|
|
|
 |
|
Home / Washington Business - March/April 2004 / AWB Celebrates 100 YEARS Part II: 1971-2004 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
AWB Celebrates 100 YEARS Part II: 1971-2004 |
|
|
|
Written On: March/April 2004 |
|
|
|
Written By: By Scott Carlson |
|
|
|
Washington Businesses Forge Ahead Despite Challenges
In 1969, C. David Gordon was halfway through his second stint as the Association of Washington Industries’ executive head, a position he would hold for a collective 22 years. Gordon and the Association’s staff were preparing themselves and their members for some major changes in the operation. That summer marked a turning point in the history of Washington state’s chamber of commerce.
Two significant changes were summed up in one certificate sporting a gold Washington state seal of authenticity and one signature:
“I, A. Ludlow Kramer, Secretary of State of the state of Washington, hereby certify that amended articles of incorporation of the Association of Washington Industries of Seattle, was filed for record in this office.”
The date was June 5, 1969. The amendments read:
“Amended articles; making principal place of business Olympia and changing the name to Association of Washington Business (AWB).”
Now operating under a new name and consolidated in a new neighborhood, the staff of AWB would be at the epicenter of gubernatorial and legislative happenings, just one block from the capitol dome in Olympia. Trees still standing on the property today have sentimental value to the organization.
“Some of them were donated by Weyerhaeuser and some came from my mother’s yard,” said former Natural Resources Director Roger von Gohren. Von Gohren was the first environmental specialist hired by AWB.
The state, as well as the Association, had begun looking very closely into industrial impacts on the environment. In 1970, Spokane wanted to celebrate its centennial with a worldwide event. At the time, there were concerns surfacing over the pollution of the Spokane River. Mining companies were being convinced to stop discharges into the water. The two movements came together in an environmental theme for the 1974 World’s Fair.
That fall, the Association’s executive committee convened aboard the M.V. Thea Foss in Tacoma. Then committee chairman A. J. Barran thanked Gordon and presented him with a wall plaque. According to Barran, Gordon had led AWB through its most extensive reorganization, bequeathed to AWB a modern marketing concept on membership, and gave AWB new stature within state government circles, as well as the business community.
The new AWB would have its work cut out for it as the Puget Sound region fell into a minor depression. One of its largest members was about to hit hard times, pulling tens of thousands of people down with it.
The Boeing Company employed approximately 72,000 in the late 1950s. That number wavered up and down until it reached its peak at 101,000 in 1967. With the wrap-up of NASA’s Apollo program, cutbacks in military and commercial orders, and the cancellation of federal support for a supersonic transport the company had been developing, Boeing’s employee ranks plummeted down to a little more than 38,000 in 1971. A heavily-reliant Puget Sound community was dealt a body blow.
A Seattle billboard trying to make light of the economic devastation asked the last person leaving Seattle to please turn out the lights.
Washington’s politicians and businesses vowed to diversify the region, hoping to avoid this sort of catastrophe in the future. However, not one of them could have imagined the small-business successes that would come from the struggling Pacific Northwest over the next few years.
As AWB established roots in the South Sound area and the organization’s membership base continued to grow under Gordon’s leadership, small seeds of business were being planted in Seattle.
At the Pike Place Market, in 1971, a small café called Starbucks opened that would forever revolutionize the coffee industry. Two years later, an 18 year-old Harvard freshman from Seattle was beginning his journey to the top of the computer world. He would later found a company called Microsoft. Starbucks and Microsoft would both become AWB members.
The Association would not be left behind, as computers were becoming more prevalent in the workplace. Douglas C. Marshall, AWB’s legal counsel, sent the following memo to the executive committee in 1974:
“I have been asked to prepare for you this summary of where we are on the development of a computerized membership records-keeping system for AWB. Since I was the only staff person with any computer background, I volunteered to look into the matter further.”
AWB did implement the computer system, and thus entered the digital age.
C. David Gordon would end his more than two decades at AWB on December 31, 1978. Bob Buck and the executive committee welcomed C. Douglas Bohlke to the position of AWB president. The membership toll was standing strong at 3,172.
On May 16, 1980, AWB’s nominating committee chair sent AWB Board Chair Wells B. McCurdy a letter outlining the committee’s nominations for that year. Wendell J. Satre had been nominated president and chair of the board of directors. Bohlke would stay on as the Association’s president.
Two days later, an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale would cause the north face of Mt. St. Helens to crumble, while a mushroom cloud spewed hot gas and ash on eastern Washington during a nine-hour eruption. Tragically, 57 people would perish in the eruption, including 37-year-old Day Karr, a co-owner of Sound Produce in Seattle, and his two sons.
The eruption had a lasting affect on Washington businesses. Membership at AWB, in 1981, was down by 192.
Despite the volcanic catastrophe, the 1980’s were a profitable time for some AWB members.
In 1979, Alaska Airlines became an Association member. That same year, Alaska began flying to Portland and San Francisco. Over the next five years, business took Alaska Air to southern California, Oakland, San Jose, Boise, Spokane, Phoenix and Tucson. The company’s profits and revenues soared.
United Parcel Service (UPS) started its own airline in 1988 when the company expanded its delivery horizons to Europe. Piloting their own planes ensured that customer packages arrived at their destinations on time. In 1989, UPS was shipping to more than 180 countries.
AWB welcomed new association president Donald C. Brunell in 1988. Brunell had been AWB’s governmental affairs vice president until his appointment.
When 1990 arrived, the country was focused on environmental protection. In 1990, Earth Day went global. More than 200 million people and 141 countries raised awareness of recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Because of the region’s environmentalists and eco-friendly efforts, the Pacific Northwest was dubbed “Cascadia.” Paul Schell, Seattle’s mayor from 1998 to 2002, explained that Cascadia was a well-preserved and well-appreciated natural setting inhabited by people "with a love of the outdoors and reverence for the environment passed to us from native people."
Since the day von Gohren joined the staff in the late 1960’s, AWB had been no stranger to the environmental aspects of business. The Association’s governmental affairs team had continually tackled environmental issues and policies that affect AWB members year-after-year in the state Legislature.
Today, AWB’s Governmental Affairs team is led by former state representative Gary Chandler. The team is comprised of six governmental affairs directors, leading the charge on a wide array of legislative issues ranging from transportation and unemployment insurance to workers’ compensation and charter schools. Tort reform remains one of the Association’s top priorities.
The 100-year-old state chamber of commerce represents nearly 4,100 businesses, that employ more than 600,000 Washington state residents. Working on the foundation laid by C. David Gordon, the Association’s membership team continues to bring new and old businesses onboard, only strengthening AWB’s voice in the halls of the state Capitol and the state business community.
As AWB celebrates its first 100 years, there is no looking back for the staff and members. All eyes are on the future. For one century, the Association has been the voice of business in the Legislature’s ear. As issues change, AWB adapts. As issues arise, AWB overcomes. Is your business on the winning team?
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
