PORT TOWNSEND — Four nominees were named finalists this week for Citizen of the Year as part of the Jefferson County Community Leadership Awards.
They were among 20 business and community leaders named as finalists in five categories by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce.
Myron Vogt, Debbi Steele and the team of Gwendolyn Tracy and Pam Petranek were honored with other category finalists Friday night at Port Townsend Vineyards.
Winners will be revealed during an awards brunch April 7 at the Old Alcohol Plant, where state Rep. Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, will be the keynote speaker.
Chapman represents District 24 which covers Jefferson and Clallam counties and part of Grays Harbor County.
Tickets are $45 at www.jeffcountychamber.org.
The chamber also an-nounced finalists in the following categories:
• Business Leader of the Year — Andy Cochrane of Power Trip Energy, Hans Frederickson of Frederickson Electric, and Ned Herbert and Virginia Marsden of The Pourhouse.
• Young Professional of the Year — Jen Lee of Jen Lee Light, Tyler Meeks of Disco Bay Outdoor Exchange, and Thysen and Debi Scott of GBF Catering.
• Rising Entrepreneur — Joel Carben of IdealSeat, Chris Brignoli and Matt Mor-tensen of Revision Marine, and Scott Ross and Deborah Taylor of Finistère.
• Future Business Leader, awarded to a high school senior — Ella Ashford (homeschooled), Quillan Gallagher of Quilcene High School and Renee Woods of Chimacum High School.
The Citizen of the Year nominees have taken different paths, but each exemplifies dedication to community service.
Boeing Bluebills
Vogt, of Port Ludlow, has led many operations for the Boeing Bluebills for 20 years. The organization has a wide reach with focuses on senior citizen fall prevention and independent living, school supplies and the distribution of other donated goods through World Vision, and helping victims of domestic violence through Dove House programs.
“Last year, we built 56 ramps and more than 200 grab bars, and we served more than 250 individuals,” Vogt said of the fall-prevention program.
Supplies for schools came directly from teachers’ lists, Vogt said, and $45,000 in materials was provided to 15 schools with 75 percent enrollment in the state’s free or reduced lunch program.
“We serve schools from Shelton to Queets,” he said.
Vogt, who worked for 35 years as an engineer for Boeing before he retired in 1998, has helped to organize a golf tournament for the past seven years that has provided a total of about $100,000 to the Dove House.
“There’s no dedication for those funds,” he said. “They spend it how they want.”
Vogt also helped found the Peninsula Support Organization, a 501(c)(3) that started in 2017 with a focus on STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
He said the nonprofit sent 1,490 eight-graders from throughout Jefferson County on a field trip to the Museum of Flight in Seattle last year, and it also provided $11,000 for robotics kits for Chimacum schools.
The Bluebills provided 19,600 volunteer hours just last year, Vogt said.
He and his wife, Valeria, have been married for 53 years.
“We would not be able to do anything without having a bunch of partners,” he said.
Women and Girls
Steele recognized a need, given the number of women and girls she saw living in poverty. She started the Fund for Women and Girls a decade ago and instituted its main fundraiser, the Port Townsend Wearable Art Show.
“I am honored, enthralled and delighted with the number of nonprofits in our community,” she said. “Part of what I like to do is give my time back.”
A member of the American Association for University Women and a past board member for the Jefferson Community Foundation, Steele helped organize a half-dozen meetings throughout the county to learn about women and girls’ most pressing needs.
She said one $10,000 grant is provided each year from the endowed fund through the community foundation that matches the Fund for Women and Girls’ mission. It aims to provide a place where women and girls are safe, secure, equal and empowered.
Steele said the wearable art show came from a similar program in Ketchikan, Alaska, and it features dresses and other outfits made from a variety of sources from silk to wire, seashells or recycled materials — even a roll of caution tape.
The show is held during Mother’s Day weekend. Tickets are available at www.ptwearableart.com.
Marine trades
Tracy and Petranek are concerned about the marine industry that is unique to port cities and towns. They wanted to help governing bodies such as the Port of Port Townsend commission understand the economic impact the trades can have on communities.
They didn’t have hard numbers, so they embarked on a project to create a countywide study to show the viability of the industry.
“Gov. [Jay] Inslee wants Washington state to be a leader in the maritime industry in the nation,” Petranek said.
The pair enlisted Martin Associates of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which has provided economic analysis for more than 900 port cities in the United States and internationally, according to its website. But they also had to reach out individually to business owners from Port Townsend to Brinnon and beyond and ask them to open their books.
“Pam and I scoured lists of business licenses and people, and we created our own list, too,” Tracy said.
They said the unique aspect about marine trades is that they aren’t government jobs. That means the goods and services provided and the average marine trade salary of $47,000 per year is important to places like Port Townsend. The countywide average salary is $37,000 annually, Petranek said.
“For every $1 million that comes in, $12 million goes back into the city, state and county,” Petranek said. “That goes back into roads, health care and other city and county services.”
Tracy added: “What we’re really concerned about is maintaining our working waterfront.”
