The economists have spoken; it’s looking like a rough year ahead, with the economic climate getting worse before it gets better. Business owners and executives can hope the analysts are wrong, but they better not be betting on it.

Bob Adolfson says he’ll always remember a party he catered in the early 1990s in Seattle. It was an end-of-the-year bash for a company with 12,000 employees held at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center.

2008 Business Excellence Award Winner - General Business Excellence - If Spokane had a fan club, Harry Sladich, president and CEO of the Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau, would be its most vocal member. A resident since before he can remember, Sladich spends his days evangelizing the merits of the community to anyone and everyone elsewhere who might come to visit.

2008 Business Excellence Award Winner - Businessman of the Year - After three years under Stiles’ leadership, Advantage IQ’s revenues have more than doubled—the company brought in about $47 million last year—and its profitability has continued to grow. This year, the company acquired one of its biggest competitors and has put itself in a position to expand its client base and its selection of consulting services.