| As my resume indicates, I have done a lot of very interesting things in my life. I attribute a lot of it to growing up in a great community in Portland, Oregon called Ladd's Addition. We had a wonderful school which was part of St. Philip Neri Church and learned very strict standards of ethics, dedication, the 3R's (reading, writing, and 'rithmatic) and religion. Many of these beliefs and values have allowed many doors to open for me along my professional career and personal life. I received a full scholastic college scholarship from U.S. Bank of Oregon and worked for the company for ten years. I learned everything about branch banking, banking auditing, and credit examining. Once the Feds loosened the underwriting standards for the savings and loan industry to allow commercial lending, I started work for a thrift in Oregon called Willamette Savings and Loan which was a subsidiary of Amercian Savings and Loan. I worked for that company for a few years creating their credit examining department and examining all their portfolios in Oregon, Utah, and Hawaii. I met many wonderful people and learned a lot about working together as a team and respecting everyone's views even if they were not similar to mine. The Savings and Loan debacle (corruption) was starting and I was contacted by the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of Seattle (now the Office of Thrift Supervision) because of my strong credit examining skills. After a one week orientation, I was sent down to Texas and spent the majority of the next two years examining and cleaning up those banks. After years of travel and constantly being away from home coupled with the changes to the regulatory governmental structure (i.e. re-organizing to fit under Treasury), I left FHLB and started work for Security Pacific Bank of Oregon in their real estate industries group. Once the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) was established under the Treasury, I went back to work for the government examining high profile banks all over the U.S. I was on the last examination of Lincoln Saving and Loan and yes, I did meet Charles Keating (see Soul of a Scandal). After we cleaned up the majority of problem banks, the OTS downsized and the Portland Office was disbanded. I began the process of opening up my own coffee shop/art gallery but that business plan never made it to reality. A fellow Lithuanian called me and indicated that accounting firm KPMG was looking for an advisor in Lithuania to help establish their regulatory system which meant de-regulating the Soviet style and then re-regulate to a safe and sound banking system. After the interview, I found myself in Vilnius, Lithuania two weeks later. In Vilnius, it was like stepping back in time as no one spoke English and everything was Soviet style (i.e. grocery stores still used the abacus and each food item had its own line). It was not the easiest of lifestyles with central heating, no energy efficient windows, no dry cleaners or washing machines and not many cars as they were too expensive. Every summer hot water was turned off for one month. My job was fascinating and even though my Lithuanian was not very good, my interpreter, Kornelija, was the perfect match for my intellect, humor and wit. We became a great team. My six month assignment turned into five years and I am very proud of my accomplishments as well as, the accomplishments of many of my "students" or the examiners that I helped train to examine banks. Some day I will write a book and tell of all my exciting adventures and how I watched a small town flourish in to a mecca of culture, arts, and tourism. I visit my Lithuanian friends about once a year and we always have a big party where we laugh about old times, dance, and sing. I learned from them the best things in life are free: friendships, community, laughter, watching children play, strolling in the park, watching seniors sitting on the bench spending time talking and so on. It was a marvelous experience. After two years of living in Lithuania, I came home to Seattle (where my boyfriend, now husband, was living) and worked off-site on their crafting a bank examining technical manual. I returned every quarter for a couple of weeks to ensure that the regulatory arm of their Central Bank was still on target with our goals. It was also during this time that I was "drafted" to go to Kazakhstan to help them finish their five-year U.S.A.I.D. (U.S. Agency for International Development) project. Once again, I was back in a land that had yurts, few citizens who spoke English and all types of wonderful traditions and languages. They were a bit more progressive than the Lithuanians as there were more ex-pats in a concentrated area. It was a fascinating experience and I met a lot of wonderful people. Around the winter of 2000, everything was winding down and it was about that time that my dad got very sick with cancer of the larynx. I was fortunate in that I could spend the last few months with him and help him pass at home in peace and with only our family around to help him. God Rest his soul: Big Joe fought it all the way till the end and was a man of great honor and intregrity. He died on his birthday 1/14/2001 at the age of 73. I soon went to work for a small company that deploys weather systems as they had gotten a large contract with the U.S. Air Force. I started out as Program Manager, but soon was doing all types of jobs. It was fascinating work and I learned a lot about specialized weather equipment and our weather. I will never take for granted the weather again. After that project got off to a good start, I soon became the technical writer and now had to figure out how to write in common terms (for Air Force personnel) about very complicated instruments. I met scientist from the South Pole and NASA. It was fascinating. I never take the weather for granted and I look at the sky differently. | | In 2005, I retired to do civic work. I am involved in a variety of organizations throughout Edmonds. I am most proud of my work in creating the the non-profit group known as O.L.A.E. (Off-Leash Area - Edmonds) and cleaning up the dog park. We continue to steward the dog park for the City of Edmonds. If you look under the donate page, you will see how much that dog park has changed since our group began working in that area. Our little group is thankful to all dog park users that have helped us during the years in conjunction with the City of Edmonds Parks and Recreation Dept. and Animal Control My husband, Steve Tholl and I have lived in Edmonds for approximately nine years with our two dogs, Buddy and Buster. Because of the FDIC take-over of WAMU and subsequent sale to Chase, my husband was unemployed for about three months. I was spitting nails and woke up angry everyday. About that time, Deanna Dawson's position came up and I applied. While I did not get the appointment, I met a lot of folks that saw my credentials and urged me to run for City Council Position #2. My calm life is no longer calm and you can see my opinions now on my blog. I was appointed to City Council once Ms. Peggy Pritchard Olson passed from ALS. Even though we live in Seahawk territory and many of my friends and neighbors are Hawks fans, they have learned to accept my husband's Green Bay Packer antics. He is from Wisconsin and a die-hard Packer fan; for awhile I was a mediator and therefore learned about football. Green Bay Packer fans really are truly fanatics and if you drive by our house during football season, you will see a six foot inflatable Packerman and might even hear my husband yelling at the TV (as he thinks the fans and referees can hear him). Steve is also a huge hockey fan, so I have learned about hockey. I am an avid gardener, love to cook, take pictures of the outdoors and play with my dogs. I also volunteer hundreds of hours doing civic work in Edmonds. I am a fiscal conservative and interested in saving our environment which is why I still own my 1984 528e that gets 22-mpg (in city). Now my car is known as the dog-mobile and if you see this sweet face looking out the back window, that is my dog Buster waiting for me to return. 
Steve and I are very active and walk Buster and Buddy throughout Edmonds. Many folks know us because of our dogs. If you see us walking by and have an issue to discuss with me, stop me and let me know what you are thinking. I want to be working for YOU and will try to make Edmonds a better place for all of us. 
DIANE WILL BRING THESE FOUR C'S TO CITY COUNCIL: CIVILITY, CREDIBILITY, COLLABORATION, AND COMMUNICATION. Paid for by:
Committee to Elect Diane Buckshnis P.O. Box 613 Edmonds WA 98020-0613 | |