We were expecting Dr. Ben Carson to join us in Spokane. Unfortunately, the White House and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have unexpectedly cancelled Secretary Carson’s appearance at our event at this late hour. Therefore, Dr. Carson will not be joining us in Spokane. Fortunately, Wall Street Journal columnist, editorial board member, and author Kimberley Strassel has agreed to step in and be our second keynote speaker.

For over 20 years, Washington Policy Center has held its Annual Dinner events as a way to bring people together to hear about how free-market solutions are improving lives not only in Washington state, but across the country.

WPC’s Annual Dinner events in Eastern and Western Washington are now must-attend evenings that attract more than 2,500 elected officials, business & community leaders, raising over $1 million to support WPC’s work. 

Past speakers include: US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Defense Secretary General James Mattis, Dr. Charles Krauthammer, Governor Scott Walker, Neil Cavuto, and many more free-market leaders. 

Eastern Washington speakers:

In Eastern Washington, event attendees will enjoy a candid conversation with Sen. Joe Lieberman on strengthening America through engaged foreign policy, school choice and national civility.

One of America’s most principled statesmen, Joseph I. Lieberman is a former U.S. Senator from Connecticut and was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2000. He is one of his party’s leading voices on issues including school choice and protecting America, voicing powerful support for the Trump Administration’s move of the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and withdrawal of the United States from the Iran Nuclear Deal. He worked tirelessly to preserve the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, saying simply “a child’s education shouldn’t be limited based on their zip code or family’s income.” In 2016, he joined the board for the American Federation for Children, a national school choice advocacy organization. Senator Lieberman was educated at Yale. He is one of only a handful of Americans to speak at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

Kimberley Strassel is a member of the editorial board for The Wall Street Journal. She writes editorials, as well as the weekly Potomac Watch political column. She is a frequent commentator and panelist on "The Journal Editorial Report" on FOX News.

Ms. Strassel joined Dow Jones & Co. in 1994, working in the news department of The Wall Street Journal Europe in Brussels, and then in London. She moved to New York in 1999 and soon thereafter joined the Journal's editorial page, working as a features editor, and then as an editorial writer. She assumed her current position in 2005.

Ms. Strassel, a 2014 Bradley Prize recipient, is a regular contributor to Sunday political shows, including CBS's "Face the Nation," Fox News Sunday, and NBC's "Meet the Press." She is the author of "The Intimidation Game: How the Left Is Silencing Free Speech," which chronicles recent attacks on conservative nonprofits, businesses and donors.

Champion of Freedom:

Representative Dan Kristiansen will be honored with our annual Champion of Freedom award for his outstanding work in championing small businesses and free-market values over the last decade. WPC’s board selected Rep. Kristiansen for this award in recognition of his leadership in the legislature, particularly as the Minority Leader. 

Click here for the 2018 Annual Dinner sponsor form
Click here for the attendee information sheet