June 22, 2006
A family man retires
Ben A. Gines, who worked for the UW for almost 28 years, retired in June of 2006. Here he is shown wearing his traditional Filipino attire, called Barong Tagalog. Photo by Kathy Sauber.
See, just now, two key numbers are in play for this hard-working family man — the numbers 28 and 30. He has worked for the UW for nearly 28 years, and is preparing to retire on June 30.
Tall, slender and sharply dressed, Gines has an air of patience and self-confidence. One of about 1,400 members of the Filipino-American community employed at the UW, his work story is that of a dedicated employee who has built skills, impressed colleagues and nurtured a professional career with maturity and grace. But he also has let his voice be heard when he perceived unfairness, toward himself or others.
His personal story is that of a loving husband and parent who has worked hard to build a happy life for his wife and family, never daunted by personal setbacks and occasional challenges of misperception and bias.
“I could write a book about my life,” Gines said recently, when asked to tell his story.
Gines (pronounced “Hee-nes“) had already held prominent positions in two multimillion-dollar manufacturing companies in the Philippines before emigrating to the United States. He earned a college degree in business and commerce and followed that by becoming a certified public accountant in the Philippines (a designation he was not able to translate to his career in the States).
A couple of other well-remembered date: Gines and his wife of 43 years, Irma, were married on March 2, 1963; they arrived in the United States on July 12, 1978, along with three of their children. “We always celebrate our anniversary on July 12,” he said.
But the move was not without deep sorrow, he said, because in the years it took for their emigration application to be processed, they had two more children, both girls. While their sons Rolex, Ronaldo and Rhandy moved with them, the girls, 5-year-old Romina and 3-year-old Racelle, had to stay behind with relatives.
The girls joined their parents two years later, but as any parent could understand, the waiting was a sad and trying time. “My wife, I tell you, was crying every night,” Gines said. “It was a hard trial to bring these kids here — perseverance and prayers.”
Finding a job worthy of his skills was hard. In one interview, he remembered, “They asked me, ‘Do you have local experience?’ And I said, ‘How can I have local experience if you don’t give me a chance?'”
Relatives in Vancouver suggested the couple try the Seattle area. He worked a few days at a Seattle shipyard as an accounting assistant but didn’t care for the work or pay, so tried another shipyard. There Gines was offered a job as a scaler, removing paint from vessels, but his brother-in-law told him it would look bad on his resume to accept a job so beneath his skills. He turned the job down for that reason, and the employment representative suggested he try the UW, where accounting-related jobs seemed plentiful.
He did just that, and was later interviewed for a position by two supervisors in the General Accounting Office who he said were impressed when he recited his new Social Security number by heart. “They said, ‘OK, when can you start?’ And I said, ‘Can I start now?'” he recalled.
From there, Gines advanced his career, moving briefly to Educational Outreach, then back to accounting, then to Aerospace and Energetics Research Program, where he served as budget coordinator. He worked awhile as an accountant at the Henry Art Gallery, sorting out the books, then moved to Grant and Contract Accounting. He started there as an Accountant II and later moved to the position of Senior Accountant.
Sadly, another date clings in his memory, too: Oct. 18, 1996, the day his and Irma’s eldest son, Rolex, who had been working at Boeing, died of a brain tumor. “Incredible pain is still with us,” he said, “especially my wife.” He expressed great pride in his other children, citing their job successes: Ronaldo and Romina work at Washington Mutual, Racelle is with Starbucks and Rhandy is patient care coordinator in the surgery specialties clinic at Harborview. All five of his children graduated from the UW.
Gines says he has encountered occasional misunderstanding and prejudice over the years, due in part, he said, to his fairly thick accent. He said his wife retired from work at Harborview Medical Center a couple of years earlier than she had wished, perceiving there to be a negative work environment. He is proud, too, of having helped “behind the scenes” to resolve a dispute at Harborview in 1990 about whether only English should be spoken in that workplace.
But overall, he said, “there have been lots of improvements, progress and changes.” In fact, quite unbidden, Gines offered high praise of his supervisors and managers in Grant and Contract Accounting, and the improved attitude of the UW toward diversity. “The leaders we have are so good, everything has changed.”
He complimented Sue Camber, assistant vice president of Research Accounting and Analysis, in particular, for overseeing improvements in organization and product quality.
His good feeling toward his supervisors is very much reciprocated. “There is integrity to what he does,” said Suprimo Manabat, assistant director of Grants and Contract Accounting. “And his work here is very visible, it’s part of the financial statement for the UW. His work was never questioned, never returned.” Mary Jo Hershly, a fellow senior accountant who supervised Gines previously, said, “If Ben does it, you know it’s right.”
Like any longtime employee, Gines has seen much progress in his years at the UW, but he remembers how it used to be. “We learned the computer little by little,” he said. “Our group learned the computer the hard way — we had no formal training.”
Gines believes strongly in self-improvement, and has memorized a number of quotes along those lines, some from Norman Vincent Peale’s famous book The Power of Positive Thinking. He also treasures a quote from motivational speaker Dennis Waitley that states “The greatest gifts that you can give to your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.”
As for his upcoming retirement, Gines said simply that it will start “another chapter of our life.” He said he will enjoy spending more time with his four grandchildren. All girls, they are Francesca, Juliana, Madalena and Laleh.
And that’s in keeping with his views of life — responsibility, independence and a strong spirit, but overall, family is most important.
He said, “I tell you, it’s a blessing that my children are OK.”
