Anniversaries and commitment – things most people instantly associate with personal relationships. I’m going to talk about a different kind today. We at PRWA are celebrating a 10th anniversary this fall – we incorporated on November 2, 2015. And it took a lot of commitment to get the organization to this milestone.
Mario Villanueva, as then state director of USDA Rural Development, and Kim Herman were instrumental in bringing a state rural development council back to Washington that year; the previous SRDC dissolved several years earlier due to lack of funding. With $75,000 in seed money from USDA, the Washington State Rural Development Council (otherwise known as Partners for Rural Washington) was formed. Only 14 states across the country still have active councils. Washington is fortunate to be among them. This is largely because of the commitment of its president, Kim Herman.
There were lean years after the initial USDA grant ran out as no additional federal funding has been allocated to SRDCs. But Kim kept things afloat – filing required paperwork, maintaining the website, holding board meetings, and always looking for more funding and opportunities. There were several broadband-related projects from 2019-2020 and then…COVID struck. The pandemic was a turning point for PRWA. Kim saw an opportunity to address rural community needs in eastern Washington. With support from Innovia and the Ballmer Group, PRWA helped with Lincoln County’s broadband expansion project and was instrumental in helping to bring a health clinic back to Garfield. That success snowballed and continues today.
Kim has been at the helm of PRWA’s board of directors for a decade. Always giving of his time and talent, and more than once, his treasure. And always committed to the organization and its mission. He is stepping away from that role at the end of this month. On behalf of everyone at PRWA, we are deeply grateful to him for all that he has done over the last 10 years for the organization. He is truly a champion for rural Washington communities. We will do our utmost to continue his commitment to Washington’s rural places.
Take care,
Jody
