Governor Gregoire addresses the Maritime Gig Festival

June 7, 2008

*As Written*


Good afternoon, and thank you Warren, for the introduction.

What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon at the dawn of summer -- (yes, it�ll get here eventually!)

The Maritime Gig Festival is something a whole lot of people, on and off the Peninsula, look forward to every year, and I�m very glad I could make it this year.

Thank you Senator (Derek) Kilmer and Representative (Larry) Seaquist for inviting me, and thank you also Warren (Zimmerman). The Chamber of Commerce does a great job and Gig Harbor can be proud of this event!

As we celebrate and enjoy this festival � I hope we can take a moment to reflect and remember that what we are celebrating here is something very precious.

And that�s Gig Harbor�s deep and intimate relationship with Puget Sound � first as a commercial fishing village�always as a sailing venue�and now as an important tourist destination.
We�re all worried about the health of Puget Sound, and we should be.

I, the Legislature, local governments, and many in the private sector, are working hard through our new Puget Sound Partnership to clean up and protect our sound. But so much of it rests on each of us individuals.

If you live near or on the shore, as many of you do, then you know better than anybody that over time everything flows into Puget Sound � oil, chemicals, and everything else we generate as people.

As individuals, we truly can make every day choices that will put the sound at risk, or protect it.

So I�d ask that we let this festival honor not only our common heritage � but our resolve to protect Puget Sound � for the fishers, boaters, tourists, sailors � and as important � for our children and grandchildren.

Enjoy yourselves today at this great festival!

Thank You