APPOINTMENTS

• Gov. Jay Inslee appointed the following to boards and commissions in July 2024: Jose Romero of Richland has been appointed to the LGBTQ Commission, Washington State; Steven Ashby of Richland has been appointed to the Workforce Education Investment Accountability and Oversight Board; and David Phongsa of Benton City has been appointed to the Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission.

DONATIONS

• Tri-Cities Chaplaincy used a $5,000 grant from the Wildhorse Foundation to make updates to a room at Cork’s Place Kids Grief Center. The updates to the Adult Support Room – a place for adults and caregivers of Cork’s kids to gather for support and to process their own grief – included fresh paint, new lighting, furniture and shelving.
• Hadley Bleazard, the reigning Miss Tri-Cities Teen, is working with Mid-Columbia Libraries to distribute dyslexia reading kits. Bleazard made 300 kits and is donating them to the library system to help dyslexic readers. The kits are part of Bleazard’s Embracing Dyslexia campaign, which she started to raise awareness about dyslexia.

NEW HIRES

• Taylor Brown has joined Prosser Memorial Health’s Dermatology Center in Benton City as a registered nurse. She has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Washington State University and has worked in Kadlec Regional Medical Center’s Birth Center and for the Tri-Cities Infusion and Wellness Clinic. She’ll provide services such as Botox, dermal fillers, ThermiSmooth, chemical peels and laser hair removal at the Benton City center.
• Lance Johnson is the new vice president of internal audit for the Richland-based Gesa Credit Union. Johnson, who has 34 years of experience in financial oversight and risk management across multiple industries, will lead the internal audit team, guide audit processes and develop audit plans that align with Gesa’s strategic goals. Johnson has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business management from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in international management studies from the University of Texas.
• Lisa Arneson is Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce’s new workforce and education coordinator. In the role, she’ll serve as the primary point of contact for workforce and education initiatives, such as the Tri-Cities Regional Career Signing Day event. Before joining the chamber, Arneson worked as an executive assistant and administrative professional at PorterKinney PC in Kennewick.
• Greg Templeton is STCU’s new vice president – director of home lending. He brings 30 nearly years of mortgage lending experience, plus a supervisory background in retail. He most recently worked at Churchill Mortgage. Templeton attended Spokane Falls Community College and Eastern Washington University.
• Kelly Boag has joined Energy Northwest as human resources manager for total rewards and payroll. She oversees the payroll, compensation and benefits teams. Boag brings more than 17 years of experience in the energy industry and has held various finance, human resources, program manager and consulting roles. She has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting from Portland State University.
• Cierra Shillingstad of Kennewick joined Distinctive Properties Inc. as a real estate broker/Realtor. She lives in Kennewick with her husband, David.
• Forrest Alexander has joined Piton Wealth in Kalispell as a growth leader. He brings a wide spectrum of diverse skills and experiences to the table, reflecting a dynamic background in community involvement, business development, and small business ownership. Piton is headquartered in Kennewick.

AWARDS & HONORS

• Leadership Tri-Cities 28th class has been selected. Members are: Winifred “Winnie” Alberg, Johnson & Johnson Law Firm; Joshua Burnham, Mid-Columbia Ballet; Jessica Butts, Kadlec; Emma Chambers, Trios Health; Hong Chen, Hanford Mission Integration Solutions; Jonathan Dickey, city of Kennewick; Emily Dirkes, Lourdes Health; Keila Gordon, Freeform Spaces; Brianna Harty, Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties; Elder Hernandez Osorio, Educational Service District 123; Jeff Hosler, Richland School District; Leanne Luehrs-Purcell, The Children’s Reading Foundation; Amber Maiden, Arts Center Task Force; Raul Marroquin, Richland Fire & Emergency Services; Gabe Martin, Ben Franklin Transit; Kristin Mensinger, North Wind Solution; Kimberly “Kim” Ralston-Hooper, Intera Inc.; Mayra Reyna, Port of Pasco; Abby Runner, Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington; Shelbey Sawyer, Heartlinks; Shelby Simmelink, Community First Bank | HFG Trust; Laycie Thomas, Columbia Safety; Thomas “Lee” Williams, Columbia Basin College; Sonee Wilson, Goodwill Industries of the Columbia; Desiree Wolframm, Energy Northwest; Julie Woodward, Visit Tri-Cities; and Anthony Wright, city of Pasco.
• A white wine from Tagaris Winery in Richland has racked up multiple honors. The family-owned estate winery’s 2023 pinot gris from the Alice Vineyard at King Fuji Ranch in the Wahluke Slope AVA was named the Best Pinot Gris of the Year and White Wine of the Year at the USA Wine Ratings competition. It also won a gold medal.
• Jean Dodson Peterson, founding department chair and associate professor of viticulture at Washington State University Tri-Cities, has been named one of Wine Enthusiasts Magazine’s Future 40. Peterson was selected for her efforts to improve student retention, create job opportunities, help those who are financially struggling and provide mentorship to aspiring winemakers.
• Trios Health in Kennewick has recognized Steven Snyder, a registered nurse, with The DAISY Award, which honors nurses who make a difference for patients and families. Snyder, a registered nurse, has been at Trios since 2001. He works night shifts in the emergency department and as a charge nurse and staff nurse. He was nominated by a coworker.
• Energy Northwest’s Women in Nuclear chapter was honored with the Small Chapter Overall Award at the recent U.S. Women in Nuclear Conference. Awards at the conference were based on metrics for members, activities and hours spent supporting Women in Nuclear. In 2023, the Energy Northwest chapter reached hundreds of children through Kids Engineering Day, filled wish lists through Toys for Tots, held numerous professional development lunches and supported planning for a regional conference.
• Three technologies developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have been named 2024 R&D 100 Award winners. The electrical grid resilience and assessment system won in the software/services category, the autonomous electron microscope won in the analytical/test category and the real-time advanced imaging technology won in the software/services category.
• Kennewick School District has announced several staff excellence awards: Naomi Puckett of Ridge View Elementary was named Administrator of the Year; Mark Westcott was recognized as a Staff Support Person of the Year; Ed Carnes was recognized as a Staff Support Person of the Year; Sandra Van Lanen was recognized as a Staff Support Person of the Year; Joel Thorne was named the first ever Substitute of the Year; Kathy Kern earned the Creativity in Curriculum Award; Estrella Aguilar recognized as Certificated Specialist of the Year; Jennifer Gonzalez of Amon Creek Elementary was named Elementary Teacher of the Year; Kyrin Gregory of Chinook Middle School was named Middle School Teacher of the Year; Nathan Allington of Tri-Tech Skills Center was named High School Teacher of the Year; Southridge Higheducators were named the KSD Team of the Year; Jason Gradwohl and Mary Carpender received the inaugural KSD Learner Profile Award; and New Vintage Church was named Outstanding Community Partner of the Year.
• Three researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have been newly elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences “in recognition of their outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement, and their willingness to work on behalf of the Academy to bring the best available science to bear on issues within the state of Washington,” the academy announced in August. They are: Justin Teeguarden for research and development on computational models and frameworks for simulating the fate and transport of chemicals; Wei Wang for pioneering work at the intersection of materials science; and Bobbie-Jo Webb-Robertson for developing advanced statistical and machine learning methods for large and complex data types.
• Erin Braich, metropolitan planning organization deputy director for the Benton-Franklin Council of Governments, is the inaugural recipient of the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations’ Rising Professional. Braich will be presented with the award at the 2024 AMPO Annual Conference in Salt Lake City. He joined the council of governments in 2018 as a transportation specialist and progressed to transportation planning manager in 2020 before being promoted to MPO deputy director in 2022.

PROMOTIONS

• The city of Kennewick has two new executive team members. Jessica Platt is the new interim finance director and John Cowling is the new public works director. Platt joined the city in June and has 20-plus years of experience in local government accounting and financial management. She previously worked in Liberty Lake, West Richland and Queen Creek, Arizona. Cowling joined the city in 2017 as the utility services manager and was promoted to deputy public works director in 2022. He has 20-plus years of municipal experience and has overseen projects in cities such as Sammamish, Marysville and Mountlake Terrace.
• Jessie Cardwell has been promoted to program director at the Benton-Franklin Workforce Development Council. She started her career working with youth at Boys & Girls Clubs, including in the Tri-Cities, and eventually became a youth and adult case manager at WorkSource Columbia Basin in Kennewick. She joined the Benton-Franklin Workforce Development Council in 2020 as a program coordinator. Cardwell has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Seattle Pacific University and a master’s degree in criminal justice and corrections from Arizona State University.