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Dedication of the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts I am pleased and honored to help you dedicate South Puget Sound Community College’s new signature building, the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts. I also had a chance to tour this beautiful facility with President Minnaert shortly after its completion and all I can say is it’s incredible. What a stunning addition to this campus. What a tremendous new asset for the college and to the community as a whole. Congratulations to each of you who were involved with its planning, design, and construction of this outstanding new center. It is truly a remarkable place and you have done yourself proud. I would also like to commend you on the naming of the center for President Minnaert – a perfect fit and quite well deserved after his 30 years of service to this college, 25 as its president, and to the state of Washington. When you think about the multitude of talents and skills that have been developed here over the years here under his watch, as well as the growth of the campus, it is an absolutely awesome accomplishment. We wish you many years of happiness throughout your retirement at the end of this year, Ken. I remember attending business classes here at SPSCC many, many years ago now, when the campus was not more than a collection of portable buildings. I felt then, as I do now, that community colleges are among the best investments that government can make. Community colleges offer smaller class sizes, greater affordability, flexibility and ready access for anyone who wants to achieve their short-term or even lifelong educational goals. For me this college provided the skills that I needed to be successful in my various enterprises in small business. For the thousands of others who have attended since my time it has been a springboard for the entry to a career in trades, providing the foundation for continuing on in higher education simply helping individuals pursue their interests or passions whatever they are. I’d like to quickly relate just one of those stories. In the early 1990s a single mother of two enrolled at SPSCC, taking paralegal courses in the evening so she could provide for her children by day. She finished her associate’s degree in 1995 and continued on to St. Martin’s College. After graduating from there, she continued on to law school and now that student, Laura Murphy, is deputy prosecutor for Thurston County. Laura is a great example of how the community college system is helping people achieve their dreams. This new 500 seat facility will stands as a celebration of the visual and performing arts and will serve as an important niche for the south sound arts community. For music students here it will add classrooms and practice rooms for music as well as a place to perform. For the artists it provides new laboratory space for ceramics, drawing and print making as well as a place to exhibit their works. For the rest of us it offers the opportunity to benefit from all of their works. My wife Linda and I are patrons of the arts, and especially of artists who make their home in the state of Washington. Shortly after becoming the Lieutenant Governor, Linda and I started the Lt. Governor’s Arts Council in our office. The arts council is our effort to recognize and appreciate Washington artists by displaying their works in the Capitol in the lobby area of my office. Currently on the wall is a display of wildlife art by Lee Johnson of Maple Valley. These displays are very popular with tour groups that come through almost every day, and more often than that during the Legislative session. We try to change this display quarterly and have featured many artists over the years. Washington State has so many gifted artists to feature that finding new displays is never a problem as I am sure it will never be to find works to feature in the gallery here. Our state is well known, of course, for being the birthplace of a long list of famed musicians and musical styles from symphony to soul. The Fabulous Whalers, the late great Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and the Sleater-Kinney trio have each sprung from their South Sound roots to international fame. As a struggling, wanna-be rock and roll musician myself I personally appreciate and value the opportunities that many others will have to nurture their musical talents in such a grand mid-sized venue as this. Who knows what future talent will be developed in this very place? The only thing that is for certain is that it will certainly happen here. As the late John Lennon might sing: Imagine all the people, sharing all the world - through music and art. The community impacts of having such a center need also be noted today. One of my responsibilities as the lieutenant governor is to promote economic development and the economic well being of Washington State. The $22 million investment made toward the planning, design and construction of this facility to date is just a start. The existence of a performing arts center such as the one we are dedicating today really puts our communities on the map and contributes to the community development as a means of attracting new business and investment. A vibrant arts center reflects the heart and soul of a community. It promotes diversity and culture and contributes mightily to the livability and reputation of an area. Vicinity workplace training facility and cultural attractions are certainly major components of any checklist for new business. From that perspective we are pleased that the college has decided to make this center available for use by the general community as well as for its own use. Representative Sam Hunt has already identified one. Linda and I will look forward to coming back often to listen and look. It will also be a fantastic new venue for entertaining our guests from here and abroad. Every community should be as lucky as Olympia to have such a magnificent facility as the new Minnaert Center. Congratulations once again to all who have made it possible and congratulations to Dr. Minnaert. You are so deserving. Thank you.
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