HONORS & AWARDS

Daniel Keith Goodenough-Salazar, son of Zhayr and Keith Goodenough of Benton City, received the rank of Eagle Scout, the Boy Scouts’ highest honor. He is a member of Troop 237, chartered by West Side Church. His leader is Dick Nelson.

Goodenough-Salazar had to earn 21 merit badges and show leadership by planning, developing and completing a community service project. For his project, he designed, built and installed five concrete shooting benches for the high-power range for the Rattlesnake Mountain shooting facility in Benton City. The benches aim to make it easier for veterans and disabled individuals to shoot from a sitting position. Goodenough-Salazar attends Hanford High School and is in the diesel mechanic program at Tri-Tech Skills Center.

Campbell and Co. received an honorable mention in the 2018 Better Business Torch Awards — Business of the Year competition. The 35-year-old Pasco company offers heating, air conditioning, plumbing, electrical and vent services.

The Pasco School District Board of Directors was named a 2018 Board of Distinction by the Washington State School Directors Association. Board President Steve Christensen; Vice President Amy Phillips and members Sherry Lancon, Scoot Lehrman and Aaron Richardson were honored. The annual program recognizes boards that demonstrate effective use of the Washington School Board Standards.

Kennewick Fire Station 5 at 6016 W. 10th Ave. received Firehouse Magazine’s gold award in its Station Design Awards program. The award recognizes outstanding architecture and design of fire departments nationwide. The grand opening of the station, designed by TCA Architecture Planning Inc., was in August 2016.

Banner Bank was named one of the best banks in the U.S. and the best in the Pacific Region by Money Magazine. The region includes Washington, Oregon, California and Alaska.

The city of Kennewick’s Historic Preservation Commission has recognized the Kennewick School District’s Fruitland Building with the 2018 Historic Preservation Award. The award was presented to the district at the Nov. 6 Kennewick City Council meeting. The building was one of five nominated, and the commission chose the Fruitland Building because of its “contribution to the preservation of the heritage of Kennewick” and for its demonstration of “significant and meaningful achievement for the city of Kennewick and its citizens.”

First opened in 1945 as Fruitland Elementary, the building has served many purposes in nearly eight decades. The school was closed in 1983 when Lincoln Elementary School opened, but has been used as a temporary space for many schools that have undergone remodels or have been replaced. The building is currently used for Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, or ECEAP, classes.

L’Ecole No. 41, one of the Walla Walla area’s early founding family wineries, is the small firm recipient of Seattle Business magazine’s 2018 Family Business of the Year award. The winery was one of 11 Washington companies honored for excellence at an awards ceremony held Dec. 4 in Seattle. The recognition coincides with the 35th anniversary of the winery’s founding. Award organizers noted that honored businesses share a proven ability to successfully grow their companies while serving their communities and delivering exceptional customer service.

A panel of nine business leaders served as judges to review applications from numerous family-owned and -operated businesses from the across the state. The judges selected the winery as the year’s best “small firm” family business, defined as a company with fewer than 50 employees in Washington.

L’Ecole managing winemaker Marty Clubb owns L’Ecole with his wife Megan and their children Riley Clubb and Rebecca Olson.

CH2M Hill was recognized by the Engineering News-Record with the best small project under $10 million for a roof project on the reduction oxidation facility at Hanford. The facility, that was decommissioned in 1969, had a vulnerable, deteriorating roof. The project created a new structure that integrated into the existing roof, strengthened the building and provides a weather barrier.

NEW HIRES

The state Department of Commerce has hired Susan Joseph Nielsen as the rural services manager in Eastern Washington. She joins the department’s marketing and rural services team to lead Economic Gardening and Startup 365 programs, as well as provide export training and other technical assistance to small businesses east of the Cascades. She will also partner with local associate development organizations on a range of economic development projects.

Nielsen brings 25 years of experience in strategic communications, public relations, reputation management and media relations, leading numerous community initiatives and private projects. Before joining Commerce, she was regional executive director of College Success Foundation. Nielsen holds a master’s degree in public administration/business administration from Eastern Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Washington State University. She is accredited by the Public Relations Society of America. She joins 12 fellow staff members based out of the agency’s Spokane office at 10 N. Post St., Suite 445.

Advanced nurse practitioner Rachel Gorham has joined Physicians Immediate Care and Medical Center in Richland to provide comprehensive health care services for women with an emphasis on reproductive and gynecological needs. Gorham has a master’s in nursing from the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a bachelor’s in nursing from the University College of Nursing in Spokane.

STCU Credit Union has made several new hires for its first Tri-City locations: Brandon Reed was hired as a senior home loan officer. Reed has 20 years of experience, a bachelor’s from City University in Seattle and an associate’s from Columbia Basin College; Vorel Trotter was hired as a home loan officer. He has 14 years of experience, an associate’s from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas and is pursuing a bachelor’s in business administration; Kara Vogt also was hired as a home loan officer and has been in the field for several years. She attended South Puget Sound Community College and Trinity Western University in British Columbia.

STCU opened a branch at 4704 W. Hildebrand Blvd., Kennewick, in November and will be opening a branch at 2590 Queensgate Drive, Richland, in January.

Desert Canyon Mortgage’s Kennewick branch has hired Brittney Pogue as the new branch manager. She has a bachelor’s in business management from Eastern Washington University.

Max Pogue joined Desert Canyon Mortgage in Kennewick as its newest loan officer. He grew up in the Tri-Cities and has previous experience in billing management, marketing and business management.

Visit Tri-Cities hired Bethany Lee as its new digital marketing manager. She has more than 10 years in digital marketing experience and has a bachelor’s degree in communication from Washington State University.

Washington State University associate professor David Brown is the new director of AgWeatherNet, Washington’s Weather Network. The site at weather.wsu.edu helps the state’s growers and citizens understand and prepare for challenges and changes from weather. Brown is a social scientist who has been with WSU for 12 years and has a doctorate in soil science from the University of Wisconsin Madison.

John-Paul Estey has joined the Prosser Chamber of Commerce as its new executive director. He is a longtime Prosser resident with an extensive history of community involvement, including being a volunteer firefighter for 20 years, working for Franz for 25 years, owning and operating Whitstran Brewing Co. and being involved in city activities such as Prosser States Day.

Joel Nania is the U.S. Small Business Association’s new branch manager for its Spokane office, which serves the Inland Northwest — including Eastern Washington. Before joining the SBA as an economic development specialist in 2013, Nania worked for 30 years in business including 10 years as a consultant.

Luke Hallowell joined the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties as the new branch director of its Kennewick clubhouse. His last day with the Downtown Pasco Development Authority, where he worked as executive director for two-and-a-half years, was Dec. 14.

Hector DeLeon joined the Tri-Cities Cancer Center’s Support Services team as a social worker. He has more than 20 years of experience and has worked with oncology patients and their specific needs. He most recently worked at Trios Health as a social worker and case manager. DeLeon has a master’s in social work from Walla Walla College in College Place. He was born in Toppenish and has lived in the Tri-Cities for 18 years.

CERTIFICATIONS

Columbia Basin College’s bachelor of science in registered nursing program has received accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

DONATIONS

Desert Canyon Mortgage in Kennewick held a raffle and raised $1,100 for the Alzheimer’s Association.

STCU credit union has been named the primary sponsor for The Children’s Reading Foundation of the Mid-Columbia’s Books for Babies program starting in January. The $10,000 donation will help the program provide a new board book and early reading information to all new mothers after births at local hospitals. STCU opened the Southridge Financial Home Loan Center in November and STCU Queensgate Financial Center will open in January.

For the second year in a row, Tom and Della Seim of Richland, longtime supporters and advocates for Meals on Wheels, challenged the leadership of Senior Life Resources Northwest to raise $10,000, which they would match dollar for dollar. The challenge raised more than $32,000 for the Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels program.

Desert Hills Middle School in Kennewick received Ramsey Solutions’ Foundations in Personal Finance curriculum from Account Sense PLLC in Kennewick.

Roasters Coffee, a locally owned and operated company, donated all profits, or $3,042, from every drink sold Nov. 26 at all Tri-Cities Roasters locations, to Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels.

GRANTS

Two STEM Like Me! grants will help Richland School District schools expand science, technology, engineering and math offerings. William Wiley Elementary received $250 to continue offering the Think Differently after-school STEM program, where students learn about STEM fields and careers. Chief Joseph Middle School received $1,000 for a tower garden project. Students will grow crops using an aeroponic gardening system. The project will teach students about agricultural STEM careers as well as nutrition, plant development and the impacts on resources from food production.

SCORE Mid-Columbia received a $5,000 grant from SCORE National for its creative strategic visibility plan for 2019 and a $1,000 donation from Banner Bank to help entrepreneurs start or grow their small business. The local chapter, housed at the Tri-City Development Council’s Kennewick office, also achieved bronze status for its accomplishments in 2018, based on national standards for excellence.

BOARDS

Richland High School Counselor Denise Reddinger was appointed to Washington’s Work-Integrated Advisory Committee. She will work with educators and industry leaders from around the state to advise the Washington Legislature on how to create and support career-related learning opportunities in schools. The committee was created earlier this year to enhance shared needs between education and workforce sectors.