Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens, originally uploaded by Tori..

I was very saddened to hear of the passing on former Senator Ted Stevens. He was a leader in my home state most of my life. He was the kind of polician that was bipartisan in that he was in touch with the needs of Alaskans. I used to live in the town near where his plane went down, and worked for a mostly liberal-minded agency that had little trouble getting Ted Stevens to lend an ear to various ideas. He was the kind of politician that those of us working in public jobs and had dealings with his office could agree with, or disagree with ... and mostly not be annoyed with. The public in general might not have seen that side because they just see what the media portrays.

Years ago when I was still teaching I went with a group of youth from Bristol Bay and Anchorage to Washintgon DC for the Close-Up Program. Dillingham was there. A friend of mine that now works for the State of Alaska was a senior at the time. Anyway, there was some big vote (can't really recall) but Mr. Stevens still juggled his day to spend some time with the youth from his state. He didn't miss the vote. He did both. Other chaperones from other states only got meetings with aides, but Ted Stevens took the time to visit with our tiny group of students.

Years later when I was no longer teaching I happened to walk past Mr. Stevens on the street outside the Egan Center during the Alaskan Native Federation Conference. Out of respect I nodded and told him hello, and would have walked on by because mostly I didn't want to bug him. He started up a short conversation. He remembered who I was. Had noticed I didn't return to DC the year after and wondered if I'd stick with that program. I think he really liked the Close-Up program, though honestly it must have been a bit of a pain to schedule meet and greets with kids. I was a little amazed he remembered who I was as it had been years already and if you'd put me in a room with his aides in DC I would never have recognized them! Ted Stevens really was a people person. Bless him and his family and thank you for years of service for Bristol Bay and the rest of Alaska.