Former Washington Governor Chris Gregoire received the 2026 Seattle King County First Citizen Award at a civic luncheon hosted by the Seattle King County REALTORS® President Cheyenne Gillooly.

Gregoire was the second woman to serve as the state’s governor and the 88th recipient of the First Citizen Award. Before her two terms as governor, she served as the state’s attorney general and director of the Department of Ecology. Currently, she’s the CEO of Challenge Seattle and the co-chair of the Cascadia Innovation Corridor.

“No one in the 21st century has done more for our public good than Chris Gregoire,” Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft, said in a press release.

The 2026 First Citizen program was presented in partnership with Windermere Real Estate and John L. Scott Real Estate with support from corporate sponsors including Costco, Puget Sound Energy, the Washington Athletic Club, Kaiser Permanente and Microsoft.