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Promotions

• Rachel Visick has been promoted to reporter at the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business and Senior Times. She joined the Journal team as a news assistant/researcher in July 2023. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English and French (comparative literature) in spring 2023 from the University of Puget Sound. She is originally from Illinois.
• Washington State University’s Department of Viticulture and Enology has promoted wine scientist Tom Collins from assistant professor to associate professor. He joined WSU in 2015 and has made substantial contributions to the viticulture and enology department since then. His research currently focuses on how smoke exposure affects grapes. In 2023, Collins was named the inaugural Jackson Family Wines Endowed Professor.  
• Maria Serra is Pasco’s new public works director. She has served as the interim public works director since December 2023 and has over a decade of engineering and public service experience. Prior to stepping into the interim position, Serra was the deputy public works director. She also has held roles such as capital improvement program manager, senior civil engineer and development engineer throughout her time with the city of Pasco. Serra’s first engineering projects took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she helped create the country’s first dam catalogue.

New hires

• Arman Rashid is Pasco’s new information technology director. He has more than 25 years of experience and has held leadership and technical positions in power utilities, global digital entertainment and public higher education organizations. Rashid has a Master of Business Administration from Eastern New Mexico University and a Bachelor of Business Administration in business computer information systems from the University of North Texas. He is also a certified information security manager and a member of the Houston chapter of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association.  
• Angela Saraceno-Lyman has joined the Port of Benton as a senior accountant. She ran her own bookkeeping business for years, working with a variety of clientele, including municipalities. In her new role, Saraceno-Lyman will handle financial tasks, including payroll, financial statements and state audits, grant management, budget preparation and general accounting duties.
• Audrey Burney is the Port of Benton’s new real estate manager. She formerly worked as Gesa Credit Union’s commercial property administrator. Burney also has over 10 years of experience working for the Port of Pasco, where she started as an administrative assistant and later worked as a property leasing associate.
• Kaitilin Newman joined Fulcrum Wealth Management Group’s Kennewick office as a paraplanner. She has more than 13 years of experience in the industry and holds a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor designation. Newman also is a candidate to be a certified financial planner. She has a bachelor’s degree in education from New York University. 
• Nicholas Albertini has joined 509 Wealth Management’s Kennewick office as a financial advisor. Albertini has 13 years of experience as a financial advisor.
• Meier Architecture and Engineering has hired Adam Rinehart as its civil group manager. Rinehart, a professional engineer, has more than 15 years of experience in civil engineering, including flood protection, wetland creation and barrier island restoration projects. Most of his experience is in land development, and he has expertise in drainage design and storm water detention and management. He has a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University.
• Smart Law, which has offices in Kennewick, has hired Sarah Royal as an attorney on its Labor & Industries team. She completed the Law Clerk program under the mentorship of Smart Law co-founder Michael Connell and Smart Law attorney David Hevel. Royal passed the bar in February. 
• Dr. Jamie Robinson has joined Good Shepherd Health Care System. Robinson received her medical doctorate from Ross University School of Medicine, Dominica, in 2016 and completed her residency at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. She is a board-certified family medicine physician.

Boards

• Leadership Tri-Cities has elected three new board members for 2024-25: Elizabeth McLaughlin with the Boys and Girls Club of Benton and Franklin Counties will be the board chair; Anne Spilman with the Academy of Children’s Theatre will be the board vice chair; and Candice Jones with Mortgage Tech will be the Class 28 director.
• Alicia Mahon, wind energy program manager and operational systems engineering group leader at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has accepted two new advisory roles. She has joined the advisory committee of the Pacific Offshore Wine Consortium, a joint effort between three research centers to support west coast communities which are anticipated to host offshore wind development. Mahon also has joined the external advisory panel for the Ocean and Resources Engineering department at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, which seeks to educate ocean and resource engineers to meet the needs of Hawaii and the country. Mahon is an ocean engineer with an interdisciplinary background in environmental, ocean and coastal engineering.

Donation

• Walker’s Furniture donated 39 twin XL mattresses to several nonprofits. Community Living received six mattresses, Tri-Cities Residential Services received four, Tena’s House received four, Mirror Ministries received two, Modern Living Services’ Kennewick Perry Suites received two, TROT received two and Elijah Family Homes received 10. Modern Living Services helped coordinate the donation.

Awards & Honors

• Jill Shuttleworth has been awarded the Lifetime Service Award from the Structural Engineers Association of Washington, or SEAW. Shuttleworth, who is a licensed structural engineer with Meier Structural Group, was one of the founders of SEAW’s Southeast chapter. She served on the SEAW state board for several years, including as president from 2012-13, and helped organize the annual conference in 2018. Shuttleworth also has helped lead trainings, served on the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations Outreach Committee and developed questions for the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying Structural Engineering exam. She is only the eighth recipient of this award in the SEAW’s history. 
• Prosser Memorial Health’s Wound Care Center has been awarded the Healogics CHR Champion Belt. The center is the leading wound care facility in the region for the first quarter of 2024, and the award recognizes an 8% improvement in healing rates compared to last year. The CHR Champion Belt was also awarded to PMH’s Wound Care Center in quarter four of 2023. 
• Lourdes Health has recognized Emily Dirkes as its 2024 Mercy Award winner. The award recognizes one employee from each of Lifepoint Health’s facilities who represents the company’s values. Dirkes has worked at Lourdes Health for 13 years, including time as an inpatient aide, outpatient aide, receptionist and insurance specialist, and she currently manages three outpatient clinics and helps support the acute care therapists. Her community involvement includes volunteer work with Second Harvest and the Arc of Tri-Cities. Along with the other facility winners, Dirkes will be considered for Lifepoint’s companywide Mercy Award, to be announced this summer.
• Charelle Woods is Trios Health’s 2024 Mercy Award winner. The award recognizes one employee from each of Lifepoint Health’s facilities who represents the company’s values. Woods has been the ICU’s secretary for the past five years. She has offered comfort to patients through singing and made “PSA reels” with the staff during the Covid-19 pandemic. Woods founded the nonprofit Lovin Me 911, which promotes self-love and body positivity. Through her nonprofit, she has also worked with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties. Along with the other facility winners, Woods will be considered for Lifepoint’s companywide Mercy Award, to be announced this summer.
• Alma Salgado has received the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses from Trios Health. Salgado has worked as a registered nurse in Trios’ ICU department since 2014. She began as a unit secretary, then transitioned to a certified nursing assistant before becoming an RN. Salgado was nominated by the daughter of a patient.
• Lourdes Health has presented the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses to Daisy Garcia. Garcia, a registered nurse, was nominated along with the nurses of Lourdes’ rehab unit for providing compassionate care. 
• Bob Schultz has been presented with the Local Hero award by the Washington State Bar Association in recognition of his community service as an attorney and his commitment to helping people with limited means. Schultz is a partner with Leavy Shultz Davis of Kennewick, where he represents clients in personal injury and motor-vehicle collision cases. He has twice been awarded for his pro bono service, and he has served as past president and is a current member of the board of directors of the Benton Franklin Legal Aid Society. Schultz also has served as judge pro tempore for Benton-Franklin Superior Court. He received his juris doctorate from Gonzaga University School of Law.

Grants

• Legends Casino donated $516,319 to more than 110 nonprofits through it Yakama Cares program. Local grant recipients include:
• Camp Woods Legacy, Pasco, $20,000.
• Children’s Reading Foundation, Kennewick, $4,000.
• Columbia Basin College Foundation, Pasco, $4,500.
• Columbia Basin Veterans Center, Pasco, $5,500.
• Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association Chapter 11-6, Richland, $5,500.
• Grace Kitchen, Pasco, $8,000.
• Kadlec Foundation, Richland, $5,000.
• Martha’s Cupboard, Richland, $6,000.
• Mo’s Place, West Richland, $3,000.
• Pit Bull Pen Rescue, Benton City, $2,500.
• Prevent Homeless Pets, Benton City, $1,500.
• Pronto Puppy Rescue, Benton City, $2,500.
• Prosser Music Boosters, Prosser, $1,306.01.
• Richland Police Department Foundation, Richland, $5,000.
• Second Harvest, Pasco, $4,000.
• Senior Life Resources Northwest, Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels, Richland, $6,000.
• Smith Runa Post No. 3207 VFW, Prosser, $4,000.
• Soroptimist International of Three Rivers, Richland, $3,000.
• Tri-Cities Cancer Center Foundation, Kennewick, $5,000.
• Tri-Cities Chaplaincy, Richland, $5,000.
• United Way of Benton & Franklin Counties, Kennewick, $5,000.
• YMCA, Kennewick, $5,000.