PORT OF SEATTLE
MEMORANDUM
COMMISSION AGENDA
Item No.
4a
Date of Meeting
July 26, 2011
DATE: July 19, 2011
TO: Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer
FROM: Police Chief Colleen Wilson and Fire Chief Randy Krause
SUBJECT: Special Order of Business – Recognition of the 2011 POSPD Officer of the Year
and POSFD Firefighter of the Year.
The Port of Seattle Police Department (POSPD) and the Port of Seattle Fire Department
(POSFD) are pleased to present our 2011 Police Officer of the Year, Julia Tanga, and our 2011
Firefighter of the Year, Jason Schnase, and appreciate the Port Commission’s recognition of
these two excellent Port employees.
Both Officer Tanga and Captain Schnase have been selected by their peers. This award was
established to recognize officers and firefighters who have demonstrated exceptional
achievement, the highest standards of competence and professionalism, and shown a genuine
commitment to their profession, the department, and the public we serve.
Officer Tanga’s nominations tell us that she is “knowledgeable, self motivated, a great
communicator, proficient, and is ALWAYS willing to help others.” She consistently displays the
highest level of professionalism and it is said that her “day-to-day interactions and attitude with
her coworkers and the public that make her deserving of the Officer of the Year.” Excellence,
they say, is not an act, but a habit – one that Officer Tanga has clearly developed.
Officer Tanga’s nominations describe her tireless dedication to both routine and collateral duties,
her professionalism and her compassion for others. One nomination referred to her work with the
peer support group and the police benevolent association, saying, “When a member of the
department, or for that matter the larger police family, is hurting or needs assistance, our
agency can depend on Officer Tanga to lead the effort to organize a coordinated response.”
Because of that commitment, she has been appointed to the new position of Peer Support Team
Coordinator. She will coordinate a new Board and some connections to help us re-energize this
very important effort.
Always upbeat and positive, Julia has displayed a genuine commitment to her profession and to
our guiding principles. That has obviously led to the respect and appreciation of her peers as
reflected clearly in the vote.
COMMISSION AGENDA
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer
July 19, 2011
Page 2 of 2
We are also pleased to announce Jason Schnase as our 2010 Firefighter of the Year. We would
like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all involved in the Firefighter of the year
selection process. Nominees for Firefighter of the year were Todd Starkey, Greg Baruso and
Jason Schnase. All three candidates continue to contribute a great deal to our department and we
are very appreciative of all their contributions.
Jason’s co-workers recognized his work ethic, loyalty and tenacity for his nomination. Captain
Schnase continually volunteers for difficult assignments, most notably, his assignment to the
Washington State Fire Academy where he was drill instructor/master to a class that included
three of our own recruits. Jason undertook this challenge with his usual enthusiasm and
thoroughness and completed it with a degree of professionalism that without a doubt impressed
the administrators at the academy. He graduated a very fine group of firefighters from not only
our department but many others as well. His work at the academy and here at the station
exemplifies the quality of Firefighter we at the Port strive to produce. Jason is very deserving of
this honor.
