Rick Olson is new to the Arlington Club, but not to Rotary. After several years in Kiwanis, he switched to Rotary at Tacoma North in 1997. Career moves had him transferring to Gig Harbor Rotary, then Tacoma Sunrise. He joined his wife Kathleen at Tacoma #8 Rotary. They moved to Arlington in February 2018 when Kathleen was hired as Executive Director at Purrfect Pals. They joined the Marysville Club in 2018. Both Rick and Kathleen transferred to the Arlington Club in 2021, because the meeting day and location was more convenient, and as Arlington residents, they wanted to support their neighbors through Rotary.

 

Rick’s career in retail and electronics followed his father Richard’s path. He was a radar operator in the Air Force 1948-1952 and met Rick’s mother Anneliese during the Berlin Airlift. His older sister Barbara was born in Germany. Rick was born in San Antonio, Texas when his family was stationed there. They moved to Puyallup, WA where his dad started Superior TV to sell and service televisions and install antennas. Rick worked with his dad during his teen years. He has a younger sister, Lisa and brother Robert, who is a Whatcom County Superior Court Judge and member of the Bellingham Rotary Club.

 

Rick graduated from Puyallup High School and was attending the University of Puget Sound when his draft number came up, so he enlisted in the Air Force, where he worked in logistics as an active duty and then reserve airman for 23 years.

He was stationed in England for 5 years, where his son Eric was born. He and first wife Debbie transferred to Mountain Home, Idaho, where son Jeffrey was born in 1978. He left active duty and joined the reserves when the family moved back to Puyallup.

 

Rick worked for Hallmark Stores for 17 years, then joined the Radio Shack team where he managed three different stores. He left the retail electronics world to start his own business in 2003—Fixit Wizard, specializing in PCs and home electronics systems. He also worked at Best Buy in the computer department during the holiday season.

 

Rick and Kathleen were married in 1994 and became a blended family in Tacoma with Kathleen’s sons Kip, 17 and Todd, 10 plus Eric, 17 and Jeff, 16 at the time.

 

Son Eric became the third generation Airman and spent most of his Air Force Career as a loadmaster, visiting more than 100 countries. He met his future wife Clare when their paths cross in New Zealand. She moved from Taiwan to the U.S. and Eric transferred to Washington Air Defense System. Kathleen performed their marriage ceremony in 2015, with Rick as best man and Debbie as matron of honor.

 

Son Jeffrey started his own CNC repair and installation business – E-Tech, in Auburn. He died suddenly at age 42 in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rick and Eric and Todd spent five months liquidating Jeff’s business.

 

Rick and Kathleen enjoy travel. They have taken 12 cruises and made several trips to the Washington and Oregon coast. Through Rotary, they attended the Osaka, Japan International Convention in 2004 and then joined a Rotary tour to Thailand and Singapore. They went on World Vision trips in 2008 and 2010 to work with communities in Lesotho, Africa where orphans and vulnerable children have been impacted by the high rate of HIV AIDS.

 

Rick’s other hobbies include bowling, some golf, vintage arcade games and volunteering for community events. He also volunteers for Purrfect Pals and has assisted other animal welfare organizations as the A/V guy for their events.

 

Rick joined North County Regional Fire Authority in March as their contract IT specialist on recommendation from Dave Kraski. North County Regional Fire Authority is comprised of seven fire stations with a service area of approximately 120 square miles. They serve an estimated population of over 46,000 residents. The organization provides service to residents 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with a combination of Full Time Staff, Part-Paid staff, Contract Staff and Volunteer staffing. That’s a lot of computers!