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
Resolve to Take Action in 2012
Jocelyn A. McCabe, APR, Executive Editor
Aldercreek Vineyards, Vancouver
Lynn Townsend-White, Immediate Past Chair
With fresh new calendars and ambitious resolutions, we enter 2012 ready to
Western Polymer, Moses Lake
take on the world — or at least a small slice of it. We retool, reset, reaffirm and
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
recommit to do things differently, better, more efficiently.
For many of the businesses featured in this issue of Washington Business,
that’s become the norm rather than just a New Year’s tradition. With a fragile
economy, the old way of doing business — whether you’re selling sporting
goods, making wool blankets, navigating the skies or creating life-saving
medicines — requires constant innovation, change and refinement.
This issue’s “Business Backgrounders” — in-depth profiles of AWB member
companies — offer several instances of this continuous improvement. Consider
Pendleton Woolen Mills, the 100-year-old textile manufacturer whose
beautiful blankets and clothing have become icons of the Pacific Northwest.
Competition from China and other global markets have forced the company to
literally reinvent itself, giving it a nimbleness and flexibility it’s never had before
and needs more than ever to stay in business.
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.
Spectralux Avionics is another company that’s retooling air travel, and,
therefor