In Spokane, Rette Bidstrup and Guy Gifford received Public Service Recognition Awards from Secretary of State Sam Reed. Photo: Steve Harris/DNR.
When it comes to wildfire safety, DNR has numerous employees who go the extra mile. But two employees stand out as deserving for their efforts; so deserving, in fact, that they were among those honored last week with special awards presented by Secretary of State Sam Reed:
- Guy Gifford, fire prevention forester for DNR’s Northeast Region, received the Extra Mile Award.
- Rette Bidstrup, center manager for the Northeast Washington Interagency Communications Center (NWICC), received the Leadership Award.
As a fire prevention specialist, Guy Gifford goes the extra mile when it comes to visionary thinking. He tapped into the energy of the Boy Scouts of America for fire prevention efforts. He also provides advice to forest landowners in parts of Spokane and Lincoln counties. Recently, Guy has been going the extra mile in covering extra workload due to a vacancy in the workgroup. He frequently works weekends and evenings to complete the job and provide timely service. Even with the extra workload, Guy always maintains a positive attitude.
Leadership Award Rette Bidstrup has worked for DNR for over 40 years. Rette inspires staff by setting examples every day. She demonstrates integrity and a strong work ethic at all times. The most notable is Rette’s ability to deal with crisis and chaos. Rette has worked through the worst of fire seasons, hundreds of lightning strikes, “FireStorm 91,” and years of devastating wildfires that most have forgotten. Rette’s ability to remember these fires and lessons learned has been central to leading the staff at NWICC in being successful. She brings calmness and yet inspires her staff to work quickly in dispatching resources. Public Service Recognition Week
Each year, as a part of Public Service Recognition Week, public employees are honored around the state for their exemplary service to their community with the Extra Mile and Leadership Awards. These awards are chosen from a pool of nominations sent to a committee by fellow employees. These awards, presented at the Spokane Public Service Recognition Week event, were presented by Secretary of State Sam Reed. Guy and Rette’s commitment in serving the public, by protecting the lives of the people of Washington, and protecting land and property is obvious by their many years of service and dedication.
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Tags: DNR, Washington, Wildfire
