What do kids do in high school nowadays?
That is a question many of us ask ourselves whenever talk of supporting education and public schools arises. We did some digging and found the answer to this question…. robots have taken over.
It’s that time again.
We’re partnering with the Spokane Valley and West Plains chambers of commerce to lead a large delegation (as in more than 70 people) to Olympia to advocate on behalf of Eastern Washington.
Time to get our show on the road.
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.
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We’re big into traditions here at GSI. This year, we stuck with tradition and held a staff gift exchange where we bought gifts our coworkers would have enjoyed as a child. Take a look at what we received, and what we did with the gifts:
Fourteen area public school districts will have a levy on the Feb. 14 ballot (which drops in the mail Jan. 27). These levies fund vital programs and resources, such as textbooks, teaching materials, extracurricular activities, classified support staff and a lot more.
The levies will fund bus transportation and vital programs and resources, such as textbooks, teaching materials, extracurricular activities, classified support staff and a lot more.
The Executive Committee of Greater Spokane Incorporated voted on behalf of the Board of Trustees to support the school levies.
Here’s why:
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.
A big part of our job here is to advocate on behalf of the businesses of all sizes and industries. To do that, we form relationships with local, state and federal governments and meet with representatives year-round.
Each January, we take a delegation of business leaders to Olympia in conjunction with the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce and the West Plains Chamber of Commerce for three days to meet with our state legislators, discuss issues, advocate for business-friendly laws, policies and projects, and much more.
We also bring our State Agenda, which outlines our region’s priorities. Let’s take a look at how it’s developed.
We know September seems like an odd time to do a “Year in Review” blog, but our fiscal calendar actually runs October – September. So knowing that, this is the perfect time to look back at our year.
Senator Patty Murray visited Spokane’s Triumph Composite Systems last week to lead a discussion on workforce development. Senator Murray spoke to a large group of aerospace companies, including members of the Inland Northwest Aerospace Consortium (INWAC), which was co-founded by Greater Spokane Incorporated.
Murray indicated that we are not only battling a financial deficit, but we are also facing an infrastructure deficit and an education and skills training deficit. Let’s see how she is helping reduce that deficit.
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