Denny Heck

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My wife, Paula, and I continue to live in Olympia where we moved in 1985. That was the year I resigned my seat in the legislature (I represented east Clark County) and became the Chief Clerk of the House. That position is elected by the members of the House and is the chief administrative officer of the place. The reason I did that is that in November of 1984 our first son, Bob, came along and I didn’t want to spend every winter apart from him while I was in session and Paula continued to teach. (Actually, at that point she had become a vice principal.)

After two years of being Chief Clerk, the political bug bit me again. Well, maybe it never left me. So, in 1987 I didn’t run again for Chief Clerk and began a two-year campaign to be elected State Superintendent of Schools. I ran a great race! I managed to get endorsed by 62 out of 63 organizations giving endorsements. I wrote and had published a book about what I thought ought to be done in the office. I raised more than three times the funds of my opponent. Alas, when the votes were counted in November of 1988, I had managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I was defeated by 18,000 votes statewide. The defeat had no lingering and detectable impact on my sense of self-worth or psyche. I am not angry or resentful or bitter. Years later, I don’t even think about my crushing defeat back in 1988. Doesn’t bother me at all. Really. Honest. No problem at all.

But at least I was cured: no more elective politics! Notice I said "elective" politics because my political thing wasn’t quite done. Just after my defeat, then Governor Booth Gardner took pity on my unemployed status and hired me as his Chief of Staff – kinda’ like the right hand guy. I held that position for his entire second term and loved it. But then he decided to retire and I was once again out of work. Fortunately, during this time, Paula had been hired in Olympia Schools as a vice principal at a middle school and after a few years of that, the district got smart and made her a principal of her middle school, Jefferson, where she still is.

I knew we weren’t going to starve but I was facing unemployment once again. Retiring at age 40 and living off my spouse’s wages appealed to me but the truth was, I needed another challenge. So, I decided to start a statewide non-profit television network patterned after the successful national cable channel,  C-SPAN. We call ours "TVW" and most people in Washington State get it on cable at least part time every day. It has been a fun and worthwhile thing to do. Our unofficial motto is: Dare to be dull. And believe me, we are or can be. If you are not into politics or public policy, watching TVW can be somewhat painful. Fortunately for me, I also have the great pleasure and fun to have my own weekly interview program now which is just a hoot to do. I guess it is a statement of the obvious to suggest I am (still) a bit of a ham.

Lest I fail to mention it, while I was with Governor Gardner, in June of 1992, Paula and I also expanded our family by one with the arrival of our second (and last) son, Trey. I am proud of both my boys. They have taught me much although, unfortunately, patience isn’t on that list yet. Truly, there are as different as night and day – one athletic, one not; one musical, one not; one bookish, one not. But both are a source of great joy and pride for us.

Paula is very near retirement now and we think about it a lot. I am not sure I will fully retire when she does although I have lots that could occupy me. I love playing bridge and going to movies and reading (when I have time). I also have a very active business life outside TVW that takes a lot of time and attention but is quite satisfying. I have had the privilege of being involved in several Internet companies from the ground floor up and now serve on two Boards of Directors.

In short, life has been better to me than I deserve.

My personal credo:

Work hard.
Have fun.
Change the world.

I look forward to the reunion this summer and regret I could not be there 10 years ago when business took me out of state. You probably won’t recognize me. I am one of the few people I know who actually grew out of high school (almost two inches). I also managed to gain 60 pounds and grow a beard to hide the unrelenting ravages of age being visited upon my countenance. I don’t mind getting older; I just wish I were getting better.

Denny and Paula Heck

1518 Columbia Street Southwest

Olympia, WA 98501

Phone (unlisted): 360-786-1962.