Networking – October 2023

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GRADUATION

• The University of Idaho released a list of its 15 summer 2023 graduates. Sarah E. Hale of Benton City graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish.

BOARDS

• The Tri-City Association of Realtors has elected its 2024 Board of Directors. The elected officers are Melissa Montgomery, president; Vicki Monteagudo, president elect; Jeff Thompson, vice president; and Glen Clark, treasurer. The directors are Katie Copeland and John Keltch, each with a three-year term.

GRANTS

• The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges has awarded $2 million to 11 community colleges to support programs which train students for high-demand careers. The funds will be distributed over a two-year period, and they build on awards first received in 2020. Among the colleges listed are Columbia Basin College, which will receive $73,824 for its licensed practical nurse (LPN) to bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) program, and Walla Walla Community College, which will receive $216,968 for its welding technology program.

AWARDS & HONORS

• Registered nurse Pamela Garland at Lourdes Counseling Center has been named a recipient of The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses at Lourdes Health. The DAISY Award is an international program created in memory of J. Patrick Barnes to express gratitude to nurses. Garland was nominated by a staff member, who noticed how she goes above and beyond to help patients and staff. Kena Chase, Lourdes’ chief nursing officer, said, “Pamela is an advocate for patients and staff. She is an exemplary nurse with 30 years of experience and demonstrates compassion to all.”
• Dalilah Fuentes of Kennewick, a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties, is the 2023 Pacific Youth of the Year, winning $30,000 in scholarships. Fuentes graduated high school last year and attends Pacific Northwest Christian College in Kennewick. To be eligible for the leadership and recognition program, teens write essays and speeches explaining how their club has positively impacted their lives and their plans to give back to the community. They then deliver their speeches and go through a formal interview process. Fuentes, representing Washington state, was one of nine finalists representing states in the Pacific region, which includes Idaho, California, Oregon, Hawaii, Alaska, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. She attended the National Youth of the Year Celebration on Oct. 5 in New York City, along with five other teens from club regions across the country.
• Kylee Sullivan, owner of Dino Drop-In Tri-Cities, and Dolores Broeske, HAPO Community Credit Union president and chief executive officer, were honored Sept. 27 during the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce’s ATHENA Awards Luncheon in Kennewick. Sullivan received the ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award and Broeske received the ATHENA Leadership Award. The awards are sponsored by Kadlec Regional Medical Center and are presented annually to two local women for professional excellence, community service and helping other women gain leadership skills.
• Washington State University Tri-Cities student Derek Greenwood received a Lois Spratlen Foundation Scholarship. The scholarship recognizes psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner students in Washington state who are skilled leaders dedicated to serving their communities. Greenwood, a student in the Doctor of Nursing Practice, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program, works as an emergency room registered nurse in Goldendale, and as a clinical instructor in a community college nursing program in The Dalles, Oregon. He is dedicated to serving rural communities, which are often in need not only of mental health care, but providers with an understanding of rural populations. Greenwood, recovering from his own substance abuse and mental health issues, said in a statement, “This personal experience allows me to compassionately connect with patients and bring an understanding of how hard change can be and what I and the healthcare system can do to help achieve it.” He plans to graduate with his Doctor of Nursing Practice in June 2025 and hopes to practice for a small rural health care organization in Eastern Washington.
• Kennewick resident H. W. “Buzz” Bernard has been honored by two nationally-recognized organizations for his World War II historical fiction book, “When Heroes Flew: The Roof of the World.” The novel won the Military Writers Society of America’s 2023 Gold Star and Bernard was recognized with the 2023 MWSA Founder’s Award for his work of military fiction. “The Roof of the World” also received the Nancy Pearl Book award as the genre fiction winner for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association.
• Employees from the Kennewick School District and Energy Northwest were among those honored with Governor’s Lifesaving Awards for jumping in to help others. The district employees used an automated external defibrillator, or AED, to revive a student after his heart stopped during P.E., and the Energy Northwest employees called for aid when a colleague suffered a medical emergency. The Tri-Citians and other lifesavers from around the state were celebrated Sept. 27 during the Governor’s Industrial Safety and Health Conference in Spokane.

RESTRUCTURING

Ryan J. Redmond, chief executive officer of Benton Rural Electric Association, has announced plans to restructure their internal operations to enhance member experiences. All member-facing departments will be brought under one umbrella to help exceed member expectations. Here are the changes:

• Troy Berglund has been promoted to deputy general manager and vice president of member experience. Berglund has worked at Benton REA for 23 years and, in his new role, he will oversee billing, engineering and operations administrative services, information technology, member services and meter reading.
• Shannon Olsen is the new member services manager, where she will manage programs within the member experience group, including communication, marketing, energy efficiency, power quality, net metering, key accounts, economic development and more. Olsen first joined Benton REA in 2019 as assistant member services manager.
• Jeb Knox was promoted to operations manager. Knox began work with Benton REA in 2004 as a groundsman, and over the last few months, he has worked as both the interim operations manager and line superintendent. In his new role, Knox ensures maintenance of the distribution and transmission system, supports line superintendents and directs maintenance to make the system as dependable and reliable as possible.
• Nick Pryor is now the member engineering manager. In this position, he will take on more system planning while working with engineering and operations on construction work plan projects, system involvement projects and mitigation projects alongside his current engineering duties and support of the staking team. Pryor has worked at Benton REA for 17 years, since being hired as a staking technician in 2006.
• Missy Jasso is the new facility services and safety manager. Jasso began work with Benton REA in 2001 as tech support in PowerNET, and she was most recently executive assistant to the CEO. In her new role, Jasso will be responsible for the facilitation and oversight of facility repair and maintenance, contract compliance, contract management and document retention.

NEW HIRES

Visit Tri-Cities has hired Sam Galbraith as its operations manager/executive assistant. Galbraith has worked as a Realtor for the past four years, gaining experience in roles such as productivity committee chair and culture committee co-chair. As director of operations, she helped to establish a Young Professionals chapter for real estate throughout Eastern Washington and in Idaho. In her new role, Galbraith provides administrative support to the president and chief executive officer and the vice president of finance and operations, coordinates committee work and provides bookkeeping services.

• Felice Presti is the new project manager of the High-Level Waste Facility for Bechtel’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant project. Presti is a principal vice president at Bechtel and has 30 years of experience designing, constructing and commissioning major governmental and commercial projects. He has served as the deputy technical director and design authority of WTP as well as the deputy project director; he was honored by the U.S. Department of Energy with a Secretary’s Achievement Award for his leadership and service at WTP. Most recently, Presti worked as project manager of the Mobile Launcher 2 project through the design phase and the start of construction.
• Dr. Geoffrey B. Higgs has joined Prosser Memorial Health’s Orthopedic Center. He has over 30 years of medical experience focused on sports medicine and has held positions including military orthopedic surgeon, team physician for both professional and collegiate sport teams and founder of a private practice. Higgs received a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Virginia and his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. At Prosser Orthopedic Center, his services include orthopedic surgery, sports medicine injuries, arthroscopic surgery, knee meniscus repair and more.
• The Port of Benton has hired Julia Mora as an accounting specialist. Mora previously worked as an accounting assistant at Basin Disposal and spent 17 years with HAPO Community Credit Union, where she worked nine years in operations before moving into an accounting position. Her new role will focus on accounting and administrative tasks.

PROMOTIONS

• Jason Mattox has been promoted to engineering department manager for PBS Engineering and Environmental Inc., a regional multidisciplinary engineering and environmental services firm. Mattox is based in Richland and will support the growth and expansion of the company’s engineering group and services lines. He started his career at PBS nearly two decades ago through HDJ Design Group, which was acquired in 2016. At PBS, he’s worked as a civil engineer, operations manager for the Eastern Washington offices and survey department manager.

RETIREMENT

• Brigit Clary, chief of police for the city of Richland, has announced her retirement, effective Jan. 1, 2024. She has led the Richland Police Department since January 2023 and is the first female chief of police in Richland’s history. Clary joined the RPD in 2017 as a lateral hire and served as a sergeant, lieutenant hire and captain before her promotion to deputy chief in November 2021. During her time as chief of police, Clary formed the drone and major incident reconstruction teams, secured grants for new officer wellness programs, established a recruiting team and mentorship program, redeployed RPD’s traffic unit and rebranded the department with new patch and badge designs.

DONATIONS

• Amentum donated $15,000 to the Pasco School District to support STEM programs in schools during the 2023-24 school year. Amentum is the parent company of Washington River Protection Solutions and Central Plateau Cleanup Company and is part of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project at the Hanford site. The company is a premier leader in global engineering, project management and solutions integration.
• UScellular has donated over 100 wireless hotspots and two years of service, valued at $67,552, to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties and the Washington State Booster Club Association. This donation is a part of UScellular’s After School Access Project, which helps provide safe internet access for homework and education after the school day has ended. The hotspots will allow youth at both organizations to access UScellular’s wireless network while at the facilities or while at home with a checked-out device.

FUNDRAISER

• Columbia Industries celebrated its 60th anniversary and raised over $148,000 at its Evening of Miracles gala at J. Bookwalter Winery. More than 250 guests attended the event, which was early 1960s themed to celebrate CI’s founding in 1963. CI is committed to supporting and empowering individuals with disabilities and other challenges, and it seeks to advance accessibility, break down employment barriers, enhance social enrichment and foster equity in our community. The CI team’s original song and music video, “Breaking Down Those Walls,” shown at the gala, depicted the often-difficult journey their clients face while finding employment and social inclusion. The funds raised at the gala help to continue programs such as employment services, food service job training, recreational respite services and connections to critical support services.