Twenty years ago, The Olympian began inviting a South Sound resident to join the board to help shape the editorial position of the newspaper. The program proved so popular that we added a second community representative 14 years ago.
The two community representatives join publisher George Le Masurier, senior editor Jerre Redecker and editorial page editor Mike Oakland on the editorial board.
The community representatives sit in on Wednesday morning editorial board meetings, where guests such as local elected officials, community activists and state leaders share their views of current events. After the guests depart, the board members discuss the official position of the newspaper should take on those and other issues.
We changed things a bit recently when we shifted from community representative terms that lasted six-month terms to staggered, one-year appointments.
Ruta Fanning, who retired as director of legislative audits and previously served as director of the state budget office under the administration of Gov. Mike Lowry, has completed her term on the editorial board. Hale joins Pam Toal, former executive director of the United Way of Thurston County, who is midway through her stint as a community representative.
Hale, who was hired at state community and technical college system on July 1, 1987, retired as executive director in January 2006. He subsequently was a consultant with the “Bridges to Opportunity” grant program of the Ford Foundation. He and his wife, Camille, have two grown daughters, and live in Lacey.
Hale is a member of the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board, and is a board member for the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, a private nonprofit policy center in Boulder, Colo. He also consults with the Association of Washington Business in the area of higher education and workforce policy issues.
Hale, a native of Cheney, received a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Washington University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Washington. He also completed the program for senior executives in state and local governments at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government.
“I hope my understanding of how government works and the vital importance of effective leadership in the public sector will be helpful to the editorial board,” Hale said in his self-nomination letter. He also says his service on the board of directors of the downtown YMCA and Nisqually Land Trust Educational Board have helped him understand how those nongovernmental public organizations help shape the South Sound community.
Looking ahead to his term on the board, Hale noted that the community and state are facing serious choices as we shape our collective future. “I believe it is important that we keep our long-term vision for this community in focus as we work our way through the immediate economic and social issues facing us,” Hale said. “The Olympian will play a vital role in identifying these trade-offs and making policy recommendations both to the public and the decision makers.”
Please join us in welcoming Earl Hale to The Olympian’s editorial board.
