State of the City 2012: finding our "extra" | Community Spirit

Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland delivered an upbeat State of the City address to a large crowd at last night's Shift Happens event at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center.

If last year was about finishing what we'd started, 2012 is about taking it to the next level: finding our "extra," as Strickland put it Monday night.

"Finding our extra is the acknowledgment that we must take 'good enough' and raise it into something extraordinary," Strickland said. "'Good enough' isn't going to cut it anymore."

Strickland's spoke to a crowd of several hundred during the Shift Happens celebration of local business for the second year in a row. Organizers during the event's inaugural year last year billed the "State of the City" address as the first of its kind for Tacoma.

She listed a number of projects that were completed in 2011 or are winding up this year that are making the city proud, including the opening of a downtown grocery store, the installation of an ice skating rink at Tollefson Plaza, the completion of the Cheney Stadium remodel, the move and remodel of the Children's Museum of Tacoma, and more.

Other successes included a partnership between education advocacy organization Tacoma 360 and First Creek Middle School, the return of former Seahawk Jon Kitna to Lincoln High School, and a roster of new civic leaders that include new Tacoma Public Schools Superintendent Carla Santorno and new Tacoma City Manager T.C. Broadnax, among others.

"So 2012 is definitely a year of new beginnings," she said.

Those are all projects that would make any city proud, Strickland told the audience, but Tacoma hasn't been without its challenges.

Last year was tough, she said.

"Like just about every other city across America, we're facing budget challenges," Strickland said. Tacoma will have to make cuts, increase revenues, make investments, and address jobs and the economy to pull itself out of the recession. 

We must also "focus on opportunities to make the most progress," she said. "It applies to every organization, whether it is the smallest business or the largest company."

Individuals and businesses alike must find their "extra."

Strickland cited several examples of local businesses who are already delivering theirs: Burkhart Dental and their reputation for treating their employees right; Brown and Haley's successful rebranding of Almond Roca; and the board and staff of the Grand Cinema, who regularly bring great movies to Tacoma, but whose "extra" is having the best popcorn in town.

"Let's make the shift and find and deliver our extra in 2012," Strickland said.

The full audio of Strickland's address is available for listening and commentary at Chat Trak, a new audio project from Feed Tacoma's Kevin Freitas.