Washington Business Spring 2017 | Washington Business | Page 14
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Of Note
Marty Brown, Executive Director of the State Board of
Community and Technical Colleges, to Retire in June
The State Board of Community
and Technical Colleges’ (SBCTC)
Executive Director Marty Brown
announced earlier this year he
will retire on June 30.
During Brown’s four-year ten-
ure at SBCTC, Washington state
won several grants that moved its
community and technical college
system into the national spotlight.
“With his budget and legislative savvy, Marty has delivered
excellent results for students, colleges and our state. Marty may
be leaving us but his impact in our system will have a lasting
legacy,” said State Board Chair Shaunta Hyde in a press release.
Brown began his public service in 1977 as a Senate committee
staff member. After advancing to become the Senate Democratic
Caucus attorney, Senate Democratic staff director and secre-
tary of the Senate, Brown became director of legislative affairs
for Gov. Gary Locke in 1997. He also served as chief of staff and
director of the Office of Financial Management under Govs.
Locke and Christine Gregoire.
After nearly 40 years of public service, Brown will hold off
retiring until after he sees the community and technical college
system go through one more legislative session.
Afterward, Brown plans to spend more time with his family.
“We’ve got two great kids and four wonderful grandchildren
and a fifth on the way,” said Brown. “I’ve been blessed in my career
and worked with, and for, great people for nearly 40 years.”
Alaska Airlines Takes Flight to Cuba
On Jan. 5, Alaska
Airlines launched
its first regularly-
scheduled U.S.
commercial
flight between
Los Angeles and
Havana, Cuba.
Fifty political,
business and cultural leaders from California and Washington
state took part in an educational trade mission to learn more
about the island.
One of the participants was University of Washington Pres-
ident Dr. Ana Mari Cauce. Cauce, whose parents emigrated
to Miami from Cuba when she was just 3 years old, has since
become the first Cuban-born leader of a major American aca-
demic institution.
“I’m thrilled at this new spirit of openness and the oppor-
tunity for us to build greater ties with the people of Cuba,”
Cauce said in a press release. “This visit is a high point for me
personally and professionally.”
The commercial flight marks a first for Alaska; however, it
isn’t the first time the company has flown to Cuba. In the ear-
ly 1970s, Alaska flew U.S. Military Command charter flights to
the base at Guantanamo Bay.
Flights to Havana are now a daily occurrence. To learn
more, visit alaskaair.com/cuba.
Schilling Cider Wins 2017 Innovation Award from Puget Sound Business Journal
Schilling Cider, maker of craft hard ciders, won the Puget Sound Business Journal’s
(PSBJ) first-ever 2017 Food & Beverage Innovation Award.
The award recognizes companies that have made extraordinary advances in their
respective fields.
“In the PSBJ's first-ever Innovation Awards, we aim to highlight the creative ways our
region's businesses confront problems and seek solutions. This program will honor com-
panies that have developed innovative methods that will shape the future of business,”
PSBJ said on their website.
Schilling Cider was also recognized for its dedication to sustainable practices in the
2016 AWB Grow Here employer image campaign. It is the first hard cider maker on
the West Coast to package its beverages in cans, which proved to be the starting point of a trend in the industry
for sustainability and environmental stewardship.
To learn more about Schilling Cider and their sustainability practices, go to AWB’s Grow Here website at
awb.org/growhere-schilling.
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