From the Spokane Spokesman-Review:

By Donald K. Barbieri

I am proud to be chairman of Red Lion Hotels Corporation and former CEO, but my thoughts on the importance of Initiative 1098 are my personal observations. However, it is the 40 years helping build and lead a company that forms my conviction on why we really need 1098.

Simply put, Red Lion and my predecessor companies weren’t a success because of my leadership. They prospered due to the great associates with whom I worked. It is their lives and their children’s futures that are at stake.

They have allowed me and my family to be financially secure while many of them are at risk and falling behind. Their hope of the American Dream, of a healthy family with college education is dimming while I prosper. How can that be right?

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