Zoltan Szigethy, executive director of the Kitsap Regional Economic Development Council has an interesting and varied background, and a now wide-open future, resigning his post effective the end of August. Kitsap County’s business community has a much more open future (as in “open arms” of welcome), thanks to his work on behalf of this area, as well.

Szigethy, who lives on Bainbridge Island, is very much a citizen of the world. Born in the Hungarian part of Romania 64 years ago, he spent his first years there, then, because of World War II, became a refugee in Germany. At age 10, he moved with his parents to the United States.

Among several languages, he is still fluent in Hungarian and the “high German” of his early schooling in that nation.

He says of his first decade of life, “That molded me, I’m sure, to some degree, and made me fairly flexible,” in relation to different cultures and societies. “I don’t claim any part of the world, but all of it, as my own,” he says.

Szigethy graduated from Princeton with a degree in philosophy, continuing his studies at the University of Washington, adopting the Northwest as home beginning in 1961.

He joined the Peace Corps and those experiences opened his mind to the importance of health care, education and economic development in building communities.

Szigethy looks back now at several decades of various work experiences, and he sees the common thread of helping bring about socially relevant change. Not every career move seemed logical at the time, and many of them came his way without his seeking them. But each job, it seems, helped people function more effectively in their world, or, as his life evolved from helping people one-on-one to working more systematically, made that part of the world a better-functioning place.

He divides his experiences into public service, private enterprise and philanthropy.

Szigethy chose temporary retirement in 1985. With his wife’s help, he created a local non-profit foundation bringing several cultural events under one umbrella on Bainbridge Island. “I managed 2,000 volunteers in 30 projects,” he says.

In 1992, he was called to work in Hungary, eventually moving his family there. His proximity to a philanthropist working in the former Soviet Union led to creation of an institution on local governing. He and his staff assisted some 24 nations.

He took a second retirement in 1997, moving the family back to Bainbridge, where his younger son graduated from high school. When Szigethy’s mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2000, he pledged to stay in the area to be near her.

And that’s when the job with KREDC called out to him. “I found it to be a worthwhile cause, and sufficiently complex to be interesting,” he says.

With the help of a couple of EDC board members, he took a 40-plus-member board and whittled it down to an effectively working board of 15.

Szigethy says the EDC is only 16 years old, but has grown in purpose and function over time. At first, it focused on community development, then saw the need to diversify the economy, with less reliance on federal jobs.

But initially, conditions for business were not good. There was no comprehensive land-use plan. Now, businesses know the ground rules, because there are some! All this predated Szigethy’s time with the EDC.

The most recent work of the EDC has focused on communications. Infrastructure is now in place for high-speed, worldwide communication. Businesses that can be located anywhere in the world can now operate effectively in Kitsap County.

Two other aspects of infrastructure the EDC has helped set in place are expanded educational options and choices in healthcare.

“We’re not perfect,” says Szigethy of Kitsap’s business environment. “But we have the assets necessary for businesses to call this their home.”

The EDC’s continuing challenge is to aggressively market the area to businesses around the world, while working to retain and encourage expansion of the businesses already here.

Szigethy’s mother passed away recently.

He feels he has accomplished his mission with the EDC. He’s ready for the next adventure, whatever that may be!