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By Kris Johnson
Sometimes you meet a person who makes you feel proud to be a human being.
When that person is only 10 years old, it’s
especially inspiring.
Several of us at the Association of Washington
Business had exactly that experience recently as we prepared for the lighting
of the 31st annual Holiday Kids’ Tree in the Capitol rotunda in Olympia.
Her name is Jayden Nelson, and she’s a dynamo.
When Jayden turned 8 years old, she used her birthday
money to buy toys for the young patients at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in
Tacoma. Since then she’s held bake sales, sold homemade candles and jewelry,
led spaghetti feeds, and has raised thousands of dollars to buy toys that can
bring comfort to children facing serious medical issues.
This year, Jayden can add “tree-lighter” to her
growing résumé as she flips the switch on the tree in the state Capitol
rotunda.
As the state’s business and manufacturing
association, AWB is proud to lead a number of statewide efforts. Perhaps the
most heartwarming is our job each December to coordinate the decorations and
lighting of the state’s holiday tree. Those decorations are always bundled up
after the new year and donated to a local children’s hospital.
In the past few years we’ve asked military and law
enforcement families to light the tree, which has been a powerful experience.
This year we decided to look for a child who exemplified the spirit of giving
and charity. When we learned about Jayden and her love for Mary Bridge, it was
an easy choice.
Jayden was inspired to give after her second-grade
teacher in the Lewis County town of Pe Ell read her a book about “Change
Makers.”
Jayden went home to tell her mom that she wanted to
be a change maker.
Her mom wasn’t sure what she meant, asking her if she
wanted to work in a coin factory.
“No mom!” she said. “I want to do good for the
world.”
A similar spirit has led Washington employers to
donate a total of $420,000 to the Holiday Kids’ Tree project over the last
three decades. Just before the annual tree-lighting ceremony, we give bags of
toys and checks to representatives from rural fire districts who distribute the
money to families in need. This year we were able to spread holiday cheer to
families across the state, from Camano Island to Chelan and Walla Walla.
It was particularly meaningful that one of the 19
rural fire districts receiving donations this year is in Jayden’s very own
hometown of Doty, in the woods of west Lewis County.
And speaking of trees, your state Capitol this year
was filled with the greenery of a 34-foot noble fir, donated by Weyerhaeuser
from its Vail Tree Farm near Rainier.
The tree was harvested from a small area that is
being cleared to make room for a series of wind turbines at the new
Skookumchuck Wind Farm. This 38-turbine project, a partnership between Puget
Sound Energy, Weyerhaeuser, TransAlta and RES, will generate 137 megawatts of
power — enough to power 48,000 homes. That will be a gift for generations to
come.
Christmas is always a special time for families and
children. Through the generosity of donors to the Holiday Kids’ Tree project —
and special young people like Jayden Nelson — the holidays will glow even
brighter across our Evergreen State.
Kris Johnson is president of the Association of Washington Business, the state’s chamber of commerce and manufacturers association.