Rod Koon

Rod Koon worked for the Port of Tacoma in a variety of communications, marketing and public relations positions until he retired from there in October 2021. His knowledge and passion for the Port of Tacoma and for telling the port’s story led him to research and write a history book about the Port of Tacoma for Arcadia Publishing (release date: July 17, 2023). He has a great love of history and recently completed a major historic research project for United Way of Pierce County. Born in Tacoma, Rod attended Bellarmine Prep and Stanford University, and played on the tennis teams at both schools. Over the years, he has also been recognized for his leadership and community efforts with awards presented to him by the Tacoma Propeller Club, the Transportation Club of Tacoma, the Washington Public Ports Assocation, Tacoma Sunrise Rotary and the City of Tacoma. Rod is also very active in the community. In addition to being a longtime member of Tacoma Sunrise Rotary, Rod also served for many years on the board of directors of both United Way of Pierce County and the Transportation Club of Tacoma. He is also very involved with the Emergency Food Network. A great lover of music, Rod plays guitar and piano and sings in a classic rock band, The Possible Solutions. He also is a songwriter and has a CD called ACOUSTIC NAUTILUS that features 20 of his original tunes. He is also a big Beatles fan, and his personalized license plate is LETITBE. His wife Tracey’s plate is LETITGO. They have two daughters—Jessie and Kelsi. Neither of them have personalized plates—yet.