Rhonda Denet-Weems has worked at City Light for 11 years. She serves in the Customer Care Division as an Accounting Tech III. “I act as the research lead which I compare to a private investigator,” Rhonda explained. “I’m responsible for locating misapplied payments, reject payments, researching records for PDR and Law enforcement subpoena requests. It’s interesting because it’s something new every day.”
Born in San Diego, Rhonda moved to the suburbs of Houston when she was 13. Rhonda and her younger brother Edward spent summers with her fraternal grandparents in Boothville, Louisiana (Plaquemines Parish, at the tip of the Mississippi River). She received a B.A. in communications from the University of Texas and graduated from the University of Phoenix with a M.A. in organizational management. Rhonda has lived in Washington for 26 years and resides in Fife with her husband Linton. “We’ll be married 19 years on September 4,” Rhonda shared. Together, they have six children and 22 (!) grandchildren. In this week’s (spot)Light, Rhonda talks about her life in the Northwest and shares her favorite life lessons.
Rhonda and Linton
“I’ve lived in Seattle a long time, but there’s still much I haven’t experienced. I do love that I can see the water and mountains. The greenery is beautiful. I also enjoy living in Fife. It has a country-suburban-feel all at the same time. Everyone in our neighborhood knows one another. It’s very family oriented. We have parks, walking trails and lots of pets— everyone has a dog or a cat.”
“My husband serves as an Assistant Pastor and Minister of Music at the church we attend. I’m there at least three days a week for bible study, choir rehearsals and Sunday church services. I also love to dance. We recently went to the Gladys Knight and O’Jays concert which got us moving. Writing poetry and prose is another interest of mine. My favorite authors are Alice Walker and Terry McMillan.”
“Music is another art that fills our home—we love it. I was a classically trained pianist. My husband is also a music teacher. Each of our children and grandchildren either sing or play an instrument. Some do both!”
“I’ve enjoyed my career at City Light. I love my team in Customer Care and how the utility plans activities for their employees. I also like that there are so many facets to the organization. There’s much to learn from conservation and outage management to Skagit and Boundary. I can go on and on.”
“My mom and my grandmother were my go-to. My father, too. They taught and encouraged me to apply myself 100% in everything I do. Other lessons they imparted on me were to treat people with respect; to be humble; to learn from my mistakes; to take constructive criticism with an open mind; to think before I speak; to work smarter not harder; and to leave work at work. They told me that if I were to do all these things and put my faith and trust in God, that I would go a long way in life, both personally and professionally. I like to think they’re looking down at me and saying, ‘She remembered all that we taught her. She’ll do well.’ “