NEW HIRES

• Faith Hovde has joined Visiting Angels Tri-Cities and Walla Walla as a community outreach and growth coordinator.

• A veteran law enforcement official with experience leading municipal and state police staff will be the temporary leader of the West Richland Police Department. The department and city officials announced Steven Crown’s appointment as interim police chief on March 6. He will take on daily duties for the department as outgoing Chief Thomas Grego takes planned leave prior to his retirement on June 1. Crown has worked in law enforcement for 33 years, starting in the Wenatchee Police Department and serving in various roles including gang specialist, detective, field training officer and bicycle patrol instructor.

• Lacey Perry has been named chief philanthropy officer at Kadlec. She now leads the Kadlec Foundation and the Tri-Cities Cancer Foundation, assuming the responsibilities once held by Jim Hall who retired earlier this year after 30 years with the organization. In this expanded role, she also serves as chief philanthropy officer for Providence St. Mary Foundation, a leadership position she has held since 2021.

• Good Shepherd Health Care System has hired orthopedic surgeons Drs. Patrick Dawson and Tamara Simpson. Dawson earned his Doctor of Medicine from Loyola University School of Medicine and did his residency in orthopedic surgery at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) in Portland. He completed a sports medicine fellowship from Congress Medical Associates in Pasadena. Simpson earned her Doctor of Medicine from Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland and did her residency in orthopedic surgery at OHSU. She completed two fellowships, a UCSF sports medicine fellowship from University of California San Francisco, and an HCMC orthopedic trauma fellowship from Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

• Energy Northwest elected a new inside director, Dave McKenzie. McKenzie was elected to the Skamania County PUD in 2016. He was appointed to the Energy Northwest Board of Directors in January 2017 and has served as president of the Board of Directors since 2022. He has more than 40 years of experience in the private and public sectors which include banking, real estate and appraising complex commercial and industrial properties.

• Jennifer Little is the new development director at the nonprofit Rascal Rodeo. If Little seems familiar, she is one of the voices of the “Adam and Jen” radio show in the mornings on 94.9 The Wolf. She will continue at the station while implementing and creating new opportunities for communities and businesses to help grow the Rascal Rodeo mission.

• Jennifer Witherbee returns to the Washington Apple Education Foundation as executive director. She brings a wealth of experience in nonprofit leadership, education advocacy and community engagement through her prior 20-year stint at WAEF and most recent experience at Larson Gross, a Wenatchee firm providing accounting, consulting and other services.

• Trios Health has hired board-certified vascular surgeon, Dr. Dennis L. Su. He specializes in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of vascular diseases, from varicose veins to life-threatening aneurysms. Su completed undergraduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, before earning his Doctorate in Medicine from St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies.

• Katie Akers, an advanced registered nurse practitioner, has joined the Lourdes Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine clinic. She has worked in the field of pulmonary and sleep medicine at Lourdes Health as a registered nurse since 2012. Akers graduated in 2024 with her master of science in nursing from Purdue University and is certified in basic life support and advance care life support, in addition to her certifications as an RN and ARNP. She is also a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

PROMOTIONS

• Walt Taylor has been promoted to deputy project director with Bechtel at the Hanford Waste Immobilization and Treatment Plant. He most recently worked as the manager of mission assurance for the Waste Treatment Completion Company at the WTP. Taylor served 20 years as a naval officer and earned his Bachelor of Science in political science at the U.S. Naval Academy and a Master of Science in engineering management at Old Dominion University.

• Leo Martinez Jr. has been promoted to assistant vice president of retail experience for Central Washington at Numerica Credit Union. He has more than 14 years of leadership experience and most recently served as Numerica’s Court Street branch manager. Martinez helmed five branches, including two grand openings. He spearheaded Numerica’s Hispanic feasibility initiative, enhancing services for Spanish-speaking members. He also was named one of the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business’ People of Influence for 2025.

AWARDS & HONORS

• Rob Griffin of Barnard Griffin Winery in Richland received the Grand Vin Award at the recently held WineVit, an annual conference of the Washington Winegrowers Association, in Kennewick, according to Northwest Wine Report. The award is given to a winery employee or owner who has made a significant impact on the winery, wine, the brand or the process of making exceptional wine.

Griffin co-founded the award-winning Richland winery with his wife Deborah Barnard in 1983, having moved to Washington state in the mid-1970s to begin working in the wine industry. He continues to serve as the winery’s head winemaker after more than 40 vintages.

• Changki Mo, academic director and professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Washington State University Tri-Cities, has been named a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Mo conducts research in robotics and automation; renewable bio-nanomaterials; vehicular and structural vibration control; and smart materials and structures. He has more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and holds seven patents.

• Ice Harbor Lock and Dam has been honored as the Infrastructure Project of the Year by the American Shotcrete Association for enhancing hydroelectric efficiency and improving fish survival. This milestone marks a significant achievement for the Bonneville Power Administration Large Cap Program and the Turbine Survival Program, in partnership with Voith Hydro Inc.

• Richland School District has announced that four educators have recently earned their National Board Certification, one of the most prestigious recognitions in the education profession: Michele Bruce, first-grade teacher at Jason Lee Elementary, certified in literacy: reading-language arts/early and middle childhood education; Kaci Presnell, language arts teacher at Leona Libby Middle School, certified in English language arts/early adolescence education; Ellyn (Hamon) Meador, kindergarten teacher at Sacajawea Elementary, certified in early childhood education; and Amy Scott, second-grade teacher at White Bluffs Elementary, certified in art/early and middle childhood education.

• The Tri-City Association of Realtors received two awards at the Washington Realtors 2025 Legislative Days for its Realtors Political Action Committee contributions – one for “the most $100 and over investments” and the other for “highest percentage over goal” in the more-than-1,000-members category.

• Kennewick School District has named Nathen Allington as the 2025 Crystal Apple Award Winner. Allington is an educator who prepares students for careers in firefighting and emergency medical services at the Tri-Tech Skills Center. Allington served in the Marines before becoming a teacher.

GRANTS

• The Wildhorse Foundation has awarded more than $375,000 in quarterly grant funding to several organizations, including in the Tri-Cities. Local nonprofits receiving grants include:

Grace Clinic in Kennewick received $15,500 for its Women’s Wellness Initiative: cervical cancer screenings and gynecological health support. 

The Children’s Reading Foundation of the Mid-Columbia in Kennewick received $8,500 for its Let’s READ! Mid-Columbia program.

United Way of Benton & Franklin Counties in Kennewick received $5,000 for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

• United Way of Benton & Franklin Counties received a $9,000 grant from Jack in the Box Foundation for the Attendance Matters Mentoring Program. This grant will help further United Way’s mission to provide essential mentorship opportunities to local students, empowering them to succeed academically and stay engaged in their education.

RETIREMENT

• West Richland police Chief Thomas Grego has announced plans to retire, effective June 1. A graduate of the FBI Academy, Grego led numerous initiatives for the department in just under four years as chief, including reducing the city’s crime rate, securing grants, restructuring the department to improve efficiencies, establishing a vehicle leasing program, introducing body-worn cameras and a drone program, among others. Over the past three years, he and his wife have been preparing their retirement property in Idaho, which is now ready for the next chapter of their lives.