Sam Reed honored with WSU Alumni Achievement Award

Reed receiving award
Reed, center, is presented with the award by former and current WSU
presidents Sam Smith, left, and Elson S. Floyd.
 
PULLMAN, Wash. – Sam Reed, former Washington secretary of state, recently was honored with the Washington State University Alumni Association (WSUAA) Alumni Achievement Award for outstanding accomplishment and leadership in elected office.
 
After 35 years as an elected official, Reed retired this month from public office as Washington’s 14th secretary of state.
 
He is widely recognized as the nation’s most accomplished secretary of state, based in part on his work to improve the state’s voting process following the contested 2004 gubernatorial race, the closest race of its type in U.S. history. He also is lauded for his work to influence election policy; together with then-State Attorney General Rob McKenna, he won the people’s case before the U.S. Supreme Court for a top-two primary in Washington.
 
Prior to his service as secretary of state, Reed served five terms as Thurston County auditor. He was assistant secretary of state under Lud Kramer and Bruce Chapman. Gov. Dan Evans appointed Reed director of the Urban Affairs Council in 1967 and the Constitutional Reform Commission in 1975.
 
Reed is a dedicated community leader. He has served as president of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), advisor to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and member of the Olympia Kiwanis Club. He sits on the Washington State Historical Society Board of Trustees, TVW (Washington’s public affairs network) Board of Directors, YMCA Youth and Government Board, advisory board for the Washington Campus Compact and State Capitol Committee.
 
Reed grew up in Wenatchee, Wash., and earned his bachelor’s degree in social studies and master’s degree in political science from WSU. In honor of his distinguished career, the WSU College of Arts and Sciences established an endowment to fund the Sam Reed Distinguished Professorship in Civic Education and Public Civility.
 
His alumni award presentation took place at the “Sam Reed Roast and Toast” on Jan. 10 in Seattle.
 
The Alumni Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed by the WSUAA. Since 1970, more than 500 alumni have received the award.