Kathy's Farewell

We say thanks and best wishes to Kathy Fletcher, founder of People For Puget Sound, upon her retirement. Here's a photo gallery of her retirement party, some of her parting words, and links to many nice thoughts sent in.

June 22, 2011

"Thank you everyone for being here....

"Everyone has been incredibly generous in the things they have said about me. If even half of it were true, I'd feel more than duly appreciated. Actually, People For Puget Sound is where it is today, and the fight to save the Sound is where it is today, because of ALL of us-- all of YOU.

"It's gratifying to reflect on what we have accomplished together, from preventing oil spills to restoring damaged shorelines to saving Maury Island. But I think the most important development over the past 30 years is the blossoming of a true movement to protect and restore the Sound. Those of us who were informed, aware and involved could have met in my living room -- and did -- in the early 1980s. Now, nobody can even count the people, the projects and the organizations that are dedicated to Puget Sound's health. From a small band we have become a huge force. And as numerous as we are here on this pier tonight, we're just the tip of the iceberg. This is why Puget Sound will survive and thrive -- YOU are why Puget Sound will survive and thrive....

"I've had the privilege of working with many, many outstanding staff members, board members, colleagues, partners, financial supporters, political leaders, government officials, allies in the business community, tribes and communities. A lot of you are here tonight. There is nothing we've done that didn't depend on you. Thank you.

"I'm especially grateful to People For Puget Sound's board, staff and supporters for understanding how important it is to build People For Puget Sound for the long term, using our first 20 years as a springboard for reaching greater heights in the years to come.

"One reason I'm happy tonight is because your generous support of the Legacy Fund will help ensure, for many years to come, People For Puget Sound's ability to seize opportunities and to do what's needed when it's needed. Thank you.

"Another reason I'm happy tonight is that People For Puget Sound has a wonderful new leader to take us into the future.

"Tom Bancroft has superb credentials for the job. He came to us from Washington DC, where he was chief scientist for the National Audubon Society, and before that for the Wilderness Society. He spent many years working to restore the Florida Everglades, and over the past year led Audubon's involvement in the wake of the Gulf oil spill. But beyond what you can read about Tom on paper, I can now say, after working with him for a little over two months, he is the right human being to lead People For Puget Sound. His judgment is excellent, his instincts are great, and his people skills are terrific. People For Puget Sound is in good hands.

"Puget Sound, the treasure that brings us together tonight, is still in trouble, though. Virtually everybody in our region wants a healthy Sound, but wanting doesn't make it so. We are still destroying more land than we are restoring, even along the shores of the Sound and its streams and rivers. We are still polluting the Sound with toxic runoff from our paved-over landscape. We still have dead zones where there isn't enough oxygen in the water at some times. Because of carbon pollution in the global atmosphere, Puget Sound is becoming more acidic. The list of challengers is long and daunting.

"And so the ongoing job of People For Puget Sound is beg, really big.

"We're reaching the point where living sustainably can no longer be just a lofty aspiration. If millions of people are going to live around the Sound in a way that all of us thrive -- the people and the other critters of the Sound-- ALL of us-- sustainability isn't optional. We have to prevent oil spills, bt we also have to get off fossil fuels. We have to require low impact development, but we also have to protect a lot more land from urbanization. We have to clean up toxic sites, but we also have to get rid of nasty chemicals at their source. In other words, while we have to treat the symptoms, ultimately there's no way around dealing with the underlying problems. So we have a lot of work ahead of us.

"In closing, let me say that saving the Sound is not only for the fish, for the slithery creepy crawly critters on the beach, for the birds, or even for the whales. It's for US. It's for you, for me, and for the generations that will follow us there in our beautiful Salish Sea."

-Kathy Fletcher