The following is written by Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow:

If you’re looking for the bridge design, it’s actually the next story. I want to talk a bit about a few Sumner individuals who need thanking.  Last Thursday, the Puyallup/Sumner Chamber of Commerce gave their Rising Star Awards, and Dave Radcliffe from The Old Cannery received the John Porter Memorial Award.  While Dave is well deserving, I don’t want to pass up the opportunity to recognize another nominee, Pat Clerget from Sumner’s own City Shops.

Although not as well know around town, we probably rely every single day on the work that Pat oversees, from roads to water, from floods to special events. He actually built a sand-bag making machine, mostly out of spare parts to help in floods instead of us having to buy a pricey machine.  The funny part is that the County was actually sending people to us to get sandbags because their machines couldn’t keep up.

Karen Spisak was nominated for Volunteer of the Year, as was Stafford Suites for Innovative Business, with their partnership with the City in operating the Sumner Senior Center. I think few people realize how close we were to locking the doors on the senior center a couple of years ago. Few were going, and it just seemed a place that was dying a natural death. Instead of letting it die, we decided to partner with Tina Pries and Stafford Suites. Tina hired Melissa Holt, and together, they breathed new life back into the place.

Now people are asking how old you “have to be” in order to enjoy their events, trips and celebrations. Karen plays a big part of that. Once she spotted the transition, she jumped in with all her positive energy, good ideas, and fun hats. She not only gives a lot of her time over at the Center, but she also comes regularly to the City Council meetings to update us on what’s going on. We love her spirit and enthusiasm.

One frequent visitor at the Senior Center is a familiar face, Leroy Goff, now retired from the City Council. Perhaps the most touching award of all was when the Association of the United States Army gave Leroy a Lifetime Achievement Award for his constant support of the military and work to keep Sumner connected to Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Just so you get the enormity of this honor, Leroy is a Navy man, serving in World War II.  For the Army to honor a Navy vet is quite an accomplishment indeed.

Thank you to Dave, Pat, Karen, Tina and all of you for shaping Sumner. And thank you to the hundreds and probably thousands more of you who make Sumner a special place every single day.