NEW HIRES

• Kennewick’s Wave Design Group has launched an affiliate company, Wave Quantum Group LLC, to provide nuclear and federal design and engineering services. Wave Quantum announced several positions for its June launch. They are:

• Harvey Prickett is president. He came to the Tri-Cities in 2009 and started Wave Design Group LLC, or WDG. With his 30 years of experience, WDG quickly grew. Three years ago he decided to forge a path in the nuclear and federal services world and launched Wave Quantum.

• Milo Himes, a certified professional engineer, joined WDG in 2019. He has more than 25 years of experience specializing in the design of nuclear, industrial and commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, in addition to chemical process and building service pumps and piping systems. He is the chief engineer and has a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Colorado State University.

• Dick Nelson, a certified professional engineer, joined WDG in 2018. He has more than 15 years of Hanford site and other nuclear design experience in structural engineering support. He is the civil/structural group lead and has a bachelor of science in civil engineering from Portland State University.

• Mark Wasemiller, a certified civil professional engineer, joined WDG in August 2019. He brings more than 20 years of Hanford site experience.

• Jim Kienholz joined WDG in June 2019. He brings more than 12 years of Hanford site experience, with 30 years cumulative design experience, focusing on structural design. He is the lead structural designer and computer-aided design manager for Wave Quantum,

• Eric Clements joined WDG in January. He brings more than 38 years of government and commercial nuclear experience in executive management, business development, engineering, design, fabrication, construction, project management, nuclear facility operations, decontamination, deconstruction, remediation, quality assurance/quality control, waste management packaging, transportation and disposal.

• Kirk Rogers joined WDG in January. He brings more than 10 years of multidisciplinary design/drafting and engineering support experience. He is pursuing his associate degree in applied science in project management.

• David B. Joyce joined WDG in April and is the lead architectural designer. He brings 37 years experience as an architectural, civil, structural and mechanical designer. His management experience includes: computer-aided design and building information modeling. Joyce’s background includes extensive design and project management experience in the commercial and nuclear industry.

• Elizabeth Battaglia joined WDG in April. She is a senior engineering and construction technical writer and supports quality assurance. She brings more than 10 years of Hanford site experience. She has a bachelor of science in geosciences with a minor in operational meteorology and is pursuing her master’s degree in engineering, with an emphasis in civil engineering construction management.

• Rick Sutter joined Wave Quantum in June. He brings more than 35 years of experience in the commercial and government nuclear industry including eight nuclear generating plants and various projects for the U.S. Department of Energy on the Hanford site. Sutter has a master’s in organizational management and a bachelor of science in political science/sociology.

• The Port of Benton hired Ron Branine as facilities manager. He has nearly 30 years of facilities management experience and was previously a facilities manager for Walla Walla County, where he was responsible for all property maintenance and developing and implementing an in-depth preventative maintenance program for most of the county’s buildings and properties including the jail, courthouse and a myriad of other multiuse buildings and grounds. Also, he served as chief engineer/facilities manager at Xanterra Parks and Resorts of Crater Lake in Crater Lake National Park, in Oregon. The port also hired Joseph Walker as an airport manager. He previously worked for the city of Vancouver, Pearson Field Airport. He holds a bachelor’s of science in aviation administration from Utah Valley University. He is a member of the American Association of Airport Executives and holds multiple certifications from the association.

• Alyssa Neil, certified physician assistant, joined Lourdes Health’s cardiology department. Neil will practice at 520 N. Fourth Ave. in Pasco with Dr. Amardeep S. Mann. Neil earned her master of physician assistant studies from Kettering College in Ohio in 2019 and her bachelor of science in biology at Walla Walla University in 2016. She has completed several clinical rotations, including in general surgery, emergency medicine, psychiatry, OB-GYN, pediatrics, internal medicine, and family practice. She is board certified and has certifications is basic life support and advanced cardiac life support from the American Heart Association.

• Lourdes Health hired Joshua Scoville, an advanced registered nurse practitioner, for its rheumatology department. Scoville will practice at 520 N. Fourth Ave. inside Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco with Dr. Sudeep Thapa. Scoville comes to Lourdes from Idaho Falls, Idaho, where he was a family nurse practitioner at Idaho Falls Arthritis Clinic/Institute of Arthritis Research. He also previously worked there as an infusion nurse/study coordinator and has also worked as a cardiovascular floor nurse. He earned his master of science in nursing at Walden University and his undergraduate nursing degree at Brigham Young University-Idaho. He is board certified as a nurse practitioner. He is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and Association of Rheumatology Professionals.

• The National Park Service has selected Linda Birkett as the new administrative officer for Nez Perce National Historical Park, located across four states, Whitman Mission National Historic Site in Walla Walla and Big Hole National Battlefield, a Nez Perce park site. Birkett comes from the Midwest regional office in Omaha, where she has been the relocation center and travel programs manager since October 2016. Her husband, Jim, retired from Mount Rainier National Park as a heavy mobile equipment mechanic.

• Yakima Chief Hops, a 100 percent grower-owned hop supplier hired a new chief financial officer, Howard Allred, shortly after the Covid-19 outbreak began. Allred’s onboarding came at a crucial time, as breweries shut their doors

Grants

• Benton REA received a matching grant to award $20,000 to local food banks. Benton REA received a $10,000 matching grant from the CoBank Sharing Success program. The $20,000 donation will help families through three organizations within the Benton REA member service area, based on the number of co-op members in each region: $12,000 to the Tri-City Food Bank in West Richland and Benton City, $4,000 to Jubilee Ministries Food Bank in Prosser, and $4,000 to Sunrise Outreach Food Banks in Mabton and Sunnyside. 

• Tri-Cities Community Health received $50,000 in emergency grant funding from the medical aid organization Direct Relief, in partnership with the National Association of Community Health Centers.

TCCH was among 518 federally-qualified health centers to receive funding through Direct Relief’s $25 million Covid-19 Fund for community health, which recognizes the profound effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the finances, services, staff and patients of community health centers.

• United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties awarded $40,000 to 10 local organizations providing food, mental and behavioral health services and emergency child care in response to the Covid-19 pandemic since establishing the Covid-19 Community Response Fund in late March.

Local agencies receiving funding to date are:

ANSIL – A New Start in Life - $3,000 for food, supplies, and operations of the ANSIL Hall shelter and Service Center to serve 40 individuals.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton & Franklin Counties, $3,500 to provide critical care boxes to 455 families.

Catholic Charities, $3,000 to provide food and transportation support to 32 youth and young adults.

Children’s Developmental Center, $3,000 to buy food and basic supplies for 100 vulnerable families.

Columbia Industries, $5,000 for the Opportunity Kitchen to prepare 455 ready-to eat meals for people in need in our community.

Communities in Schools, $3,000 to provide 150 families of four with food and basic supplies.

Salvation Army, $6,000 to provide food boxes for up to 320 low-income individuals.

Senior Life Resources, $5,500 for the Meals on Wheels program to deliver groceries and supplies to homebound seniors.

Tri-Cities Food Bank, $5,000 to provide food and non-perishable items to 2,000 people.

YMCA, $3,000 for early learning and school-age programs for 11 children of essential workers.

Awards & Honors

• Pasco, recently received the Circle of Excellence award from Lennox industries, an international heating and air conditioning equipment manufacturer. The Circle of Excellence award, presented annually, recognizes Lennox dealerships for outstanding accomplishments in areas such as sales performance, company growth, successful advertising and promotional campaigns, and effective business planning.

• Sonja Yearsley of Sonja Photography in Kennewick received the Jentoft Trophy and named the 2020 Photographer of the Year during Professional Photographers of Washington’s 2020 photographic competition. She won several other awards including: Best of Show Trophy for image titled, “We Are Family;” C.C. Yang Trophy for Commercial Photographer of the Year; Rodger Dudley Trophy (best single entry) for “We Are Family;” Best Advertising/Illustration for “We Are Family;” Judges Choice for “We Are Family;” and Judges Choice for image titled “Mush.”

Donations

• In response to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the demand for food support and safety for many families and individuals, Baker Boyer has donated $42,000 to several programs in Walla Walla, Milton-Freewater, Tri-Cities and Yakima. The following nonprofits received donations:

Baker Boyer’s First Responder Meal Program (Yakima, Tri-Cities, Milton-Freewater, Walla Walla), $12,000.

Yakima Downtown Rotary Food Bank Program (Yakima), $7,500.

Second Harvest (Tri-Cities), $5,000.

Tri-Cities Cancer Center Foundation, “DINE IN” program (Tri-Cities), $2,500.

Meals on Wheels, Senior Center (Walla Walla), $5,000.

Home Delivered Meals Program, CAPECO (Milton-Freewater), $5,000.

Walla Walla YWCA (Walla Walla), $5,000.

• After distributing some surplus potatoes in the Tri-Cities, Lamb Weston partnered with feeding the Northwest to ship 120,000 pounds of potatoes stored in Pasco to food banks in Louisiana and Texas. The Eagle, Idaho frozen potato giant with production, research and office facilities in the Mid-Columbia, said it has more potatoes that will not be processed. The donation fills an urgent need for food and avoids waste, it said.