The 26th U.S. Secretary of Defense – a Richland High School graduate – will deliver the keynote address at the 2026 Association of Washington Business’s annual Policy Summit in Spokane this fall.
Retired Gen. James Mattis, who has returned to his hometown in the Tri-Cities since leaving public service, will speak on leadership lessons learned through combat and command and will take questions from attendees.
During his 44 years in the Marine Corps, Mattis rose from an 18-year-old Reservist to four-star general. He capped his military career as head of U.S. Central Command, overseeing all American forces in the Middle East and operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran and Yemen…