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Summer 2024

Alumni

Okanogan Cougs thumb
Winter 2015

Through the years with three lifelong Okanogan Cougs

Tom Monroe ’63, Richard Wagner ’61, and I started the first grade together in a small town in north central Washington, ninety miles north of Wenatchee and thirty miles south of the border with British Columbia, Canada: Okanogan. Perhaps even more remarkable is that we were all born at Elsie McDonald’s Maternity Home, probably because there was no hospital in Okanogan. Tom and I were playmates for a few years before beginning school—not very many, to be sure! —but we three boys began our life-long friendship together at Grainger Elementary School in Okanogan while America was still battling WWII.

We were never called “The Three … » More …

Winter 2015

Three portraits of Foley Institute alumni

The Foley path to public service through internships

“In a cynical age, I still believe that we must summon people to a vision of public service. For, in the end, this ethic determines more than anything else whether we will have citizens and leaders of honor, judgment, wisdom, and heart. These are the qualities this institute will nurture and advance, helping this nation become what it has always been destined to be, the best hope of a free people to live in an open and just society.”

—The Honorable Thomas S. Foley

Former LeLoup Intern, John Culton ’11 remembers the day … » More …

Winter 2015

Liberty Ciderworks

What are trained architects doing making hard cider?

“It’s a great beverage with a great legacy,” says Austin Dickey ’00, who tasted his first cider while visiting Europe after graduating from high school. He and colleague Rick Hastings share a passion for traditional hard cider.

After experimenting with homemade batches for years, the two began comparing notes and decided in 2012 to transform their hobby into a commercial venture.

“For us it’s all about the apples and yeast,” says Dickey.

Liberty Ciderworks, located in downtown Spokane, became the state’s first urban craft cidery and was among the initial wave of artisanal cider producers to … » More …

McCarty thumb
Winter 2015

Michael and Virginia Jessemey McCarty

Philanthropists, business leaders, and WSU supporters Michael and Virginia Jessemey McCarty received the WSU Alumni Association Alumni Achievement Award in September. Virginia graduated in 1974 with a broadcasting degree, and Michael earned his degree in recreation in 1975. He recently retired as chief executive officer of the Association of Washington Cities. She is the owner of McCarty & Associates marketing firm, which she founded in 1986.

Michael has been manager of the Thurston Conservation District, administrator for the City of Shelton, past president of the Washington City Management Association, and board member for the National League of Cities. He was appointed by former Gov. Chris … » More …

Bubbling cider
Winter 2015

The drink that built a nation

Bubbling a revolution in Washington State

It’s canning day at Tieton Cider Works in Yakima. Tall, red cans of Rambling Route cider pass through a pasteurizing unit as they come off the conveyor belt of the mobile canning truck. Sold in four packs, the company’s first canned product is intended to reach the masses, perhaps even enticing craft beer drinkers with a moderately-priced, portable cider.

The label on a can of Rambling Route cider describes the journey apples made across the country to Washington: “When it reached the land that would be called Washington, the apple knew.” It knew it had found a home in … » More …