The honor of state service

It seems that it is the little things that matter the most. Oct. 17, 2017, was my last day of state service, and the beginning of retirement. For the last 15 years, my responsibilities as a Department of Enterprise Services buildings and grounds electrician was to maintain the electrical systems around Capitol Lake, Sylvester Park, the Old Capitol, and a dozen local off-campus buildings.

I am writing today to express my gratitude to all the people who, on their daily walks around the lake, stopped to thank me and my co-workers for the work we were doing to maintain the lake. I especially want to thank the two women who unexpectedly showed up with a carafe of coffee for us on a cold morning when we were working on the dam. Those little gestures of appreciation go a long way to reaffirming our commitment to the parks and buildings that belong to the people of Washington.

It has been an honor to work with the men and women of buildings and grounds and experience their dedication and pride in maintaining the Capitol Campus despite devastating layoffs and constant reorganizations. It is these people that will maintain these precious Washington state resources for generations ahead.

This story was originally published January 4, 2018 at 2:34 PM with the headline "The honor of state service."