Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Our weekend was full of t-ball and house projects. It is hard to believe it is already the middle of June. Optimism is in the air as we continue to celebrate high school graduations across the region (congrats to all our grads) and inch closer to our June 30 reopening. Please keep doing your part!

Please join me this week in welcoming Lisa Poplawski Lewis to the team as our new VP of Resource Development. Lisa comes from EWU after 25 years with their philanthropy and alumni relations teams. We are so fortunate to have Lisa at GSI in this role. She brings years of relationship building with her that will strengthen the partnership value of investing in the work of GSI. Send Lisa a quick note and say hello!

Today we also welcomed back more of our team members from their home offices to the GSI office. With this return, the GSI offices are now open and operating within state capacity requirements. Face coverings/masks are required unless you are fully vaccinated. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Lastly, in case you missed it, be sure to read our mid-year update that was sent out in our newsletter last week. Lots to celebrate and a few opportunities too!

Stay safe, stay healthy, lead boldly, and continue to spread kindness. Remember, Together We’re Greater! 

In the last Angle, we shared that the Department of Commerce awarded $234M in the fourth round of their Working Washington Grant program. 734 businesses in Spokane County received an award and almost all of them have received the dollars. The key word being almost. There are a handful of companies that have still not collected their money. To assist Commerce, our Growth team has reached out to several businesses via e-mail, phone calls, and showing up in person at their business. If you applied and have not received funding, contact Commerce at [email protected]. And if you missed it, check out our final report on the first round of Working Washington Grants from April 2020. 

Leading off with some great news from our life sciences industry cluster. Jubilant HollisterStier (JHS) announced a $92M investment to expand sterile injectable manufacturing capacity at its site in northeast Spokane. This expansion spreads over 50,000 sq. feet and will be operational by the end of 2024. We want to thank JHS for being part of the Advantage Spokane life science video series to promote the Spokane region as a great place for life sciences expansion.

And more great news - Iasis Molecular Sciences was named runner up at the Flywheel Investment Conference. They were awarded a $50,000 investment offer. Iasis Molecular Sciences is an advanced materials company developing and commercializing material science-based solutions to prevent the transmission of infectious pathogens from surfaces. The Flywheel Investment Conference is an annual event that generates exposure and resources for early-stage companies by bringing entrepreneurs, investors, and community members together. The conference is organized by the NCW Tech Alliance, and is held in Wenatchee, WA.

Congratulations to our friends at the Inland Northwest Aerospace Consortium (INWAC) for successfully hosting the I-90 Aerospace Corridor Conference. The I-90 Aerospace Corridor stretches from Moses Lake to western Montana, with much of it here in the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene metro. The I-90 Aerospace Conference helps aerospace manufacturers expand their industry knowledge and build their business. We also want to thank Mark Norton, the INWAC Chair and Senior Business Development Manager at Accrafab, for joining our Regional Business Leaders call to provide an update on the aerospace industry.

Our friends at Terrain are holding a pitch party for entrepreneurs. The program is through Terrain’s Creative Enterprise business incubator program, and the Pitch Party is an opportunity to meet 18 artist-entrepreneurs who are getting ready to take their fresh ideas to the streets of Spokane. Each participant gives a three-minute presentation based on their newly completed business plans. Serving as one of the panelists is our very own VP of Economic Development, Gary Ballew. Gary will tell you that communities with a strong creative economy are more diverse and grow faster. 

I also want to congratulate the Growth team for successfully hosting the 2021 International Economic Development Council Future Forum. This is a national conference of economic development professionals and focuses on leading edge practices for growing diverse, resilient, equitable economies. While the conference was virtual, we were still able to show off economic development efforts in our region with a number of local speakers including Commerce Director Lisa Brown, Commissioner Josh Kerns, Mayor Nadine Woodward, Dennis Vermillion, Latisha Hill and Paul Kimmel from Avista, Shelly O’Quinn from Innovia Foundation and Ginger Ewing from Terrain. Roughly 400 economic developers attended the event. We are going to take a breath and then start planning for Future Forum 2024, which will be held in person in Spokane! 

GSI, led by the Spokane STEM Network, has been selected for the second time by Career Connect Washington (CCW) as one of only nine recipients to receive a grant to continue our work enhancing workforce development across the region. In the past two years of funding as the Regional Network, GSI/Spokane STEM has convened regional leadership teams, represented CCW on a number of local boards and committees, supported multiple CCW Program Intermediary funding applications and Career Launch endorsements, and continued offering career connected learning programing for teachers and students. We are excited to continue to grow this work.

Since November 2020, GSI/Greater Minds has awarded over $33,000 in microgrant awards to local students returning to school! If you want to return to school but owe a debt, contact Jodi Brant today as funds are limited.

Without clear data, it is almost impossible to identify impact and understand where gaps continue to exist, preventing access to equitable opportunities in our community. Our regional, annual STEM by the Numbers report gives a glimpse into where our community’s career readiness metrics lie. Read more, or view the report. 

GSI, SRHD, the Spokane Arena (PFD) and the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) are partnering to host our final of four Vaccination Happy Hour events on Wednesday, June 16 at the Spokane Arena. There will be a food truck with a free snack for persons getting vaccinated, and KZZU 92.9 will do its radio show from the event! There will also be drawings for prizes, including tickets to shows at the Spokane Arena.

Join us for our first in-person Business After Hours, since COVID, at Centerplace West Lawn Plaza this Thursday, June 17 from 4:00-6:00pm. We would love to see you there!

Every year GSI partners with the Journal of Business to bring you the annual Connect magazine, which is designed and built by GSI and published by the Journal of Business as a supplement in the late September issue. If you are interested in advertising in this annual magazine, check out the media kit. It provides answers to your questions, pricing, and everything else to make your advertising decision!

What’s Your Story? Did you enjoy learning about long time members Kenneth and Christy Belisle, owners of The Onion and Frank’s Diner in the last Connect newsletter? Stories inspire us, drive us, and encourage us. Let us share your story and show others the great business community of Spokane!

FORE! You are invited to participate in our 30^th Annual Golf Tournament at the Creek at Qualchan on Wednesday, July 28 and Thursday, July 29. Book your team now – we only have a handful of spots left!

Did you Know: GSI’s Member Directory will help you find local business members with ease? You can also use the Ownership search feature to look for Minority, Veteran, or Women Owned. As a GSI member you can log into your member portal and update your business’ Ownership listing as well!

Refer: Know of an organization that should be a member of GSI? Participate in our Refer a Friend program. Reach out to Elizabeth Mills, [email protected] with your referral. 

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