NEW HIRES

Lourdes Health has hired Dr. Dianna Lang as a pediatrician. Lang completed her residency at BronxCare Health System in New York. She has joined Dr. Paolo deVera and Dr. Geraldine Dizon at Lourdes Pediatric Services at Road 68 and Wrigley Drive in Pasco.

Stephanie Button has been hired as the executive director for the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership.

Button comes to HDKP

with a decade of nonprofit experience, most recently as the administrator at

the East Benton County Historical Society and Museum in Kennewick.

She is a Kennewick

native and downtown Kennewick resident.

As a former HDKP board

member, Button worked on many projects and events to further the nonprofit’s

mission, ranging from gathering data for the farmers market to getting ready

for the holidays.

Button graduated with a

degree in anthropology from Western Washington University, where she developed

her interdisciplinary approach to creating opportunities for exchanges and

dialogue with the purpose of building a culture of better understanding.

Davin Diaz is the new executive director of the Arts Center Task Force, which is working to build a performing and visual arts center in the Tri-Cities.

Diaz recently received

the Washington State Governor’s Arts and Heritage Award – Community Category

for building relevant community focused organizations in the last 12 years.

He succeeds Renée

Adams, who left Nov. 1 to take a position near her home in Yakima. Adams remains

on the task force board.

Diaz will be

responsible

for managing the day-to-day operations of the task force and serving as its

spokesperson and ambassador. He also will work with the board to develop and

implement strategic plans, as well as policies and procedures.

Diaz is president of DrewBoy Creative, a contemporary Richland art

gallery he founded in 2015 that prioritizes shows and activities from emerging

artists, people of diverse and marginalized backgrounds or artists that

challenge the traditional school of thought related to art.

He most recently worked

as communications and advancement director for Mid-Columbia Libraries. He

also served as director of development for Gesa Power House Theatre in Walla

Walla and was a development officer at the Reach Museum from 2007-12. 

Walter Timmons has joined Banner Bank as a commercial banking relationship manager at the Tri-Cities commercial banking center in Kennewick. He has more than 12 years of banking experience and has worked at banks throughout the Tri-Cities, earning several top banker awards.

He serves as treasurer

on the board of The Children’s Reading Foundation of the Mid-Columbia and is

also the treasurer for the Arts Foundation of the Mid-Columbia. He is a

Washington State University graduate, earning a bachelor’s degree in

mathematics and a master’s in business administration.

ELECTED OFFICIALS

Pasco Mayor Matt Watkins concludes 16 years of service to the community at the end of December. He chose not to run for re-election in 2019. He was first elected in 2004 as a councilman and then elected mayor by the council in 2010. The city held a public reception for Watkins on Dec.11.

Franklin County’s U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency has announced that Hans “Jochen” Engelke from the Mesa area was elected to represent local administrative area
No. 2 during the recent county committee election. Rod Rottinghaus of Pasco will serve as the first alternate.

County committee members help the day-to-day operations of FSA by

delivering programs at the county level and working to serve the needs of local

producers.

All recently elected

county committee members will take office in January 2020.

BOARDS

Brett Spooner has joined Richland’s Empowered Health advisory board. Spooner is chief executive officer and founder of the now national law firm, Gravis Law. He joins board members Nicole Chiaramonte, the founder of Synergy MedAesthetics, and Dr. Brian Lawenda, the medical director for the Northwest Cancer Clinic/21st Century Oncology.

PROMOTIONS

Brent Cook has been promoted to deputy police chief in Pasco. Cook has been with the Pasco Police Department for nearly 30 years, starting as an officer and moving up through the ranks as corporal, sergeant, and then captain in 2015. During his tenure, Cook developed and ran the first gang investigation team, developed the first community policing project within a specific neighborhood, implemented a formal internal affairs program, helped guide the department through state and national accreditation, and identified and implemented specific tenets of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. He will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department and collaborate with Chief Ken Roske on long-term strategic planning. He was sworn in Nov. 14.

GRANTS

STCU awarded $27,000 in grants to 108 educators drawn at random. Each winner can spend their $250 grant on anything they believe will enhance students’ classroom experience, whether a basic need or something special. STCU made surprise deliveries to the winners at schools in Pasco, Richland and Kennewick.

AWARDS & HONORS

Washington State University Tri-Cities student Savanna Navarro Kresse received a national award for her work to increase student democratic engagement on campus and in the regional Tri-City community. Kresse earned an Honor Role award through the All In Challenge Awards program. She will be honored in Washington, D.C. She was selected as one of 10 students for the category, which specifically recognizes student leadership in helping college students to improve nonpartisan civic learning, political engagement and voter participation. She was instrumental in bringing a ballot drop box to campus in partnership with the Benton County Auditor’s office.

She also led a series of events geared toward getting students registered

to vote, in addition to partnering with her fellow student government peers to

hold voting celebration days on campus. She worked with state Attorney General

Bob Ferguson’s office to host a presentation on Deferred Action for Childhood

Arrivals and immigration regulations last year.

She is a first-generation college student, mother of four and a former

seasonal field worker.

Student business teams from Washington State University Tri-Cities and WSU Pullman took home top honors at the Intercollegiate Wine Business Invitational in November that required them to research and create extensive business plans for a fictitious wine grown and created in Washington state. A WSU Tri-Cities team, comprised of students Kyle Brunson and Danae Williams, earned the grand prize at the Intercollegiate Wine Business Invitational Competition for their combined score for their business plan, financial plan and wine label for their wine Gladiolus Red Mountain Rosé.

The Pasco School District Board of Directors has been named a 2019 board of distinction by the Washington State School Directors’ Association. This is the fourth consecutive year that Pasco’s school board has earned the board of distinction recognition. Thirty-four school boards across the state were recognized. School boards receiving the honor have reviewed their decision-making and shown how that is tied to positive student success.

Benton County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Terry Bloor received the distinguished service award from the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. This award recognizes Bloor as one of the top prosecutors in the state based on his trial skills, successes as an appellate lawyer, his advocacy for crime victims and mentoring of prosecutors.

Financial Advisor Tom Steinert of the financial services firm Edward Jones at 112 Columbia Point Drive, suite 104, in Richland earned the professional designation of chartered retirement planning counselor. He completed the chartered retirement planning counselor professional education program from the Denver-based College for Financial Planning.

The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys has recognized the exceptional performance of Stacy Leighton as a 2019 Best Family Law Attorney for client Satisfaction. The institute is a third-party attorney rating organization that publishes an annual list of the Top 10 family law attorneys in each state.

APPOINTMENTS

Yakima Federal Savings and Loan President Leanne Antonio has been appointed

to the advisory board of the American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate

School of Banking. The school, held on the University of Pennsylvania campus in

Philadelphia, partners with the Wharton School of Business and is recognized as

the preeminent executive management school for the financial services industry.

The board position provides senior, executive level banking insight on key

industry issues to shape the strategic direction of the school.

DONATIONS

The Annual Ag World Golf Classic donated $101,680 to the Ronald McDonald House Charities Inland Northwest, thanks to the generosity of 136 sponsors and donors, and 144 golfers. The Ag World Golf Classic has donated $425,647 over the past six years to the nonprofit which provides temporary lodging, comfort and support for families with children receiving medical services in Spokane.

Danielle Greene of Pasco Allstate organized a promotion called Gifting for Quotes. For the month of October and November, Allstate donated $10 to the Domestic Violence Services of Benton and Franklin Counties when giving any new household an insurance quote. The office raised $400 to support the agency.

Dutch Bros Pasco, Richland and Kennewick and its customers raised $5,825 for Camp Patriot, an organization dedicated to empowering and thanking wounded and disabled military veterans of all generations through outdoor programs.

Dutch Bros Prosser raised $1,000 for Prosser High School. The money raised will support a local teacher diagnosed with breast cancer.