business backgrounder | economy
A Sterling Silver Celebration
The 25th anniversary AWB Policy Summit broke attendance
records during a three-day immersion in public policy
discussions, leadership development and opportunities to
strengthen old ties while making new ones.
Brian Mittge
A sold-out crowd heard leadership insights from Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden, retired
four-star Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Gov. Jay Inslee, young executives from fastgrowing Washington companies and many more.
With 25 strong years behind and what promises to be a hard-fought legislative session
ahead, AWB’s silver anniversary Policy Summit was a welcome pause to reflect on the state
of Washington’s business environment.
From Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden to young leaders at fast-growing Washington
companies, the insights and conversation at the three-day Policy Summit, held Sept. 16-18
at Suncadia Resort, demonstrated why it has become the state’s premier public policy event.
Retired four-star Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who gave the keynote address, might as well
have been talking about the multi-billion-dollar challenges awaiting the 2015 Legislature
when he told attendees, “You’re going to be measured not by sunny days and when quarterly
earnings are high, but you’ll be measured by how you are when they’re not.”
While politics was a major theme, t