Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/1020464
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2018 41 older brother Russell, lives in Virginia. Aer graduating from Western with an accounting degree, Phil took a summer off to race mountain bikes before moving to Seattle to begin his career. He worked for public accounting firms downtown and in Bellevue, including for a large interna- tional firm, before going out on his own with Abbess Consult- ing a couple of years ago. "All my clients are friends," he says. "Which is awesome." Many of them are also WAC members. When he's working downtown, Phil can usually be found in the WAC Café, Voogd Library, or Torchy's or Hagerty's. "I meet clients at the Club all the time," he says. He also spends time at the Club working toward a master's degree from the University of Washington. "I like to say the WAC is my office," he says. Finding love It's oen said that WAC membership fosters business and social connections. e Club has also led to many romances, including that of Michelle and Phil Abbess. Michelle, the WAC's former Director of Member Services, and Phil began seeing each other in 2012. Early WAC dates included Curling 101 and Tubing & Brews. ey spent much of 2013 traveling—to Las Vegas for New Year's, Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby, and Spain for the running of the bulls, among other European stops. A year later, during a trip to Puerto Morelos, just south of Cancún, Phil knelt on one knee and proposed. e following July, they exchanged vows in a ceremony attended by many WAC members. "Everything's a highlight," Phil says, looking back on his first 20 years of WAC membership. "But meeting Michelle, that's the best." e couple welcomed Sophia Clarene Abbess into their lives in March 2017. "As far as how I use the Club to work out, that hasn't really changed," Phil says. "I usually use Men's Fitness on the 5th Floor or play basketball." His social use has remained consistent, as well, with one key difference. "Now we can drop Sophia off at WeeWACs," he says. Phil and Michelle, along with friend Cal McAllister, a vet- eran of the Seattle creative agency world and a WAC member, also started a business venture together. Near the end of this year, they plan to publish a celebrity chef cookbook, Chemo Kitchen, that will bring delicious recipes to cancer patients, many of whom experience changes in their taste during treatment. Says Phil: "e concept is, let the doctors fight the war—we want to help you win a battle." I just love people and bringing people together. That's one of the reasons I love the WAC so much. I tell people how great the Club is all the time. Once they experience it, membership really sells itself."