washington business
Inside
U. S. Ambassador to Togo, State Senate Join AWB in Honoring Alaffia
Spring Meeting Brings Together Business Innovators, Medical School Leaders
Two hundred attendees met in Spokane in May for AWB’ s annual Spring Meeting. The agenda included discussions on the latest trends in health care, education, national politics, state lawmaking and green business practices during the two-day meeting at the Davenport Hotel.
Alaska Airline ' s Joe Sprague kicked off the event with a luncheon keynote address that covered the company ' s merger with Virgin America, recent media attention on airlines and what ' s next for the melding of the two brands.
Alaffia, an international skin products company headquartered in Tumwater, hosted U. S. Ambassador to Togo David Gilmour during an April visit. The state Senate also honored the growing trade relationship between Washington and Togo thanks to the opportunities provided by this growing AWB member.
AWB Government Affairs Director Mary Catherine McAleer moderated the first afternoon panel to discuss energy innovation. Panelists included Scott Endres, Kaiser Aluminum ' s vice president of Flat Rolled Products; Heather Rosentrater, vice president of energy delivery for Avista Corporation; and, Frank Holmes, director for Washington State Petroleum Association ' s Northwest region and marine issues.
Gilmour, U. S. Rep. Denny Heck, and a number of state elected officials toured Alaffia before holding a roundtable discussion about international trade and development.
AWB then hosted a women’ s leadership luncheon, led by AWB Board Chair Wendy Sancewich. This brought together 25 women leaders from across Washington’ s employer community as well as the Alaffia Empowerment Council, which consists of four women leaders from Togo.
The group also visited the Capitol where Alaffia was honored in the Senate with Senate Resolution 8645, acknowledging the employer’ s significance to the economies of both Washington and Togo, and encouraging further growth of the trade relationship between the two countries.
AWB featured Alaffia in this year’ s Grow Here campaign. The company was founded by Olowo-n’ djo Tchala and his wife, Prairie Rose Hyde, to create a socially conscious private enterprise that could sustain villages in Togo where Tchala was raised.
The products became such a hit with consumers that the business quickly grew from their garage in Olympia to a 100,000-squarefoot facility in Tumwater. Their company now employs 120 people in Tumwater, and supports 14,000 villagers in Togo who provide products and services for the company.
See the campaign at www. GrowHereWashington. com.
Dr. John Tomkowiak, founding dean for the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, and Dr. Suzanne M. Allen, vice dean for academic, rural and regional affairs for the University of Washington School of Medicine, discussed the new developments in higher education with Dr. Christine Johnson, chancellor for the Community Colleges of Spokane.
Finally, communications expert Frank Luntz gave the dinner keynote address, weaving together humor with a deep look into politics and policy at the national level and employers ' role in today ' s rancorous political climate.
AWB is Washington state’ s chamber of commerce and one of just four state chambers in the country to be“ accredited with distinction” by the U. S. Chamber of Commerce.
8 association of washington business