Parks employee competes in 2018 Special Olympics USA Games

Rama ‘RJT’ Tall has been a King County employee since 1990 as a Parks Specialist with the Department of Natural Resources and Parks. He is also one of the employee athletes who represented the State of Washington during the Seattle- and King County-hosted 2018 Special Olympics USA Games. Like Metro’s Jonathan Leckband, featured in Employee News leading up to the games, RJT competed on the soccer field. He and his manager, Parks District Maintenance Coordinator Gary Brown, shared some of RJT’s story before the games began. “I’ve been playing soccer since 1987,”… Read More

King County #RiseWithUs highlights

Dear Athletes, Coaches, Family Members, Volunteers, Games Partners, Supporters of the Games, and Greater Seattle Community: Thank you! The 2018 USA Games said, ‘Rise with Us’ and you did – with open hearts and minds. You were magnificent hosts. Chairman Tim Shriver, Special Olympics International Over the first week of this month, we hosted approximately 4,000 athletes and coaches, 15,000 volunteers and 70,000 spectators for the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games. We at King County also were the athletes, the coaches, the volunteers, and the spectators – and more! Rama ‘RJT’ Tall… Read More

Family Treatment Court receives third consecutive National Peer Learning Court designation

King County Family Treatment Court is one of eight courts in the country to receive the 2018 National Peer Learning Court designation by Children and Family Futures. Through a rigorous application process, Children and Family Futures designated eight family drug courts to serve as mentors for the National Peer Learning Court program. Having demonstrated commitment to evidence-supported practices, innovative strategies to improve outcomes for children and families, and a strong foundation of collaboration among the court, child welfare, and substance use treatment agencies, the 2018 National Peer Learning Courts will continue helping… Read More

Chief Operating Officer visits King County International Airport

Chief Operating Officer Casey Sixkiller recently visited King County International Airport (KCIA) to meet with employees and learn more about the airport and some of the priorities they are working on. KCIA, also known as Boeing Field, is one of the nation’s busiest primary non-hub airports, averaging around 200,000 operations annually. In turn, 16,336 jobs are directly linked to Boeing Field and $1.8 billion in labor income, and its operations support $3.5 billion in local business sales. “I was delighted to hear firsthand how our employees are working to provide customers a… Read More

Free admission: King County Employee Day at the races Sunday, July 15

King County employees and one guest will receive free admission to Emerald Downs Racetrack this Sunday, July 15 for the King County Express Stakes, which includes a Food Truck Day in the park and an Equine Art Show on track level. Employees must show their King County ID at any of the 12 gates, which will provide the employee and one guest tickets that include free admission, official program and tip sheet, and chips and soda. Children 17 and under get in free. In addition to this year’s King County Express Stakes, there will be the Boeing Stakes, the Angie C…. Read More

Administration Building 5th Avenue entry ADA wheelchair lift replacement begins July 12

The Administration Building ADA wheelchair lift at the 5th Avenue entry is scheduled to be replaced. Construction will begin July 12 and the new lift is scheduled to be in operation by September. The ADA-accessible route into the Administration Building will be closed during construction. An alternative route is through the Chinook Building at 401 5th Avenue, proceeding through the tunnel to the first floor of the Administration Building. If you have questions or concerns, please contact the FMD Customer Care Services Team at 206-477-9400 or CustomerCareServices.FMD@KingCounty.gov.

Get to know Gary Kurihara, Chief Performance Officer

King County Executive Dow Constantine has launched a new video series introducing the five members of his Senior Leadership Team, starting with Gary Kurihara, Chief Performance Officer. “Unfortunately, despite considerable effort over the years, I have not yet mastered the ability to be in more than one place at one time,” Executive Constantine said in an email launching the video series. “So I rely on my Senior Leadership Team – which currently includes Budget Director Dwight Dively, Chief of Staff Rachel Smith, Chief People Officer Whitney Abrams, Chief Performance Officer Gary Kurihara… Read More

Discover savings strategies to create the retirement you want

You and your spouse or significant other are invited to learn more about the King County Deferred Compensation Plan at education sessions offered throughout the year. In-person sessions are coming up July 17 — 19. Go online for details and registration. For the complete education schedule and list of webinars, go to the Deferred Compensation web site. If you have any questions, email KCDeferredComp@KingCounty.gov.

Kudos! to Public Health’s Dr. Matt Golden

Public Health HIV/STD Program Director Matt Golden, M.D., M.P.H. received the annual Nettie Award from Beyond AIDS for leading the first successful North American campaign to reach the UNAIDS goal of 90-90-90 by 2020. Dr. Golden is the first in the United States to be granted the award! Read more on our 90-90-90 accomplishment on Public Health Insider. Thank you, Public Health! Kudos, Dr. Golden!

King County GIS Center Senior GIS Cartographer Patrick Jankanish

Patrick Jankanish creates publication-quality map and graphic products for print and online media. Patrick has practiced innovative cartography for more than thirty years in academic, commercial consulting, freelance, and government settings. Whatever the subject matter—parks and recreation, earth sciences, the environment and natural resources, public policy and information, education, transportation, public infrastructure, and more—Patrick takes a holistic approach to cartography that combines bedrock cartographic theory, modern graphic design principles and techniques, always-evolving GIS and graphic arts technology, and the careful crafting of the written word, both linguistically and visually, to achieve effective… Read More