Tara Benjamin has been with Seattle City Light for a little over three years. She started as a TES Camp Service Aide and quickly became fulltime. Tara recently celebrated a promotion to Administrative Specialist II at Skagit. “I have the pleasure of interacting with everyone that comes into the main office. It is my responsibility to support management and staff. I do everything from onboarding to housing and everything in between. It keeps me busy!”
Tara spent the most part of her childhood living in Goldendale, WA. “I married my high school sweetheart right after I graduated and went straight to work. My background has always been in Hospitality and Restaurant Management.”
In this week’s (spot)Light, Tara talks about life in Darrington, her hobbies and what she enjoys about her work at City Light.
“My husband and I settled in North Idaho for 20 years. Living in Idaho, I hadn’t even heard of Seattle City Light until my husband went to work as a temp machinist at Boundary. When he got on fulltime at Skagit, we moved. It made perfect sense to work where I live due to location. It is really remote and requires you to get really good at making shopping lists!”
“We live in Darrington, WA. I love that its a small town and a tight-knit community. For me, that’s the best feeling. We have been very blessed by all of the small towns that we’ve lived in. I wouldn’t trade that small-town living for anything. Darrington has been overwhelmingly welcoming! The views are to die for! We get to kind of play mini farmer with a bunch of chicken and a decent garden.”
“My garden isn’t a favorite hobby, but it fuels my love of canning. I’m definitely not a pro, but I love growing and preserving new things. I really love to cook and bake. I am a bit of a homebody and love our little homestead. My goal is to have it grow with cows and pigs as well. Family is definitely my #1 priority. As for being a mom of boys, the hobbies that take up a great portion of my time are football and baseball! GO LOGGERS! I absolutely love being their cheerleader! We love to camp and hunt as a family, however, we need to do more of both next year. Other than that, I enjoy working on my skincare/cosmetics side business.”
“I have met so many people that have called Seattle City Light their second home for years. That fact spoke volumes to me, and I wanted to be a part of it. I absolutely love the challenge of my new role! I love the interaction it gives me with not only the staff at Skagit but all-around City Light. Walking into this new position, it has been my pleasure to observe that everyone within is open and willing to help. It has been a fantastic experience to know that everyone is on the same team.”