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Council proclaims AAPI Heritage Month, Drinking Water Week and Public Works Week; youth council reports 121 attendees at youth summit
Summary
Lakewood City Council issued multiple proclamations (Asian-American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month; Drinking Water Week; National Police Week; Public Works Week) and heard a youth council report on a successful youth summit (121 attendees, Dr. John Gaines keynote). Staff also briefed the council on the long-standing Lakewood Community Collaboration and plans to upgrade a community resource hub.
At its May 4 meeting the Lakewood City Council issued proclamations recognizing several observances and heard reports from the city's youth council and community-collaboration facilitators.
The council proclaimed May 2026 as Asian-American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Filua Lana Pritchard (executive director of the Asian-Pacific Cultural Center) received the proclamation and community leaders including Art Wong and Alice Fong offered remarks highlighting community service, youth engagement and cultural events planned for the month.
Other proclamations: Council also proclaimed May 3'9, 2026 as Drinking Water Week and May 11'16, 2026 as National Police Week; May 17'23, 2026 was recognized as Public Works Week. Representatives from the Lakewood Water District and the police department attended and thanked the council for the recognition.
Youth council update: Youth Council vice chair Ire Hankle (incoming chair) reported the youth summit drew 121 attendees and 28 vendors; popular activities included a coffee truck, video-game zone, and a parents'cafe. Reita (Bene/Bennett) outlined the process for selecting the next executive board, describing a combined interview-and-vote approach (40% panel, 60% group vote) and executive-board training planned for the new year.
Community Collaboration: Shannon Bennett (Human Services Coordinator) and Daniel Bertzall (Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department) briefed council on the Lakewood Community Collaboration, a multi-sector network active since the late 1990s that connects nonprofits, faith groups, schools, county departments and city staff. They said the group meets monthly (about 27 attendees on average), has strengthened partnerships, and is focusing on improving an online community resource hub to make access more equitable and mobile-friendly.
Why this matters: The proclamations recognize cultural and operational priorities for the community; the youth-council and collaboration reports highlight civic engagement at multiple ages and sectors and point to near-term work the city and partners will coordinate on: youth programming, resource accessibility, and neighborhood-level public-health focus areas such as Spring Brook.
