Washington Business Winter 2020 | Washington Business | Página 5

washington business
editorial staff
Kris Johnson, Publisher
Jason Hagey, Executive Editor
Andrew Lenderman, Communications Specialist
Brian Mittge, Communications Specialist/
What’s Ahead
Photo Editor
Brian Temple, Creative Director
Project Manager Applemania hits AWB
awb officers Jason Hagey, Executive Editor
Lori Maricle , Marketing and Communications
Fran Forgette , Chairman
Rettig, Forgette, Iller, Bowers, Kennewick
Brian Forth, Vice Chair
SiteCrafting, Tacoma
Laura Lawton, Secretary/Treasurer
Lawton Printing Services, Spokane
Tim Schauer, Immediate Past Chair
MacKay Sposito, Vancouver
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
Carly Michael, Director of Member
Relations & Events
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We’re supposed to eat an apple a day, but it’s not every day that a new apple variety
comes along — especially one with the fanfare of the Cosmic Crisp.
In this issue’s cover story, staff writer Andrew Lenderman tells the story behind
the Cosmic Crisp, an apple that was created in 1997 but just hit store shelves in
December. Our staff got an early taste when it turned up for sale at the Olympia
Farmer’s Market and deemed it a hit.
The apple is a cross between the Enterprise and Honeycrisp, and it has a sweet and
crisp flavor, as the name suggests. The Cosmic Crisp isn’t just big news for foodies,
it’s also a big story for business. Washington growers have invested approximately
half a billion dollars to plant, test and care for some 12 million trees, so there’s a lot
riding on it.
There’s a lot of celebrating in this issue, starting with apples and continuing with
a round-up of AWB’s recent award winners. On page 26, we recap the Evening of
Excellence, the annual event where AWB recognizes the state’s top employers by
handing out awards during a fun, elegant night out on the town.
Farther back, (page 43), staff writer Brian Mittge shares highlights from AWB’s
third-annual Manufacturing Week bus tour. The tour, which celebrates the state’s
manufacturing sector, covered nearly 2,500 miles and included stops at nearly 40
employers in every part of the state.
For more than 116 years, AWB has advocated for Washington’s private sector
employers. Beginning on page 22, we introduce AWB’s 2020 government affairs
team, including details about the issue areas they cover. And we use this issue to
welcome Alisha Benson as the new CEO of Greater Spokane, Inc. with a Q&A that
touches on her background with the organization and growing up in a small town.
Contributing writer Richard Davis writes about a program (page 32) that’s helping
to address the partisan divide in the U.S. by arranging for members of Congress from
different parties to host each other for weekend or recess visits.
Child care is a major issue for employers, and we write about it twice in this
issue with a story from contributing writer Debbie Ritenour (page 40) about how
community and technical colleges are helping child care providers meet new
educational requirements, plus an article on page 47 that puts a dollar amount to the
lack of affordable child care.
Finally, the Doing Business As profile in the back of the magazine features
Churchill Glove, a 125-year-old Centralia company that started out making gloves
for loggers and now sells hand-sewn gloves to motorcycle riders in Japan, hipsters
in Moscow and celebrities like Shaquille O’Neal, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Terry
Bradshaw. Check them out online or stop by the next time you’re in Centralia.
And be sure to join in applemania by picking up some Cosmic Crisp apples the
next time you’re in the supermarket.
Thanks for reading Washington Business.
washingtonbusinessmag.com
winter 2020
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