With 2011 in the rearview mirror, it’s time to focus on 2012. What lies ahead for Spokane? What will happen, what might happen, and how will it affect the business community?
Let’s look into the crystal ball, shall we?
A dynamic, growing presence on the east end of downtown Spokane is the University District, a place where innovation, research, education and more rule the day. Washington State University Spokane, Eastern Washington University, Whitworth University, Gonzaga University and Community Colleges of Spokane all utilize real estate in the U-District.
We have been working with various groups in the community to grow the district. Our U-District is a higher education hub with WSU’s Health Science Campus as its anchor. One of the district’s best kept secrets is the Applied Sciences Laboratory (ASL), a part of Washington State University’s Institute for Shock Physics. ASL is a contract research organization providing multidisciplinary expertise in Research & Development and Materials Characterization for government and industry. Research scientists at ASL have expertise in material science and advanced materials development, optical science, lasers, polymer chemistry, computational modeling and much more.
For instance, did you know there’s team researching ways to detect IEDs to protect U.S. soldiers? And did you know there are studies determining the best way to destroy biological agents, such as anthrax? All of this is vital for our nation, and it’s happening right here in Spokane’s U-District.
Our President and CEO, Rich Hadley, was quoted in the paper regarding Tuesday’s late breaking news that Providence Health & Services will bring 250 billing jobs to Spokane – from clerks to executives, as the story says. Saying it was a great “gift” for Spokane got us thinking.
What are some other recent “gifts” Spokane has received? Since it’s the gift-giving and receiving time of year, let’s take a look.
As we give thanks this week around the dinner table, we thought it’d be a nice time to reflect on all the great things we have here as an organization. We have it so nice in Spokane, we don’t know where to begin, but we’ll mention a few things we’re thankful for here at Greater Spokane Incorporated.
Let’s get to it.
Click the above diagram for a larger view.
The aerospace industry is one of our region’s vital and growing sectors.
Currently, there are 80 aerospace-related companies in the Inland Northwest. The graphic above shows how some of the regional companies are involved in aircraft manufacturing.
Governor Christine Gregoire recently launched Project Pegasus, a program aimed at keeping new Boeing manufacturing programs in Washington. We’d like to see the company build its next generation 737, the 737 MAX, in our region.
Here’s why:
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With Flag Day just passed and the Fourth of July upon us, we thought it was a nice time to highlight our role in supporting Fairchild Air Force Base.
Really, Fairchild supports us, the larger community. It’s the largest employer in our region, and the reason many of our residents live and work here. Lots of people who served at Fairchild remained in Spokane after retirement or after being discharged.
The 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild, part of the nation’s Air Mobility Command, has a $466,017,278 economic impact on our region. If this base wasn’t here, our region wouldn’t be what it is today.
Let’s take a look at the ways our community shows its gratitude and support for Fairchild.
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The last time we highlighted some good tidings around Spokane, we put a lot of people and businesses in the spotlight. It’s been about a month since that blog, so why not highlight some other accomplishments that were reached since then?
By now, you’ve heard about Boeing’s big win last week. The airplane maker won a $35 billion – that’s billion – contract with the United States Air Force to build the next generation of Air Refueling Tankers – the KC-46A. Boeing beat the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) for the contract.
One of the two plants where workers will build the tankers is in Everett, Wash. (the other is in Wichita, Kan.) That means money and jobs will stay in state and trickle out to the rest of the region, thus improving our economy. In fact, Spokane’s aerospace industry will benefit greatly.
This contract came from the Air Force, which is part of the Department of Defense, which is, of course, part of the government. Therefore, it’s – all together now – a government contract. Government contracts are out there for almost any business. Let’s see how you can find new customers within the government.
