The Washington Companies

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The Washington Companies

Basic facts
Location:| Missoula, Mont.
Top official:| Dennis Washington, Founder
Year founded:| 1964
Website:| Official website

As of 2016, The Washington Companies were a group of private, international engineering and construction companies located in the United States and Canada. The group's central administrative branch, the Washington Corporation, was headquartered in Missoula, Montana.[1][2][3]

* The Washington Companies, through a contribution from the Washington Corporation, supported the 2016 Montana Bonds to Fund Biomedical Research Authority (I-181), which proposed to create $20 million per year in state bonds for 10 years to establish and fund the Montana Biomedical Research Authority.[4]

## Contents

* 1 Background
* 1.1 Philanthropy
* 2 Political activity
* 2.1 Ballot measure activity
* 2.1.1 Overview of ballot measure support and opposition
* 3 Leadership
* 4 Recent news
* 5 See also
* 6 External links
* 7 Footnotes

## Background[edit]

The Washington Companies group was originally established by Dennis Washington in 1964 as the Washington Construction Company. The business initially earned a contract with the U.S. Forest Service to repair roads and also began working on earth-moving projects. During the 1960s and 1970s, the company grew into the Washington Contractors Group Inc., which was contracted to perform highway construction as well as mine construction and operations.[5]

In 1993, the Washington Contractors Group Inc. merged with the Kasler Corporation of California to form the Washington Construction Group Inc. The company was renamed Washington Group International after merging with Morrison Knudsen Corporation in 1996. URS Corporation, a global engineering design firm, purchased the company in 2007.[5][6]

As of September 2016, The Washington Companies organization functioned as a group of private engineering and construction companies located in the United States and Canada. The companies specialized in marine and rail transportation, aviation technology, mining construction, heavy equipment distribution, environmental remediation, and real estate development. The Washington Corporation operated as the central administrative services branch of The Washington Companies.[1][3][7]

The Washington Companies group included the following organizations:[8]

* Aviation Partners Inc.
* Envirocon
* Modern Machinery
* Montana Rail Link
* Montana Resources
* Seaspan
* Seaspan Corporation
* SRY Rail Link

### Philanthropy[edit]

In 1988, The Washington Companies established the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, a 501(c)(3) private foundation that funds grants to support nonprofit organizations in the fields of education, community outreach, health and human services, and the arts.[9]

## Political activity[edit]

### Ballot measure activity[edit]

The Washington Companies, through a contribution from the Washington Corporation, supported the 2016 Montana Bonds to Fund Biomedical Research Authority (I-181), which proposed to create $20 million per year in state bonds for 10 years to establish and fund the Montana Biomedical Research Authority (MBRA). The MBRA would have operated as a grantmaking entity to fund research in the development of treatments and cures for brain disorders and mental illnesses.[4]

#### Overview of ballot measure support and opposition[edit]

The following table details The Washington Companies’ ballot measure stances available on Ballotpedia:

Ballot measure support and opposition for The Washington Companies

Ballot measure  | Year  | Position  | Status
Montana Bonds to Fund Biomedical Research Authority, I-181 (2016) | 2016 | Supported[4] |  dDefeated

## Leadership[edit]

As of 2016, the following individuals held leadership positions with The Washington Companies:[1]

* Dennis Washington, Founder
* Phyllis Washington
* Kevin Washington
* Kyle Washington

## Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms The Washington Companies. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

The Washington Companies - Google News

## See also[edit]

* Montana Bonds to Fund Biomedical Research Authority, I-181 (2016)
* Montana 2016 ballot measures
* Montana

## External links[edit]

* The Washington Companies homepage
* Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation homepage

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Washington Companies, "Moving industries ahead," accessed September 23, 2016
2. ↑ The Washington Companies, "Contact," accessed September 23, 2016
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Washington Companies, "Careers," accessed September 23, 2016
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Campaign Electronic Reporting System, "Montanans for Research and Cures," accessed September 23, 2016
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Washington Companies, "A history of growth," accessed September 23, 2016
6. ↑ LinkedIn, "URS Corporation," accessed September 23, 2016
7. ↑ LinkedIn, "Washington Corporations," accessed September 23, 2016
8. ↑ The Washington Companies, "Companies," accessed September 23, 2016
9. ↑ Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, "Foundation at-a-glance," accessed September 23, 2016

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