Tony Ventrella

WHEREAS, Tony Ventrella served his country, the State of 1
Washington, and his local communities with passion and kindness; and2
WHEREAS, He served in the U.S. Army Reserve before chasing his 3
dream of becoming a sportscaster; and 4
WHEREAS, Mr. Ventrella brought his talents from Fort Wayne, 5
Indiana to Seattle to be a sportscaster at KOMO 4 in 1981 and KING 5 6
hired him as Sports Director in 1982; and 7
WHEREAS, For the next 20 years, he was the leading sports anchor 8
in the Seattle market and a fixture in the homes of hundreds of 9
thousands of Washingtonians who watched him every night on the 10
evening news; and 11
WHEREAS, He played a key role in building Washington's sports 12
community, known for his effectiveness, smile, positive attitude, 13
humor, and wit with segments like the KING 5 "Wrestling Hold of the 14
Week"; and 15
WHEREAS, In 2004, he joined the Seattle Seahawks as the Digital 16
Media Host and was the on-camera host for the Seattle Sounders; and17
WHEREAS, His work behind the scenes to support local businesses 18
and his countless community service activities often went unnoticed 19
or unknown; and 20
WHEREAS, Throughout his over 40-year career in the media, Mr. 21
Ventrella still found time to speak at nonprofits, schools, churches, 22
and assisted living centers, and volunteer in his community by 23
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2025-4654 , by Representatives Leavitt, Zahn, Eslick,
Dufault, Bronoske, Street, Richards, Ryu, Thai, Parshley, Scott, and Stuebe
p. 1 HR 4654
starting a community theater program, hosting fundraisers, mentoring 1
young people, and staffing the local fruit and produce stand in 2
Newcastle; and 3
WHEREAS, After four decades in broadcasting and community 4
service, Mr. Ventrella served on the City of Newcastle Community 5
Activities Commission from 2016 to 2019, was elected to the Newcastle 6
City Council in 2020, and served as Deputy Mayor until 2021; and7
WHEREAS, In 2022, Mr. Ventrella continued his lifelong career of 8
connecting Washingtonians through storytelling, doing interviews with 9
elected leaders and community members for King County TV's "Community 10
Conversations" program; and 11
WHEREAS, Mr. Ventrella passed away from cancer on October 19, 12
2024, at the age of 80; and 13
WHEREAS, He is remembered by one of his favorite quotes, "People 14
may forget what you say to them, but they will never forget how you 15
made them feel"; 16
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State House 17
of Representatives hereby honor Tony Ventrella for his dedication to 18
covering and promoting Washington's sports teams and excellent 19
service to his local community; and 20
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives 21
recognize Tony Ventrella for his inspirational spirit, his humor, and 22
the pride and joy he brought to the residents across the entire 23
state; and 24
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor 25
and extend the warmest appreciation to Mr. Ventrella's family for 26
sharing him with sports fans across Washington. 27
--- END ---
p. 2 HR 4654