PORT ANGELES — Former Clallam County Administrator Jim Jones fought back tears Tuesday as he reflected on his 12 years as the county’s top administrator.
“This has been one of the greatest honors of my life to assume this position and I’ll never forget it,” Jones said after the three county commissioners thanked him for his service to the county during their Tuesday meeting.
Jones retired from his post Oct. 15 and now the county is searching for his replacement, who officials hope to hire early next year. Human Resources Director Rich Sill has been named the interim administrator and will serve until a permanent administrator is found.
As Jones reflected on his time with the county he said thinking about the relationships he has built over the years makes him “teary-eyed” and emphasized that everyone at the county works as a team. He felt his role was always to make sure people had the support they needed to do their jobs effectively.
“The success of the organization depends on the whole team working together and you can’t micromanage,” Jones said. “You have to give them what they need and then get out of the way. I tried to do that with everyone.”
This is the first time in Jones’ 42-year career that he has ever had more than a week off from work, he said.
Jones had worked at First Federal Savings & Loan in Port Angeles for 17 years, holding a variety of administrative and supervisory positions before he was selected as the executive director for business and operations at the Port Angeles School District, where he worked for nine years.
He wore a Hawaiian shirt to the meeting Tuesday and said he is ready for his long-planned trip to Hawaii. In his time off he has been working on his “honey do list” and has gotten in four rounds of golf.
The three county commissioners and others thanked Jones for his service to the county. Commissioner Mark Ozias presented Jones an etching of the Clallam County Courthouse and told Jones to take his retirement seriously.
“As we officially say thank you and recognize your service and send you off to a well-earned retirement — Jim hasn’t taken more than a week off in the 12 years he has worked here — I’d like to leave you with a challenge and invitation,” Ozias said.
“My challenge to you is to own your retirement with the same veracity with which you have owned this job as county administrator. It is not easy for people like you to retire and I want to see you dig in and do it successfully.”
Ozias said his invitation is for Jones to remain active in the community and to continue to make a difference in the community.
Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict said any successes he has seen during his 12 years as sheriff are largely because of the support he has had from Jones.
“The closest thing the sheriff has in the county to a boss is you,” Benedict said. “I’m elected, but I can’t say enough about what a pleasure it has been to be in partnership with Jim Jones. Thank you Jim.”
As Ozias recognized Jones for his service to the county, Ozias emphasized the uniqueness of Jones’ position. It’s a position that invites scrutiny from the public, some of which is fair and some of which isn’t, Ozias said.
The county administrator has an obligation to serve the three county commissioners, to manage the more than 500 county employees and to be accountable to the public, Ozias said.
Jones said it’s important that his successor keeps this in mind.
“You’ve got to take the responsibility to serve the people in the organization and the citizens of the county very seriously,” Jones said.
“This job is not about directing, not about bossing and not about sitting up and being self aggrandizing. It’s about serving the people.
“You’ve got the three commissioners, 500-plus county employees whose livelihoods depend on your decisions, and then you’ve got the 74,000 citizens of Clallam County.”
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsula dailynews.com.
