Bonnie Lamb retires from Port of Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — Travel is the main item on Bonnie Lamb’s agenda after retiring from the Port of Moses Lake this week.

MOSES LAKE - Travel is the main item on Bonnie Lamb's agenda after retiring from the Port of Moses Lake this week.

She and husband Dan are taking a West Caribbean cruise in September.

"We've cruised before, with different friends and have gone to different places," Lamb said. She's traveled with her sister to Alaska and with friends to Mexico.

This trip is different, though, because it comes after her retirement.

Lamb, 61, the port's finance/administration manager, completed 30 years at the port this year.

Her husband, Dan, retired in December from Moses Lake Steel.

"He's just having a great time and is busy enjoying himself," Bonnie says. "I thought it was time to go traveling and enjoy ourselves."

They own a motor home and plan on visiting friends and family during their spare time.

She started working for the port in 1980. She decided it was time to return to work when her youngest son started grade school.

Her former bosses, Col. Clyde Owen and June Higgins, were working at the port at the time.

"They were inspirational people," Bonnie said. "The port has such a variety of things we do. There's always routine things we do and new guidelines and regulations."

Owen called Bonnie "a wonderful, wonderful person ever since I've known her."

"I think the world of Bonnie," he commented. "She did an excellent job when working for me as one of the office secretaries."

"She's a very dedicated person and did her work in a wonderful fashion," Owen recalled.

"She was a great person to work with. We certainly enjoyed having her and her friendship," he said. "She is a great person."

Learning new things was key to her being at the port for so long.

"Having so much to do made it interesting," she said. "The tenants we had at the port are great people to work with and fun to know.

"The board had always been terrific to work with and our managers have been really super too," she said. "They are very supportive of their staff, which makes a lot of difference."

Port staff remained mostly the same, except for management changes.

"I've been fortunate to have really great people to work for," she said.

She was hired as an office assistant and later advanced to her current position upon Higgins' retirement.

Bonnie's job currently involves office management, overseeing payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, ensuring contracts are done according to the Revised Code of Washington and lease management.

Over the years, she's seen some changes. One main modification was her workplace, with the construction of the new port office dedicated in 1998.

The port office was previously located inside the Larson Air Force Base Operations Building, which is close to the current port office.

The base operations building used to sit in the port office's parking lot and has since been demolished.

During her career, she's found that it helps to be interested in what you're doing, willing to learn new things, committed to your position and company and committed to doing your very best.

"I think it's always important to be committed and loyal and to do what you need to do to make staff be successful," she says. "I never minded being in the background."

When representing the port, she always tries to have a smile on her face and to say good things.

Bonnie takes pride in the fact that the port always had clean audits.

The port received a letter of commendation seven or eight years ago for having favorable audits for such a long time.

Her last audit comes before she retired this month.

She considers her mentors to be her former supervisors David Bailey, Higgins and Owen.

"We worked together the longest," Bonnie recalled. "They just kind of told me the way it needed to be and they were right. They were very good to work for."

She handed being a working mom by managing her time well.

"I think moms that work are better at planning their time," she said. "My family was always really good and very supportive too. Just being organized is a good part of it."

"The kids had chores they needed to do and that helped out," Bonnie commented.

Her family also includes two grandsons living in Moses Lake and a grandson and granddaughter residing in Spokane.

She enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, gardening, reading, traveling and playing with her miniature dachshunds Mabel and Martha.

Bonnie credits her marriage of 42 years to doing almost everything with husband Dan.

"He's a wonderful, wonderful man," she said.