East Terminal Way at the Port of Grays Harbor gained the honorary name Jack Thompson Way at a dedication ceremony Tuesday.
Thompson was a Port commissioner for 24 years. He died from injuries sustained during a fall while on Port business in Santiago, Chile, last October.
Port Executive Director Gary Nelson called the road Thompson’s “sneak-in approach” to the Port, where he’d enter Terminal 4 to talk with the Longshoremen and other Port workers.
“He’d come back and tell me what we needed to fix,” said Nelson. “He loved visiting and finding out what was going on in the field.”
Commission President Stan Pinnick said the honor was “for a great friend” who “gave 24 years to the Port” and was pivotal in the Port’s success in international trade.
Former commissioner Chuck Caldwell said of Thompson, “I don’t think anyone has done as much for the Harbor as Jack.”
In attendance were Thompson’s sons, Jack and Jerry, Thompson’s wife Trish and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
After the dedication, Pinnick read a resolution he and fellow commissioners Tom Quigg and Phil Papac passed earlier in the day honoring Thompson. The resolution outlined some of Jack’s contributions to the Port, including his support for the Deeper Draft dredging project, the installation of $20 million in new rail infrastructure and “the diversification of cargo which attracted AGP, REG, Contanda, Pasha, Willis and Ocean Companies to invest over $225 million in improvements on Port owned properties.”
The resolution also read, in part, “The Commission believes that it will be a fitting tribute to Commissioner Jack Thompson to have his name attached to East Terminal Way, the route that cargo, Longshoremen, Port employees and others travel to reach the import/export facilities at Terminal 4.”
DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Trish Thompson stands between Port of Grays Harbor Executive Director Gary Nelson, left, and Port Commission President Stan Pinnick at the dedication of Jack Thompson Way in Aberdeen Tuesday afternoon.
DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP From left, Port of Grays Harbor Commission President Stan Pinnick, Port Commissioner Tom Quigg, Trish Thompson, former commissioner Chuck Caldwell, and Port Commissioner Phil Papac stand beneath the sign designating East Terminal Way as Jack Thompson Way.
