Longtime Bellevue resident Doug Hoople was recently recognized by the King County Council for his service on the King County Veterans Citizen Oversight Board, as well as for his military service in the U.S. Navy and his extensive volunteer work.
At the end of 2015, Hoople retired from the Veterans Citizen Oversight Board after eight years, including six years as board chair. The board was formed in 2007 to oversee spending of the Veterans Levy for King County. While on the Veterans Citizen Oversight Board, he advocated for underserved veteran populations such as women and communities of color, victims of military sexual trauma and traumatic brain injury and for veterans involved in the legal system.
Hoops played a major role in the inclusion of Military Family Counseling services when the levy was renewed in 2012 to support all family members before, during and after deployment of a loved one, according to a King County media release.
Hoople’s contribution to Bellevue, King County and the nation extend beyond the Veterans Citizen Oversight Board. He served 20 years in the Navy, rising through the ranks from an airman, to the tactical coordinator in P-3 aircraft during two tours in Vietnam, to serving as a division officer, to an airborne navigation instructor, to a hangar deck officer on the USS Kitty Hawk and ending his career as a lieutenant commander.
After the Navy, he worked for 21 years as Boeing and since his retirement has been active in his community by volunteering with the United Way, serving on the Bellevue Human Services Commission, acting as a volunteer host at the SeaTac USO, tutoring and mentoring elementary school children and many other activities.
When issuing the King County proclamation to Hoople, County Councilmember Claudia Balducci thanked him “for his decades of engagement, generosity and service to his community.”
“Doug,” she added, “has left very big shoes to fill on the Veterans Citizen Oversight Board and I am grateful for the countless hours he has dedicated to improving the services and support system for his fellow veterans.”
