Citizens of the Year: Jim and Kim Voetberg make giving back a way of life

When Jim and Kim Voetberg moved to Mukilteo about 15 years ago, they weren't looking for awards. They were looking for a community where they could put down roots, make friends and give back. ...

When Jim and Kim Voetberg moved to Mukilteo about 15 years ago, they weren't looking for awards. They were looking for a community where they could put down roots, make friends and give back. That commitment to service has now earned the couple one of the city's highest honors: Mukilteo's 2026 Citizens of the Year.

The Voetbergs have become familiar faces at the Mukilteo Food Bank, Kiwanis Club of Mukilteo, Luma NW, North Creek Presbyterian Church and numerous community events. Whether they're distributing food, collecting clothing, serving salmon, cleaning gardens or helping organize fundraisers, they are almost always volunteering side by side. "It's just part of being a community," Kim Voetberg said.

"We feel like we're so fortunate in our life that we want to give that back." For Jim, volunteering has been a constant throughout his life. "We've volunteered at all the various communities that we've lived in," he said.

"Volunteerism makes a community." The couple came to Mukilteo after Jim accepted a position as director of the city's water and wastewater treatment operations. Kim, who grew up in Marysville, soon began working for the Mukilteo Chamber of Commerce.

They quickly found a home in the Kiwanis Club. "My dad was a Kiwanian," Kim said. "When we met these guys, what a fun bunch."

Today, Kim serves on the Kiwanis board and officer team, while Jim pitches in wherever needed. Together they've helped make the club's annual Salmon Bake, Chili & Chowder Cook-Off, community cleanups, coat drives and scholarship fundraising successful. This year, Kiwanis awarded a record $58,000 in scholarships to 29 graduating seniors from Kamiak, Mariner and ACES high schools.

The couple also serves on the board of the Mukilteo Food Bank, a 100% volunteer-run organization. They help distribute food twice each month, collect bread donations from Franz Bakery, maintain the organization's website and tackle countless behind-the-scenes tasks. They've watched demand for food assistance more than double in recent years.

Kim said the biggest increase came after the war in Ukraine, when many refugee families settled in the area. "We went from like 120 families in a distribution up to 300," she said. "They're workers.

They're working. They just can't make their dollars stretch. They're so grateful."

Kim is also an active volunteer and board member with Luma NW, formerly the Everett Assistance League, where she helps support programs providing clothing, shoes, school supplies and other necessities to children and families facing financial hardship. One program remains especially close to her heart. She recalled helping children shop through Operation School Bell, where youngsters receive new clothing, shoes, coats and books.

"Their little faces when they leave with their little bag of clothes ... it's priceless," she said. That work carries special meaning because Kim once stood on the receiving end of similar services. "There have been times in my younger adult life where I used some of the services that I'm now working in," she said.

"To me, it means so much to be on the other end of the giving because I understand what it feels like to be on the other side." That empathy, nominators wrote, helps explain why Kim "represents the very best of what it means to be a Mukilteoan." Another nomination described the couple as people who "make giving back to our community a priority in their lives, making Mukilteo and the greater Mukilteo area a better place for all of us."

Retirement has only increased Jim's volunteer hours. "I've really enjoyed the food bank because now I have the time to do that," he said. "It's just really rewarding to help those people out."

The couple credits their successful partnership to sharing the same outlook on life. "We have the same life philosophy," Kim said. "That's probably why we're best friends and why our marriage works really well for us.

We have the same goals in mind, and we just enjoy it. We enjoy each other's company, but we enjoy being with the different groups that we're with. There's awesome people here in this community."

Jim offered a simpler explanation with a laugh. "Kim is the supervisor and just tells me what to do." Asked what they would tell someone considering volunteer work, Kim encouraged people not to overthink it.

"Just take that first step," she said. "Most of the organizations in our area don't have a certain hour requirement. You contribute what you can.

Putting someone else ahead of yourself is a mindset." Learning they had been selected as Citizens of the Year came as a surprise. "I was shocked," Kim said.

"There's so many volunteers in this area. I think that's one of the big strengths of this community is its volunteerism. To be picked out of hundreds of people that do the same thing that we do is kind of humbling."

For the Voetbergs, however, the recognition is simply another reminder that the greatest reward has never been the plaque. It's the opportunity to help someone else. No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here