Washington Business Spring 2012 | Page 5

washington business editorial staff Don C. Brunell, Publisher Jocelyn A. McCabe, APR, Executive Editor Jason Hagey, Communications Manager Daniel C. Brunell, Photo Editor J-Anne Nepomuceno, Editorial Assistant What’s Ahead awb officers Tom Hosea, Chair of the Board KeyBank, Tacoma Doug Bayne, Vice Chair Walla Walla Community College, Walla Walla Mel Russell, Secretary/Treasurer From Paint to Pepsi Jocelyn A. McCabe, APR, Executive Editor Aldercreek Vineyards, Vancouver Lynn Townsend-White, Immediate Past Chair Western Polymer, Moses Lake Don C. Brunell, President The late C. David Gordon, Honorary President awb executive team Don C. Brunell, President Gary Chandler, VP, Government Affairs Kris Johnson, VP, Operations Jocelyn A. McCabe, APR, VP, Communications Chances are good that if you’ve been to a Seattle Sounders or Seahawks game at CenturyLink Stadium, you’ve been a part of history. It has nothing to do with goals or touchdowns and everything to do with innovation. And paint. All those hash marks and logos painted on the field? They’re all part of a very deliberate effort by Seattle-based Eco Chemical to take a fairly basic material — paint — and make it more environmentally sustainable. Eco Chemical is one of seven winners of this year’s AWB Environmental Excellence Awards, chronicled in our cover story by writer Jason Hagey. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the association’s environmental awards — a program that almost didn’t get off the ground because some thought businesses didn’t care about the environment. Twenty years and hundreds of success stories later, AWB companies like Eco Chemical are still disproving the stereotype. “It’s clear this award program was as much about encouragement as it was recognition,” said Hagey, who interviewed both AWB President Don Brunell and the program’s lead organizer and judge, environmental attorney Ken Weiner. “Even PO Box 658, Olympia, WA 98507-0658 T 360.943.1600 F 360.943.5811 www.awb.org Letters are welcomed, but must be signed to be considered for publication. Please include contact information for verification. Reproduction of articles appearing in Washington Business magazine is authorized for personal use only, with credit given to Washington Business magazine and/ or the Association of Washington Business. Articles written by outside authors do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of