It started with a phone call in the early hours of a breezy Nov. 5, 2009.
"When the phone rings at 1:30 in the morning, it's usually not good news," said Ron Cowan, the assistant superintendent of business and operations for Bellingham Public Schools.
Shaking off sleep, he listened in disbelief to learn that Whatcom Middle School, one of Bellingham's most iconic buildings, was ablaze. Fire started atop the 1903 structure where welders had been making seismic repairs earlier in the day. Flames, fanned by a stiff breeze, engulfed the roof and upper floors.
Cowan feared the worst as he drove Interstate 5 from his Ferndale home.
"When I got a little south of the airport - about Bakerview - I could see that orange glow and I knew we had a real problem on our hands," he said.
"My first thought went to the kids and how we were going to get them back to school," Cowan said. "Then I began to feel a great sense of loss. This was really a big deal; it was more than just a building burning. This is not just bricks and mortar. "
Cowan, 54, a lifelong Whatcom resident married to his high school sweetheart, recalled the heartbreak of watching some of the school's 580 students peer sadly through the cyclone fence that enclosed the ruins of their beloved school and the "Waste Not Thy Hour" motto chiseled boldly above its entrance.
"How do we help rebuild that sense of community?" he wondered. "How in the world are we going to fix all this?"
That thought drove his sense of mission as he assembled and directed a "dream team" of architects, planners, engineers, construction workers and others whose combined talents rebuilt the school in less than two years - more than a year ahead of schedule - allowing students to start classes last Sept. 6.
Cowan, who taught math and history and coached track and football before moving into school administration, praised those who put petty grievances aside and stayed focused on the big picture of rebuilding. He singled out the contributions of Pete Dawson of Dawson Construction; John Jones, architect at the Dykeman design firm; David Swanson at Reid Middleton, an engineering firm; officials at the city of Bellingham for speeding the permit process; the School Insurance Association of Washington; and Whatcom Middle Principal Jeff Coulter.
When problems arose, they sought solutions, rather than looking to affix blame.
"Any single team member could've derailed the project," Cowan said. "The nice thing about working with this team is that they've all worked around schools and kids," Cowan said. "They all had that sense of higher purpose. We knew we weren't building a warehouse."
But ask any of those people who deserves the most credit and they'll tell you that it's Cowan.
"They're spot on," said Bellingham schools Superintendent Greg Baker. "No matter who you ask in the Whatcom project, it comes right back to Ron. He was the one on point, day to day, 24/7, working the plan."
10 WHO CARED
For the last 10 days of 2011, The Bellingham Herald salutes Whatcom County people who help make our community a great place to live.
Dec. 22: Chuck and Dee Robinson.
Dec. 23: Louise Sager.
Dec. 24: Ron Buchinski.
Dec. 25: Melissa Brulotte.
Dec. 26: Rick Tremaine.
Dec. 27: Courtney Cloud.
Dec. 28: Ron Cowan.
