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Home / Washington Business - July/August 2004 / AWB Legends: C. David Gordon |
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AWB Legends: C. David Gordon |
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Written On: July/August 2004 |
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Written By: By Charles Henry Thomas |
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Gordon’s Hard Work Laid the Foundation for Today’s AWB
Looking at the list of AWB presidents over the past century, there is one name that stands out above all the rest — C. David Gordon. He is “Honorary President for Life.”
Gordon led the association for 22 years starting in 1955 and ended with his retirement in 1979. Since the numbers don’t add up, it is because he left AWB in 1964-65.
Now in his early 80s and enjoying San Juan Island living with his wife, Betty, he took AWB from a four-person shop with 700 members to the state’s leading business organization with 3,300 members and a 30 person staff. Today, AWB’s membership is 4,200.
The Gordons are Huskies. They were raised in Seattle and met while attending the University of Washington where he was the catcher on the baseball team. They have four sons—Dave, Stephen, Charlie and Gavin.
Gordon is Part of the “Greatest Generation”
Gordon is a World War II and Korean War Air Force veteran. He is part of what NBC’s Tom Brokaw calls America’s “Greatest Generation.”
After graduating from UW in 1942, Gordon immediately joined the U.S. Army Air Corp. He wanted to be a pilot, but his vision kept him out of flight school. He then studied hard and earned a spot in the Officer Candidate program.
He was commissioned and assigned to the cutting edge radar program. Gordon, a journalism graduate, was a rare bird in a school dominated by electrical engineers and electronic technicians.
In 1943, the Gordons married in Miami and he flew to China in a specially outfitted B-24 designed to spot Japanese coastal radar sites. Little did he know then that he would retire to Friday Harbor, which is a few nautical miles from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station where the modern E-6 radar-jamming jets call home. Gordon was activated by the Air Force during the Korean war and was stationed in Washington.
Gordon Cuts His Teeth at Weyerhaeuser
Following the war, Gordon interviewed with Weyerhaeuser Co. Although he didn’t get the position, Gordon kept in touch with Walter DeLong, the company’s vice president. In 1949, DeLong hired him and sent him to Olympia to lobby.
Gordon became good friends with Ed “Deke” Davis, a former legislator who ran the Associated Washington Industries (AWI) from 1945 until his retirement in 1955. Gordon, who made his mark with Weyerhaeuser, was the logical choice to replace Davis.
At the time, AWB was located in downtown Seattle. Aside from a rented office during the legislative session, AWI had no offices in Olympia. As AWI grew, Gordon convinced the Board that the Association’s place was near the state capital. He located the present site at 1414 S. Cherry and completed the present headquarters building in 1967.
Gordon also pressed the Board to change AWI’s name to the Association of Washington Business (AWB) in 1971 so the organization would be recognized as representing all employers not just “heavy industry.” He felt political clout was in numbers and getting business to work as a team for a common agenda.
Gordon Joined Chambers and Manufacturers
He also realized the importance of including local chambers of commerce and trade associations. Gordon aligned the organization nationally with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers and AWB soon became the state’s chamber of commerce and manufacturing association.
In the long haul, those moves were important because in states where there are separate chambers of commerce and manufacturing associations, it is not only difficult to fund both groups but to align them on a common agenda.
During the first years of Gordon’s tenure, labor bosses had an ironclad grip on the Legislature, and AWB often found itself in toe-to-toe battles with the Washington State Labor Council. At first, business was outgunned, but over time, Gordon strengthened AWB so it could match the union’s political muscle.
“Many of the organizational changes Dave instituted a quarter century ago remain in place today,” AWB President Don Brunell said. “More than anyone I know, C. David Gordon is the one who made AWB what it is today. He is well deserving of the title: Honorary President for Life.”
Charles Henry Thomas is a western Washington freelance writer.
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