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Home / Washington Business - November/December 2006 / Up front: Teamwork and dedication make AWB a success |
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Up front: Teamwork and dedication make AWB a success |
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Written On: November/December 2006 |
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Written By: by Alexis Nepomuceno |
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"How can I make a difference?" This is a question often posed by potential new members of the Association of Washington Business.
Having an impact on the way Washington does business might seem like an impossible task for a single business owner. What job providers often overlook is that when they join AWB they become part of team — in fact, probably the most powerful and effective business team in the state.
When I started at AWB in 2000, the dot-com bubble had just burst and George W. Bush was taking his first oath as President of the United States. At the time, AWB was distributing a monthly twelve-page newsletter and AWB.ORG was receiving a few hundred hits per day.
In just a handful of years, AWB has not only been able to shape public policy, but also create whole new avenues by which policy can be shaped.
In 2000 and 2001, AWB President Don Brunell led the effort that yielded the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy. This partnership with the Washington Roundtable and the Washington Research Council enabled AWB to focus the Legislature’s attention on competitiveness during the 2001 legislative session.
WashACE ultimately gave birth to the Competitiveness Redbook, which indexes how Washington compares with other states in the issues that matter most to job providers. This annual publication has provided businesses and lawmakers with a point of reference on how Washington stacks up with the rest of the country. The competitiveness efforts proved to be effective and timely, as Boeing announced its intentions to move its headquarters to another state early in 2001.
Spring 2002 marked the launch of the first issue of Washington Business magazine, replacing AWB’s monthly newsletter with a 48-page, full-color magazine. The new publication became an instant hit and expanded AWB’s reach as its own media outlet for members and policy efforts. The publication was advertising-supported from the beginning, and allowed AWB’s message to be seen in newsstands, waiting areas and coffee tables statewide. More than four years later, Washington Business is as strong as ever, winning numerous national awards in recognition of its design and editorial content.
Storming onto the scene in 2003 was Jobmakers.com, launched by AWB and the Washington Roundtable. Legislators were completely caught off guard, as no one really knew how to respond to this revolutionary public tracking system. The term "jobmakers" made it to the floors of the House and Senate, as lawmakers didn’t want to be referenced as anti-job. Subsequently, the 2003 legislative session become one of AWB’s best ever, and the business community finally had a tool that allowed them to track — in real time — the "business-friendliness" of the Legislature. 2007 will mark the fifth anniversary of Jobmakers.com, which is still regarded as a cutting-edge tool among AWB’s peers nationwide.
To help celebrate its 100th year anniversary in 2004, AWB redesigned its Web site and released a special video presentation on DVD to commemorate a century of achievement. By 2004, AWB had boosted traffic to its Web site by a factor of 20. The increased visibility resulting from Washington Business magazine and Jobmakers.com was beneficial to everyone.
Getting an early start on the podcasting phenomenon, AWB launched its weekly radio show, Washington Business Weekly, in 2005. The program was among the first chamber-oriented radio broadcasts in the country to be podcasted. Already approaching its second year, Washington Business Weekly reaches an audience of 30,000 via radio stations in Tacoma and Spokane, and an unlimited audience through audio downloads and iTunes subscriptions.
Wayne Gretzky once said, "Skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been." Thanks to the teamwork and dedication of AWB’s staff, this philosophy has been successfully implemented.
Serving AWB and its members over the past six years has truly been a joy and an honor. Being part of the AWB team, the answer to "How can we make a difference?" is apparent every day. As long as AWB members continue to recognize that we are all in this together — no matter how small or large the business — AWB and Washington’s business community will continue to prosper.
Alexis Nepomuceno has headed AWB’s communications department since 2000. Before joining AWB, Nepomuceno co-founded iPolitics.com, was actively involved in politics and co-founded Jet City Pizza. In December, he will leave AWB to become chief information and marketing officer for Garlic Jim’s Pizza in Everett. Richard S. Davis, currently of the Washington Research Council, will take over as AWB’s vice president of communications.
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