QUINCY — In May 2006, a few shovels turned over not just some dirt, but the fortunes of a community. 

“Twenty years ago, I stood in a former onion field just west of town with some of the same people that are here (today)” said Lisa Karstetter, formerly the executive director of the Quincy Valley Chamber of Commerce and now a senior manager for Microsoft.  “We had the honor of speaking at the groundbreaking for Microsoft's first data center, and it was also for the very first data center that we had here in Quincy.  

“What none of us could fully imagine then was what would grow from that moment. Twenty years later, we're no longer standing in a field. We're standing in a community that has grown together, learned together and built something bigger than any one organization could do. And that's what tonight is really about. It's not about a company. It's about a partnership.” 

Microsoft thanked the Quincy community for 20 years of collaboration Thursday with the B Street Bash, a block-long street party with music, entertainment and free food and T-shirts. About 1,400 people turned out to enjoy the festivities, according to Microsoft Senior Communications Manager Meg O’Conor. State Rep. Alex Ybarra, a Quincy native and former school board member, said the difference data centers like Microsoft’s have made runs deep. 

“I'm on the energy committee in Olympia and I talk about data centers all the time,” Ybarra said. “I was born and raised as a farm worker in Quincy. I was also a school board member in Quincy. I always tell (fellow legislators), we have the best high school in the state of Washington. We have a brand new city hall, brand new streets, brand new sidewalks. But one thing that and nobody (mentions): Before the data centers, 87% percent of our kids were in poverty. Because of the data centers, we're at 72%. We knocked it down by 15% because of the data centers.” 

The B Street Bash included performances from the Quincy High School choir and the SanZar Dance Company folklórico dancers. Many food and dessert vendors had booths set up, and the first 1,000 people to attend were each given a token that could be turned in for a free meal at one of the booths. There were farm troughs full of ice and cold beverages, a beer garden, and games for the children including oversized checkers and chess boards and bean bag toss. 

B Street was an appropriate venue, said Quincy Municipal Services Director Carl Worley. A grant sponsored by Microsoft in 2021 allowed the city to transform that part of its downtown core, and now it’s also the site of an annual block party held in the fall. 

“Imagine B Street as the original downtown street, a pass-through, just another downtown street with potential, but not yet a place where people came together,” he said. “Our community was given the opportunity to reimagine what this space could be. We asked a few simple questions: What if this could be more than just a street? What if it could be a place to gather, to hold a block party, or celebrate?” 

The Quincy Valley Chamber of Commerce and other organizations led the charge to make B Street a focal point for community gatherings, Worley said. 

“What we saw was immediate,” Worley said. “Families, neighbors and friends showing up and bringing energy to this space. That told us everything we needed to know.” 

The relationship has been good not just for Quincy but for Microsoft as well, said Navin Sathi, director of data center operations for the corporation. 

“From the very beginning, you welcomed Microsoft into your community with openness and trust,” Nathi told the assembled crowd. “That partnership has been foundational to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve built here over the last two decades. That is something we do not take for granted.” 

“From day one, this partnership has been grounded in something simple but powerful:  Community first,” Karstetter said. “Tonight, we celebrate 20 years. But even more, we celebrate the relationships, trust and shared progress that brought us here.” 

    The SanZar Dance Company folklórico dancers perform at the B Street Bash, a celebration of 20 years of partnership between Microsoft and the Quincy community.
  

    Two-year-old Ezra Ceballos isn’t sure what to do with an oversized chess piece at the B Street Bash in Quincy Thursday.
  

    From left: State Rep. Alex Ybarra, state Sen. Judy Warnick and Microsoft Senior Manager Lisa Karstetter address the crowd at the B Street Bash Thursday.
  

    Granger Kiehn, 2 1/2, lets fly a bean bag at the B Street Bash in Quincy Thursday.