Washington Business Summer 2018 | Washington Business

washington business editorial staff Kris Johnson, Publisher Jason Hagey, Executive Editor Bobbi Cussins, Communications Manager Andrew Lenderman, Communications Specialist Brian Mittge, Staff Writer/Photo Editor Brian Temple, Digital Media Coordinator awb officers Michael Senske, Chair of the Board Pearson Packaging Systems, Spokane Tim Schauer, Vice Chair MacKay Sposito, Vancouver Jim Reed, Secretary/Treasurer Banner Bank, Bellevue Wendy Sancewich, Immediate Past Chair RSM, Seattle awb leadership team Kris Johnson, President Gary Chandler, VP, Government Affairs Jason Hagey , VP, Communications Greg Welch , Director of Finance Sean Heiner , Director of Membership Stephanie Hemphill , Director of Member Relations & Events 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 AWB, its officers, staff or members. Products and services advertised in Washington Business magazine are not necessarily endorsed by AWB, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of AWB, its officers, staff or members. Washington Business magazine is the official quarterly publication of the Association of Washington Business. The annual subscription rate is $24.00, and individual copies may be purchased for $3.95. For subscription requests and magazine purchases, please contact the Association of Washington Business, P.O. Box 658, Olympia, WA 98507. washington business is designed by: Daniels-Brown Communications T 360.705.3058 www.danielsbrown.com advertising inquiries may be directed to: Jason Hagey, AWB washingtonbusinessmag.com What’s Ahead Parts of a Whole Jason Hagey, Executive Editor Until recently, the conventional wisdom held that Washington was a state divided by a mountain range. The population that lived on the west side generally looked at life through a different lens than the population on the east side. (East of the Cascades, that is. Not Lake Washington.) Over the last few years, the monthly unemployment map produced by the state Employment Security Department has painted a different picture, one where two counties (King and Snohomish) are flourishing and the rest of the state is somewhere between OK to struggling. A different distinction, but still two general categories: Booming, and everyone else. But this issue’s cover story suggests the state could be divided into many more than just two sections. Contributing writer Richard Davis explores a new report from the Boston Consulting Group suggesting the state could be divided into as many as six distinct economies, with geography playing just a part. Kriss Sjoblom, research director and economist for the Washington Research Council, says the state is a collect ion of separate regional economies that have “remarkably little linkage between them.” Check out the article to find out more about the different regions and the implications to economic development. As different as the state’s regions may be, one thing that drives them all is international trade. Staff writer Andrew Lenderman looks at trade’s importance to the state economy by following the journey of a wheat plant from its start on Alex McGregor’s farm in Whitman County to a cargo ship. It’s an interesting way to illustrate an important point about how various industries and regions are interconnected. Elsewhere in this issue, we profile SAFE Boats International, one of the stops on last year’s AWB bus tour of manufacturing companies — and another example of Washington’s trade-driven economy. The company’s watercraft are manufactured in Kitsap and Pierce counties and sold throughout the world. We also interview Brad Sawatzke, the new CEO of Energy Northwest. Staff writer Bobbi Cussins spoke with Sawatzke about Energy Northwest’s important role in the regional economy, and she learned how he got into the industry. It’s not the career pathway you would expect. Mike Schwenk returns to the magazine with a column about the AWB Institute. Schwenk, the former AWB board chair and current AWB Institute board chair, provides an update on the Institute’s “refreshed” board of directors and its bold mission to craft a vision for the state of Washington. And that’s just a sample of the content. No matter which part of the state you call home, I hope you find something useful. Thanks for reading. summer 2018 5

Washington Business Summer 2018 | Washington Business | Page 5