I met Patience Rogge when I first came to Washington State in 2001. She and her husband, Dave, and I became fast friends. Patience has been a wonderful mentor about library advocacy.

Her leadership within the Washington library community includes her service as a trustee of the Jefferson County Rural Library District; Chair of the Washington Friends, Foundations, and Trustees Association and the Grassroots! interest group of the Washington Library Association; and memberships on the boards of the Washington Library Association, the Pacific Northwest Library Association, and Friends of the Washington State Library. In 2005, she received the Washington Library Association’s Honorary Lifetime Award and was named to the American Library Association’s National Advocacy Honor Roll.

Patience has advocated for environmental, political, and educational efforts in California and Washington. So, it was no surprise that she became deeply involved in transparency in government through actively participating in the Washington Coalition for Open Government.

On September 23, 2011, the Coalition bestowed its James Andersen award on Patience. The Andersen Award is given to an individual or organization that has done something extraordinary to advance the efforts of the Washington Coalition For Open Government. For those attending the ceremony, the award to Patience came as no surprise.

Patience holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Government and a Master of Library Science degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She has worked in academic, school, and public libraries in Delaware, California, and Saudi Arabia.

She currently directs the Fort Worden Oral History Program at Fort Worden State Park Conference Center in Port Townsend and is vice president of the Friends of Fort Worden. Congratulations, Patience.

Secretary of State Sam Reed was presented with the James Madison award by the Washington Coalition for Open Government. You can read more at https://blogs.sos.wa.gov/FromOurCorner/index.php/2011/09/reed-awarded-top-open-government-honor/.