HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2024-4699, by Representatives Jinkins, Stokesbary,
Abbarno, Alvarado, Barkis, Barnard, Bateman, Berg, Bergquist, Berry, Bronoske,
Caldier, Callan, Chambers, Chandler, Chapman, Cheney, Chopp, Christian, Connors,
Corry, Cortes, Couture, Davis, Dent, Doglio, Donaghy, Duerr, Dye, Entenman, Eslick,
Farivar, Fey, Fitzgibbon, Fosse, Goehner, Goodman, Graham, Gregerson, Griffey,
Hackney, Harris, Hutchins, Jacobsen, Klicker, Kloba, Kretz, Leavitt, Lekanoff, Low,
Macri, Maycumber, McClintock, McEntire, Mena, Morgan, Mosbrucker, Nance, Orcutt,
Ormsby, Ortiz-Self, Orwall, Paul, Peterson, Pollet, Ramel, Ramos, Reed, Reeves,
Riccelli, Robertson, Rude, Rule, Ryu, Sandlin, Santos, Schmick, Schmidt, Senn,
Shavers, Simmons, Slatter, Springer, Stearns, Steele, Stonier, Street, Taylor,
Thai, Tharinger, Timmons, Volz, Walen, Walsh, Waters, Wilcox, Wylie, and Ybarra
1 WHEREAS, Lisa Fenton was born in Portland, Oregon to Mike and
2 Linda Higginbotham and grew up with brother Scott and sister Daina
3 all over the county as her father was transferred to San Jose,
4 California; Bellevue, Washington; Denver, Colorado; Olympia,
5 Washington; and Burnsville, Minnesota; and
6 WHEREAS, Lisa eventually moved from Pullman back to Olympia,
7 where she began her career with the legislature in October 1984; and
8 WHEREAS, Between 1984 and 1998 she worked in the Senate five
9 years and then transferred to the House of Representatives, serving
10 in the capacities of legislative assistant and senior legislative
11 assistant, and in the chief clerk's office; and
12 WHEREAS, She took a two-year hiatus from the legislature between
13 1998 to 2000, to work as an account executive in a local advertising
14 agency; and
15 WHEREAS, She returned to the House of Representatives in 2000,
16 acting as a public information officer until 2007 and assuming the
17 role of communications director for the house republican caucus
18 between 2007 to 2012; and
19 WHEREAS, Between 2012 and 2024, she ably, loyally, and
20 courageously served as chief of staff, AKA Right-Hand-Woman, to four
21 sets of house republican leaders, earning their trust, respect, and
22 admiration; and
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 1 WHEREAS, Said leaders describe her as "an absolute professional"
2 who has "earned the respect of legislative members and staff across
3 the capitol campus on both sides of the aisle and the Third House";
4 the "hardest working woman in Olympia, with the biggest heart";
5 "probably one of the best additions to the House of Representatives
6 that I know of"; and a defender of the institution, which in the end
7 promoted not only the interests of her members and staff, but also of
8 the people of the state of Washington; and
9 WHEREAS, As chief of staff she promoted her values of fairness,
10 inclusiveness, consideration, kindness, respect, and providing growth
11 opportunities for all staff. She consistently promoted "teams" well
12 before "Teams"; and
13 WHEREAS, We will miss her fun-loving sense of humor and the fact
14 that you can get her to laugh so hard she cries, which lightens the
15 mood during a 20-hour floor session; and
16 WHEREAS, She balanced the substantial demands of her career at
17 the legislature with her role as devoted wife and partner to Mike
18 Fenton and dedicated mom to sons Ben and Sam, and stepdaughters
19 Rachel and Palen; and
20 WHEREAS, The pull of being a grandma to her adorable grandson
21 David is contributing to her decision to abandon us and focus on
22 family; and
23 WHEREAS, We will be green with envy, but happy for her and Mike,
24 when she sends us photos of them relaxing in Mexico, their home away
25 from home, during the months of January through April; and
26 WHEREAS, We will miss her cheerful greeting, "Hello, sunshine,"
27 because she is our sunshine and please don't take our sunshine away;
28 and
29 WHEREAS, We must get through the stages of grief and let her go,
30 because she has given her heart and soul to serving the legislature,
31 members, staff, and the people of the state of Washington, and she
32 deserves a long, healthy, and happy retirement with Mike, their
33 family, and their beloved dogs Winnie and Cubby;
34 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives
35 of the State of Washington salute and celebrate Lisa Fenton for her
36 dedicated service to the legislature and, indeed, to the people of
37 the entire state of Washington.
38
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1 I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of
2 Resolution 4699 adopted by the House of Representatives
3 March 6, 2024
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8 __________________________
9 Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk
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