My First Job: Kathleen Miller, executive director

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November 12, 2006

My First Job: Kathleen Miller, executive director

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Kathleen Miller

Current position: Executive director, Northwest Crafts Alliance, producer of the Best of the Northwest juried fine-art and craft shows. It's Friday through Sunday at Magnuson Park in Seattle, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

First job: Working for Mr. William Bennett, the only attorney in the small town of Condon, Ore. He was the district attorney, as well as owner of a title company. In the office, they still used two pieces of carbon paper for everything that was typed, and they did not have an IBM Selectric. Once, when he went on vacation, I painted the office yellow — a yellow to pop your eyes open wide, to coordinate with his wife's office, nicknamed "Peppermint Palace" because it was bright pink. There was a very high ceiling and a pull-chain toilet out back. Upstairs a practicing dentist did not use Novocain or any other drug when drilling and filling cavities — small-town life at its best.

What I learned: Mr. Bennett was a land baron in his own right. Personally, I learned about real estate and commercial investment. Professionally, I learned how to conduct myself in an office environment. I learned that you need to be meticulous in how you plan things, and that the written word is paramount. Even today, a written letter is far more powerful than an e-mail. My position with the Northwest Crafts Alliance requires me to work outside the box and be inventive at problem solving, much of which I owe to Mr. Bennett.

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