business backgrounder | economy
Policy Summit Delivers
From fiery debates to provocative speakers,
the 23rd annual AWB Policy Summit had it all.
Jason Hagey
Highlights from the three-day gathering at Suncadia Resort, including some memorable statewide candidate
debates, a call for action from UPS Chairman and CEO Scott Davis, and advice from America’s leading
wordsmith, Frank Luntz.
If you attended AWB’s Policy Summit in September and you only remember one thing, it might be speaker Frank Luntz’s
advice for making sure people remember what you tell them: Preface your remarks, Luntz said, with the phrase, “If you
only remember one thing …”
“It is the cue that something really matters,” the pollster and communications expert said during the opening
session of the 23rd annual Policy Summit, presented by AT&T.
But of course, much more than one thing of significance took place during the three-day conference at Suncadia Resort.
The packed agenda included debates between candidates for lieutenant governor, secretary of state and auditor;
AWB’s final round of 2012 political endorsements; a passing of the gavel from outgoing
AWB Board Chair Tom Hosea to incoming Chair Doug Bayne; and an impressive line-up of
guest speakers. In addition to Luntz, attendees heard from health care expert Grace-Marie
at a glance
The packed agenda included
debates between candidates for
lieutenant governor, secretary
of state and auditor; AWB’s
final round of 2012 political
endorsements; a passing of the
gavel from outgoing AWB Board
Chair Tom Hosea to incoming
Chair Doug Bayne.
The speaker line-up included
pollster Frank Luntz, health care
expert Grace-Marie Turner,
Boeing executive Brett Gerry,
two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Ron
Brownstein, and UPS chairman
and CEO Scott Davis.
“At this moment, our country’s board of directors — the president
and Congress — is facing not one, but two, self-inflicted crises.
The impending fiscal cliff and the crushing trade imbalance.”
It wasn’t all serious. The AWB
Institute hosted a golf tournament
that raised money for Washington
Business Week, attendees tasted
some of the Northwest’s finest
wines, and the fleetest of foot joined
in the annual Policy Summit fun run.
— Scott Davis, UPS chairman and CEO
fall 2012
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