What do girl quarterback, recovering addict have in common? Pierce County pair won ovations at Washington state Capitol
Before election-year politics completely engulf our country and state capital, it’s worth taking time to celebrate some decidedly unpolitical people — ordinary folks who achieve lifelong dreams, overcome big obstacles and chart a path for others to do the same.
In Washington state, motivational stories can be found on every city block, playing out on stages large and small.
There’s certainly no shortage of Pierce County stories to tell — such as a teenage girl breaking through gender barriers to make history on a football field, or a man in his late 30s taming personal demons that had rendered him hopeless and homeless.
Gov. Jay Inslee chose a handful of Washington overcomers to introduce at his 2020 state of the state address last week. They were given special seats in the House gallery, plus a few moments to bask in ovations during a joint session of the Legislature.
We’re not surprised Pierce County would be well represented in this group. Brynna Nixon of Fife was one of two local guests of honor, and the first of several remarkable Washingtonians spotlighted by the governor.
“I am inspired by so many Washington stories,” Inslee said. “I am inspired by a Fife High School junior who is here today. She is the first female quarterback in our state’s history to throw a touchdown pass for a football team.”
To be precise, Nixon was the first girl in Washington to throw a touchdown in a varsity high school game. She’d made other big plays as Fife’s junior-varsity quarterback and during her years in peewee football. But no girl had done it under the Friday night lights. And what a time to write history: in the second half of a playoff game against Clover Park on Nov. 1, after Fife’s starting QB went down with an injury.
Nixon rose to the occasion in front of a home crowd. Rolling right, she heaved a perfect ball over the shoulder of a receiver, lofting it 25 yards with little margin for error in the corner of the endzone. Fife won the game, advancing to the next round of the playoffs.
Who says a girl can’t be a field general in an athletic endeavor long dominated by boys? Maybe the same skeptics who believed a woman would never lead the Washington state House of Representatives. Pierce County helped puncture that myth, too, as Tacoma’s Laurie Jinkins took hold of the speaker’s gavel last week.
The second local resident to receive VIP treatment from the governor was recognized for something less glamorous but more important than completing a football pass. Jayson Chambers completed a successful transition from temporary shelter to more permanent housing — a step state leaders hope to see repeated hundreds of times in the next year as they look to invest millions in homelessness programs.
Inslee met Chambers last fall during a tour of Tacoma’s stability site, a city-operated encampment that opened in the Dome District in 2017.
“He told me something pretty profound,” Inslee said of Chambers. “He simply said that the stability site saved his life, because the resources there helped him work through a chemical dependency problem and get an apartment in Puyallup. He’s using this success now to help others in the same situation.”
That last part is the best part — overcomers sharing their insights, paying it forward, trying to make Washington better for everyone.
On most days, Jayson Chambers and Brynna Nixon would have little in common. But last week they sat together in a balcony while normal Olympia politics took a backseat. They shared the distinction of earning praise from the governor, winning applause from a roomful of state dignitaries and bringing pride to Pierce County.