Our guest today is Ray Deck III, a high-octane human, Founding Director of Skookum Kids, and the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce CEO of the Year 2019. Throughout our conversation, Ray shares insights into what makes him a strong leader: taking natural talent and purposefully developing leadership as a skill, planning, preparing and surrounding himself with high-caliber team members who are humble, hungry and smart. Ray's story stretches from being a camp counsellor to moving across the country, to managing a Special Projects team at a tech company, to starting Skookum Kids as a side project and eventually becoming the full-time director.  Skookum Kids was built around a single idea. It’s an organization whose mission statement says it all “if we take great care of people, the mission will take care of itself. So we work really hard to make this a delightful place to volunteer and to be a foster parent. We believe in health for all, meaning that no person should ever have to sacrifice their own health to serve kids….Healthy, happy well-supported people get more done.”Follow the podcast on social for exclusive content and even more localized episodes:

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CreditsHosted by Leo Cohen Produced and Edited by David Pender LofgrenRecorded and Mixed by Andy RickSocial Media: Cooper HansleyDigital Media Producer: Tiffany HoldenLogo: Sam VogtTheme Music: Aaron GuestRecording Studio: Binary Studios