It's our responsibility to pass on what we inherited, not to squander it, but to build on it.

We are thinking ahead to long-term care, aware that many folks don't plan ahead and won't be ready. We want to see to it that people will have choices.

It is up to us to live up to the legacy that was left for us, and to leave a legacy that is worthy of our children and of future generations.

We need to take advantage of the opportunity we have now to create a vision and become great.

We may disagree on some things, but we can do so without being disagreeable.

Vernon Reis opened the world to me through books. He taught me that while I was physically firmly planted in blue-collar Auburn, Washington in the 50s and early 60s, intellectually I could go anywhere, explore anything, and sample exciting new ideas simply by opening a book.

When nearly a third of our high school students do not graduate on time with their peers, we have work to do. We must design our middle and high schools so that no student gets lost in the crowd and disconnected from his or her own potential.