.
Two local artists have been commissioned to capture the complexity of the Duwamish and the clean water infrastructure that’s being designed to support a healthier river for future generations.
Timothy White Eagle and Laura C. Wright are designing art that will be featured as part of King County’s West Duwamish Wet Weather Storage Facility to enhance the project’s connections to community. Both are residents of King County, making this project a truly local one. Read more.
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Jail residents receive high school diplomas in first post-pandemic graduation ceremony
Crossposted from the DAJD Employee Newsletter
On June 29, a high school graduation ceremony was held at the King County Correctional Facility (KCCF) for six young men. As the first graduation since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a welcome and inspiring return to normalcy. The six graduates were participants in the Interagency Academy, which was internally supported by DAJD Volunteer Coordinator Karen Pohio, and Education Instructor Tom Meadough.
“The graduation ceremony provided a unique opportunity to witness students proudly receive diplomas as a measure of their dedicated efforts to focus, accomplish, and graduate,” said Karen. “Staff and teachers passionately support educational programs for the incarcerated to help ease the transition from custody release back to community reentry. It was an enjoyable occasion for all who attended!” Read more.
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Executive Constantine recognizes July 26 as Disability Pride Day
In recognition of July 26, 2023 marking the 33rd anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, King County Executive Dow Constantine has proclaimed July 26, 2023 to be Disability Pride Day.
“For more than three decades, the ADA has made our communities, our economy, and our county stronger and more vibrant by affirming and protecting the fundamental rights of people with disabilities – the right to equal opportunity, economic self-sufficiency, independent living, and accessible and equitable participation in the community,” he says.
Read the full proclamation here.
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Focus on values: We solve problems
Fellow King County employees:
As Deputy Chief Operating Officer – and an employee of King County for almost 25 years, much of it in risk management – I am proud of the changes that have taken place in our workplace. We have become more of a learning culture, treating problems as opportunities to learn, grow, and improve. We have also become more comfortable with taking measured risks to better meet the needs of all our residents.
These changes are important to consider as we take a closer look at one of our Executive Branch values, “We solve problems” and continue our journey toward our True North: Making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. Our region is facing a combination of formidable challenges, including homelessness, gun violence, climate change, and the continuing impact of racial and social injustice. To effectively address these and other issues, we have to think differently about problems and solutions, challenge the status quo, and take the right risks to reach better outcomes.
This effort will take courage, ingenuity, accountability – and a willingness to try new and innovative approaches supported by data, science, and thoughtful analysis. It also requires listening to residents directly and creating solutions alongside them, which we’ve been doing more frequently.
As public servants, solving problems is part of our job no matter where or at what level we work in the organization. We need everyone’s insight, analysis, and creative thinking. We know that employees who are closest to a problem often have the best ideas about how to solve it – whether that problem impacts our community or our workplace.
In this short video, King County employees share what the value “We solve problems” means to them. Please take a moment to watch it and think about how you can apply this value and the behaviors to your work.
Solving problems isn’t just an organizational core value. For many of us, it’s why we choose to work at King County – to make things better for our community and for future generations. Thank you for the part you play in that effort.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Hills
Deputy Chief Operating Officer
King County Executive Office
Employee News 