Press Release: Two former governors, two business leaders will pay tribute to Phyllis Campbell at 78th “First Citizen” civic banquet

BELLEVUE, Washington. (April 20, 2016) – Two former governors, a business leader, and a foundation executive will pay tribute to banker-philanthropist Phyllis Campbell when she is honored as the 78th Seattle-King County First Citizen. The Issaquah resident – only the fifth woman to be singled out for the prestigious award – will be saluted at a civic banquet on May 25th.

Reservations for the not-for-profit event, to be held at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in downtown Seattle, may be made online here.

The speakers, who share Campbell’s dedication to community involvement with their own impressive records of service, include:

Martha Choe, former CAO at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a former director of the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED);

Steve Davis, president and CEO of PATH, and a social innovator with a lifelong commitment to human rights and global development;

Gov. Chris Gregoire, former two-term governor of the State of Washington, former three-term attorney general for Washington state, and current CEO of Challenge Seattle, of which Campbell is a member;

Gov. Gary Locke, former two-term governor of the State of Washington, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and  leader in the areas of education, employment, trade, health care, human rights, immigration reform, privacy, and the environment.

The four speakers will be joined by Seattle University President Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J., who will deliver the invocation, and emcee Steve Raible, KIRO 7 news anchor and “voice of the Seattle Seahawks.”

In addition to the speakers, the program will feature a musical salute by Shannon Cassady, an 11^th grade honors student at Interlake High School’s Gifted International Baccalaureate program and one of the featured pianists at the 2015 and 2016 “Ten Grands Seattle” concerts at Benaroya Hall.

Campbell, an accomplished business leader and current chairman, Pacific Northwest for JPMorgan Chase & Co., is being recognized in part for her multi-decade roles as a mentor, volunteer, philanthropist, and civic leader. The Issaquah resident has a proven track record of board service in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. Her nonprofit boards include PATH, the U.S.-Japan Council, and the global advisory board of Women Corporate Directors (WCD). She also serves as one of seven members of Toyota’s North American Diversity Advisory Board.

The announcement naming Campbell as the 78th recipient of the First Citizen Award cited her devotion to countless civic activities, with a focus on education and human services issues. She served as CEO of the Seattle Foundation for six years, on the Board of Trustees at Seattle University, and on the Board of Regents for Washington State University.

In the business arena, she has chaired the boards of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Washington Business, and serves on the boards of Alaska Air Group and Nordstrom.

Campbell holds an MBA from the University of Washington’s Executive MBA Program, a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University, and is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington, and Stanford University’s Executive Management Program. Campbell also holds honorary doctorates from Whitworth College and Gonzaga University. WSU award her the 36th Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2006.

About the First Citizen Award
The Seattle-King County First Citizen Award dates to 1939 when leaders from the Seattle Realty Board (now Seattle King County REALTORS®) organized a civic event to commemorate positive community work taking place during the recovery from the Great Depression. The award and civic banquet, believed to be this region’s oldest such recognition, has no fund-raising expectation, but instead is designed solely as a not-for-profit celebration of community involvement.

Since inception, the event has recognized individuals and organizations that enhance the area’s quality of life through visionary leadership, civic engagement, and dedication to building healthy communities through volunteerism and philanthropy.

The first recipient of the prestigious First Citizen Award was Dr. Richard Eugene Fuller, founder (with his mother) of the Seattle Art Museum. He also served as the Museum’s unsalaried president for 40 years.

Several former First Citizens are expected to attend the celebration. Recent recipients include Ted Baseler (2015) president and CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates; Norman B. Rice (2014), former mayor of Seattle and past president and CEO of The Seattle Foundation; former NBA coach and player Lenny Wilkens (2013); Rotary International District 5030 (2012); Karen Moyer and former Seattle Mariners pitcher Jamie Moyer of The Moyer Foundation (2011); and former U.S. Senator Slade Gorton (2010).

Over the years, the First Citizen inductees have represented humanitarian organizations, charitable, health and educational institutions, arts groups, environmental causes and various civic endeavors. (See complete list at SeattleFirstCitizen.org)

Starting this year, three real estate companies are partnering with SKCR to present the award. Organized as the Seattle First Citizen Foundation, the founding partners include John L. Scott Real Estate, RE/MAX and Windermere Real Estate.

Event sponsors include JPMorgan Chase & Co., Alaska Airlines, PATH, WGU Washington, and Washington State University.

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