Appointments

• Gov.

Jay Inslee appointed Pasco School District’s Susana Reyes to the

State Board of Education. Reyes is Pasco’s assistant superintendent of

operations and human resources. She has dedicated her more than 20-year career

to serving students and families across all areas of the education system.

Reyes joined Pasco School District in September 2017, and has held previous

educational leadership positions in Mead, Pullman, and Wapato school

districts.  She is a member of the

Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Club of Pasco and a governor

appointee to the Washington Student Achievement Council. She will serve on the

16-member state board through January 2022.

• Gov.

Jay Inslee appointed Deborah Ruegsegger of Kennewick to the

Affordable Housing Advisory Board in March. The term

runs through 2023.

Donations

•  At the Mid-Columbia

Meals on Wheels Breakfast Fundraiser on March 5, McCurley Integrity

Subaru presented the nonprofit with a check of more than $27,000 raised

during Subaru of America’s annual Share the Love Event. Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels was selected as McCurley’s

hometown charity. This fundraiser event raised more than $32,000, which will

fully fund more than 4,300 meals.

•  A group of Spectrum

employee volunteers supported Charter Communications Inc.’s first

national philanthropic initiative, Spectrum Housing Assist. Spectrum worked

with the American Red Cross to canvas the Lakeview Mobile Home Park

neighborhood in Pasco, offering free smoke alarm installations and homeowner

education March 30.

• Franklin

PUD donated $1,000 toward the purchase of trees for the city of Pasco’s

ceremonial tree planting event in observance of Arbor Day on April 12 and 12

years of being designated as Tree City USA, a program sponsored by the Arbor

Day Foundation in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the National

Association of State Foresters. The city planted eight trees, with the Kentucky

coffeetree as the featured tree. Officials also handed out 200 tree saplings to

community members to plant at home.

Fundraiser

•  Junior Achievement of Washington, Southeastern

Region lassoed the efforts of supporters to raise money for local classroom

programs at its 2019 Western Rodeo Bowl. Organizers

estimate $287,000 was raised at the annual event, which ran Feb. 26 to March 8.

The

top individual fundraiser was Jamei Perez of Bechtel National Inc. Best

overall costume award went to Danielle Smith of Gesa Credit Union.  There were 313 teams from 90 local companies

who bowled to support the organization which provides students with the

knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their

future, and make smart academic and fiscal choices.

New Hires

• Gesa

Credit Union commercial loan officer Michelle Potts is now serving

the Tri-Cities and surrounding area. She has 17 years of experience in

agricultural and commercial lending and has been with Gesa for four years.

  • Terra Blanca Winery and Estate Vineyard of

Benton City has hired Executive Chef Jim Vande Berg, who has seven years

of experience in fine dining at hotels and 13 years in waterfront Italian

restaurants. Vande Berg of Richland and his team have crafted a culinary

program that can accommodate private events, such as weddings, as well as

overseeing the winery’s Vineyard Grill, which offers wood-fired pizzas, salads

and more.

 • AHBL, which offers civil and structural

engineering, landscape architecture and land surveying services, has three new

employees at its Pasco office:

Mason

Mendel, a professional engineer, brings

13 years of experience in civil engineering consulting. He has worked on

projects spanning a broad range of civil engineering disciplines, clients and

geographic areas in Washington.

Ryan

Sternfeld is a survey crew chief. He earned

a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon and comes to the company

having spent the past two years as a survey technician in Kennewick.

Ryan

Krieg is a survey technician who

graduated from Washington State University in 2016.

• Rosa Torres is the new finance director at Elite Construction & Development in Pasco. As a member of the management team, Torres provides strategic vision and leadership as Elite continues to grow into new sectors of the construction industry. She brings more than 20 years of experience managing finances. Most recently, she worked with Microsoft as a financial controller and senior financial manager. Before that, she served as a senior financial analyst at Starbucks, working on its supply chain.

 • Sage Design Group PLLC of Kennewick

will add Zochil Castro toits team in May. She will be leading

the residential division of the landscape architectural “design-only” firm. She

is a recent graduate of the landscape architectural bachelor program at

Washington State University in Pullman.

• Dena Putnam-Gilchrist has joined Trios Health and as the new chief nursing officer and Chad Pew as the chief operating officer.Putnam-Gilchrist joined Trios in February and has more than 29 years of experience as a nurse. Most recently, she worked as an interim CNO and assistant CNO at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center in Springfield, Oregon. Pew joined Trios in March. Originally from Nebraska, Pew has worked for 20 years in medical facilities and was most recently interim CEO at a facility in Nebraska. Pew completed his undergraduate degree in biology at Chadron State College in Nebraska, as well as a medical tech degree from Hayes Pathology in Kansas and a master’s in business administration from the University of Nebraska.

• Kylie

Hirai joined the Franklin Conservation District as a classroom-based

educator. She will provide hands-on science lessons to students in kindergarten

through grade six.

Awards & Honors

• Solar

Spirits Distillery of Richland won several awards at the 2019 American

Distilling Institute Judging of Craft Spirits. Its Eclipse Vodka won Best of

Class, Best of Category and a gold medal. Silver medals went to its London Dry

Gin in the contemporary gin category and Grappa Brandy in the

grappa/pomace/marc brandy category.

• Judy

Hicks, Baker Boyer’s consumer loan supervisor, received the Patriot

Award from the Washington Committee for Employer Support of the Guardand

Reserve. Hicks was nominated by David Keeley, a Baker Boyer consumer loan

advisor who serves as a first lieutenant in the Air National Guard, for her

outward recognition and support for his service in the Guard.

• Two Columbia Basin College employees received National Institute of Staff Organizational Development Excellence Awards: Kim Tucker, director for CBC’s nursing program, and Su-Hyun Kim, physics instructor. The awards recognize men and women each year who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to their students and colleagues. Recipients will be celebrated during NISOD’s annual International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence on May 25-28, in Austin, Texas.

•

The Auction of Washington Wines, a nonprofit wine event that has been around

for 32 years, recognized Chris Gorman of Gorman Winery in

Woodinville as its 2019 Honorary Vintner, and Scott Williams of Kiona

Vineyards outside Benton City as its 2019 Honorary Grower. He is a supplier

to some of the most esteemed wineries on the West Coast, including Betz Family

Winery, Long Shadows and Gorman Winery. He owns and farms more than 260

estate-grown acres on the Red Mountain American Viticultural Area and works

with his father and sons to run the operation. The

men were selected because they exemplify leadership in the industry and have

made significant contributions to the Washington wine community. These honorary

positions are peer-nominated and reserved for leaders who invest in and

positively affect the Washington state wine community.

• Matthew

Riesenweber of Cornerstone Wealth Strategies in Kennewick was

recently recognized among the best in the state and in the country, appearing

in Barron’s 2019 Top 1,200 Financial Advisors in America ranking. Barron’s

annual list highlights financial advisors based on data provided by more than

4,000 advisors nationwide.

• Jason

E. Johnson, a private wealth advisor with Ameriprise Financial with

offices in Kennewick, was named to the “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” list

published by Forbes magazine. The list recognizes financial advisors who have

demonstrated high levels of ethical standards, professionalism and success. He

was chosen based on assets under management, industry experience, regulatory

and compliance record and revenue produced over a three-year period. 

 • The American Institute of Family Law

Attorneys has recognized the exceptional performance of Washington’s Family Law

Attorney Katherine Sierra-Kelly of Gravis Law as one of the 10

Best Family Law Attorney for Client Satisfaction in 2019.

•

Mathew Purcell of Purcell Law in Kennewick has been ranked by the American

Institute of Family Law Attorneys as among the 10 best in the state for client

satisfaction for the third year.

• Allan

Felsot, academic director for math and science in the College of Arts

and Sciences at Washington State University Tri-Cities and professor of

entomology, is the recipient of the Pacific branch of the Entomological Society

of America’s award for excellence in teaching. The award honors educators who

have excelled through innovations in developing new courses, programs and

teaching methods in the field of entomology and the sciences. In his 26 years

at WSU, Felsot has mentored more than 50 master’s and doctoral students. He

also has been instrumental in developing new courses at WSU Tri-Cities, as well

as several for the WSU Global campus. His research at WSU has focused on

environmental toxicology and risk assessment of pesticides. The regional award

was presented during an April 2 awards luncheon in San Diego.

• Petersen

Hastings, a registered investment advisory firm in Kennewick, has been

named one of InvestmentNews’ 2019 Top 50 Best Places to Work for Financial

Advisors in the nation for the second consecutive year. This program is

dedicated to identifying and recognizing advisory firms across the United States

that empower, encourage, and inspire employees to provide their clients with

the best possible investment and financial planning advice. The firm,

established in 1962, was named a Top 50 Employer in March 2018 by

InvestmentNews in the inaugural year of the recognition.

•

The Central Washington Fair Association board of directors recently recognized

longtime board member and chairman Sid Morrison, who retired from the

board. Morrison spent two terms on the board and has been a lifelong volunteer

at the fair. The board also recognized longtime president/general manager Greg

Stewart for 45 years of service to the association. 

 • Grant Blake,

based at the Richland Framatome fuel unit, received an Engineer of the

Year award. Framatome honors employees in North America who have achieved

engineering excellence through notable achievements in their profession and the

company’s engineering activities. Winners were nominated by their peers.

 • The Tri-City Association of Realtors has

announced the winners of its 2018 annual awards. They include Realtor of the

Year, Mary Harris, Smart Realtors; Rookie of the Year, Shana Brown,

Keller Williams Tri-Cities; Citizen of the Year, Larry Haler, former

legislator;  Larry E. Miller Award for

Excellence in Real Estate, Louise Olsen, Smart Realtors; Affiliate of

the Year, Jonas Rosenberg, Summit Lending; Realtor Community Service

Award, Mike Alvarez, Vision Mortgage; and Sunrise Award, Jerry Rhoads,

KC Help.

• Columbia Basin College celebrated its 10th year as a

designated a Tree Campus USA by planting 12 trees on campus April 10 as part of

Arbor Day. New this year, the campus community planted a noble fir tree in

honor of the accomplishments and campus work of the late Karen Grant, a

CBC professor emerita who helped build the Pasco college’s chemistry program.

Grant died in November.

Grants

•

Fines paid for water quality violations in Washington in the last few years

will pay for $331,000 in projects designed to restore local ecosystems. Mid-Columbia

Fisheries Enhancement Group in Benton County received $22,585 to increase

the cool water influence of a disconnected oxbow on the lower Yakima River,

north of Benton City. The state Department of Ecology awarded up to $45,000 for

12 projects that will improve water quality through environmental enhancements

via its Terry Husseman Account. Husseman was a longtime Ecology deputy director

who died in 1998. This year, Ecology considered 32 grant requests. The grants

support work starting in May.

• Columbia Basin College was one of 48 colleges and

universities receive a grant from Truth Initiative to adopt a 100 percent

tobacco or smoke-free campus policy. The Pasco college received $19,980. The

effort is part of a national movement among students, faculty and

administrators to address smoking and tobacco use at college campuses

throughout the U.S. Over the next 16 months, CBC will form a campus task force

to assess tobacco use behaviors and attitudes, identify a treatment plan for

smokers and develop a smoke- or tobacco-free policy. Two student leaders will

develop and lead educational efforts to build a movement to become a

tobacco-free campus.

Elections

• The Tri-City Association of Realtors’ 2019 Board of

Directors include President Dave Shinabarger, Smart Realtor, and the

board of directors: John Keltch, Windermere Group One; Cindy House,

Keller Williams Tri-Cities; Cari McGee, Keller Williams Tri-Cities; Jeff

Smart, Smart Realtors; Ron Almberg, Keller Williams Tri-Cities; Barry

Long, Everstar Realty; Jerritt Wiser, Coldwell Banker Tomlinson; John

Mower, Retter & Co., Sotheby’s International Realty; Nate Biehl,

ReMax Northwest Realtors;
Chad Markel,

Markel Properties; Gayle Stack, Everstar Realty; and Melissa

Montgomery, Re/Max Northwest Realtors.

• Members of the Central Washington Fair Association recently elected a slate of officers and re-elected three members to its board of directors.New officers are: Local insurance professional Dave Hargreaves, chairman; Tom Stokes, a community volunteer and recently retired as CEO/president of Tree Top Inc., vice chairman; Lower Valley dairy owner
LaVonne Boogerd, secretary; and Sunnyside hop rancher Halley Newhouse, treasurer. Stokes, Ignacio Marquez and Don Whitehouse were re-elected to the board for another term. The Central Washington Fair Association and its board of directors operate the Central Washington State Fair and State Fair Park under a long-term lease with Yakima County.