WHEREAS, Washington State Representative Dave Quall, who will
forever be known as "Coach Quall" has served the people of the 40th
district with integrity, honor, and dedication since 1993; and
WHEREAS, His wife and trusted advisor Allene Quall, daughters Kim
Brown and Kay Witt, and six cherished grandchildren have served as his
guideposts and source of strength and inspiration; and
WHEREAS, Representative Quall retired from a distinguished career
after 38 years as a teacher, counselor, and basketball coach, and as a
Running Start counselor and men's basketball coach at Skagit Valley
College; and
WHEREAS, His former students and players stay in touch and he
follows their exploits and those of their children; and
WHEREAS, Coach Quall remembers details of virtually every high
school basketball playoff game played in the last 50 years; and
WHEREAS, Representative Quall is highly regarded as a strong
advocate for his district, often working quietly behind the scenes; and
WHEREAS, His proudest achievement is the creation of the Northwest
Career and Technical Academy in Mount Vernon, and the satellite Marine
Technology Center in Anacortes, opening September 2010; and
WHEREAS, Representative Quall has chaired the House Education
Committee since 1999, providing a model of bipartisan policy
development focused on the needs of students; and
WHEREAS, Representative Dave Quall epitomizes civility, treating
every person with respect and allowing everyone an opportunity to voice
an opinion, even if it causes a committee hearing to run a tad long;
and
WHEREAS, Virtually every education agency and advocacy group in the
state knows that their bill stands a greater chance of passing the
House Education Committee if they bring students to testify at the
hearing; and
WHEREAS, Coach Quall is a fierce advocate for all forms of
alternative learning: Homeschooling, online learning, skills centers,
Running Start, Preapprenticeships, so that every student is provided a
pathway to fulfill his or her dreams and goals for the future; and
WHEREAS, Representative Dave Quall clearly honored his
Constitutional "paramount duty" to provide a strong public education
system by living by Ben Edlund's mantra, "If it's good for boys and
girls, let's do it"; and
WHEREAS, Representative Quall lives his Mother's wise counsel:
"Less said, less mended," so that when he stood to speak on the House
floor everyone knew he had something important to say; and
WHEREAS, Representative Dave Quall is known far and wide as a
"dapper" dresser. We knew spring had arrived and Sine Die was near
when he broke out his cheerful yellow jacket. In fact, Governor Gary
Locke once dubbed him "Mr. GQ"; and
WHEREAS, Dave truly does love long walks, movies of any sort, golf
in any weather and is game for any adventure including roaming around
Boston at dawn just to get a walk in before a long work day; and
WHEREAS, Often when he is on vacation he will call his LA with a
request to set up a visit to an interesting school that he has found;
and
WHEREAS, All members, lobbyists, and staff who wanted time with
Dave knew to schedule a walk around the Lake; and
WHEREAS, Dave can always be found early each morning at Starbucks;
and
WHEREAS, His eclectic mix of Elvis Presley's gospel songs, jazz or
country playing in his office will be missed. This eclectic taste in
music was also evident as many meetings were interrupted by the
melodious Amazing Grace ring of his cell phone;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives
and the State of Washington celebrate and honor the distinguished
legislative career and accomplishments of Representative Dave Quall,
and wish him the very best in his next endeavor, even though we will
miss him deeply; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be
immediately transmitted by the Chief Clerk of the House of
Representatives to Washington State Representative Dave Quall and his
family.