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Trickle-down effect: Boeing club helps fuel winery boom

February 17, 2008 /

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BOEING is known around the world for building jetliners, but in Washington State, it also has a reputation for turning out top winemakers.

At least a dozen wineries in Washington have been started by current and former employees who honed their skills as members of the Boeing Employees Wine and Beer Makers Club in Washington. Others have used the club as a springboard to jobs at wineries.

Giving its employees the space to store grapes for wine might be a tough sell to investors. But the company considers it an integral part of building and maintaining a quality workplace — as long as employees do it on their own time.

“We believe that Boeing should be concerned with its community and encourage employees to find excellence in all they do at work and at play,” a company spokesman, Bob Jorgensen, said. “It’s just good business.”

By KRISTINA SHEVORY
THE NEW YORK TIMES

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/business/yourmoney/16money.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=boeing&st=nyt&oref=slogin