by Sarah Brede
EWI of Spokane Chapter President
Dear EWI of Spokane Members,
This is my last letter to you as President, and I’ve started it about five times because I keep wanting to say everything at once.
Let me start with August. Walking away from our business meeting, I felt something I want to name directly: this chapter shows up. The engagement in the room, the questions, the willingness to dig into the details of our chapter’s business, told me everyone in that room understands what EWI is worth. That’s not something you can manufacture. It has to be created, meeting by meeting, year by year, and you all built it.
I also owe you an apology. I never got to properly celebrate our first-ever All City Reading Rally at that meeting, and it deserves better than an afterthought. You’ll find the full story elsewhere in this Connect, so I’ll just say this: it was an all-out sprint from start to finish. I ran a station helping kids build their own short stories, and by the end I was completely drained, the good kind of drained that only comes from pouring yourself into something worth it. I watched our local kids light up over books and the literacy activities we’d built for them, and felt the weight of what this chapter can do for Spokane’s next generation. Worth every minute.
As I look back on this year, I’m struck by how much of it was foundation-laying. We leaned hard into Connection Over Transaction, and it showed: committee participation is nearly at 100%, with even our last few members actively in conversation about where they’ll plug in. Our membership numbers held steady, morale and engagement climbed, and we did the unglamorous work of getting our roster right, work that won’t show up in a headline but will make next year’s growth so much stronger.
When I said yes to this role, I saw it as a chance to give back to an organization that has given me so much. What I didn’t expect was to end the year feeling like I was the one being taken care of. I felt fully surrounded, supported and encouraged by all of you, my EWI friends, in a way I wasn’t prepared for. I’m a little emotional writing that down, honestly, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise.
I’ve learned more about leadership, about this community, and honestly about myself, than I expected to when I started. This group has a way of lifting up its members, our businesses, and our city all at once, and I don’t think I’ll ever fully capture in words what it’s meant to sit across the table from each of you this year.
My calendar is about to open up, so consider this an open invitation to coffee. I’d love nothing more.
With so much gratitude,
Sarah
President, EWI of Spokane
EWI: Where diverse businesses come together for Connections, Careers, and Community.