About How the Lady Lex Lit Up Tacoma!
Presented by William Lokey - Adventurer, Mountaineer, Emergency
Manager and Polar Logistician
Join us for an in-depth presentation on how the USS Lexington kept
the lights on in Tacoma in 1929, after a severe drought left little water
behind Tacoma City Light’s two power dams. This fascinating story of good
intentions, bureaucracy, city rivalry, politics, and improvisational problem
solving, explores the relationship that developed between the Lady Lex and
Tacoma that lasted all the way through World War II.
About the Speaker:
William Lokey has enjoyed a 50-year career of travel and
adventure, supporting science in the Polar Regions and helping communities
prepare for, respond to, and recover from all kinds of disasters.
During his summers in college (he has a degree in Sculpture from
Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio), he worked for the Juneau Icefield Research
Program supporting student training and research programs. Later, he
managed logistics and provided survival training for the US Antarctic Program,
doing four tours, wintering over on three occasions.
After Antarctica, William had a 40-year career in emergency
management, working at the local, state, and federal levels and as a private
sector consultant. He has managed preparedness, response, and recovery
operations for hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, winter storms,
volcanic eruptions, wildland fires, and terrorist attacks. He has shared
his expertise throughout the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ecuador,
Singapore, Thailand and Japan.
William has climbed mountains and led expeditions to peaks in the
United States, Canada, France, Mexico, New Zealand, Antarctica, and
Africa. Recently retired, he now enjoys travel, mountaineering, skiing,
and sharing his experiences with schools, service clubs, cruise ships and other
organizations.
