Two executive directors of nonprofits — one to support refugees and immigrants, and the other kids — received Kennewick’s highest honors.

Theresa Roosendaal was named the 2023 Kennewick Woman of the Year. She leads B5, formerly the Family Learning Center, which offers a variety of classes and other services to support families, who are often refugees from Afghanistan, Somalia, Central America and elsewhere.

Brian Ace was named the 2023 Man of the Year. He leads the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties, which offers youth programs at sites around the Tri-Cities that help to fill the gap between school and home.

They were honored Feb. 12 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.

Kennewick Woman of the Year

Art King, the 2013 Kennewick Man of the Year, nominated Roosendaal for the award “for all that she has done for our refugee population helping them to transition from extremely difficult circumstances to being productive members of our community.” B5 has helped more than 2,500 refugees and immigrants.

Roosendaal founded B5 in 2009 after volunteering with World Relief, where she realized it wasn’t enough to bring the refugees into the community, which was the agency’s focus, King wrote in his nomination letter. “There had to be some sort of mechanism to transition them into our community and the American way of life,” he said.

She received a modest grant to rent a Kennewick apartment (Unite B5, which eventually became the organization’s name) near many refugees’ homes. B5 offers classes and after-school programs for refugee families to help them find their footing in their new community. B5 became a 501(c)(3) in 2014.

Her fellow award winner, Ace, praised her work in King’s nomination letter: “She saw a need, created a solution, and invested her own time, talent and treasure to be the change she wanted to see in the world. She was the pebble that created the ripples to inspire a community to not look past the refuge(e) and sojourner, but to instead be in relationship with them. It has been a beautiful thing to watch.”

King noted that Roosendaal served as volunteer executive director only until recently when the board offered a “small salary for her position in order to ensure sustainability going forward.”

Kennewick Man of the Year

Ace was nominated for the award by Mark Brault, the 2018 Kennewick Man of the Year.

“Brian has spent almost his entire adult life dedicated to serving others. He is a natural leader with a heart for helping the most vulnerable populations. He has stayed true to his calling in serving others throughout his entire professional career,” Brault wrote in his letter.

Ace became CEO of the Boys & Girls Club in 2012 and oversaw the growth of the nonprofit, from 12 to 28 programs, from a $2.2 million to $9.1 million budget.

Brault noted how Ace’s leadership led to the development of the east Kennewick clubhouse which now serves an average of 450 youth each year.

Ace also believes in the mission of his fellow winner’s nonprofit. He helped in a capital fundraising campaign for B5, according to Brault’s nomination letter. John McCoy, capital campaign chair for B5, wrote: “Without Brian’s collaboration and guidance on our capital campaign, we could not have been successful. That is no hyperbole.  We could not have been successful without him.”

Ace is also cofounder of the Columbia Basin Non-profit Association, which works to share knowledge and resources between nonprofits to benefit the entire community. He’s been on the board since its inception in 2018 and currently serves as president.

Brault’s nomination application also noted Ace’s church leadership and how he and his wife Beth opened up their home to foster youth in 2016 — and how they’ve been fostering ever since.

“He and Beth have such a heart for kids, providing strong, positive love and support for the most vulnerable of the vulnerable. Brian Ace is a community hero; he is my community hero, and I am honored to serve alongside him,” wrote John LeFemina, a longtime Boys & Girls Club board member.

To learn more about the awards program and past winners, go to: kmwoy.com.