Congressman
Norm Dicks was awarded the Tacoma-Pierce Co. Chamber’s 24th annual
George Francis Train International Business Commemorative at last night’s Globe Dinner.
Craig Chance, Senior Vice President, Community Financial Resources,
Columbia Bank, as the award sponsor presented the award in the care of Congressman Dicks' District Director Clark Mather.
For more
than four decades, both as an elected Member of Congress and as a trusted
advisor of Senator Warren Magnuson, Cong. Dicks has been an unwavering advocate
for the City of Tacoma and Washington State as a whole.
To briefly
mention some of the projects:
·
Building
Interstate 705 – the “Tacoma Spur”
·
The
clean-up of Commencement Bay and the ongoing effort to protect and restore
Puget Sound and Hood Canal for future generations
·
The
Puyallup Indian Land Claims settlement – the second largest settlement with Native
American Tribes in the history of the United States -- which allowed the Port
of Tacoma to become a major economic driver in this region
·
Rehabilitating
the Murray Morgan Bridge
·
Support
for the arts, including securing federal funding for the Museum of Glass, the
Pantages Theater and the Tacoma Art Museum
·
The
redevelopment of downtown Tacoma, including the growth at the University of
Washington—Tacoma, the conversion of Union Station to a federal courthouse, and
the ongoing efforts to revitalize the Pacific Avenue Corridor
We can also
mention his leadership in winning the tanker contract for Boeing, which will
bring 11,000 new jobs to Washington State, his support for our state’s three
national parks – including the new Jackson Visitors Center at Mount Rainier,
his decades long commitment to restoring Northwest Salmon Runs and his
commitment to ensuring that military service-members, veterans and their
families have the health care and benefits they are owed by our country.
Congressman
Smith has been an unwavering supporter of increased trade as our representative
– supporting free trade agreements and efforts to open new markets to goods
from our State. He knows that we need to increase exports to create jobs and
continue the nation’s economic recovery.
As now known,
Congressman Dicks announced that
he would be retiring from Congress at the conclusion of the current session,
ending his tenure as the longest serving member of the U.S. House in our
state’s history. So on behalf of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber and
the World Trade Center and our many partners we take this opportunity to thank
Congressman Dicks for his service for us.
