Norman J. SWANSON

SWANSON, Norman J. (Age 70) Norman Swanson, previous Spokane resident and chairman of the People to People Citizen Ambassador Programs, died October 21, 2020 at Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing at the age of 70. Norm was a towering figure in private citizen exchange with the People's Republic of China and many other nations. His leadership created hundreds of relationships between US professionals, business executives, and educators and their counterparts across the world, from Africa to the former Soviet Union, South America to Asia. At the time of his death, Norm was president of Global Equity Corporation, GEC Technologies Holdings, Ltd., its holding company, and was president of SINOWIND Technologies, Inc., in Beijing, China. Norm grew up in the Spokane Valley and his global career is a legacy of creating connections. He started modestly in the early 70's at Pullman Travel, arranging travel for WSU educators and students. He joined Educational Travel Company, a family-owned Spokane travel agency, with a new vision. Traveling the world, he founded the People to People Citizen Ambassador Programs, and expanded the People to People Student Ambassador Programs to the largest and most influential programs of their kind in North America. Literally thousands of professionals and high school students traveled on these programs----an entirely new idea of 'people-to-people' exchanges outside government. Created under the name of People to People International, a Kansas City-based foundation created by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1961, this movement was related to the Sister Cities, Project HOPE, and other post-war projects to build global understanding. This effort eventually became Ambassador Programs, Inc., major business and employer which flourished from the 1980's to 2015 in Spokane. But beyond business acumen, Norm was an irresistible force of nature. He was driven to create unique events, driving his colleagues to innovate new concepts of exchange. He wanted to create personal, one-on-one relationships, through home visits and co-working opportunities in medical clinics, offices, farms, factories, and classrooms. He counted government ministers, US officials, and a wide array of U.S. professional organizations (such as the AMA, American Bar Association, and others) as friends, colleagues and partners. The People to People Citizen Ambassador programs contributed greatly to opening the American way of life to medical, legal, business, and academic organizations around the world. He chaired a number of international events in China, Japan, the Soviet Union, Europe and the United States. He witnessed the Sino-American Shanghai Joint Communique, the establishment of embassies between China and the United States, and the development of China's reform and opening up to the world. Here are just a few examples: In 1987, he co-chaired the International Trade and Economic Development Conference in Beijing, which brought together 4,000 chief executives to establish economic ties between the US and China Co-chaired with Attorney General Edward Meese of the United States the U.S.-China Legal Summit in Beijing, which brought together 5,000 legal professionals to assist China in drafting new economic legislation. From 1990 to 1994, he co-chaired an international training program for young banking executives with members of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board of Governors and 13 heads of European Central Banks, with Margaret Thatcher in attendance at its opening conference. Over the years, Norm served as a consultant to Chevron Corporation, Exxon/Mobil, Rally Energy, Tethyan Copper, and a number of global companies, including the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC). Energetic and expansive, Norm had a puckish sense of humor and was larger than life. He had a gusto for living that was unmatched. He loved practical jokes, poker games, and cocktail parties---all the way up to major global conferences. He was a storyteller and a prankster. To travel with him was to see the world in a new way and discover life's possibilities---he was didactic. As an executive, he inspired his staff to plan and manage projects around the world. It was a point of pride that most of his team's key employees were from Spokane and eastern Washington. The true achievements of Norm Swanson, and the programs he envisioned, rest in the hearts of thousands of people who experienced the People to People programs. His work spanned entire nations and built bridges that did not exist before. Not a bad legacy to leave behind in these troubled times---that ideas can come to life if you have the courage and drive to see them through.