To celebrate 20 years of helping clients overcome challenges, seize opportunities, win and grow, we’ve chosen not to bake a cake or throw a party. Like Albert Gallatin, who labored behind the scenes, we like to think acknowledging the quality and success of our clients over two decades is the best possible way to celebrate.

Faced with a shrinking foundation, Shriners Hospitals national board of directors proposed closing several Shriners Hospitals in 2009, including Spokane. In response to the news of a pending closure, the Spokane community rallied to its support. As a result, the Board agreed to keep the hospital open if it could bill insurance companies for patients that have coverage. The significant income from insurance payments would allow Spokane’s hospital to remain open. Unfortunately, the Washington State Department of Health insisted that Shriners complete a very lengthy, time consuming and expensive Certificate of Need (CON) process to proceed. Shriners felt that this was an unnecessary step and could force the closure of the hospital.

First Wind is a Boston Based independent wind energy company focused on the development, ownership, and operations of wind energy projects from Maine to Maui. When First Wind decided to permit the Palouse Wind project, a 105 MW energy facility on the rolling hills of Eastern Washington, opposition formed rallying under the banners of wildlife protection and human health concerns.

In 2007, the State of Washington released an RFP for companies to bid on a 5-year 75 million dollar testing and assessment contract to provide comprehensive testing and assessment services for the State’s public school districts through the Washington State Office of Public Instruction. Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) was the “new kid on the block” in the State, and found itself in a competitive bid process with the largest testing and assessment company in the country and the existing state testing and assessment vendor.

Engineering firms in the Pacific Northwest offer outstanding technical services to a broad range of public and private clients. While engineers are engaged to solve complicated problems and are often tasked with finding creative and cost-effective solutions, they are not always comfortable communicating complex issues to the public. Gallatin has often been brought in to partner with engineering firm on controversial projects where public and agency engagement is required.

Outgrowing its 100 year-old hilltop campus in the heart of Portland, OHSU, (the city’s largest employer) wanted to expand its campus to accommodate future growth and strengthen its commitment to research, innovation and job creation. To accomplish both, the university launched a major expansion initiative along the banks of the Willamette River – connecting its historic “Pill Hill” campus to a new campus along Portland’s South Waterfront via aerial tram.

Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon was outgrowing its existing campus and needed to physically expand while also strengthening its leadership role in the creativity economy of the city, state and region.

The city of Beaverton, Oregon sought to force the annexation of Nike World Headquarters into its city limits through a state law that allowed local governments to annex local roads and thereby “surround” certain areas for annexation. Nike objected to the “island annexation” practice and efforts by city leaders to unfairly apply the laws to Nike and other nearby businesses and neighborhoods.

In 2009, Gallatin Public Affairs partnered with the Montana Nonprofit Association to launch a pilot program to help its member groups improve communication efforts.

North Cascades National Bank (NCNB) is a locally owned, community bank with eleven branches in North Central Washington and a well earned reputation for excellent service. Thanks to the worst recession in modern memory, NCNB, like many banks, has faced enhanced regulatory scrutiny aimed at assuring bank customers that financial institutions remain sound and deposits secure.

The owner of the minor league Portland Timber soccer team, Merritt Paulson, wanted to purchase and bring a Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion franchise to Portland. To secure a team, Paulson needed the City of Portland to approve a public-private renovation of historic PGE Park to accommodate the larger crowds and specific stadium requirements of MLS.

In Flathead County, Montana, developers of the North Shore Ranch community turned to Gallatin Public Affairs after their initial efforts to construct a project were unanimously rejected by the county planning board.

The Port of Centralia was embroiled in a conflict with neighbors over a controversial development by the Opus Corporation that threatened to derail the project. A neighborhood group had organized against the project and was engaged in a high-visibility anti-port campaign in the local media.

Ridgeline Energy is a wind energy developer with multiple wind projects in Idaho, Wyoming, Washington and other western states. Highly visible opposition to a project in southeastern Idaho caught the company off-guard. At a hearing for a county permit, vocal, well-organized and well-funded opponents appeared. There was an immediate need to effectively disseminate accurate information about project benefits and push back on inaccurate statements the opposition was making.

In Caribou County, Idaho, Monsanto mines phosphate, which is refined into elemental phosphorous. This is the foundational ingredient in glyphosate, better known as the popular Roundup herbicide. Monsanto needs a new source of phosphate ore and called on Gallatin to work side-by-side with the Company to navigate the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process which includes the federal permitting agency soliciting public comment.

When Tonbridge Power first proposed the Montana Alberta Tie Line (MATL) to move wind-generated electricity between Montana and Alberta, Canada, the company knew that taking the project from concept to a working merchant transmission line was going to be a massive undertaking.

Rayonier owns a mill site in Port Angeles, Washington that is classified as a clean-up site under the Washington State Model Toxic Control Act (MTCA). After years of being “stuck” in conflict with the Department of Ecology over the clean-up, and having no presence in the local community, Rayonier hired Gallatin to assess the lay of the land and develop a strategy to re-engage with the Port Angeles community and move the clean-up process forward with Ecology.

For the better part of 20 years, a Canadian mine development company, Formation Metals, has been on the long march to permit and operate what will be the only primary cobalt mine in North America. Cobalt is a truly “green” metal, a necessary component in myriad products including wind turbines and hybrid car batteries.

When Gov. Gary Locke signed the agreement to assemble the Boeing 7E7 in Everett, Boeing vice president Mike Bair confided that when the aerospace giant started the site selection process, Boeing officials didn’t think Washington had a chance.

In 2001, Pacific Seafood Group faced increasingly strict regulations governing wastewater discharges from its Warrenton, Ore., fish processing plant.

The Columbia River Channel Coalition had successfully built public consensus among the political and opinion leaders of the Pacific Northwest for an economically viable and environmentally sound plan to deepen and maintain the Columbia River channel from Portland to Astoria.

The Amalgamated Sugar Company, the largest sugar beet cooperative in Idaho, wanted to extend an Idaho Department of Transportation pilot project that allowed the use of 129,000-pound trucks on specific routes.