Everywhere you look King County is moving forward. We are growing, we are building, and we are leading. And it is your efforts – and those of each of our King County colleagues – that are moving us forward and helping us build on our progress and successes.   

Thanks to your talent, creativity, and hard work these last 12 months, we were able to deepen our investments, open new facilities, and rethink how we provide even more effective services. 

What we achieved together this year is remarkable, and we have put together a slideshow of 19 accomplishments in 2019 to celebrate some of our achievements. Voters renewed the Parks Levy to invest millions into parks across King County. We opened the new Eagle Village shelter with innovative modular housing focused on serving Native American and Alaska Native people. We became the first local government in the United States to offer certified carbon credits to protect King County’s forests. And we set a new pet save rate record of 95%, up from the previous year’s record of 93%.  

These are just a few of our accomplishments this year, and the difficulty of narrowing your achievements down to just 19 is a testament to your efforts.  

Thank you for your contributions to our shared success this year. They bring us closer to our True North: making King County a welcoming community where person can thrive. 

Best wishes for a happy, peaceful, and productive 2020. 

Nominate team members for 2019 Performance Excellence Awards  

Nominations are now being accepted for the Executive’s second-annual Performance Excellence Awards. The recognition program – the first of its kind at the County – honors employees and workgroups for their exceptional contributions in performance, leadership, and innovation.   

Anyone in the Executive Branch can nominate a team or individual for a Performance Excellence Award until Jan. 10. You’ll find information about the awards here, including nomination categories, criteria, and forms. Read more. 

What does an Olympian bring to her county role? 

Crossposted from the DES Express 

Susan Broome knows a little something about being a high performer. She was a sweep rower in the 1988 Summer Olympics, competing against the world’s best in Seoul. “Broome” is also a suitable aptronym – a name perfect for her role. 

“People always get a kick out of that,” she said. 

Broome was in the premier boat in the Women’s eight in the 1988 Olympics. As a sweep rower on the port side, she was among the top four rowers in the U.S. Broome also competed at the 1985 World Championships, winning a silver medal in the pair, and rowed in the eight at the 1987 Worlds, adding another silver medal. She recently went back to Colorado Springs for the induction ceremony for fellow Olympians into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame. Read more. 

Celebrate New Year’s Eve with free rides on King County Metro 

King County Metro will help riders safely usher in 2020 with free bus rides from 7 p.m. on New Year’s Eve through 4 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Free rides on Metro service are sponsored in part by Seattle Center, which draws thousands of people for New Year’s Eve festivities. In addition to Metro buses, rides are also free on Via to Transit Southeast Seattle, DART, Seattle Streetcar, Community Van, Community Ride, and Access paratransit. 

“There's no better night to leave your car at home than New Year’s Eve, and with free fares you can ride Metro transit, celebrate late, and not have to worry about parking or a safe ride home,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. Read more in the official press release.  

Complete your Cyber Security Awareness Training today 

All King County employees are required to complete Cyber Security Awareness Training in 2019. Have you taken it yet? There are 12 training modules, and it  takes approximately 50 minutes to complete all 12. Each module is only a few minutes long. 

To start your Cyber Security Awareness Training, please login at https://sso.securingthehuman.org/kingcounty   

Your account for Securing the Human:   

• Username: King County email address    
• Password: King County email password    

For more information about Cyber Security, please visit our Sharepoint site. 

Pet of the Week: Pumpkin 

Hi! My name is Pumpkin and I am available for adoption. I was brought in by a good Samaritan on December 13, 2019. I'm a bit of a scaredy guy at first but if you take things slow and get to know me, I'm actually a really cool dude! I love to play fetch, pretend that I'm the size of a lap dog and curl up in your lap, and just hang out with my people. I love to go for walks and I pride my self on walking super nice and right next to my handler; I'm also super potty-trained. I would love to work on my skills and attend a training class to learn new fun tricks! Take me home and I promise I will be a 10/10 good boy! 

Read more and view all available pets at www.kingcounty.gov/adoptapet.