Washington Business Fall 2019 | Washington Business | Page 8

Inside Housing Forum Creates New Partnerships, Seeks Solutions AWB and nine other Washington groups joined forces to address Washington’s housing crisis in July. The one-day Housing Forum brought together leaders from cities, ports, counties, homebuilders and rental housing advocates, among others. More than 200 attendees came to the Hilton Bellevue to discuss ideas and brainstorm solutions to one of the state’s most vexing challenges. U.S. Rep. Denny Heck, D-Wash., kicked off the event by saying that a lack of housing of all types is a national crisis. The forum also included remarks from state Rep. Andrew Barkis, University of Washington Professor James Young and panels that looked at housing costs, land use laws, building requirements and the role of state lawmakers in creating solutions. Contact AWB’s Mike Ennis at [email protected] to learn more about the role of the employer community in addressing the housing challenge. Federal Affairs Summit Celebrates Bipartisanship AWB’s third Federal Affairs Summit helped federal lawmakers and Washington employers find common ground on international trade, housing, bipartisan cooperation and more in August. A U.S. senator, four representa- tives and a U.S. Department of Energy under secretary traveled to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland to interact with business leaders from many diverse industries, from agriculture to aerospace. The delega- tion took questions from the audience, mingled at receptions and talked with researchers at the lab’s Discovery Hall. AWB hosted the event during the August recess to make it easier for Congress to connect with employers here in Washington. This year’s event included detailed panel discussions on energy policy, infrastructure, the Ex-Im Bank and more. Washington’s wine industry was featured in an evening reception at the Ste. Michelle Estates WSU Wine Science Center. AWB continues to expand its work on federal policy. Please contact Amy Anderson at [email protected] for more information. Greater Grays Harbor CEO Honored for Advocacy AWB surprised Dru Garson, CEO of Greater Grays Harbor, with the 2019 Advocate of the Year award during a presentation before Garson and the group’s board in August. “Dru’s been one of our stellar people about being engaged early and on the ground on these issues that we think are important across the state of Washington,” AWB President Kris Johnson said. Garson and Greater Grays Harbor, Inc. were charter members of AWB’s Grassroots Alliance, a collaboration between AWB (Washington’s oldest and largest business association) and 90 local Chambers. As AWB has focused on rural development through three Rural Jobs Summits, Garson has been involved. He has also been a key business representative on the state’s Washington Child Care Collaborative Task Force, where he is a voting member representing chambers of commerce in western Washington. Garson was also actively involved in an AWB-led economic business indicator research project, collecting information directly from local employers. Garson is also a board member of the AWB Institute, the 501(c)(3) “solutions arm” of AWB. 8 association of washington business