Reading Foundation names new CEO

Kristin Norell has joined the Children’s Reading Foundation as the next CEO to replace outgoing Rick Donahoe, who is retiring Dec. 15.

Donahoe has been CEO since 2015 and joined the foundation in 2013 as grant project director. He also managed two Department of Education grants totaling $6.2 million to provide early learning initiatives to 48 very high-poverty school districts and communities in 15 states.

Norell was most recently the international sales director for Chronicle Books in San Francisco. She has more than 20 years of sales, licensing and marketing experience. She has been on the Children’s Reading Foundation board since 2011.

The national nonprofit was founded in Kennewick in 1996 with the vision that every child learns to read at grade level by the end of third grade. The group helps establish local chapters in communities across the U.S.

Vance named manager for Office of River Protection

Brian Vance has been selected as the new manager for the Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection. He will replace outgoing Ben Harp, who is returning to his position as deputy manager.

Vance has more than 30 years of leadership experience and most recently was the director of the 300-296 Remote Soil Excavation Project for CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co.

Prior to joining CHPRC in June 2015, he held roles with Westinghouse and Areva and retired as a Navy captain. While in the Navy, he served as program manager for the Undersea Defensive Warfare Systems, the Submarine Combat and Weapons Control Program, and as the commander of the Naval Submarine Support Command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

He has a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from Pennsylvania State University, a master’s in business administration from the University of North Carolina and certification in project management professional by the Project Management Institute.

Chamber names winners of small-business program 

Recipients of the 2017 Small Business Incentive Program were announced by the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce and Washington River Protections Solutions. The program awards $30,000 in grants to purchase products or services based on the needs of the business, including work stations, new laptops, website development and more.

This year’s winners were: Account Sense; American Family Insurance – Jason Hogue; ChemDry; Chinook Home Health Care; Clear View Window Cleaning; Digital Image Tri-Cities, Inc.; Dream Dinners; Ernie’s Landscaping; Express Employment; Frichette Winery; Fuse, SPC; Iron Mountain Construction Management; Mama Too’s; Northwest Paddleboarding; Professional Training Center; Soft Water Specialists; The Speech Pathology Learning Center; Style by Deidra; Sullivan Sullutions; Swift Rehabilitation; Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business; Tri-City Americans; Tri-City Foot and Ankle Center; UpAngle Drone Services; The Wet Palette; Wildland Labs: WinSome; and XPROi A/V.

Trios resident graduate hired as hospitalist

Dr. Jeff McDannel has joined Trios Medical Group – Hospital Medicine as a hospitalist. He will provide inpatient care primary at Trios Southridge Hospital in Kennewick.

McDannel completed a three-year residency program in internal medicine at Trios Health this year. He is part of the Trios Residency Program’s second-ever class of graduates and is the program’s first graduating physician to join the organization full time.

He received his doctor of osteopathic medicine at Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona. He also completed internships including as a clinical research assistant on a study in blood conservation medicine and as a trauma center assistant at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Hartley earns promotion at Tri-Cities Phone

Stephen Hartley is being promoted to chief operations executive at Tri-Cities Phone & PC Repair.

He has been working as the head technician for the company since March. Prior to joining the team, he was a longtime repair technician throughout the Tri-Cities and served as the general manager of Gordon Estate Wine Bar.

Tri-Cities Airport director named Top 40 Under 40

Tri-Cities Airport Director Buck Taft was selected for inclusion on the 2017 Top 40 under 40 list in Airport Business magazine that showcases the top talent and leading thinkers in the aviation industry.

“Buck is a great addition to this notable list of young professionals,” said Randy Hayden, executive director of the Port of Pasco. “He has dedicated his career to the advancement of aviation industry, and committed to the success and growth of the Tri-Cities Airport in our region. The port is proud of Buck and delighted that he is being recognized for his leadership.”

The winners are chosen by a panel of judges and vetted on innovation, outstanding attributes, and commitment and involvement in the industry.

The Top 40 Under 40 honorees will be featured in the November issue of Airport Business and online at AviationPros.com.

Trios Health receives Joint Commission reaccreditation 

Trios Health has received notification from the Joint Commission that both of its hospitals—Trios Southridge Hospital and Trios Women’s & Children’s Hospital—and its Home Health Care service line are reaccredited, effective July 14, for maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety.

The accreditation is awarded for three years.

The Joint Commission completed a comprehensive system-wide survey in mid-July with a follow-up visit the week of Aug. 21. Hospital officials were notified that both facilities and Home Health Care met or exceeded the exacting criteria of performance in hospital quality and safety.

The survey process involved four continuous days of physical inspections, staff and patient interviews, document reviews, and facility tours for life safety issues by a team of five surveyors (physician, nurse, home health nurse, ambulatory care specialist, and life-safety engineer) and a team leader. The group performed dozens of random “patient tracers,” a complete review of a patient record of care throughout the hospital; the surveyors also performed “system tracers” to review medicine management, infection control and the environment of care.

“As our financial challenges have unfolded during 2017, one might have thought our patient care and quality may suffer,” said Craig Cudworth, chief executive officer. “An undisputable truth is that we are still here providing exceptional medical services with unwavering focus on our patients. The Joint Commission surveyors, who acknowledged the stress of our financial pressures, commended us outright for keeping our focus on what’s most important: our patients.”

The Joint Commission completes a survey every three years.

Founded in 1951, the Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 20,500 health care organizations and programs in the United States.

Kennewick print shop earns several honors

The owner of Esprit Graphic Communications in Kennewick recently earned an industry award.

Skip Novakovich, who with his wife Shannon, own Esprit, recently was honored as one of the top printing professionals in the Northwest at the Pacific Printing Industries Association’s 10th annual PrintRocks Awards event in Tacoma.

The Hickey Picker (an industry common term for a perfectionist) Award was established in 1975 to honor those who have established and earned a reputation deserving of recognition. These “champions of print” have a keen eye for what it takes to deliver quality and service, while setting a gold standard for leadership.

Esprit also received four awards for outstanding achievement: first place for its “Excellent Printing is Like a Fine Wine” brochure, second place for its 18-month calendar and two honorable mention awards for production of a 2017 Chief Joseph Days poster and a Spencer-Carlson brochure.

PPI represents the printing industry in the states of Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Utah.

State honors business for employing veterans

The state Employment Security Department recognized 12 Washington businesses/agencies this month for their efforts to employ military veterans in 2017.

Award recipients were nominated by WorkSource veterans employment representatives who work directly with employers to help recruit, hire and retain veterans.

Regional recipients include:

• CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company. CH2M has hired 30 veterans in 2017 and participates in the statewide YesVets program, a statewide campaign to hire veterans. The company is a strong partner of WorkSource Columbia Basin and frequently participates in local hiring events and workshops that help veterans.
• Patronus Systems Inc. This security firm provides highly trained security services for U.S. federal buildings from Yakima to Coeur’d Alene. It employs 49 veterans in Washington, which is 88 percent of its total work force and participates in the statewide YesVets program.
• Department of Licensing (DOL). This state agency has employed 41 veterans since February 2016, of which 18 were hired this year. No other company or agency in the area has hired more veterans through WorkSource in 2017. DOL also participates in various groups and programs to help veterans and participates in the statewide YesVets program.
• McCain Foods. This frozen potato-products company in Othello employs about 500 employees, of which 25 are veterans. The hiring manager works directly with WorkSource veteran staff to recruit and hire qualified veterans. McCain participates every year in the Veteran Job & Resource Fair and recently sponsored a POW/MIA event that raised $18,000 for the Fisher House and Thomas A. Biddle Foundation to assist veterans.

WorkSource places about 10,000 veterans into jobs each year. There are currently nearly 600,000 military veterans living in Washington.

WorkSource in a partnership of state, local and nonprofit agencies that work together to deliver employment and training services to Washington businesses and job seekers.

Hauck hired as PorterKinney bookkeeper

Monique Hauck has been hired by PorterKinney of Richland to serve as the company’s bookkeeper.

She has a bachelor’s in business administration from Georgia State University and a master’s in marketing.

Kennewick elementary named School of Distinction

Hawthorne Elementary has been named a 2017 School of Distinction, the only elementary school in the Tri-Cities to receive the state award, by the Center for Educational Effectiveness.

The award recognizes Washington schools in the top 5 percent of improvement in English language arts and math achievement or graduation rate over a five-year period. Since 2013, the number of Hawthorne students at or above grade level in language arts and math has more than doubled.

The awards are determined by CEE and its partners in education in the state. Ninety-eight schools were named Schools of Distinction.

Pasco High School, Paterson Elementary, Wahitis Elementary in Othello and Sunnyside High School also received the distinction.

Fiction @ J. Bookwalter named among best in U.S.

Bookwalter Winery’s restaurant, Fiction @ J. Bookwalter, has been selected as one of the best winery restaurants in the U.S. by Zagat Restaurant guide.

Zagat editors called the restaurant a “stylish Pacific Northwest gem” and praised its seasonally-changing menu that draws inspirations from Washington’s natural resources and noted its “perpetually coffeehouse-cool” vibe.

Fiction @ J. Bookwalter was also recognized earlier this year by Food & Wine magazine in February as one of the best winery restaurants in the U.S. and as one of the 10 best on-site winery restaurants in the U.S. by USA Today in 2016.

New marketing director hired for Baker Boyer

Jim Wilson has been hired as assistant vice president/marketing director of Baker Boyer in Walla Walla.

Wilson has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and business development in high-teach and social enterprises, including with the United Way of King County, and will be relocating from the Seattle area. He has a degree from the University of Puget Sound.

Columbia Basin Racquet Club named best Northwest tennis facility

Columbia Basin Racquet Club in Richland was named the 2017 U.S. Tennis Association/Pacific Northwest League Facility of the Year.

Facilities are judged on ease of working with USTA leagues, number of teams versus size of club, provision of courts and volunteers for playoffs and sectionals, overall layout, excellence of surface and lights and amenities available for spectators.

Parade of Homes winners announced for 2017 show

The 2017 Parade of Homes People’s Choice Awards have been announced by the Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities.

Winners among the 16 participants in the September event include A & R Feser, Inc. for house No. 15 in Category I, Pahlisch Homes Inc., for house No. 5 in Category II, Ron Asmus Homes, Inc. for house No. 16 in Category III, and Gretl Crawford Homes for house No. 12 in Category IV.

Energy Northwest honors employees for service

Energy Northwest’s senior leadership team unveiled a Veterans Wall of Honor at the Columbia Generating Station to recognize employees for their military service Nov. 9.

The 6-by-30 foot granite installation includes 144 names of Energy Northwest veterans.

Veterans currently comprise 30 percent of the agency’s work force, about 330 employees, and more than four in 10 new employees hired served in the military.

Energy Northwest is currently recognized as a Top 10 Military Friendly Employer by Victory Media, publisher of G.I. Jobs, for its efforts in recruiting veterans to work at the public power agency.

Criteria for the designation include a benchmark survey score across key programs and policies, such as the strength of company military recruiting efforts, percentage of new hires with prior military service, retention programs for veterans, and company policies on National Guard and Reserve service.

Energy Northwest was one of 12 employers recognized by the state Employment Security Department for creating employment opportunities for veterans in their companies in 2016.