Summary

King County Councilmember Sarah Perry on Tuesday awarded Fire Chief Jeff Clark of Eastside Fire & Rescue in Issaquah with the Martin Luther King Medal of Distinguished Service, an award that recognizes individuals whose work has answered the question asked by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “What are you doing for others?”

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King County Councilmember Sarah Perry on Tuesday awarded Fire Chief Jeff Clark of Eastside Fire & Rescue in Issaquah with the Martin Luther King Medal of Distinguished Service, an award that recognizes individuals whose work has answered the question asked by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “What are you doing for others?”

For the past 31 years, Jeff Clark has devoted his career to the health and wellbeing of his community, starting in 1991 in Chandler, Arizona and finally wrapping that career up as Fire Chief of Eastside Fire & Rescue in Issaquah. Chief Clark will be retiring from his position at the end of the year.

Under Chief Clark’s leadership, Eastside Fire & Rescue has achieved a number of recent successes, including implementation of a Mobile Integrated Healthcare program; incorporation of Eastside Fire and Rescue as a governmental non-profit organization; implementation of a wildfire mitigation program; successfully merging with Woodinville Fire & Rescue via contract; and working closely with the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe and the City of Issaquah to navigate complexities surrounding COVID-19 and creating an effective response plan. 

“Chief Jeff Clark personifies what it means to be a servant-leader. For three decades he has worked to ensure the safety and health of the communities around him. Chief Clark is widely respected and admired as a champion for not only fire mitigation, but for his overall passion for effective responses to behavioral health needs throughout our communities,” Perry said. “His impact of service to the community and others in general goes well beyond the call of duty, and he is seen as a great example of servant leadership by those who serve with him. For these reasons and more it is my honor to recognize Chief Clark as the 2022 MLK Distinguished Medal of Service recipient.”

This marks the seventh year that councilmembers have each selected someone from their district whose work embodies the spirit of King’s question.