Federal Way Hopes To Polish City Image -- Goodwill Games Offers Opportunity

FEDERAL WAY

Federal Way residents such as Mark Hutson see the 1990 Goodwill Games as a golden opportunity to show outsiders there's more to this town than the local mall.

The setting of the Goodwill Games aquatics events in West Campus would seem a can't-miss chance for this new city to broaden its image. To lay out the welcome mat and strut its stuff before a regional and worldwide audience.

``Thousands of lenses,'' says Hutson, cracking a smile at the very thought. ``We're going to have the media on our doorstep.''

But there's a catch.

Hopes of capturing glory hinge on whether visitors, media and television viewers even link the Goodwill Games pool to Federal Way, a city of more than 58,000 in the shadow of Seattle and Tacoma.

The world-class facility in West Campus is officially known as the King County Aquatics Center. The lack of identification with Federal Way worries people here.

``We're not Tacoma. We're not Seattle. We're not just King County. We are the city of Federal Way,'' said Hutson, chairman of the Federal Way Goodwill Games Committee.

It's his job to make sure the state's newest and sixth-largest city does get noticed. Just how big a challenge is that? Already, some radio spots and sportscasters have described the aquatics center locale as Seattle rather than Federal Way.

Part of the problem may be Federal Way's lack of image.

``Federal Way does have an identity problem,'' said Hutson. ``It's like the city was built around the SeaTac Mall.''

To make sure the chance to showcase their community isn't wasted, residents and business people have decided to dress up the city for the big show July 20-Aug. 5.

More than 100 colorful Federal Way Goodwill Games banners, displaying the city's name in bold, black letters, will fly along portions of Pacific Highway South, between Southwest 320th and South 348th streets, and along 348th from Interstate 5 to First Avenue South. Merchants are buying additional banners to display in the stores.

Federal Way schoolchildren are designing a huge banner that will hang from a local bank to welcome visitors in several languages. The Rotary Club is sponsoring a drive to sell Goodwill Games pins that feature the city's name.

Meanwhile, city officials are negotiating with a homeowners group for permission to plant a flower bed on the steep hill across from the aquatics center to display the city's name.

``It's something nearby the pool that could identify the city,'' said City Council member Mary Gates.

Others believe a language bank of local translators being assembled to help foreign visitors will leave a legacy of hospitality.

The Goodwill Games may be remembered most in Federal Way as a stepping stone in the effort to forge an image and foster a community spirit.

``There's been a real change in the community,'' said Rosemary Wolf, a Federal Way Community Council and Goodwill Games Committee member. ``More people are pulling together to get things done.''

The drive to incorporate, the annual spring cleanup and now the Goodwill Games have united people to work for the good of the entire community rather than just their own neighborhoods, said several residents.

``An event like this tends to draw the community together,'' said Hutson, a local businessman. ``It's a pride factor. We the citizens of Federal Way hear the name of Federal Way on national television. They're going to say, hey, that's my city.''