ByRepresentatives Dufault, Corry, Santos, Dent, Eslick, Schmick, Chandler, Walsh, Chase, Walen, Mosbrucker, Barkis, Hoff, Young, Ybarra, Chambers, Goehner, Klicker, Volz, Caldier, Jacobsen, Wilcox, Kretz, McEntire, Klippert, McCaslin, Cody, Stokesbary, and Springer

WHEREAS, The House of Representatives, on behalf of the people, recognize and honor Bruce Morris Smith, for his lifetime of civic and philanthropic contributions to the Yakima Valley and Washington State; and

WHEREAS, Bruce was born in Yakima, Washington, on April 6, 1959, and made his mark at each school he attended, including Franklin Junior High School, where he was elected student body president; A.C. Davis High School, where he was named Yakima School District's Student of the Year in 1977 and where he and current Yakima Mayor Janice Richards were voted Most Likely to Succeed; and Gonzaga University, where he was the youngest and longest-serving editor of the Gonzaga Bulletin student newspaper; and

WHEREAS, Colonel Bruce Smith (newspaper honorific) founded Yakima Valley Publishing on his kitchen table and turned its flagship product, the Yakima Valley Business Times, into the most authoritative and trusted source of Yakima Valley news and information for over 25 years; and

WHEREAS, Bruce was first appointed to and then elected by his friends and neighbors in East Valley and Moxee to serve on the East Valley School Board; and

WHEREAS, Bruce accepted appointments to chair or serve on various Yakima city and county commissions and blue-ribbon panels, including first chairman of the Yakima Mayor's Youth Task Force, member of Yakima City Transit Commission (revived insolvent transit system); cochair of Yakima County Jail Commission (revived insolvent jail project); member of Yakima County Facilities Committee, cochair of Yakima County Quality of Life Committee, cochair of Yakima City Performance Audit Committee, and chair of the Yakima City Downtown Area Redevelopment Committee, where he helped create the popular Yakima Farmer's Market; and

WHEREAS, Bruce also volunteered his time and expertise in service of numerous Washington state boards and organizations, including as a member of Enterprise Washington's board of directors, member of Group Health's Eastern Washington advisory board, chair of National Federation of Independent Business' state leadership council, member of Washington Policy Center's Eastern Washington advisory board, member of Central Washington Homebuilders Association's board, co-founder and chair of Forward Yakima Initiative, and co-founder of what became the Jennifer Dunn Leadership Institute; and

WHEREAS, Bruce has kept local print media in Yakima County alive, thriving and profitable while nearly all others have failed through his business acumen and unmatched reputation for character, honor, and trustworthiness; and

WHEREAS, Bruce has mentored and helped dozens of Yakima young people from the wrong side of the tracks become the best versions of themselves, including former drug dealers, gang members, and many others; and

WHEREAS, Bruce surprised his dear friend, former state representative Charles Ross, by coordinating a special early swearing-in ceremony with Washington State Supreme Court Justice Mary Fairhurst, Bruce's long-time friend from their days together at Gonzaga University; and

WHEREAS, Bruce, an avid poker player, has hosted with his close friend, Gerardo "Jerry" Arias, thousands of hours of gaming entertainment in his private poker room and has won a Texas Hold Em tournament at the old Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas where the World Series of Poker used to be held; and

WHEREAS, For all his public accomplishments, Bruce is most loved, admired, and supported by his wife, Ginger, and their four children, Rob, Amber, David, and Lindsey, along with grandchildren, Faith, Khale, and Taylor, and countless "adopted" and "honorary" family members in need of temporary, or even a permanent, home or family;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives, on behalf of the people of the State of Washington, recognize and honor the lifetime contributions of Bruce Morris Smith; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives to Bruce Smith and his family.