Left to right: Renée Sunde, WR President & CEO, Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodard, Mark Johnson, WR Senior VP of Policy & Government Affairs, and Mark with Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier.

Yesterday the WR executive team attended the day-long Policy Summit in Spokane hosted by the Association of Washington Business. WR President/CEO Renée Sunde, VP of Operations Rose Gundersen, and Senior VP of Policy and Government Affairs Mark Johnson represented WR and its members. Over 350 folks were in attendance at the event, which kicked off Tuesday night with a legislative reception. The event gave the WR team a chance to visit with many current and potential legislators, including Reps. Jenny Graham, Alex Ybarra, Senator Judy Warnick, and Senate Candidate Nikki Torres, Pasco.

Wednesday was packed with speakers and panels on critical business issues facing employers and the state. Topics included Civic Leadership and Public Safety with presenters Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward (see picture) and Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier (see photo). Tax and Fiscal Policy – guest presenters were Reps. Ed Orcutt and Noel Frame. Other topics included, Legislative Impacts on Human Resources, Expanding Workforce Participation, and Innovation, Automation, and the Implementation of Artificial Intelligence.

The event concluded with a fireside chat with former U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) and former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (R), who discussed bi-partisanship and working together for common sense solutions.

WR has been a long-time member of the state chamber and values its close partnership with AWB and its other member associations.