Recognizing Jim Weber Retirement
Floor Speech
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Mr. LARSEN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Jim Weber who recently retired after a 47-year career at the Port of Everett. A native of Marysville, Washington, Jim began working at the Port's marina as a seasonal employee while attending Marysville- Pilchuck High School. Jim did whatever needed to be done--pushing a broom, checking moorings and taking meter readings. Four years later, he landed a full-time job with the maintenance team. Over the next 43 years, Jim worked his way up at the marina--from maintenance journeyman to maintenance foreman to operations director. His hard work and dedication earned him great respect among his colleagues and everyone he encountered at the Port.
Jim's storied career paralleled the growth of the Port of Everett. When Jim first started working at the marina in the 1970s, the Port hosted fishermen, mill workers and log tug crews; its central marina was home to fewer than 1,000 slips. Over the next 50 years, Jim played a central role in the transformation of the Port from an industrial waterfront into the largest public marina on the West Coast, helping to design, build, maintain and upgrade many of the marina's facilities, as well as the Jetty Landing boat launch, Jetty Island docks and Boxcar Park. Today, the new and improved Port is the ``jewel of Snohomish County,'' a place where people can work, shop, go out to eat and enjoy the outdoors, thanks to the hard work of people like Jim Weber. Jim was involved in and had time to enjoy many of the great events the Port offers throughout the year, including Wheels on the Waterfront, Sail-In Cinema, Holiday on the Bay, waterfront concerts, Opening Day of Boating and fishing derby events.
Mr. Speaker, Jim Weber's accomplishments are many, and his commitment to the Port of Everett is remarkable. As Jim told the Everett Herald in a recent article, he plans to dig his toes in the sand a bit and buy a few more classic cars in retirement. Congratulations to Jim on a well- earned retirement. We hope to see him showing off his newest classic car at Wheels on the Waterfront.
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