What the main attractions said …
- Bill Gates Sr., Sam Reed, Wilfred Woods
For many people who attended, one highlight of yesterday’s Medal of Merit ceremony in the House Chambers was seeing Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates sitting in the Gallery while his father, Bill Gates Sr., received this prestigous honor. Another highlight was hearing the elder Gates and this year’s other living recipient, retired Wenatchee World publisher and philanthropist Wilfred Woods, address the large gathering.
It is no coincidence that these two great men thanked their wives, who were in attendance during the ceremony.
With his wife, Kathleen, and son Rufus (the current publisher of the Wenatchee World) looking on from the House Gallery, Woods made a brief speech in which he said:
“As we look at opportunities for state and for local people to participate in, I thank my stars that I came along at a time when I was able to participate, and I hope our next generations have the same opportunity and the education and the cultural advantages, which helped make the state of Washington the great state it is today.”
Gates’ speech was given with his wife, Mimi Gardner Gates, son Bill and daughter Libby watching from the Gallery. Among his comments…
“I thought that our most admirable impulse of humankind is our desire to change things for the better. Lord knows we haven’t got it all figured out yet, but we keep trying. The impulse to make improvements is what motivated me to become active in civic affairs, and I’m really pleased and proud to be recognized for the small things I’ve done over the past 60 years.
Looking back, I’m confident that, besides my family, the one factor that made it possible for me to develop such abilities that I may have had, was the public education that I received in the state of Washington. My father left school in the eighth grade. I grew up in Bremerton in the Great Depression. Even so, I received an excellent public education, first rate all the way through law school. Without it, I could not have done any of the things that I’m being recognized for.
For kids nowadays, they don’t get that chance. I just learned this fact from my son, who is in the chamber with us today: Low-income young people are more likely to go to jail than to earn a four-year college degree. That is a gross violation of the values that make this country so great.
For the past decade, I’ve been working with my son and daughter-in-law to advance their foundation’s mission of guaranteeing that all students get the high-quality education they deserve. Our society as a whole should set the same goal.”
Both men showed humility and class in their speeches. They also displayed why they are so deserving of this very high honor.
3 thoughts on “What the main attractions said …”
Righto, and the irrepressible Corky Mattingly, the Yakima County Auditor and a leader in the women’s movement, did a terrific job describing the lives and work of two suffragettes, Emma Smith DeVoe and May Awkright Hutton, who helped secure the right for Washington women to vote nearly 100 years ago. Fascinating stories.
And I really enjoyed the comments of those who introduced the honorees for Governor Gregoire’s conferring of the medals. They were Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen, who presided over the joint session as well; Chief Justice Gerry Alexander; and Representative Jim Moeller, the deputy speaker pro tempore.
It is very unusual to find a man of Bill Gates statue in the Business World who will take a step back from their business passion to focus on helping others and to work at creating a better world. His work in trying to eradicate the hideous disease, Polio, is highly commendable. It is great to see, that despite great fortune, Bill Senior has been able to pass these good values down to his son.
In these times it is heartwarming to see a man of Bill Gates’ stature and accomplishments ‘giving back’ to his community. He and Bill Gates Jr. are fine role models for our society at a time when our nation could use a lot more like them.
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