Thursday, November 5, 2009

Service, vision and integrity

I would like to add my personal tribute to Syl Fulwiler, former Spokane city manager, who died last week. I had the honor of serving under Syl during the mid-'70s and observed some of the best practices of good management that I have seen during my career.

Many current residents may not remember the pre-Expo '74 days when Spokane had a decaying downtown with a railroad and decrepit buildings occupying what is now Riverfront Park. Syl worked with the civic and political leaders of the time to focus city staff effort toward the fulfillment of their collective vision, while at the same time keeping the city government operating with the highest level of dedication toward providing quality services with always limited budgets.

If there is one thing above all that I remember about Syl Fulwiler, it was that he always maintained the absolute highest level of integrity whether he was dealing with the public, the City Council or the employees. Thank you, Syl.

Roger D. Crum
Spokane