EVERETT — DeAnna Emborski was among 30 members of the Puget Sound community recognized as “Friends of the Navy” by the commander of Navy Region Northwest May 6.

Emborski is publisher of The Marysville Globe, The Arlington Times, The Bellingham Business Journal and The Wenatchee Business Journal, and Rear Adm. James Symonds presented her with a plaque in honor of her support of the Navy, sailors and their families in the Pacific Northwest.

Naval Station Everett Commanding Officer Capt. Thomas Mascolo explained how Emborski helped his station’s sailors organize their first off-base Navy Ball.

“We couldn’t fit it into the gym anymore,” Mascolo said. “DeAnna knows her way around fundraisers, so she got together with our volunteers and showed them how to draw up a business plan for themselves as a non-profit, so that they could find a way to fund the Navy Ball. It was held at the Tulalip Casino, and I had sailors who have been in for 10 and 15 years telling me it was the best Navy Ball they’d ever attended. She was instrumental in setting that up.”

Symonds praised Emborski and the other “Friends of the Navy” as an essential foundation for the Navy’s success.

“The Navy is a global force for good, and they enable us to be that force for good,” Symonds said, before addressing the honorees directly. “We could not be as effective without you.”