Kadlec Foundation announces new leadership

With the retirement of Glenn Welch, executive director of Kadlec Foundation, Chris Garratt will oversee both Kadlec Foundation and the Providence St. Mary Foundation in Walla Walla in a newly created role as chief development officer.

Autumn Clark, who has been with Kadlec Foundation since 2015, has been promoted to development manager. Clark has extensive fundraising experience. In her new role, she will work closely with Kadlec staff and run day-to-day operations.

Novakovich achieves HR certification

Shannon Novakovich, director of human resources for Chaplaincy Health Care, has earned the HR Certification Institute’s senior professional human resources designation. The designation is the senior-most human resources certification, demonstrating an individual’s mastery of the human resources knowledge, including strategic and policy-making aspects of HR management. The certification has a 50 percent pass rate nationally.

Prior to earning it, Novakovich had professional human resources credentialing as well as Society for Human Resources Management-certified professional certification.

Tinkler named Areva engineer of year

Dan Tinkler, based at Areva NP’s Richland facility, was named the company’s Fuel Business Unit Engineer of the Year.

The company-wide engineer of the year awards honor employees who have achieved engineering excellence through significant contributions to the engineering profession and the company’s engineering activities. The honorees are nominated by their peers.

Trios Health lab receives accreditation renewal

The laboratory at Trios Health’s Women’s and Children’s Hospital has received full accreditation renewal for two years from the College of American Pathologists’ Laboratory Accreditation Program.

The program requires rigorous on-site inspections every two years for renewal, and adherence to methodologies and clinical application within the expertise of the program. The CAP Laboratory accreditation program is recognized by the Joint Commission, a nonprofit accrediting body for nearly 21,000 health care organizations in the U.S.

Trios Health is the Kennewick Public Hospital District’s system of care serving the greater Tri-Cities.

United Way names community partners

At its annual Live United Celebration in April, United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties celebrated its achievements of the past year and announced its 2016 campaign total of more than $3.5 million.

The nonprofit also recognized a number of citizens and organizations with community partner awards: Marie Mosley, city of Kennewick, Distinguished Volunteer of the Year; John MacArthur, Lamb Weston, Distinguished Volunteer of the Year; Cascade Gas, Small Business Partner of the Year; Washington River Protection Solutions, Corporate Business Partner of the Year; Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, Community Solutions Media Partner of the Year; Pasco Flea Market, Community Solutions Initiative Partner of the Year; and Leo Fifield, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Young Leaders Society Member of the Year.

UPS Freight was recognized for the largest increase in total giving for a small company, and the city of Richland was acknowledged for the largest increase in total giving for a large company. Conover Insurance was honored for the highest giving per capita.

SpringHill Suites receives performance award

SpringHill Suites by Marriott Kennewick/Tri-Cities, a five-story, 116-suite property, recently received a 2016 Platinum Circle award by Marriott International for demonstrating the best in service. The award was given to 12 properties that had service scores in the top five percent of the brand nationwide.

The award was presented at the 2017 Marriott General Manager Conference in New Orleans. Kathy Moore is the general manager of SpringHill Suites by Marriott Kennewick/Tri-Cities.

Pasco School District names new public affairs director 

Shane Edinger is the new director of public affairs for the Pasco School District.

Edinger joined the district in April of 2016. He was previously with KNDU as news anchor and news director, and with KVEW as a news producer.

He replaces Leslee Caul, who left the district earlier this year.

Johnson named to Circle of Champions 

Anneliese M. Johnson qualified for the 2017 Waddell & Reed Circle of Champions conference, which was held May 8-11 in Kansas City, Missouri. The conference recognizes the company’s top financial advisers. Selection is based on an analysis of investment, insurance and financial planning sales generated by the adviser.

Johnson has been in the financial services industry for 10 years. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Washington State University.

This is the sixth time Johnson has earned this honor.

Thomas joins Richland’s WinSome Inc. creative team 

Cara Thomas has joined the creative team of Winsome Inc. of Richland as a marketing specialist and copy writer.

Thomas was previously marketing coordinator for Columbia Industries. She graduated from Leadership Tri-Cities in 2016, where she served as project manager, and volunteers with several local nonprofits.

WinSome Inc. offers brand development and marketing strategy for print, web and media.

Alumnus, high achievers honored at WSU Tri-Cities commencement

Don Miller, CEO of Gesa Credit Union, was honored with Washington State University Tri-Cities’ Distinguished Alumnus of the Year award at the WSU Tri-Cities commencement ceremony on May 6.

Miller was awarded in recognition of his service, career achievements and dedication to the promotion of educational excellence. He serves on the board for Junior Achievement of Washington in the Tri-Cities.

Washington State University Tri-Cities awarded 372 degrees at the ceremony, held at the Toyota Center in Kennewick. Among the graduates, 313 earned bachelor’s degrees, 46 were granted master’s degrees and 13 were awarded doctoral degrees.

Six students were selected to carry gonfalons—colorful banners that represent the colleges—based on academic excellence: Dennis Bonilla, agricultural, human and natural resources; Ana Isabel Sandoval Zazueta, arts and sciences; David Law, business; Jasmine Gonzalez, education; Lorraine Seymour, engineering and architecture; and Mercedez Gomez, nursing.

J.D. Power ranks Banner Bank highest in Northwest

For the third time since 2012, Banner Bank was ranked highest in the Northwest region for client satisfaction by J.D. Power in its 2017 U.S. Retail Banking Client Satisfaction Study.

More than 78,000 retail banking customers provided feedback for the study, measuring overall satisfaction with their primary financial institution. A variety of factors including fees, facility, problem resolution and product offerings are measured, and from that data, J.D. Power publishes the highest-ranked banks in each of the 11 regions across the nation.

Banner Bank has more than 200 locations in Washington, Oregon, California, Utah and Idaho.

Prescott, Hanna promoted at Tri-Cities Credit Union

Danielle Prescott recently was promoted to vice president of member service for Tri-Cities Credit Union. She has worked for the credit union since 1996. In her new role, Prescott manages member services including IRAs, money markets, certificates and business accounts.

Melisa Hanna was recently promoted to vice president of lending. She started working for the credit union in January of 2015. In her new role, Hanna manages all loan operations and specializes in mortgage consulting for home purchases, refinances and first-time homebuyers.

Tri-Cities Credit Union was established in 1969 by IBEW #112 Electricians and serves those who live, work or worship in Benton or Franklin counties.

Dr. Dreisbach appointed to hospital district board 

Dr. Leonard Dreisbach was recently named a member of the Kennewick Hospital District board of commissioners.

His appointment fills a vacancy left when the former board secretary resigned in March. He was chosen from three candidates interviewed.

Dreisbach, who retired after nearly 30 years as a physician in obstetrics and gynecology—including 12 years at Trios Health (then Kennewick General Hospital) —is a longtime Tri-Cities resident and frequent community volunteer.

Trios Health is the Kennewick Public Hospital District’s system of care serving the greater Tri-Cities.

‘Be a Man’ health campaign wins national awards

Tri-Cities Cancer Center’s “Be a Man” men’s health awareness campaign received two gold awards in the health promotion and social media categories, and a silver award in the digital media category in the 34th annual Healthcare Advertising Awards competition.

The three-and-a-half-minute video, which can be seen at vimeo.com/193915283 focuses on the leading cancer killers of men and cancers exclusive to men: lung cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer and testicular cancer.

A national panel of judges reviewed nearly 4,000 entries for execution, creativity, quality, message effectiveness, consumer appeal, graphic design and overall breakthrough advertising content and impact.

Healthcare Marketing, a publication that covers healthcare marketing, advertising and strategic business development, sponsors the competition.

PNNL inventors recognized for innovations 

Jun Liu and Vince Sprenkle with the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory were recently recognized for their technological and scientific innovations.

Liu was named Inventor of the Year for the second time—the first time was in 2012. He was also named a Distinguished Inventor of Battelle in 2007. Liu holds 50 U.S. patents in multiple research areas and leads the Battery500 consortium, which is developing the next generation of lithium-metal batteries to drive electric cars further on a single charge.

Sprenkle was recognized for receiving numerous patents. He holds 21 U.S. patents for work on fuel cells, batteries and electrochemical devices. He was named PNNL Inventor of the Year in 2014 and currently serves as manager of PNNL’s energy storage research.

Downtown Kennewick honors supporters

The Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership distributed three awards at its annual banquet in April.

Emily Estes-Cross received the 2016 Dowtowner of the Year award, which honors her work promoting the downtown area. She is the economic development manager for the city of Kennewick.

Karen Sullivan was named volunteer of the year for her volunteerism at the farmers’ market as well as her promotion of several downtown Kennewick events. For the past few months, Sullivan has volunteered as secretary at the Historic Downtown Kennewick partnership.

Meier Architecture Engineering was named business of the year for its remodel of the 50-employee company’s new corporate headquarters, which benefits the downtown area, its residents and other businesses.

Shuck earns professional designation

Roxann Shuck, commercial insurance sales executive with PayneWest Insurance, has earned the professional designation of eertified insurance counselor. To achieve the designation, Shuck attended five courses and successfully passed comprehensive exams.

Shuck has 17 years of experience in the insurance industry and has been with PayneWest since 2003.

Kasma joins RBC Wealth Management 

René Kasma has joined RBC Wealth Management’s Tri-Cities office as vice president-financial advisor.

Kasma brings 17 years of industry experience to RBC’s Tri-Cities office, most recently from Wells Fargo Advisors.

RBC Wealth Management has $289 billion in total client assets and about 1,800 financial advisers operating in 200 locations in the U.S.

Pasco employee named state’s water operator of year

Bill Maxwell, operator and water quality specialist with the city of Pasco, was selected by the state Department of Health as Operator of Year. Every year during National Drinking Water Week, state health officials honor hardworking individuals who ensure drinking water is safe.

Maxwell was honored for assisting other water systems, coordinating field trips and furthering the education and growth of other operators and field staff. He and the other five statewide honorees were nominated by supervisors, peers and staff from the Office of Drinking Water.

Smith receives State Farm’s highest award

Scott Smith, a State Farm agent with an office in Kennewick, again has been named to the company’s Chairman’s Circle, its highest honor. Smith opened his office in 2011 and was named to the Chairman’s Circle in 2013, 2014 and 2016. The award will be presented to him at a ceremony in Boca Raton, Florida.

Smith specializes in auto, fire, life and disability insurance for families and businesses.

Petersen earns NACD certificate 

CEO Jeff Petersen of Petersen Hastings has earned the National Association of Corporate Directors certificate in cybersecurity oversight, issued by the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

The certificate brings together the professional development capabilities of NACD to deliver a cyber-education and resource program that addresses specific cyber-risk oversight responsibilities of board members and executives.

Petersen is the current board chairman for the Tri-Cities Cancer Center.

Petersen Hastings is a Kennewick-based registered investment adviser.

Clary honored by InFaith for philanthropic work

Michelle A. Clary, a wealth adviser with Thrivent Financial in Kennewick, received the 2016 Voice in Philanthropy award from InFaith Community Foundation. She also was inducted into InFaith’s Voices in Philanthropy Hall of Honor.

Clary received the VIP award for deferred charitable gifts made by her clients through the foundation in 2016.

She received the Hall of Honor award for her career-level charitable gifts of more than $5 million through InFaith. Only 25 Thrivent Financial representatives nationwide have achieved this career level.

Founded in 1995 as Lutheran Community Foundation, InFaith is a national charity that aims to serve donors, spread joy and change lives. InFaith is independent of Thrivent Financial and its financial representatives.

King named as Washington STEM CEO

Caroline King, one of Washington STEM’s founders, was recently named the nonprofit’s chief executive officer by its board of directors.

King will lead the STEM program to advance equity, excellence and innovation.

She has more than 20 years of experience advancing strategies that allow young people to access economic opportunity through education, and served as Washington STEM’s chief policy and strategy officer for seven years.

Local marketing firms win international awards

The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals recently honored three local marketing firms with Hermes Creative Awards:

• Focal Point Marketing and Prominence Public Relations: Platinum award, city of Hermiston brand campaign; Gold award, Columbia Basin College 60th anniversary campaign; Gold award, Victory Organics campaign.
• Prominence Public Relations and Paper Rocket: Platinum award, Children’s Reading Foundation 2016 annual report; Gold award, Children’s Reading Foundation First Five Years impact video; Gold award, Children’s Reading Foundation What You Do Matters video.

Hermes is an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional materials and programs, and emerging technologies.

Trios Health appoints two chief residents

Trios Health’s residents Dr. Alwin Borgmann and Dr. Christine Kha were recently appointed to serve as chief residents for the hospital system’s family and internal medicine programs.

Borgmann was selected as chief resident for the family medicine program. He graduated as a doctor of osteopathic medicine from Western University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine in Lebanon, Oregon.

Kha was chosen as chief resident for internal medicine. She graduated as a doctor of osteopathic medicine from Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Trios Health is Kennewick Public Hospital District’s system of care serving the greater Tri-Cities.

WSU Tri-Cities students recognized for leadership 

At its annual Evening of Excellence event, Washington State University Tri-Cities recognized several students and student organizations for their leadership, involvement and overall activism: Catalina Le, Unsung Hero; Zachary Harper, Rising Star; Nikita Fisenko, Student Leader of the Year; Mariella Lora, Adviser of the Year; Alexander Matlock, Chancellor’s Award; Dreamers Club, Organization of the Year; Women’s Club Soccer, Most Improved Organization; Multicultural Night, Program of the Year; Monique Van Sant, Student Employee of the Year; Maria Rodriguez, Associated Students of WSU Tri-Cities Legacy award; Adriana McKinney, ASWSUTC Innovation award; Ana Isabel Sandoval Zazueta, AWSUTC Bridge award; Nikita Fisenko, Associated Students of WSU Tri-Cities Rock award; and Susana Butterworth, Associated Students of WSU Tri-Cities Perseverance award.

New principal named at Edison Elementary 

Mia Burris Benjamin has been selected as the next principal of Kennewick School District’s Edison Elementary. She replaces Bruce Cannard, who will retire at the end of the current school year.

Benjamin most recently served as principal of Wahluke High School and Sentinel Tech Alternative School. She has experience as a bilingual coordinator, curriculum specialist and supervisor in both music and gifted programs.

Benjamin has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish with a minor in teaching English as a second language from Western Washington University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Seattle Pacific University.