The Washington State Housing Finance Commission honored seven affordable housing advocates with its 2018 “Friends of Housing” award. The awards were presented Oct. 3 in a ceremony at the annual Housing Washington conference in Tacoma.

Awardees included John Harmon, the recently-retired leaders of the Bellingham and Whatcom County Housing authorities. While at the agency, Harmon more than doubled the agency’s portfolio of affordable apartments to 3,500 across 27 properties. He also introduced new financing tools, such as tax-exempt bond financing and tax credits, and has collaborated with other partners to increase housing options for thousands of Whatcom County residents.

To learn about the rest of the winners, visit http://www.wshfc.org/admin/foh.htm. For more information about the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, visit http://www.wshfc.org/.