Youngquist named ‘Woman of Influence’ by Corridor Business Journal

WASHINGTON - A Washington City Council member was named a 2020 Woman of Influence by the Corridor Business Journal.

Millie Youngquist was nominated in January and will be recognized at a ceremony on April 2. Upon hearing about the nomination, she said she was honored but slightly unsure she was worthy of such a title.

However, looking back on her life, she said there were several women whom she looked to as a positive influence. One of the earliest was her grandmother, Mary Stewart.

'She was never a person who had a job outside the home, but she did all kinds of creative things from knitting sweaters to making mother daughter dresses for us at Christmas time. She was just this really positive force,” she said.

Youngquist said her grandmother was always working to help other people and always stayed active in church. Having lived just down the road from her as a child, she visited often.

'She's always been one of those people I look up to,” she said.

Having grown up in Washington her whole life, Youngquist said it was not until recently she started to have the time to devote back into the community. After spending 38 years as a vocal music teacher, she retired but decided she was not ready to be done working.

Shortly after, she became the Executive Director of the Community Foundation of Washington County, an organization that aims to capture wealth in the community and direct it toward local nonprofits. Switching careers from education to business was tricky, she said, but an adjustment she found was worthwhile.

'I found I enjoy this kind of work with nonprofit groups and donors,” she said.

Outside of work, Youngquist said she wanted to find other ways to get involved in the community. Having worked in the WACO Community School District, she said she felt shew as 'out of touch” with the community by only living there and not giving back.

'I really felt like when I was teaching, I was living in Washington but everyday I was getting up and driving out of the city to another town to work with kids who come to Washington but this isn't their hometown so I felt out of touch with Washington,” she said.

In 2014 Younquist co-chaired the eight-day celebration for the 175th anniversary of the City of Washington which she said helped her feel more in tune with her community. With encouragement from others, she also decided to run for city council and has had to adjust to taking on a new role in the community, she said, but getting to collaborate with others appealed to her as well.

'We're so lucky to have some great people working in the chamber, WEDG, Main Street and the city that are really great at what they do and work so well together,” she said.

Youngquist holds a variety of other positions and is active in many other organizations within the city and county. As the ceremony date approaches, Youngquist said she still is overwhelmed by the nomination but is grateful for it as well.

'I'm looking at it from a whole sweep of my life and in a way it's kind of weird because I feel like I have had more than one life. There's my education life and then I feel like there's a separate thing I have gotten into with more community involvement ... I feel like that's kind of a new area for me but I'm really enjoying it,” she said.