Washington Business Summer 2019 | Washington Business | Page 5

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, Creative Director What’s Ahead Lori Maricle , Marketing and Communications Project Manager awb officers Tim Schauer, Chairman MacKay Sposito, Vancouver Fran Forgette , Vice Chair Business, Baseball and More Jason Hagey, Executive Editor Forgett Iller Bowers, Kennewick Laura Lawton, Secretary/Treasurer Lawton Printing Services, Spokane Michael Senske, Immediate Past Chair Pearson Packaging Systems, Spokane 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: Celeste at Daniels-Brown Communications [email protected] The summer of 2001 was a memorable one for my family. We had just moved to the South Sound from Eastern Washington. My daughter had just been born. And a new right-fielder for the Seattle Mariners who went by the single name Ichiro was making his debut in the Major Leagues. With a newborn in the house we didn’t leave home much, so we ended up watching just about every game of that incredible 116-win season on TV. It didn’t take long to realize that Ichiro, already a star in his home country of Japan, was something special. He was a wizard with the bat, capable of turning seemingly any pitch into a base hit. He was fast, capable of stealing bases and running down fly balls. And he had a gun for a right arm, picking off unsuspecting baserunners who were foolish enough to challenge him. This spring, AWB led a trade mission to Japan and witnessed the final two games of Ichiro’s Hall of Fame career as the Mariners opened the season in the Tokyo Dome versus the Oakland A’s. Staff writer Andrew Lenderman writes about the baseball games, and the trade mission, in this issue’s cover story. The trip marked the first time in recent memory, possibly ever, that AWB has led a foreign trade mission and Japan was an appropriate place to start. The country is Washington’s third-largest trading partner behind China and Canada, and it has deep ties to Washington state. You can read the article beginning on page 28. Junus Khan, founder of Kennewick-based carbon-fiber company Carbitex, was one of the employers who joined in the trip. He took off from his Hong Kong office and met up with the group in Tokyo. Carbitex is doing some fascinating work with carbon fiber, and staff writer Brian Mittge caught up with him by phone for the second installment of the magazine’s new feature, How I Did It. Elsewhere in the magazine, staff writer Bobbi Cussins interviews state Auditor Pat McCarthy and learns about her work to make local governments more transparent. Contributing writer Debbie Ritenour examines some of partnerships between employers and Washington’s community and technical colleges. Richard Davis writes about the updated report on Washington’s growing infrastructure needs. And much more. Here’s to a great summer of business and — hopefully — a little baseball too. Thanks for reading. washingtonbusinessmag.com summer 2019 5