OLYMPIA – The Association of Washington Cities (AWC) announced that Spokane Valley Councilmember Ben Wick was recently appointed to its board of directors.

Wick has served on the Spokane Valley City Council since 2012 and served as Mayor 2020-2021. Wick represents AWC At-Large District #3, which includes cities in eastern Washington with a population greater than 5,000.

“Cities have very similar challenges, but unique ways of approaching solutions,” said Wick. “This applies to everything from how to deal with glass recycling to how we fund road preservation and work with the railroads. I look forward to advocating on behalf of cities across the state to find solutions that benefit all of us.”

The AWC Board of Directors is the association’s governing body. The board is comprised of 25 directors, 23 of whom are mayors or city councilmembers from Washington cities or towns, and two non-elected city officials who also serve as the president and past president of the Washington City/County Management Association.

AWC serves its members through advocacy, education, and services. Founded in 1933, AWC is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation that represents Washington's cities and towns before the state legislature, the state executive branch, and with regulatory agencies. Membership is voluntary. However, AWC consistently maintains 100 percent participation from Washington’s 281 cities and towns. AWC also provides training, data and publications, and programs such as the AWC Employee Benefit Trust, AWC Risk Management Service Agency, AWC Workers’ Comp Retro, AWC Drug and Alcohol Consortium, and AWC GIS Consortium.