Friend of Housing Awards

Washington State Housing Finance Commission Honors Affordable Housing Advocates

SEATTLE/Tacoma, Wash. — The Washington State Housing Finance Commission (based in Seattle) presented seven awards to six individuals and one organization last night at the 2008 Friend of Housing awards ceremony taking place during Housing Washington, the annual statewide conference on affordable housing. More than 500 people attended the award reception at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center in Tacoma.

Honorees were selected for their leadership and exceptional contribution to creating or supporting affordable housing, implementing housing-related programs, creating innovative financing mechanisms for housing, supporting homebuyer education or technical training efforts within the housing community and helping to solve housing problems. The Commission received nominations for the Friend of Housing awards from people working in the public, private and independent sectors of the affordable housing industry.

Award recipients are as follows.
Visit the Commission's website for individual award details, photos, and media releases.

Margaret M. Sevy Affordable Housing Lifetime Achievement Award

The Margaret M. Sevy Affordable Housing Lifetime Achievement Award is named after a long time advocate for affordable housing, who was committed to strengthening communities and the quality of life for people in need of affordable housing.

Carla Okigwe, executive director of the Housing Development Consortium of Seattle-King County

Friend of Housing Individual Achievement Awards

Edwin Petersen, founder, Housing Hope, Everett

Linda Hugo, executive director, Community Frameworks, Bremerton

Lisa Vatske, housing officer, Washington State Department of Community Trade and Economic Development, Olympia

Mark Lundgren, M.C. Lundgren General Contractor, Inc., Clayton (Spokane area)

Sue Taoka, executive vice president of urban programs, Shorebank Enterprise Cascadia, Seattle

Friend of Housing Organizational Achievement Award

Housing Authority of Grant County
John Poling, executive director, Jeff Mauceri, operations manager and their staff

 

Washington State Housing Finance Commission is a publicly accountable, self-supporting agency dedicated to increasing housing access and affordability and to expanding the availability of quality community services for Washington state residents.

Additional background information on each award recipient is available through Bombar Public Relations at caroline@bombar.com or 425-260-3302.