eye on business
We Need More Tom Fritzes in the World
Kris Johnson, AWB President
As I reflected on the legacy of Tom Fritz following his
tragic passing this summer, I couldn’t help but think about
how fortunate we all were to have him as part of our lives
for what seems like far too brief a time. And how much
better the world would be if we had more people like him.
Tom made the people and the organizations around him
better because he unselfishly invested his time, talent and
treasure in the things he cared about.
He certainly made Inland Northwest Health Services
better, turning around a struggling organization and
developing it into one of the leading health care
organizations in the nation. His vision quickly moved
INHS into the black and put Spokane on the map in terms
of health care innovation.
He made his country better by serving as a Marine
during the Vietnam War. I suspect it’s one of the lesserknown parts of Tom’s life, but he served a tour in Vietnam
and was part of a search-and-rescue helicopter squadron.
Last fall, he joined Gen. Stanley McChrystal and a
group of Vietnam War-era veterans on stage at our