AWARDS & HONORS

• Randy Taylor of Basin Pacific Insurance and Benefits in Kennewick, has earned the agribusiness and farm insurance specialist certification from International Risk Management Institute Inc., which offers risk management and insurance continuing education. By earning this certification, he has joined a group of insurance professionals who have gone beyond being a “generalist” to focusing on the specific needs of the agribusiness and farm community.
• Financial services firm Edward Jones, which has several offices in the Tri-Cities, ranks highest in investor satisfaction with full-service brokerage firms, according to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Full-Service Investor Satisfaction Study. The study measures overall investor satisfaction with 24 full-service investment firms based on seven factors including product offerings; problem resolution; convenience; digital experience; financial advisors; value; and trust.
• The Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership (HDKP) announced the winners of this year’s Downtown Awards in a special broadcast held over Zoom and YouTube on April 28. At this year’s ceremony, the partnership debuted a new award category, Downtown Revitalization of the Year, and dedicated the Kennewick Downtowner of the Year Award to the memory of Ken Silliman, who was the first winner of this award in 1989. The awards broadcast can be viewed on HDKP’s YouTube page.

Winners are:

- Discount Vac & Sew for Downtown Kennewick Business of the Year.

- Layered Cake Artistry for Downtown Kennewick Revitalization of the Year.

- Ken Hohenberg for Ken Silliman Kennewick Downtowner of the Year Award.

• Chase Wharton of Visit Tri-Cities has been named one of Destinations International’s 2021 30 Under 30 recipients. He has been a part of the Visit Tri-Cities team for two years, initially joining as part of the Convention Sales Department before transitioning to the business development manager role within the Marketing Department. Destinations International is committed to investing and preparing the leaders of tomorrow and developing future industry leaders that represent a diverse set of backgrounds and perspectives. Each year, 30 individuals under the age of 30, are selected to gain industry networking opportunities and leadership throughout the year. The honorees originate from a variety of destination organizations of all sizes and countries.
• Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco received a 5-star overall hospital quality star rating from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, putting Lourdes in the top 14% of all hospitals nationwide. The rating is determined through a variety of measures across five areas of quality, including mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely and effective care. An average of the five scores is taken to calculate a single hospital summary score.

ACCREDITATION

• The Franklin County Coroner’s Office has received accreditation from the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners. The Franklin County Coroner’s Office went through the process to ensure its operating policies, procedures and practices are within international guidelines. The office was subjected to review of 288 standards, including administrative, forensic, investigative and facility review. The IACME requires 100% compliance of mandatory standards and 90% of all applicable standards.

DONATIONS

• The American Red Cross is working with Hanford Mission Integration Solutions and other partners to make homes safer from the threat of a home fire during the annual Sound the Alarm campaign. HMIS leadership presented the local Red Cross chapter with a $10,000 gift. Funds will directly assist the Red Cross in helping people prepare for, respond to and recover from home fires. Since Jan. 1, local Red Cross volunteers have helped almost 700 people with urgent needs like emergency lodging, financial assistance and recovery planning, following more than 160 home fires throughout the Northwest region. In central and southeast Washington, the Red Cross has responded to 28 home fires and provided aid to 125 individuals.

NEW HIRES

• Austin Ebner, a physician’s assistant, has joined Miramar Health Center in Pasco. He earned his master’s of science in physician assistant studies at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California. He did his undergraduate studies at Walla Walla University.
• Haley Scellick, a board-certified family nurse practitioner with experience in neurosurgery and orthopedics, has joined Empowered Health Institute in Richland. She completed her master’s of science in nursing at Gonzaga University and bachelor’s of arts in biology from Central Washington University.
• The Children’s Developmental Center’s Board of the Directors has hired Zahra Roach as executive director. In her position, she will be responsible for leading the organization and staff to fulfilling its mission of providing services to families and children birth to 3 and older with developmental disabilities and delays throughout the greater Mid-Columbia region. Roach is a graduate of Washington State University Tri-Cities and received her master’s degree in teaching from Simmons University. A longtime Tri-City resident, she brings a strong commitment to the position through her community and educational work with the Pasco School District, serving on several local boards, as a volunteer on the Pasco Planning Commission and most recently, her election to Pasco City Council. She has worked with special education and life skills classrooms and at New Horizon School and Pasco High School.
• Chaplaincy Health Care has hired Virginia “Ginny” Hartup as its new volunteer coordinator. She and her husband moved to the Tri-Cities in August 2018 from Littleton, Colorado. They have two grown children, a son who stayed in Colorado and daughter who recently moved to Alaska. In summer 2019 she worked for the Tri-Cities Dust Devils as a section leader. She studied early childhood education at San Joaquin Delta College. After college, she moved to Colorado where she started her professional career working for the YMCA as a child care site director. She also worked as a preschool teacher, ESL paraprofessional and substitute kindergarten teacher. While working with children, she also held several positions at Costco. Once her children reached school age, she began a new career in the insurance industry, retiring as an agency owner. She is a member of the Soroptimist International of Pasco-Kennewick.

GRANTS

• Three Rivers Community Foundation is distributing about $45,300 in grants to nonprofits in Benton and Franklin counties to support critical nonprofit services. Recipients are:

- Columbia Industries – Columbia Industries has adapted their Opportunity Kitchen program to use students in their job training program to provide meals for families in need. This grant supports food and supplies.

- Heartlinks Hospice and Palliative Care – Provides funds for Personal Protective Equipment Supplies for hospice and palliative care workers.

- Prosser Boys & Girls Club – Supports costs of adapting program to provide emergency care for children of essential workers.

- Communities in Schools of Benton-Franklin – Supports food and supplies for care boxes for families.

- Support, Advocacy, & Resource Center – Supports temporary housing costs for survivors transitioning to restorative care or needing to safely quarantine.

- Chaplaincy Health Care – Provides hospice medical supplies and personal protective equipment for Hospice House.

- Senior Life Resources – Meals on Wheels has seen a large increase in demand and has had to adapt meals and delivery schedule. This grant supports food and supplies.

- Kennewick Police Foundation – Supports KPD’s Community Care Program, giving officers access to funds to assist community members with urgent needs.

- Safe Harbor Support Center – Supports one month of supplies for the Family Assistance Program, providing hygiene and household supplies.

- Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association 11-6 – Supports food cards for veterans in need.

- Family Resource Center – Supports the delivery of food boxes to families without transportation as well as mask distribution.

- KC Help – Supports the supplies and equipment to adapt medical supply lending program to meet Centers for Disease Control Covid-19 disinfecting standards.

- ARC of Tri-Cities – Supports purchase of “no-touch” thermometers and other supplies to be used throughout their facility and transportation program upon reopening.

- Academy of Children’s Theater – Supports purchase of equipment and training to adapt programing to a virtual format.

- Partners for Early Learning – Supports operating costs so programs can be ready to resume upon reopening.

- Blue Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America – Supports food and supplies for the troops’ Islamic and refugee projects.