New mountains for two notable climbers

They're proud graduates of the 12 Year Club.

Sandi Bloem served as Coeur d'Alene mayor for a dozen years before the next career door opened for her.

Steve Griffitts served as president of the region's economic development organization, Jobs Plus, for 12 years, and a new career door is certain to open at any moment.

They also have this in common: Both walked away from their powerful posts with heads held high. They felt they had done what they could, that it was time for somebody else to take over and, ideally, make things even better.

Bloem is 72; Griffitts 59. They have plenty of horsepower left under the hood.

While Bloem bends her talents toward assisting Gallatin Public Affairs with whatever projects surface for her and the company - maybe assisting the revitalization of East Sherman Avenue for starters? - Griffitts knows only that he wants to stay here if possible. Our guess is that he will have a list of suitors to choose from, having waged war so successfully in the ferociously competitive world of attracting jobs to the region and growing them with existing companies.

For those dozen years, Griffitts ran Jobs Plus on a tight budget in which expense never exceeded revenue. The bigger picture shows that for the relatively minuscule investment provided by public entities and private businesses, Jobs Plus under Griffitts' leadership was responsible for more than 3,000 jobs in that 12-year span. On top of that, many millions of dollars in property taxes and payroll taxes were generated, benefiting the larger community more than most people will ever know.

We're sorry to see Steve step aside, but we admire his perspective and his personal strength. How many of us recognize when it's time to move on for the good of the organization? Even if we know it's time, how many of us have the integrity and courage to walk away from a great job involving people we love and respect, with little more than faith telling us that another rewarding challenge must be waiting just over the horizon?

For Jobs Plus, this is an exciting time. The organization's superb executive board is taking Griffitts' departure not so much as a key loss but as an opportunity to examine what it's doing and explore possibilities that could lead to even more good jobs.

For Griffitts and Bloem, these are exciting times, too. We're eager to see what the next 12 years have in store for them.