Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business -- October 2017 by Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business/Senior Times

October 2017

Volume 16 • Issue 10

Focus

Construction + Real Estate in the Tri-Cities

Members of area’s oldest golf club buy it to save it BY JEFF MORROW

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Inside

FOCUS: Construction + Real Estate in the Tri-Cities magazine

Culinary

UberEats launches courierpowered food delivery service Page 11

Young Professionals

Meet the Journal of Business’ 10 outstanding young business leaders Page 29

Boys and Girls Clubs plan to build $4.3 million clubhouse Page 49

uGOLF, Page 4

Officials from Lampson International, Tri-City Development Council and Pasco Chamber of Commerce join local politicians and members of the Association of Washington Business atop a Lampson crane during AWB’s statewide bus tour that stopped in the Tri-Cities on Oct. 3 to highlight the state’s manufacturers. See story on page 3.

CBC to launch new hospitality program to train workers BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Columbia Basin College will launch a hospitality training program in January to better prepare workers to join the ranks of more than 6,000 people who work in the growing industry in Benton and Franklin counties. The new program was created in direct response to the increased demand for skilled restaurant and hotel workers. “There’s a real need for developing employees with documentable skills to provide to the hospitality industry,” said Janese Thatcher, dean for career and technical education at CBC. “They can show up for a job interview showing the employer they are prepared for this job, they know what it’s

about, and they know the skills that are involved. It’s almost pre-qualifying the people for the employer.” Classes for the hospitality short-term certificate program begin in winter quarter at the Pasco college. Students may take 13 to 19 credits to earn their certificate, completing courses with titles like, “Breakfast Attendant,” “Restaurant Server,” and “Maintenance Employee.” Successful students will earn an industry certificate from the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute for each completed course, and those who complete all courses receive a hospitality short-term certificate from CBC. uHOSPITALITY, Page 17

Richland’s iconic Bomber’s Drive-Thru closes BY KRISTINA LORD editor@tcjournal.biz

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Real Estate & Construction

The new owners of the Tri-City Country Club are working to shed the 79-year-old private club’s longtime reputation as a members-only golf course by making the greens public and overhauling the private restaurant into a high-end steakhouse and sports lounge. Members of the Kennewick country club voted unanimously Oct. 3 to turn over the day-to-day operations of running the club and par-65 golf course to a group of 21 people. The 128-0 vote in favor of transferring ownership to the newly formed Save the Club LLC, made up of current members, prevented it from going to bankruptcy court and then possibly having strangers snap it up. Plans are for the steakhouse to open Feb. 1 and be open Thursday through Saturday, and the sports lounge open seven days a week. The new owners also plan to hold a public contest to rename the course on Kennewick Avenue. The Tri-City Country Club is the oldest golf course in the area and the unanimous vote didn’t come without some heartbreak. “Some of the comments we received from longtime members was that this was the end of an era because the club originated in 1938, and now it’s gone as they wish to remember it,” said Randy Stemp, president of Save the Club, who works as an engineering projects manager at Lampson International LLC. “We are preferring to say that it is the start of a new era with time-honored traditions.” It helps that Stemp and the other 19 members of Save the Course are members of the country club. “The goal truly is to save the club that’s been there since 1938,” Stemp said. “We like the fact that it doesn’t take you five hours to play. We want to maintain it.”

Customers wanting to grab their favorite burger and shake at Richland’s iconic drivethru restaurant before it closed for good stood in long lines to get them. High school students and other loyal customers stopped by to say goodbye to Bomber’s Drive-Thru on its final day of operation on Sept. 28, said co-owner David Sligar. “The lines have been long and out into the road quite a ways all day long,” he said. And not everyone was able to get their favorite treat as the restaurant ran out of food and had to close early, Sligar said. “We were

not prepared for that big of a response from loyal customers,” he said. Bomber’s, located at 895 Stevens Drive near Richland High School, has been a Richland landmark since 1952. It first operated as a Tastee-Freeze and was known for its burgers, soft-serve ice cream and shakes. Bomber’s hosted lots of high school reunions with the classes of 1955-60 over the years, sometimes serving crowds as big as 300, Sligar said. “They used to cruise and hang out at the Tastee-Freeze,” he said. Sligar and his sister Lisa Dahlin owned Bomber’s Drive-Thru since 2006. uBOMBER’S, Page 28

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

AWB bus crisscrosses state, visits Tri-City manufacturing companies BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Association of Washington Business’ bus rolled into Tri-Cities earlier this month as a part of its inaugural, statewide bus tour in support of the state’s manufacturers. The Tri-City stops included Delta High School, Lampson International and Barnard Griffin Winery. It makes sense the region was included in the statewide showcase as Benton and Franklin counties provide 7,733 manufacturing jobs through 236 manufacturers, according to 2016 state Employment Security Department statistics. Community leaders and elected officials from across the state hit the road with the AWB on two buses Sept. 29 from Port Townsend to kick off the six-day tour. The route covered 2,000 miles and included nearly 60 company visits intended to highlight the importance of the state’s manufacturing sector. “Manufacturing in Washington is an international success story,” said Kris Johnson, AWB president and CEO. “The products made in our state are recognized as innovative and truly world class. At the same time, we know manufacturers are facing some significant challenges, from finding enough skilled workers to staying competitive in a global economy.” The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. Census Bureau report manufacturing industries employ more than 284,500 people throughout the state, or 9

Lampson International employees sign the Association of Washington Business tour bus that visited Lampson’s headquarters in Kennewick on Oct. 3.

percent of the work force, producing nearly $60 billion worth of goods annually, or 13 percent of the gross state product. Exports are the main drivers of Washington’s manufacturing economy, with a 62 percent growth in manufactured goods from 2010-16, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and International Trade Administration. “A lot of major manufacturing happens in rural areas,” said Colin Hastings, executive director of the Pasco Chamber of Commerce. “Rural areas depend on these jobs, and trade is extremely important to the region.” Maintaining a skilled manufacturing work force is key to the industry’s success, which is why the bus stopped in at Delta

High School, a science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM-focused school. “It presents great careers and pathways for young people,” said Jason Hagey, AWB’s vice president for communica-

tions. “The tour has really shown the diversity of the manufacturing sector,” Hagey said. Kate Lampson of Lampson International said her family-owned company has been a member of AWB for a long time. “It’s rare in this day and age to be a family-owned company in manufacturing,” she said. “We’re proud to be thirdgeneration family-owned and actively involved.” Kate Lampson and her brother, Peter Lampson, both work at Lampson under their father, Bill Lampson, president and CEO. They plan to carry on Lampson’s legacy. “We are really fortunate to have fathers, sons, and daughters—also third generation—lending a lot of experience and expertise to the work that we do in our organization,” Kate Lampson said. The AWB tour bus stopped by Lampson’s headquarters in Kennewick to give employees an opportunity to sign the bus’ Manufacturing Week vinyl wrap. uAWB, Page 22

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

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GOLF, From page 1 Save the Course is made up of area business people, including current country club pro Clint Ables, Bill Lampson, Herb Coulter, Brad Bell, Brandon Mayfield, Craig Mayfield, Levi Bland, Laurie Winchel, Jesse Kadinger, Jason Lynch, Jim London, Jean Ruane, Bob Hamilton, Angela Johnson, Mike Evanson, Vera Berry, Marv Jones, Mitch Murphy, Jim Jacobsen and Bryan Pepin-Donat. The country club has been struggling financially for years, with serious cash flow issues beginning in the summer of 2016, said Stemp. Members considered five options to fix the finances in August 2016 and voted to levy a $1,100 assessment on all members. “More than 50 percent agreed to this,” Stemp said. “The country club went through its part of the bargain, went through

a remodel of the clubhouse. But when the assessment came due in January, about one-third of the membership quit.” At the time, membership numbered about 300. After the mass exodus, it dropped to 192, and there was an even bigger cash-flow problem. “Now that the club had already spent that money on the remodel, we lost onethird of the assessment money and onethird of the membership dues,” Stemp said. “Throw in one of the snowiest winters on record, where the golf course was closed 12 weeks, and there is a problem.” The country club’s board tried to secure a loan to straighten things out, but most banks don’t want to own a golf course, Stemp said. “The board went to eight different banks, but no one was lending money,” he said. “In July, the board asked a group of us

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A LOOK BACK October 2002

Community First Bank’s 8,000square-foot main office was completed. The office at 6401 W. Clearwater Ave. in Kennewick is still used by the bank today.

UPCOMING

November Focuses: • Retail • Labor & Employment December Focuses: • Family Owned • Year in Review The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, a publication of TriComp Inc., is published monthly and delivered at no charge to identifiable businesses in Pasco, Richland, West Richland, Kennewick, Prosser and Benton City. Subscriptions are $27.10 per year, including tax, prepayment required, no refunds. Contents of this publication are the sole property of TriComp Inc. and can not be reproduced in any form without expressed written consent. Opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of staff, other contributors or other advertisers, nor do they imply endorsement by staff, contributors or advertisers. Every effort will be made to assure information published is correct; however, we are not liable for any errors or omissions made despite these efforts.

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to give the club a $250,000 loan that most banks would normally loan.” The group of 12 needed to protect themselves if the club fell behind in operating funds. “The board started doing the math, and realized they were just kicking the can down the road nine to 12 months,” Stemp said. “The board asked us, ‘What if you took ownership now?’” So in August, the group started Save the Club. “We decided you had to have been a member in good standing in August to be part of the group,” Stemp said. “You had to be willing to put up your share of the startup capital.” Members had to have the ability to help with loans of up to $1 million and pay their fair share if needed. “When this all started, there was 12 of us. Then it grew to 14,” Stemp said. “Then we shut off candidacy when we went to an LLC on Sept. 25. On Sept. 25, we decided we were at 18, and we would cap our LLC at 21. Right now we are at 21.” The group will invest about $500,000 in the club for starters. “But we’ve got to pay some of the bills the club owes,” said Stemp, who admits the new owners will probably go through $300,000 pretty fast. But the group has ideas to regain the club’s footing. It has offered profit-sharing for longstanding members. “The club is registered as a nonprofit,” Stemp said. “In the articles of corporation, all the profits are to go to charity. People were worried we were going to take this and turn around and sell it to the highest bidder. To prevent that, we offered profitsharing. If we took this over, when or if we sold the club, the portion of the profits would be given to the shareholders — many who have been members for many years.” If the group sells the club in the first two years, the members would get 80 percent of the profits. But if the group still owns the course after five years, the profit-sharing program goes away. “Right now, we’re continuing with the membership until the end of the year,” Stemp said. “But come Jan. 1, you’ll be signing a new annual membership.” Stemp said the club has 150 golfing members. “We need 350 to break even,” he said. “So the search is on for new members.” To do that, the group plans to make the club fully public. The golf course has always been open to the public, but “I don’t know if the public knew we were open to the public,” Stemp said. He said the country cub is cutting golf rates 25 percent. “That brings us in line below most courses in the Tri-Cities,” he said. Hopefully, Stemp said, the reduced rates will help bring in new members – including young people. “It costs a lot of money to keep your kids involved in youth sports,” he said. “You get to a point of either supporting your children, or playing golf. I know because I took a break from golf when my kids were in youth sports.” uGOLF, Page 42

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017 uBUSINESS BRIEFS Hanford’s LIGO team shares in Nobel Prize victory

The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics felt like a hometown victory to the TriCities’ scientific community. The prize went to three physicists “for decisive contributions” in the development of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory at Hanford and in Louisiana. Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne received the prize Oct. 3. In 2015, the universe’s gravitational waves were observed for the first time. The waves, which were predicted by Albert Einstein a hundred years ago, came from a collision between two black holes and took 1.3 billion years to arrive at the LIGO detector. The Hanford observatory is located north of Richland. The signal was extremely weak when it reached Earth, but is already promising a revolution in astrophysics. Gravitational waves are an entirely new way of observing the most violent events in space and testing the limits of our knowledge, according to a Nobel Prize news release. LIGO is a collaborative project with more than 1,000 researchers from more than 20 countries. The 2017 Nobel laureates have each been invaluable to the success of LIGO, according to the release. LIGO project’s achievement was reached by using a pair of gigantic laser interferometers to measure a change thousands of times smaller than an atom-

ic nucleus, as the gravitational wave passed the Earth. All sorts of electromagnetic radiation and particles, such as cosmic rays or neutrinos, have been used to explore the universe. However, gravitational waves are direct testimony to disruptions in spacetime itself, the release said. LIGO Hanford offers free tours of the observatory on the second Saturday of every month. For details, visit ligo. caltech.edu/WA.

Public meetings planned on L&I proposed rate changes

Washington employers’ workers’ compensation average rate could decrease in 2018 under a proposal by the state Department of Labor & Industries. The agency is holding a series of meetings to learn and receive comments about the proposed rates. A meeting is set at 9 a.m. Oct. 26 at the Richland Community Center, 500 Howard Amon Park Road N. The proposed decrease would result in employers, as a group, paying $67 million less in premiums. The lower rate would mean employers would pay an average of about $34 less a year per employee for workers’ compensation coverage. L&I attributes the proposed decrease to several factors, including employers and workers focusing on safety, and L&I initiatives helping injured workers recover sooner and reducing workers’ compensation costs. For more information about the proposal, go to lni.wa.gov/rates.

Engineer to discuss servant leadership at Nov. 14 meeting

Ed Landauer, a certified quality engineer, will be the guest speaker for the American Society for Quality, Columbia Basin Section, on the topic of servant leadership. He will discuss two leadership styles and the resulting outcomes. Landauer has taught engineering and quality courses for more than 25 years. He has master’s degrees in statistics, industrial engineering and mathematics. He also is a registered professional engineer in mechanical, industrial and manufacturing engineering. The meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at the Shilo Inn at 50 Comstock St. in Richland. Check-in and a no-host cocktail service begins at 5:30 p.m. with a 6 p.m. buffet dinner and presentation at 6:45 p.m. Cost for presentation and dinner is $20 for members and $25 for all others. To attend the presentation only, the cost is $5. Reservations are due by Nov. 9 by emailing panda_2@charter.net with name, phone number, company affiliation and type of reservation. For more information, visit asq614.org.

Cold storage company to build facility in Grandview

A week after announcing the arrival of three new businesses to the Port of Grandview’s Byam Business Park, the port announced the arrival of one more. Henningsen Cold Storage Co. has signed an agreement to buy nearly 26 acres of property to build a cold storage facility.

The company is one of the largest public refrigerated warehousing companies in the U.S., with locations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. The first of three phases of construction includes a 140,000-square-foot facility on Stover Road.

Women in Agriculture to hold Pasco conference

The sixth annual Women in Agriculture Conference, with simultaneous meetings throughout several states, is Nov. 18. This year’s conference theme, “We Can Do It,” will be shared at 39 locations throughout Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Montana. This year’s featured speakers are Alexis Taylor, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, and Anne Schwartz, owner of Blue Heron Farm in Skagit County. Each event location will feature a panel of local female farmers who will talk about their leadership roles, challenges they have faced and how they have used a mentor to develop their skills. Cost is $25 before Nov. 5 for women involved in agriculture and $30 after that. Cost for students is $20. Sponsors may pay a registration for an aspiring famer or student with a $30 donation that will be added to the Women, Farms & Food Scholarship Fund. For more information, to register and get more updates, call 509745-8531, email donna.rolen@wsu.edu or visit womeninag.wsu.edu or find on Facebook @ WomenInAgricultureConfere nceWashingtonState.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Mid-Columbia legislators ask attorney general to take on Seattle income tax the plaintiffs to help them with their lawsuits. On July 10, the Seattle City Council The Washington Attorney General’s unanimously passed a city income tax office should help plaintiffs fighting a of 2.25 percent tax on total income above new Seattle income tax, according to a $250,000 for individuals and above letter from 36 GOP state representatives. $500,000 for married couples filing their Five of the six Mid-Columbia state taxes together. representatives signed the letter, voicing Two lawsuits have been filed in King concern that a successful legal defense of County Superior Court against Seattle’s a new Seattle income tax could lead to new income tax — one by the conservalocal income taxes elsewhere in the state. tive think tank The Freedom Foundation The House Republicans sent their of Olympia and the other by a group request to the Attorney General’s office called the Opportunity For All Coalition, Sept. 26 in response to Seattle-based Eco- which is represented by former attorney nomic Opportunity Institute filing a legal general Rob McKenna. brief asking for permission to intervene The litigation likely will focus on techon Seattle’s side in the case in King nical interpretations of the Washington County Superior Court. Constitution on banning an income Rep. Terry Nealy, R-Dayton, is the tax and definitions of types of incomes leader behind the House Republicans’ let- taxes. ter. The other Mid-Columbia representaIn September, the Economic Opportutives signing it include Bill Jenkin, nity Institute received the judge’s permisR-Prosser, Larry Haler, R-Richland, Mary sion to intervene on the side of Seattle in Dye, R-Pomeroy, and Joe Schmick, litigation. The think tank’s court filing R-Colfax. mentioned that if Seattle wins, it would Rep. Brad Klippert, R-Kennewick, did open up the possibility of local income not sign the letter, and could not be taxes in other cities. The institute was reached for comment by deadline. Nealy involved with a failed 2010 state ballot said sometimes legislators are out of town initiative to create a state income tax and or otherwise unavailable when caucus let- with a failed 2016 initiative in Olympia to ters are passed around for signatures. create a local income tax in that city. If it The Republicans’ letter asked for a passed, the Olympia measure was expectreply from the attorney general by Oct. 6. ed to face a legal challenge on constituThe attorney general’s office was still tional grounds. considering its response as of press time. No local income tax initiatives have However, Attorney General Bob Fergu- surfaced in Eastern Washington. son rejected a similar request Aug. 1 by The institute being able to intervene in BY JOHN STANG

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

litigation prompted House Republicans to send their letter to the attorney general. “The fact that EOI seeks to see the Seattle ordinance upheld on broad grounds that would support its advocacy for adoption of local income taxes in multiple jurisdictions, not just Seattle, places new state interests at stake in this litigation. … The citizens we represent expect us to have done all we can to defend against the development of a patchwork of local income taxes, particularly if they come to be without ever having been expressly authorized by state laws,” the House Republicans’ letter said. In an interview, Nealy focused on the camel’s nose-poking-into-the-tent aspect. “If the EOI’s argument prevails, it would open up the state. It would create a hodgepodge of taxes across the state,” Nealy said. No matter which side wins in King County Superior Court, Nealy expects the loser to appeal. The other five Mid-Columbia state representatives could not be reached for comment by deadline. The Republican letter said if the attorney general decides not to support the lawsuit, the Legislature will look into hiring its own outside counsel. But that scenario is unlikely because Democrats control the House. While Republicans routinely bring up the specter of a state income tax as a political rallying call, neither the GOP nor Democrats have brought up a serious proposal for installing a state income tax for many years. An income tax is universally considered political Kryptonite to

both sides in a state with a significant sales tax. However, Republican legislators also have routinely portrayed Democrats’ annual attempts to pass a capital gains tax as an income tax in disguise. For five straight years, Democrats have proposed a capital gains tax to raise money for education. Democrats have proposed a tax of 5 percent on individuals making at least $25,000 in a year in capital gains and on couples making at least $50,000 a year in capital gains. Gains from transactions involving primary homes, retirement funds and most agricultural and timber-related gains would be exempt. It is estimated that 32,000 Washingtonians would pay the tax, and that it would raise $550 million per budget biennium. Senate Republicans have stymied the proposals, arguing it is a form of income tax. But Democrats and the Washington Department of Revenue have classified it as an excise tax, meaning it is a tax on sales. However, if Democrat Manka Dhingra defeats Republican Jinyoung Englund for the wide-open 45th District state senate race in the northeastern Seattle suburbs in a November special election to replace a GOP senator who died, a capital gains tax likely will be introduced in 2018 to be passed due to Democrats controlling both the Senate and House. However, Republicans will likely challenge that in court as well.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

DATEBOOK

VISIT TCJOURNAL.BIZ AND CLICK ON EVENT CALENDAR FOR MORE EVENTS

OCT. 15

• Walk to End Alzheimer’s (rescheduled from Sept. 9): 12:30 p.m., bandshell at Columbia Park, Kennewick. Register act.alz. org.

OCT. 17

• Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber membership luncheon: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., Red Lion Hotel, 2525 N. 20th Ave., Pasco. RSVP 509-542-0933.

OCT. 17

• Columbia Basin Society of Human Resource Professionals Fall Seminar: 8 a.m. – 4:15 p.m., Red Lion Hotel, 802 George Washington Way, Richland. RSVP 509-737-6358.

OCT. 19

• Tri-Cities Community Lecture “Understanding the Addiction Epidemic:” 7 – 8:30 p.m., Richland Public

Library, 955 Northgate Drive, Richland.

OCT. 21

• Pink the Parkway: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., Lee Boulevard and The Parkway, Richland. Information tccancer.org. • Wine and Dine for SIGN: 5 – 10 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Tickets signfracturecare.org.

OCT. 22

• Seahawks Tailgate Party, hosted by Lourdes Foundation: 12:30 p.m., Benton County Fairgrounds, 1500 S. Oak St., Building 1, Kennewick. Tickets 509-5432412.

OCT. 24

• Grant Writers’ monthly meeting: 7:30 – 9 a.m., WinSome Upstairs Conference Room, 1201 Jadwin Ave., Richland. RSVP 509-946-5755 ext. 702.

OCT. 25

• Tri-Cities Regional Chamber membership luncheon: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Red Lion Hotel, 2525 N. 20th Ave., Pasco. RSVP 509-736-0510.

OCT. 26

• Business Development University “Teaming to Add Value to Your Business:” 1 – 3 p.m., Tri-Cities Regional Chamber of Commerce, 7130 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. RSVP 509-7360510.

NOV. 1

• Lighting the Path Breakfast, a benefit for Chaplaincy Health Care: 7:30 – 8:30 a.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. RSVP 509-783-7416. • National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association lunch meeting: 11:30 a.m.,

Red Lion Hotel, 1101 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Kennewick. Visit narfe1192. org. • West Richland Chamber membership luncheon: noon – 1 p.m., Sandberg Event Center, 331 S. 41st Ave., West Richland. RSVP 509-967-0521.

NOV. 2

• Dinner with Friends, supporting Boys and Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties: 6 – 9 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Tickets greatclubs.org.

NOV. 4

• Autumn Affair, a benefit for Tri-Cities Cancer Center Foundation: 5:30 p.m., Red Lion Hotel, 2525 N. 20th Ave., Pasco. tccancer.org.

wNOV. 9

• Blessed to be a Blessing, a benefit for Center for Sharing: 6 p.m., Tierra Vida Gymnasium, 3525 East A St., Pasco. RSVP 509-546-0443.

NOV. 11

• Tri-Cities Wine Festival: 7 – 10 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. Tickets tricitieswinesociety.com.

NOV. 13

• Pasco chamber membership luncheon: 11:45 a.m., Red Lion Hotel, 2525 N. 20th Ave., Pasco. RSVP 509-547-9755. • Visit Tri-Cities annual meeting: 4 p.m., Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 W. Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. RSVP 509-7358486.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

uBUSINESS BRIEFS Tri-Cities Cancer Foundation offers tools for fundraising The Tri-Cities Cancer Center Foundation is inviting businesses to offer support for breast cancer awareness throughout October. Tri-City companies wishing to participate can sign up for a free box that includes canisters to collect donations, pink promotional items, staked signs and fundraising activity ideas. All the money raised benefits breast cancer patients in the community. To participate and have a box delivered, contact 509-737-3413 or foundation@tccancer.org.

Chamber asks candidates to address economic issues

Ballots for the Nov. 7 general election will be mailed to voters Oct. 17 in Franklin County and Oct. 20 in Benton County. The ballots include several contested races for city council seats. The Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce sent questionnaires to all candidates running for council positions in Kennewick, Pasco, Richland and West Richland to learn more about their positions on economic issues facing the region. Questions included: • What are three actions you would support to strengthen small business and entrepreneurship in your city?

• What do you believe is the greatest economic challenge facing your city and what would be your approach to address it? • Do you believe city government should weigh in on labor and industry issues (e.g. minimum wage, etc.)? • Would you support an effort to create a “regional strategic plan” that would bring government, business and the general public together to create a shared vision and collectively develop a roadmap to pursue and capture growth as a community? Why or why not? To read their answers, visit tricityregionalchamber.com/2017-electionnews.html.

Corps of Engineers to have training for business owners The Walla Walla Corps of Engineers is holding a free seminar for business owners and representatives on how to do business with the Corps and learn about upcoming contracting opportunities. Industry Day is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Marcus Whitman Conference Center, 6 W. Rose St., Walla Walla. Registration for the free event is required. Contact James Glynn at 509527-7434 or james.glynn@usace.army. mil.

Property owner fined $28,000 after oil spill

The Department of Ecology has fined an Outlook property owner $28,000 for a 2015 oil spill from an above-ground storage tank. About 2,700 gallons of oil was lost from the tank on the property owned by Ward Deaton of Deaton Land LLC. Seven miles of Sulphur Creek and 12 miles of the Yakima River, from Mabton to Prosser, were damaged from 1,900 gallons of oil. The oil traveled from the property through underground piping that spilled into the creek, then reached the Yakima River. The Department of Ecology, the local irrigation district, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Yakama Nation responded to the spill to clean up the oil reaching water. Soil and groundwater at the property remains contaminated and needs a long-term cleanup plan. Under state law, the owner also faces a resource damage assessment for harm caused to public resources. In Washington, an oil spiller is responsible for adequately compensating the public for injuries to their resources. The EPA initially conducted its own investigation of the incident and later deferred action to the state.

DOE funding allows PNNL projects to move forward

Five Pacific Northwest National Laboratory projects are among those the Department of Energy is spending $32 million to fund as part of the Grid Modernization Initiative. The initiative is an effort by DOE to work with public and private partners to develop the concept, tools and technologies needed to create a power grid to meet the demands of the 21st century and beyond. PNNL will lead a project to advance resilient distribution systems with a focus on the integration of clean distribution energy resources as well as lead the Laboratory Value Analysis Team for each of the other resilient distribution system projects. In addition, PNNL will join efforts with other labs on three projects aimed at validating new approaches and technologies to make the aging grid more resilient and secure.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

More than 40 people attend Hanford meeting on proposed capsule storage area Officials say proposed new storage would reduce possibility of radioactive release BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

More than 40 people turned out in person or tuned in via webinar on Sept. 21 to learn more about the siting, construction and operation of a proposed capsule storage area at Hanford. If approved, the facility will be built for dry storage of cesium and strontium capsules—currently in wet storage at the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility, or WESF, in the 200 East area of the Hanford site. DOE Richland Operation’s Physical Scientist Julie Reddick described the building plans, benefits and permitting steps to achieve approval during the public meeting hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy and the state Department of Ecology at the Richland Public Library. “While the capsules are currently in a safe configuration, WESF is an aging facility,” Reddick said. “Dry storage would significantly reduce the possibility of a release of radioactive material should an unlikely event cause the loss of pool storage water, which may result in the overheating and breach of one or more capsules.” Ecology’s Mandy Jones explained the state’s role and the process of issuing a

dangerous waste permit for the facility. She said Ecology anticipates DOE will submit the permitting application for the proposed capsule storage area facility in October or November. Attendees learned that back in the 1970s, radioactive isotopes of cesium and strontium were removed from waste and placed in 1,936 stainless steel capsules and stored in concrete pool cells, where they remain today. Workers carefully monitor the capsules in the facility. Water in the pool cells provides radioactive shielding and keeps the capsules cool. Most of the public’s questions focused on the safe transport of the new casks as future, permanent waste storage options become available. Susan Leckband, who attended the meeting, said she agreed with the proposed plan and had already cast her vote in favor of this project to be a top priority at a previous meeting about setting Hanford’s budget priorities. “This is a significant accomplishment, a great performance metric and a high value project toward cleanup for a low cost,” Leckband said. Reddick estimated the project completion cost, including transportation, at $122 million. Jean Vanni, who attended the meeting, wants the cesium and strontium to be

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Jennifer Colborn, public involvement specialist for Mission Support Alliance, runs the webinar at the Sept. 21 meeting at the Richland Public Library to learn about a proposed cleanup project at the Hanford site. Most questions focused on the safe transport of the new nuclear waste storage casks as future, permanent waste storage options become available. (Courtesy Mission Support Alliance)

moved off the Hanford site and asked, “Are you designing casks that can be transported?” Reddick explained that no national nuclear repository had been designated since the elimination of Yucca Mountain in 2010. “I believe these casks can be modified to meet a specific license once a final repository is made,” she said. Dirk Dunning asked via the webinar about the safety of Hanford workers during the project. Reddick explained the transfer of capsules has been performed successfully at Hanford before. “We will

remove the capsules from the water storage and transfer them into an existing hot cell in WESF, where they will be packaged in new universal capsule sleeves. Once they are ready, the sleeves will be placed in new casks that will be waiting in the WESF truck port. The casks will be driven to the new dry storage pad,” she said. The meeting ended after about an hour of discussion. DOE Richland Operations submitted a notice of intent application to Ecology to build the capsule storage area. uCAPSULE, Page 10

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

CAPSULE, From page 9 The meeting sought to solicit questions and inform the community of the proposed dangerous waste management activities. There was no formal comment period associated with the meeting. The public will have an opportunity to provide comments during the permit modification process, which will include a formal comment period as well as an additional public meeting. Those dates have not been set yet. For questions, contact DOE Richland Operations’ Rich Buel at richard.buel@ rl.doe.gov, or P.O. Box 550, Richland, WA 99352, or at 509-376-3375, and Ecology’s Randy Bradbury at Hanford@ ecy.wa.gov, or 3100 Port of Benton Blvd., Richland WA 99354, or at 509-372-7954.

To see the DOE-RL meeting presentation, visit http://bit.ly/ CapsuleStoragPresentation. The U.S. Department of Energy Office of River Protection and Washington River Protection Solutions also extended a comment period on a proposed modification to the Hanford facility dangerous waste permit to incorporate the low activity waste pretreatment system, or LAWPS, facility as a new operating unit group. This proposed modification is required to build and operate the LAWPS facility. The 60-day comment period has been extended from July 17 to Oct. 30. Visit the Hanford events calendar for more information, including details about how to submit comments, at Hanford.gov.

uBUSINESS BRIEF Coal export terminal project halted after permit denied A water quality permit sought by Millennium Bulk Terminals that’s necessary to build and operate the largest coal export terminal in North America near Longview has been denied by the Department of Ecology. If built, the project would have moved 44 million metric tons of coal annually, likely some through the TriCities. Coal would have been piled eight stories high and equivalent to 50 football fields wide at the site. The water quality certification was needed under the federal Clean Water Act before the company could fill wetlands and dredge the riverbed. The coal

terminal would have included filling 24 acres of wetlands, dredging 41.5 acres of the Columbia riverbed and installing more than 500 pilings in the river for a new trestle and docks. “There are simply too many unavoidable and negative environment impacts for the project to move forward,” said Ecology Director Maia Bellon. Ecology said the coal export terminal would have caused significant and unavoidable harm to nine environmental areas including air quality, vehicle traffic, vessel traffic, rail capacity, rail safety, noise pollution, social and community resources, cultural resources and tribal resources.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

CULINARY

Tri-City restaurants now deliver, thanks to UberEats couriers About 20 local eateries participating in Uber’s meal-delivery program BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Want to enjoy food from a favorite Tri-City restaurant without having to leave the house? Request delivery from UberEats, a standalone meal courier service now offered by the popular ride-share service Uber. The new meal service comes eight months after Uber debuted in Kennewick last year. “We were on the ground about a month ago and had a lovely stay (in TriCities),” said David Rutenberg, UberEats general manager for Washington state. “We saw the rich food and food production history in Tri-Cities in alignment with our goals.” Users simply open the UberEats app or visit UberEats.com, select a participating restaurant, make their selections from the provided menu and specify when and where they want their food delivered. Being able to specify an order time

gives users the flexibility to order ahead, too. “UberEats is for anyone who wants an easy and reliable way to get their favorite food — no matter what they’re doing, where they are, or what time it is,” Rutenberg said. The courier-powered food delivery service, which launched last month, offers front-door delivery from about 20 local restaurants. Restaurants benefit from taking advantage of Uber’s drivers and not having to hire their own dedicated delivery driver, which can be burdensome to small businesses, especially with the state’s $11-anhour minimum wage increase that took effect at the beginning of the year. It increases to $13.50 an hour by 2020. Customers pay a $4.99 fee to use the service, and Uber receives 25 percent of the order total. “In short, we help both the top line and the bottom line for our partners,” Rutenberg said. Stick + Stone Neapolitan Wood-Fired

Stick + Stone Neapolitan Wood-Fired Pizza in Richland is one of about 20 TriCity restaurants using the UberEats delivery service. The service launched in September in the Tri-Cities.

Pizza on Duportail Street in Richland is one of about 20 area restaurants included in the Tri-Cities’ initial launch. A Tri-City native, owner Michael Miller opened Stick + Stone in January 2014. He was approached by UberEats a couple months ago and saw the idea as a great marketing opportunity. “It doesn’t make sense to do my own delivery at this point, so UberEats gives us the chance to reach a new group of

customers abroad,” Miller said. J. Bookwalter Winery, Barracuda Coffee, Shiki Sushi & Grill, Gaslight Bar & Grill, Tommy’s Tap House & Bistro, The Dugout, Seoul Fusion, Cheese Louise, Tap & Barrel, Barnard Griffin Winery, Cupcakes Bakery & Deli and Amendment XXI, as well as a handful of Mexican and pizza restaurants, are participating in UberEats Tri-Cities. uUBER, Page 14

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Culinary

Kennewick meal prep service provides homemade option for busy families Customers spend hour customizing their Dream Dinner freezer meals BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

“I am meal planning inept,” joked Lisa Maloof as she put together loaded barbecue pulled pork bites at a Kennewick meal-prep store. “It’s not my thing and it never has been,” she said. Combine this with a husband she describes as “extremely picky,” Maloof said she relies on Dream Dinners to fill her freezer with meals she can quickly get on the table a couple times a week. The Kennewick store is one of 87 nationwide. Franchise owners Melissa and Kyle Edberg said they believe sharing a quality, home-cooked meal together is a key component to a family’s happiness. “It’s not about how many dinners we sell; it’s how many lives we change,” Melissa Edberg said. The couple have owned their Dream Dinners franchise on West Grandridge Boulevard since spring 2015. Following the franchise purchase, they were named the No. 1 store in the nation for increasing sales. Melissa Edberg credited the success to focusing on community and building relationships, not simply trying to increase a customer base. Dream Dinners became the first national food-prep chain when it opened in

Snohomish 15 years ago. The idea was conceived by a former caterer who had been creating freezer meals and wanted to expand the service. The Kennewick store opened in 2006 and averaged about 50 customers during its original ownership. The store is tucked away in a strip mall that includes stores facing Canal Drive, including Best Buy and Petsmart. Melissa Edberg said the previous owners kept intermittent hours, and customers weren’t sure when the store was open. The franchise reverted to a corporateowned location when the original owners retired, and Melissa Edberg began working as the operations manager. She quickly realized she wanted to buy the store, and the sale was completed a little more than two years ago. The sale coincided with an image refresh for the company, which included a remodel of the Kennewick location, putting the mission of the franchise front and center with a mural featuring a collage of words like “family,” “relationships” and “moments.” The Dream Dinners franchise requires an initial investment ranging from $260,000 to $448,000, which includes the franchise fee, training, permit requirements, leaseholder improvements, signs, inventory, account system, insurance and equipment, according to the Dream

Customers Lisa Maloof, left, and Anna Riel assemble meals during a recent Dream Dinners session at the Kennewick store.

Dinners website. It also requires $150,000 in liquid assets and a minimum net worth of $450,000. Dream Dinners allows customers to prepare freezer meals using ingredients prepped by staff ahead of time. A list of potential meals is made available each month and customers choose the number of meals they wish to make, and the quantity of servings — small to feed three, or large to feed six. When customers arrive at the store, they select a colored apron which coordinates with their status in a rewards program. After a trip to the hand-washing station, it is time to start assembling meals. Multiple stations are available and more than one person at a time can work at a single station, each making a different meal. This allows 10 to 12 people to assemble meals at the same time. The appropriate measuring spoons and cups are already in place, along with simple assembly instructions using color coding to ease identification of the correct amount for each ingredient. Items are placed into varying sizes of sealed freezer

bags or a disposable metal tray, each designed to go immediately into a freezer. The final addition is a recipe card which provides quick instructions to get most meals on the table in 20 to 30 minutes. Convenience is one of the main factors that has brought Anna Riel back to Dream Dinners for more than a year. Cooking for a family of five, Riel said she averages a pre-prepped freezer meal once a week. She said she appreciates the ease of having all ingredients chopped and sorted ahead of time, without needing to clean knives, cutting boards and mixing bowls. The meals also are intended to get on the table quickly and simply, without the need for multiple pots, pans or baking dishes. Assembling a layered ravioli bake, Riel expected it to be easy to serve. “You throw them in the oven and you don’t have to worry about it,” she said. Riel also said the meal prep work provides more ideas for her recipe repertoire to break her out of a rut. uDINNERS, Page 19

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Culinary

Chefs on Parade showcases signature dishes at sold-out annual event BY AUDRA DISTIFENO

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Just hearing the words cranberry bacon jam crostini, blackened ribeye salad, smoked salmon fusilli and caramel corn ice cream can make a foodie’s mouth water. But 800 lucky food lovers were able to taste these tantalizing tidbits offered up by 13 local chefs at the annual Chefs on Parade event. The event is held in tandem with Parade of Homes, sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities, which allows attendees to visit a series of homes and chat with home builders. The chefs competition was added to the long-standing Parade tradition after HBA looked for ways to keep the more than 50-year-old event “fresh.” The idea came from a building association in upstate New York. “With the growing foodie population in the Tri-Cities, we knew this event could be a great community addition,” said Jeff Losey, executive director of the HBA. Chefs launched in 2011. “Adding food to (Parade of Homes) makes it a very enjoyable evening.” Another change took root in 2013, when the first-ever food truck chef participated. “The heart of this event has always been to highlight, and potentially introduce, some of the most talented chefs in our area. Where food is served, be it a fancy restaurant or a food truck, doesn’t necessarily determine its quality or the chef’s talent,” Losey said. “Currently, some of the tastiest and most creative things in local cuisine are happening in food trucks so we would be remiss to not include them.” This year’s September event was a resounding success, Losey said. “It was another great tribute to the homes and chefs; it continues to thrive in our market,” he said. Winners of the 2017 Chefs on Parade were announced this month. Judges selected David Stenoien and Kavita Patel-Stenoien of Fast & Curryous, who featured butter chicken curry and mango lassi, as Best Chefs on Parade, Tanner Guy and Andrew Chilton of Doggy Style Gourmet took second place, while Kyle and Shirley Simmons of CG Public House & Catering finished third. The public voted LuAnne Wiles and Kathleen Claymore of the Tri-Tech Skills Center Culinary Arts Program as the People’s Favorite Chefs on Parade. Antonio Campolio of The Marc Restaurant in Walla Walla, won the contest in 2011 and 2012, followed by Jason and Megan Savely of Frost Me Sweet Bakery & Bistro in Richland in 2013. Megan Savely and Megan Kammerer (who has since returned to her hometown of Hood River, Oregon, and works in the kitchen at Full Sail) won in 2014, and the Savelys won again in 2015 and 2016. “We put everything into Chefs on Parade every year. We would shut down the restaurant that day and focus solely

Chef Will Willingham, center right, and his team from Cousins’ Restaurant in Pasco served up samples at the Pahlisch Homes home during the Sept. 15 Parade of Homes’ Chefs on Parade event. Thirteen chefs participated. (Courtesy Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities)

on doing Chefs,” said Megan Savely, Frost Me Sweet’s general manager. “We came into it like a competition. We prepared for it in all different aspects like you would a competition. We saw it as a chance to show people what not only our restaurant can do but what our bakery can do as well.” She called the event an “amazing opportunity” to get in front of 800 people “who like what we like, and we wanted to take full advantage of our chance to show them what we can do. We liked to show a variety of different dishes and desserts because that’s what we have when you come to Frost Me

Sweet.” The chefs aren’t the only ones who appreciate the annual event. Losey said attendees also “love the event,” with a large number returning year after year. Here’s how it works: HBA divides the number of tickets by the participating homes to spread out the crowd. For instance, with five homes participating each night of last month’s event, 160 tickets were assigned to start at each home. Those who want to attend next year’s event will want to pay attention to when tickets go on sale, as the Parade of

Homes and Chefs on Parade continues to grow in popularity. Total tickets sold this year were limited to 800, with tickets going on sale the first business day in July. Tickets sold out by Aug. 25. “On average, there are around 50 people sampling the food and touring the home at one time,” Losey said. “During a rush, that number can jump to 100 to 200 people. We’re thankful that our attendees are patient and understanding during these periods. This is meant to be a fun community event and most attendees share in that spirit.” Participating chefs strive to serve the freshest food possible, which can be a challenge with the sheer number of Parade attendees walking through the homes in one evening. Megan Savely said the experience was “a bit exciting as well as a bit stressful” since her team was up the entire night before the event and right up until the doors opened chopping, dicing, baking and prepping. “Freshness is very important to us so we never had items we could prep days in advance. We also did most all of the cooking that night in the kitchen as to keep everything as fresh and delicious as possible. That required an assembly line of about four to five chefs every year cooking different elements of the items we were serving,” Megan Savely said. uCHEFS, Page 14

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

UBER, From page 11 “One of most important things we offer is sales to our restaurants. If you’re not able to leave your office, don’t want to leave the house, or are at the park on the weekend, customers aren’t obligated to go to a restaurant. It benefits restaurants who otherwise wouldn’t be able to serve that customer,” Rutenberg said. Previously the nearest city with the service was Spokane, where nearly 100 restaurants joined in August. Seattle was one of the first 10 cities to adopt the UberEats business model in March 2016, after the company’s successful pilot in Los Angeles, which began in August 2014. The service is now available in more than 120 cities and 29 countries. UberEats Tri-Cities service will be available in most locations from West

Richland to Pasco. The app’s adaptive algorithm draws on data collected from users’ previous choices to generate relevant restaurant suggestions, in addition to highlighting new restaurants to UberEats. “It’s not just a valuable service to eaters, but is a lot of value added to restaurant partners and exposure for bringing in not just existing customers, but also new customers who might have been out of reach and are now accessible. People discover new restaurants just by scrolling through the app,” said Nathan Hambley, Uber spokesman. The “favorites” feature enables users to remember restaurants and previous orders for ease of future ordering. Delivery times are competitive, compared to other order-in options, Hambley

Culinary said. “We are laser-focused on reliable and fast service,” he said. Existing and perspective Uber drivers benefit from the service with increased job opportunities. Eligible drivers can opt to focus solely on ride-share jobs, food delivery, or both. The eligibility criteria to be an UberEats driver is less strict. For example, a four-door vehicle is not required to participate in food delivery, and the vehicle can be up to 20 years old, as opposed to the 15-year-old age limit enforced in most areas. The minimum age of the operators also has been relaxed to 19 years old for couriers, as opposed to 21 years old for rideshare drivers. “We are always working to improve our service, whether it be the app itself, or

the selection of restaurants available on our platform. We are proud of the service that we’re serving to eaters today, but hope to provide even better service a month from now, even better service than that next month, and so on,” Rutenberg said. UberEats’ goal is to serve as many cities and restaurants as it can. “We are super excited to be in the TriCities and to offer the service, and to be partnering with so many restaurants,” Rutenberg said. “We are excited to partner with more as the year goes on and to support the local community’s rich food culture and heritage … food is universal and something to be shared … we feel privileged to be in the Tri-Cities.”

CHEFS, From page 13 When designing dishes, her team had to figure out the logistics of accommodating several people in a home kitchen without getting in one another’s work spaces. Creating the dishes was the most fun, she said. “We create them based on what we feel is trending and what we enjoy. We figure if we all eat it and think it’s amazing, then the guests coming through the house might, too,” she said. “We were able to go on the parade this year as patrons and it was really fun to get to see the other side of it for the first time. We look forward to returning to Chefs in the future and we are glad that we were able to step back for a year.” Chefs on Parade is limited to guests 21 and older, as alcohol may be served in some of the homes, which is a joint decision by the builders and chefs, Losey said. “In the future, we’d like to keep shining a spotlight on the wonderfully talented chefs in our community. They are one of the factors that make this area such a fantastic place to live,” Losey said. “The HBA has always strived to include a mix of cuisine styles (in Chefs on Parade). We’re lucky to live in an area full of so many varied and talented chefs.” The event also provides excellent feedback to the chefs, said Megan Savely. “Chefs on Parade is a wonderful event, and it allows us as owners to actually get out and talk to people instead of being locked away in the kitchens like we are most of the time now,” she said. “It’s delightful to hear people say that they love your food, or your desserts, or it’s their kid’s favorite place for dinner. It’s nice to feel that support in the community for our dream; it’s very humbling.”

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

CULINARY

Kennewick considers turning parking spots into dining spaces BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Visitors to Seattle, Portland, Europe or Wenatchee may have noticed the popularity of a new type of urban, outdoor dining space: the streatery. The transformation of parking spots into outdoor patios is coming next spring to Kennewick Avenue. After dining at the McGlinn’s Public House streatery in Wenatchee, Rockabilly Roasting Co. owner Travis Jordan shared the streatery idea with Ann Steiger, owner of Roxy Theatre, where the Rockabilly is located. Steiger then brought the concept to the attention of city officials. Emily Estes-Cross, economic development manager for the city of Kennewick, immediately recognized the concept’s alignment with what residents have expressed a need for in surveys over the past couple of years. “The resounding answer was a desire for outdoor dining and community gathering space,” she said. Out of 567 respondents, 78 percent said they wanted to see the development of more restaurant amenities. The current infrastructure—namely sidewalks—don’t support this vision well enough. “The sidewalks simply aren’t wide enough to accommodate substantial outdoor dining space,” Estes-Cross said. However, “the scale of development in downtown Kennewick is very pedestrianfriendly,” she said. “I think when it formulates and happens,

Rockabilly Roasting Co. is poised to leverage two parking spaces in front of its café for a new kind of outdoor dining experience — a semi-permanent structure occupying public space called a streatery. Owner Travis Jordan said he hopes to have Rockabilly’s so-called streatery open by Mother’s Day.

we’re going to get a huge influx of people coming down here and I hope we can hold onto them,” Jordan said. The new outdoor dining initiative fits in nicely with the city’s ongoing efforts to revitalize the downtown area and encourage residents and visitors to walk around and peruse. Expanded dining options will help facilitate this. “We were looking at expansion anyway,” Jordan said. “Most mornings I walk in and the place is full. This way we won’t have to augment indoor space.” The current plan for Rockabilly’s streatery is to capitalize on its corner location at Kennewick Avenue and Auburn Street by leveraging the space from two motorcycle stalls in front of the café and part of the wedge-shaped street corner. A semi-perma-

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nent platform outfitted to withstand all seasons would be built flush with the curb to accommodate the disabled, and a sturdy barrier would separate diners from street traffic. Another benefit of the streatery concept is they are relatively cheap to put in and don’t require extending sidewalks or expensively relocating and building new infrastructure. They can even serve as small, outdoor entertainment platforms. Seattle launched its streatery program in 2014 and recently conducted a survey of businesses that host them and the people who use them. Results revealed they are occupied about half the time and people stay an average of 40 minutes. Eighty-one percent think streateries contribute to a sense of neigh-

borhood character and identity, and 60 percent of those respondents reported they are more likely to visit the street. A majority of respondents visited them to socialize, either with friends or spontaneously with others sharing the space. Sixty-seven percent of streatery operators reported increased sales because of the new outdoor space, and 83 percent reported an increase in foot traffic. The most notable finding, however, was 29 percent of businesses neighboring streateries reported an increase in foot traffic, noting 25 percent more sales. “This is an economic development tactic,” Estes-Cross said “It’s an affordable way to expand space to meet the marketplace need and create more jobs.” Small building footprints need no longer limit growth as expanded space will provide businesses with increased opportunities for profit, which will lead to hiring more food service employees to meet demand. Despite enthusiasm for the new development, some have questioned reductions of premium parking space to accommodate streateries. However, Estes-Cross recalled how a gallery owner near the popular Foodie’s Brick and Mortar restaurant told her, “I watch people pass by my gallery on their way to Foodies, but I say bring more Foodies and don’t worry about the parking because after they’ve eaten, they walk through my gallery.” uSTREATERIES, Page 28

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Culinary

Food trucks now offering lunch with a view in east Pasco BY MARILOU SHEA

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

By the time you read this, The Food Pointe at the Port of Pasco will have launched its new lunch program in east Pasco. Yep, that’s right folks, another food truck pod is live in the Tri-Cities. Food trucks will serve up lunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday near 904 Ainsworth Ave. Hosted by the Port of Pasco, the new Food Pointe program, which launched with lunch on Oct. 2, could add a firsttime breakfast service based on demand. An appetizing loyalty program will

begin in the next few weeks with specials for returning customers. Why should you care? Well, for one thing, food trucks are local on every level and the dollars you spend to grab fast, fresh, cheap food stays in our community. Food trucks hire local people, source their food and supplies from local stores and sell to you, the local customer. They also create tax revenues for municipalities, stimulate job growth, tourism and entrepreneurship. The primary driver behind creation of The Food Pointe is the port’s proactive response to tenants’ requests for food options in the heart of the industrial area known as Big Pasco. There are 100-plus

tenants with 300 to 400 employees hungry for convenient, fresh and slow food served in a jiffy. “We’re really looking forward to having the food trucks so close to our office. It’s going to be a great convenience for our employees and employees of other companies in and around the Port area,” said Federico Chavez, regional division manager of Propak Corp., a Port of Pasco tenant. Establishing a food truck program to provide lunch service to the port’s primary customer base also aligns with the port’s mission: fostering economic development in Pasco. “Creating a food truck pod of our very own checks off economic development drivers for us like supporting small business entrepreneurs and fostering job creation and diversification in our community,” said Gary Ballew, the port’s director of economic development and marketing. “Our primary goal is to satisfy our tenants’ need for lunch. That we’re able to support our mission at the same time is pretty awesome.” To the naked eye, the food pod site appears to be a plain, open field — but don’t be fooled. The port has invested $15,000 in enhancements to date such as multiple electrical outlets for various power needs and individual water pumps for food truck vendor convenience. In addition to adding infrastructure, the

port is supporting the program by investing marketing dollars to promote participating food truck vendors to entice truck traffic along the Highway 397 corridor and the Marilou Shea public. Food Truck For truckers, a Academy wide turnabout at the location with easy on and off access on Highway 397 makes grab-and-go lunch a reality. The public also can enjoy the weekday lunch program when many food truck programs are winding down for the season. All who visit The Food Pointe are treated to an expansive Columbia River view as an added bonus. Sounds like a recipe for success to me. The rotating all-star line-up of food truck vendors includes Delicios on Wheels, Eat Hot Tamales, Fast and Curryous, Idalia’s Tamales, Rex’s Top Shelf and Swampy’s BBQ. Find The Food Pointe on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Food Love columnist Marilou Shea is the creator of Food Truck Fridays and adjunct faculty at Columbia Basin College’s Food Truck Academy.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Culinary HOSPITALITY, From page 1 All hospitality courses will be taught by Marilou Shea, the creator of downtown Pasco’s Food Truck Friday program, former director of the Pasco Specialty Kitchen, as well as the developer of CBC’s Food Truck Academy. Shea said many employers see a deficit in “soft skills,” like customer service, in today’s employee pool versus hard skills, like computer knowledge and safety training. “Soft skills are really where the challenge lies in hospitality. The desire to work, the desire to engage on a customer service level that’s professional,” Shea said. “For millennials not to be attached to their smart devices, and actually engage with customers one-on-one.” The director of sales for TownPlace Suites by Marriott, Willie Stafford, agreed: “It’s hard for us as an employer to teach the customer service skill, and that’s the biggest part of the job. The hard skills are much easier.” Shea envisions adding workshops and field trips to meet current employers, like Stafford, so students may learn directly from the source, providing an interactive experience on an adult level. Visit Tri-Cities has identified a 6 percent growth in employment related to jobs in the hospitality industry. “Increased tourism is driving the growth in the culinary industry,” Shea said. “Baseline certification is very important for the employers. Regardless of who you talk to, employers are desperate to get qualified employees in the door.” Taverna Tagaris Sous Chef Paul Westover said he’d estimate only 15 percent of the applicants responding to a

Steven Carbajo, lead line cook, left, and Paul Westover, sous chef, prep for the dinner rush at Taverna Tagaris in Richland. Westover said only 15 percent of those who applied for their recent job posting for a line cook were qualified. Columbia Basin College will launch a hospitality program this winter to provide job training for the growing restaurant and hotel industry.

recent posting for a line cook position at the Richland restaurant were actually qualified. “People don’t really know what the products are. And product knowledge is key. Students with a culinary arts degree from a trade school often don’t know the difference between an artichoke and an asparagus,” he said. “Line cooking is all about timing. In culinary school, you don’t really get that. Even in student-run cafeterias, you don’t get the kind of excitement you need to be a line cook.” Thatcher shared a recent anecdote from a local hiring manager who recalled receiving 180 applications for a job posting, but only six having the baseline skills necessary to perform the core job func-

tions. “I see that it’s CBC’s responsibility to provide training so that we can get the people in the community that want a job trained with documentable skills that they can move into a rewarding career,” Thatcher said. It’s expected many of the potential students would be involved with WorkSource, an employment and worker training agency, in a re-training or workforce re-entry program to qualify for tuition assistance. Students who do not qualify and intend to take the entire 11-week program can expect to invest about $2,000. Thatcher said she hopes to develop a revolving loan fund to allow students to borrow money at a low interest rate that could be repaid and

made available to the next student. Average salaries in the hospitality industry provide a strong ladder for growth. The average annual salary for a front desk attendant is $25,730 and rises to $159,786 for a general manager, according to Hospitality.org. It’s not unrealistic for an employee to expect to climb the ladder from the very bottom to the very top. Hospitality.org reported half of hotel managers began their careers with an entry level hospitality position. Stafford said he knows more than one general manager in his company who began a career as a laundry attendant, front desk representative or cook and is now responsible for running the entire hotel. Stafford sees value in a prospective employee presenting a certificate that documents their hospitality skills. “The biggest benefit I can see is that it would show this person is interested in the hospitality industry long term, that this isn’t just a stepping stone,” he said. “If we see someone who went through the program, paid the money and spent the time, it would be clear they have the want to remain in the hospitality industry.” Working in the industry and growing within a corporation is a common opportunity, especially for hotel employees. Workers may have the ability to transfer to other properties, often in other parts of the country or around the world. Stafford said his employees have advancement opportunities at 600 hotels worldwide. uHOSPITALITY, Page 20

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business â&#x20AC;¢ October 2017

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

CULINARY DINNERS, From page 12 Those cooking for a family are not the main customer base for the Kennewick store, a departure from the norm for a typical Dream Dinners location. Rather than providing a service for busy families with working parents, two-thirds of the customers the Edbergs see fall into the “empty nester,” or young professional demographic. The staff finds those who no longer have kids at home often prefer a simpler way to present a homemade dish without preparing an elaborate meal, living the company’s motto of “Homemade, made easy.” This includes Twana and Don Butkus who have been frequenting Dream Dinners for more than a year. They come in once a month and spend a little more than an hour assembling 12 to 16 meals. Twana Butkus said she serves a Dream Dinners meal about three times a week. She learned about the service by participating in a “Dream Taste” event with friends. These are held every second Wednesday evening of the month, offering an introductory experience to the service. First-time visitors can assemble three meals, which will serve three people for $35. Twana Butkus was sold on her first visit and encourages others to give it a test drive. Her husband raved the taste is what keeps him coming back. “I’ve never been disappointed in all the meals we try,” he said as he filled and rolled chicken enchiladas. An $84.95 introductory offer is also offered to first-time guests to create 18 servings, using a combination of threeor six-serving meals. Individual ingredients are chosen to be “as wholesome as we can,” said Melissa Edberg. Proteins are flash-frozen before being used in a meal, and all meats are antibiotic- and hormone-free. Lower-sodium options are used when available, and gluten-free recipes can make the menu list. All nutritional content is available online before a customer chooses a meal, and additional symbols identify choices as “heart healthy,” “grill-friend-

ly” and “30 minutes or less.” For those tracking calories in the popular My Fitness Pal app, the nutritional content of each Dream Dinners menu item is already uploaded to the program. The popularity of online meal planning services like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh haven’t taken business away from Dream Dinners but rather provided it “a shot in the arm,” Melissa Edberg said. She said she believes these new services get people interested in mealprepping and said she’s found local customers appreciate visiting a brickand-mortar store where they can customize a meal themselves. Comparing her business to the online options, Melissa Edberg said cooking with Dream Dinners is less likely to result in food waste since meals are kept in the freezer until ready to use. Additionally, she said the meals available in her store are focused less on sophistication and more on family, explaining, “Each recipe has to pass the ‘kid test’ before they go out.” The demanding schedule of today’s families has more people eating on the go or out, often putting less priority on spending time around the family dinner table. It’s not necessarily a habit people are proud of. “Moms feel bad about the fact they can’t give their family homemade meals,” Melissa Edberg said. Many customers tell her they visit the store because they don’t know how to cook, or just don’t have the time, she said. The average cost per serving of a Dream Dinners entrée runs between $5.50 and $8, with an average of $55 a week to feed three meals to three people, or serve dinner for two and lunch for one the following day. The cost may be higher than what families spend on their grocery bill, but Melissa Edberg said it doesn’t factor in the time spent menu planning, shopping, prepping and cleaning up. She said the goal is keeping homemade freezer meal costs less than ordering take-out or going to a restaurant. She estimated an average time savings of 20 hours a week for those who serve a Dream Dinners meal three times a week. For regular customers who truly don’t even have an hour to spend assem-

bling meals, staff will do it ahead of time for a $25 fee. Dream Dinners employs 10 people, including Melissa Edberg, and at any time up to half are present to support a meal-prep session. This includes all prep and clean-up as well as creating a couple of dishes for guests to try to offer a sample of what’s to come the next month. Creating a menu can be done online or in store by completing an order form and scheduling an appointment session for meal assembly. After taking the meals home, a customer can sign up for text alerts for reminders on defrosting certain items, if needed. Dream Dinners, including the Kennewick franchise, offer a number of ways to give back to the community, providing baskets for charity auctions,

in-store fundraising events and designating a monthly meal that, when purchased, will include a charity donation. The Edbergs are excited to host a meal-packing event for the first time in the spring that will provide nutrition packs to local families and serve hunger needs around the world. The companywide goal is to pack up to 80,000 meals in one day next May, which will require up to 800 volunteers. More information on the event and ways to help will be provided closer to the event. To schedule a visit to Dream Dinners, go online at dreamdinners.com or call 509-735-8315.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Pasco-based Tri-Cities Community Health names new CEO BY KRISTINA LORD editor@tcjournal.biz

Tri-Cities Community Health has a new CEO after conducting a nationwide search. Jim Davis will join the federally-qualified health care organization based in Pasco as chief executive officer in January. He currently serves as CEO of Pines Health Services in Caribou, Maine. Davis replaces Jennifer Robinson, who was named CEO last October after working as director of nursing since 2013. The Tri-Cities Community Health board terminated her contract in May. Board Chairman Mike Tuohy declined to provide a reason why. He said Robinson no longer works for the health system.

The board hired Oregon-based UHC Solutions to conduct a nationwide search for her replacement, Tuohy said. The company specializes in finding executives for federally-qualified health centers like TriCities Community Health. “We’re very anxious to have Jim arrive and think he’ll be an asset to the organization,” Tuohy said. The board offered Davis a three-year contract, said Tuohy, who has served on the board since 2012. Former CEO Al Cordova retired from the clinic last October after five years and is credited with helping turn around an agency that was struggling financially and operationally. During Davis’ 10-year tenure in Maine,

Pines Health Services’ budget grew from $17 million to $28 million, funding increased from $800,000 to $2.1 million, and it achieved the Health Resources & Services Jim Davis Administration’s national quality leader designation for three consecutive years. The new CEO’s background includes work in Washington state. Among the positions he’s held are senior director of opera-

tions and support at Washington Hospital Healthcare System in Fremont, California; client relations manager at LifeMasters Supported SelfCare in Vancouver, Washington; chief operating officer at Wendel Family Dental Centre in Vancouver, Washington; and site administrator and system vice president at Good Samaritan Health System in San Jose, California. Davis received his bachelor of science in biological sciences from Stanford University, a master’s of public health with a focus on community health education from San Jose State University, and a master’s in business administration from the University of California, Irvine. Ralph Hill of Community Link Consulting in Spokane will serve as TriCities Community Health’s interim CEO until Davis arrives in early January. Tri-Cities Community Health serves more than 24,000 patients a year and employs about 300 people. The health system primarily serves a low-income population, receiving state and federal money to provide health care to low-income people with limited resources. Tri-Cities Community Health is a private, nonprofit with offices in Pasco, Kennewick and Richland. It was incorporated in 1981. HOSPITALITY, From page 17 “There are so many people that would like an opportunity to work in a challenging place but feel like when they read the job description, they are not qualified, so getting them started in this gives them the confidence to apply,” Thatcher said. There’s been an eight percent increase in hotel occupancy from the start of the year through August, compared to the same time last year, according to Visit TriCities. Shea said the ability to hone and validate skills for students at CBC will be a driver of economic growth as the Tri-Cities continues to add hotels and restaurants to the region. “We can take somebody who has been laid off for six months, on food stamps, give them one quarter of training and they’re employed,” Thatcher said. “It’s very, very rewarding to see somebody who doesn’t have maybe the skills or confidence or financial ability to go into a degree program, but we can get them into this for one quarter.” The job skills gained in a hospitality field — customer service, problem-solving and conflict resolution — are frequently transferrable to other industries. CBC’s short-term certificate program will use curriculum developed by the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute and can enroll about 18 students when classes begin on Jan. 2. “The hospital certificate we’ve developed is really like the welcome mat for people to start on their way to documenting their skills, and then, as they wish, to move on up. I believe everyone should be able to rise to their own level of confidence, skill and comfort,” Thatcher said. Potential students can apply to enroll in the work force program through columbiabasin.edu or by calling 509-542-4804.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

After 17 years, PMH Medical Center, foundation cut ties

Newly formed Northwest Community Foundation expands its purpose BY JESSICA HOEFER

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

PMH Medical Center has ended its relationship with the charitable group formerly known as the Prosser Memorial Hospital Foundation. The Prosser hospital’s decision to sever ties with the nonprofit became effective July 31. Since its inception in 2000, the foundation has raised as estimated $2.5 million for the hospital, including $2.15 million for the capital campaign to expand the emergency room. “The Prosser Memorial Hospital Foundation has always been a legally separate organization from the hospital,” said Claude Zehnder, who joined the foundation’s board in 2015, the same year the foundation received several requests from community groups for help with fundraising, investments and endowments. “The board then began discussing how it could support those nonprofit groups as well as the hospital,” he continued. “We thoroughly researched the issue, using a CPA, our attorney, the IRS and the state and a review of our bylaws. We changed our bylaws and our name to reflect our expanded purpose, which was to continue to support the hospital and in addition, as

opportunities became available, support other nonprofit groups in our community.” All but one board member voted to move in that direction, Zehnder said. Therefore, the bylaws were changed and a new name was adopted: Northwest Community Foundation. But PMH Medical Center CEO Craig Marks said because the hospital is a public entity, it cannot legally support other organizations with public money, which led to its decision to terminate its relationship with the foundation. “We want to make certain that when we support a foundation, they’re dedicated to PMH,” Marks said. “We wish them well, but we need one that’s dedicated to us.” PMH Medical Center’s Board of Commissioners Chairman Stephen Kenny expanded on the hospital’s decision in a letter sent to donors in mid-August: “It is inappropriate for PMH, as a government entity, to be associated with any organization that may receive charitable contributions from supporters of PMH while, in reality, some of those funds could be diverted by that organization for other purposes. PMH cannot permit the appearance that it is using public dollars to support organizations other than those that support the mission of PMH.”

Since its inception, the Prosser Memorial Hospital Foundation has raised $2.5 million for PMH Medical Center. The hospital is in the process of creating its own foundation.

Zehnder acknowledged the hospital has the right to end the relationship, and the foundation accepted the decision. Moving forward, the group will not seek contributions for the hospital or use the hospital in its marketing material. He noted the cancelled contract only gave the foundation a few days to close the hospital gift shop and remove most of its supplies. “The hospital cancelled its contract with the foundation, where we paid for time that our executive director and staff worked on foundation items while employed by the hospital and we rented office space,” Zehnder said. “The foundation had rented gift shop space and

the profits were given by the Foundation Guild for scholarships to students going to college in the health care field and to support families whose babies had died. We were also told to remove the hospital’s name from our website and all advertising materials, which we did.” In a separate letter sent to foundation donors, Zehnder assured all prior monetary gifts made through the foundation to specific endowments would remain in those endowments and earnings would continue to be paid to the hospital consistent with investment and distribution policies. uPMH, Page 22

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

PMH, From page 21 “The foundation’s eight board members—your friends and neighbors— take their fiscal responsibilities very seriously and will follow all laws and existing foundation policies in managing those funds,” Zehnder said in the letter. PMH Medical recognizes it has been given assurances by the Northwest Community Foundation that any previous money contributed with the intent to support PMH will be used for those purposes but intends to take appropriate actions to see the money is used as donors intended. “The (former) foundation unilaterally elected (and without the consent or agreement of PMH) to change its basic operating documents to no longer constitute an exclusive support

organization for PMH,” Kenny said in his letter to donors. Zehnder said both sides agreed to try to mediate a settlement. “Unfortunately, as I understand it, the hospital determined it was not ready to follow through with mediation at this time,” Zehnder said. “It is too bad that it has come to this. Legal action costs money that the foundation could be using to help our community.” Kenny said public hospitals, such as PMH, rely on established support from foundations to provide the public with an opportunity to make contributions with the understanding the money will be used exclusively for the hospital. Foundations help with fiscal plans, Marks said, where hospitals can meet the needs of the community and explore new

programs. For instance, PMH would like to raise money to enhance technology like its mammography equipment. Looking to the future, the hospital is forming a new charitable foundation for the exclusive benefit of the hospital and Marks said it is in the process of hiring a director. In the interim, he clarified that donations can be made directly to PMH Medical Center. “We’re a 501(c)3; people can still donate. We technically have a foundation, there’s just a few more documents that we’re working on: bylaws,” Marks said, adding that along with hiring a director, the group will reach out to community members to form a board. The director position has been posted nationally and while the board is being formed, the current hospital board of

commissioners will serve in its place. Once the lead person is hired, the PMH Medical Center Foundation will line out its fundraising events, such as a golf tournament and gala event the hospital has been associated with in the past. In 2016, money was raised to provide automated external defibrillators with hard cases and extra batteries for Prosser, Grandview, Sunnyside and Benton City so the high schools could have portable AEDs on athletic fields for use in case of an emergency. Last month, the Northwest Community Foundation hosted A Night Out at Yellow Rose Nursery, with proceeds going toward The Share House and youth sports. Money also was raised for the Princess Theatre Legacy Fund in Prosser.

AWB, From page 3 Signatures also were collected for a petition to reinstate a manufacturing tax cut Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed earlier this year. Senate Bill 5977 would have lowered the business and occupational, or B&O, tax rate by 40 percent for some 10,000 manufacturing firms across the state. After the bus signing, the tour stopped to climb a Lampson crane. The largest land-based, mobile crane in the world with its 400-foot main boom and hydraulic-driven hoist can lift 3,000 tons, Kate Lampson said. “We build, design and fabricate every part; it isn’t just a giant tinker toy,” said Bruce Stemp, Lampson’s director of safety. “Everyone talks about German engineering … but we’re every bit as good, if not better. We’re second to none.” Kate Lampson reported the crane is due to be deconstructed next spring and shipped to Japan, where it is intended to be used in the country’s recovering nuclear sector. Stemp said it will take eight to 10 weeks to reconstruct the crane on-site in Japan. Lampson’s 2600 series crane takes six weeks compared with other competitors’ models, which can take three months to two years to reassemble. The Kennewick-based company prides itself on limiting costs contributing to the customer’s bottom line, which can be severely affected by long lead times since the customer pays rent on the crane during reconstruction. “We really want to get it out on a job to see how it performs, so we can see how to continue to improve,” Stemp said. Lampson International operates throughout the U.S., Canada and Australia, where it worked on the construction of the Australian Olympic stadium. “There really isn’t an industry that we haven’t touched,” Stemp said. “So how do we not only keep, but grow Lampson?” Johnson said. “Economic prosperity throughout all of the state. We have to keep growing.”

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Owner of new Richland waterfront hotel dies from cancer at 64 BY R.J. MARX & BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian and TCAJOB Staff

The owner of Richland’s newest waterfront hotel died Sept. 17 at his home after a short illness. He was 64. Tom Drumheller envisioned The Lodge at Columbia Point as a regional boutique hotel unique to the Tri-Cities. The $8.5 million lodge, which features 62,773 square feet of space, opened earlier this year. The chief executive officer of Escape Lodging played a key role in the region’s hospitality industry and beyond, serving on the board of directors of Travel Portland. He was inducted this year into the inaugural hall of fame at The School of Hospitality Business Management at Washington State University. “I’ve known Tom for 30 years, and we’ve been business partners since 1999,” said Patrick Nofield, president of Escape Lodging. “There’s nobody like him. It’s a huge void — not just for those who loved him, but for our community, and the people of Eastern Washington where he grew up.” Escape Lodging also owns Cousins’ Restaurant, Tri-Cities in Pasco, Cousins’ Country Inn and Restaurant, in The Dalles, Oregon, The Ocean Lodge, Inn in Cannon Beach, Oregon and numerous other lodging properties and restaurants in Oregon and Washington. Drumheller was diagnosed with metastasized colon cancer in August, Nofield said. “When they were in the hospital they found cancer was all over his body,” he

said. “It was totally unexpected.” Nofield said Drumheller did not want to spend his last days in the hospital, so he returned to Cannon Beach for home hospice care. He had friends and family members visit from all over the Northwest, Nofield said. “For the last week of his life it was like one continuous party. Tom was greeting everyone, engaging people, meeting with employees, sharing stories, sharing humor.” John Thomas Drumheller, known as “Tom,” was born and raised in Walla Walla on Aug. 15, 1953. His family worked in the hardware business for generations. Growing up, he watched how his father used humor and respect to develop strong relationships with customers. That set the foundation of his philosophy toward the hotel and restaurant industry, where he worked for 25 years before establishing his own business. A key experience came when Tom turned 9; he was hit by a baseball, Nofield said. The ball concaved his skull and he lost all ability to talk. “They were able to do surgery and put the skull where it needed to be, but he had to reteach himself to talk,” Nofield said. His mother, a schoolteacher, read him the Dr. Seuss classic, “Thidwick, the BigHearted Moose.” The incident inspired Drumheller’s future career direction, Nofield said. “Thidwick always wanted to take care

of his guests, and of all the people I have ever met, Tom was the most hospitable person to anyone, whether it be a housekeeper at one of our hotels, or whether it be a billionaire develTom Drumheller oper,” Nofield said. “He treats them all the same. All with love and all with encouragement.” After graduation from the Carson College of Business at WSU, Drumheller participated in the Hyatt Hotel management training program before establishing Escape Lodging of Cannon Beach in 2001. Drumheller served on the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association Board of Directors, Washington State University Hotel and Restaurant Advisory Board of Directors and Travel Portland Board of Directors. In 2014, Drumheller and Tom Krueger teamed to open Tom’s Fish & Chips restaurant in Cannon Beach. Drumheller said in a 2014 interview his goal was to “try to make it really, really cozy, especially during the offseason for the locals.” Drumheller and Krueger opened a second location in Seaside this summer. “I was very fortunate to have some great mentors I admired and learned a great deal

from,” Drumheller said in an alumni magazine profile. “When one of them passed away, it spurred me, along with my future business partner, to take what I had learned and start my own company. It was both very scary and exciting. The risk-to-reward ratio has been better than I could have imagined.” Friends and family gathered in his last days to salute the man they had grown to know and love. Robin Risley was among the founding members of the Cannon Beach arts commission when Drumheller served as chairman. “He was such a fun person to have at the meeting,” Risley said. “He did things with a sense of humor. We didn’t all come from the same place, but he was so inclusive that most of the decisions were made were fair and forward thinking. I just appreciated him so much. He always had such a twinkle in his eye.” Ryan Snyder, president and owner of Martin North, a family of hotels and restaurants in Cannon Beach, worked with Drumheller beginning in 1995 and together at Martin Hospitality at the time it was owned by the late Steve Martin. Snyder and Drumheller served on the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association Board of Directors together. “He was a steady, peaceful, funny, charming, and simply a magical human being,” he said. “He was a great husband and father, a loving grandfather, and a genuine friend.”

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business â&#x20AC;¢ October 2017

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

uNETWORKING 3 pediatric providers join Tri-Cities Community Health

Tri-Cities Community Health of Pasco has added three new pediatric providers to its practice. Dr. Scott Terry earned his medical degree from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and completed his pediatric residenDr. Scott Terry cy at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. He will practice at the Kennewick clinic at 3180 W. Clearwater Ave. Spencer Crihfield, a certified pediatric nurse practitioner, received a bachelor of science in nursing at the University of Memphis and a master’s in nursing from Union University in Jackson, Spencer Crihfield Tennessee. He will practice at the Kennewick clinic. Elizabeth Vossenkemper, a certified pediatric nurse practitioner, completed her undergraduate and graduate nursing programs in Saint Louis, Missouri. Her professional nursing experience includes the

neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, cardiology, school-based nursing, and primary pediatric care. She will provide pediatric care at the Pasco clinic at 515 W. Court St.

Elizabeth Vossenkemper

AWB names Leadership Washington’s newest participants

The fourth class of the Association of Washington Business Institute’s Leadership Washington program kicked off a nine-month, seven-stop tour of the state’s industry sectors at the association’s annual Policy Summit at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum. Leadership Washington is a statewide program sponsored by Battelle to cultivate and educate the next generation of Washington industry leaders and advocates. Meetings throughout the state expose participants to a variety of the state’s business sectors to foster an understanding of how they work together. The 13 members of Leadership Washington’s 2017-18 class are: • Brent Downey, Kaiser Aluminum. • Ryan Eddy, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories. • Matt Hawley, Lamb Weston. • Mike Kennedy, Energy Northwest. • Kevin Leneker, Single Handed

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Consulting. • Josh Lozano, Office of Congressman Dan Newhouse. • Brodey Mann, State Farm Insurance. • Joey Mertlich, Wilson Albers & Co. • Katherine Morgan, Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce. • Marcela Navarro, Cadet. • Dustin O’Quinn, Lane Powell. • Andrew Thompson, Granite Construction Co. • Eric Wolf, Workforce Training & Education Board.

Community First Bank announces new employees

Kevin Sakamoto has joined Community First Bank as vice president, commercial lending officer. He is a graduate of the University of Washington Pacific Coast Kevin Sakamoto Banking School and has extensive knowledge in financial business loan composition as well as agriculture. He will work at the Kennewick branch. Kelly Litzko recently joined Community First Bank as a marketing coordinator. She earned a Kelly Litzko bachelor of sci-

ence in public relations and organizational science with a minor in communications from the University of Idaho. She has experience in broadcast advertising, media writing and event coordination.

Longtime Hanford leader named president of MSA

Bob Wilkinson steps into the position of company president for Hanford contractor Mission Support Alliance on Oct. 16. He succeeds Bill Johnson who has accepted a position with MSA parent company, Leidos. Wilkinson has served as MSA’s chief operations officer for the past Bob Wilkinson two and a half years. He has more than 20 years of experience at Hanford in all aspects of operations, including operating nuclear facilities, decontamination and decommissioning, tank farms, waste site remediation, waste packaging and treatment, project management, environmental compliance, construction management, engineering, emergency response, and radiological control, and all phases of project execution, ranging from early startup to commissioning. Prior to joining MSA, he was a member of the senior leadership team at with Hanford contractor Washington River Protection Solutions.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Kennewick seniors produce video to dispel aging myths Five-minute short film won best acting award in retirement center’s national contest BY KRISTINA LORD editor@tcjournal.biz

Joyce Green dreamed of pursuing acting as a teenager. She worked at a theater in the ’40s and loved “the very dramatic war stories.” She tried out for a play, and at her high school teacher’s encouragement, auditioned for the lead — and landed it. Her talent earned her a scholarship to study drama in Oregon, but her parents refused to let her to go. “It broke my heart and I had nothing to do with drama for all these years — until now,” said Green, who is 89 years old. “So, my dream has come true. I got to be in a play — 70 or so years after the last one,” she said. Green and several other Brookdale Canyon Lakes residents from her Kennewick senior living community produced a five-minute video called “Hope” as part of Brookdale’s inaugural Celebrate Aging Film Festival. Seventy-four videos were submitted for the national contest. Judges narrowed the field to nine finalists in the best picture, best writing, best acting and best technical design categories. “Hope” took home the best acting award.

That’s thanks to Green’s leading role in the skit, though she’s quick to shrug off the limelight to share it with her fellow seniors. About 14 residents spent a month on the project. “I think the crew did a fantastic job. It was a fantastic accomplishment to write and produce a five-minute play,” she said. The Kennewick community’s film was the only West Coast competitor to make it to the final round, said Joe Green, resident programs coordinator for Brookdale Canyon Lakes. He is no relation to Joyce Green. “I do feel we have superb acting compared to the other finalists. They are topnotch,” Joe Green said. Created to help change the perception of aging and to communicate a positive, uplifting or touching message that celebrates it, the video festival was an opportunity for Brookdale residents and employees across the country to work together on a creative project using iPad technology. The finalists also were eligible for the Ecolab’s People Choice Award, an online public voting contest. A Brookdale retirement community in Florida won the award. The Kennewick seniors wrote their own script and Joe Green filmed and

edited most of it. “Our residents and associates really enjoyed putting together this film,” said Charlotte King, executive director of Brookdale Canyon Lakes. “Age has no barrier on creativity and this process really showcased that.” Winners in the contest were selected by a panel of judges at the festival’s award presentation at the Franklin Theatre in Franklin, Tennessee, near Nashville, on Oct. 4. Ginger Vetrano, 86, a Brookdale Canyon Lakes resident, who also took part in the film, and Joe Green attended the red carpet and black tie awards ceremony. The Kennewick seniors said they didn’t need an award to be grateful for the filmmaking experience. “Doing this put us outside our comfort zone,” Vetrano said. “I hope it encourages others to participate next year,” Joyce Green added. Brookdale operates independent living, assisted living, and dementia-care communities and continuing care retirement centers, with about 1,039 communities in 46 states and the ability to serve about 102,000 residents. Through its ancillary services program, the company also offers a range of outpatient therapy, home health and hospice services. To see the Brookdale Canyon Lakes film and the others, visit https://visit. brookdale.com/peoples-choice-awards.

Ginger Vetrano, Brookdale Canyon Lakes resident, left, and Joe Green, Brookdale Canyon Lakes’ resident programs coordinator, stand on the red carpet at the Celebrate Aging Film Festival in Tennessee. They took home the best actor award for their five-minute film. (Courtesy Brookdale)

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

STREATERIES, From page 15 “We received very few complaints when we surveyed people about driving to destination cities and having to walk further. They were willing to walk to an area that’s pedestrian-friendly and hang out because that area’s not full of cars, it’s full of people. Steateries are a way to ignite space with people,” Estes-Cross said. Seattle survey respondents reported an uptick in customers walking, riding transit, or biking. Jordan reported there is limited bike parking available on Kennewick Avenue. He said he hopes to incorporate aesthetically-pleasing bike racks into the design of his streatery to provide the many cyclists who frequent Rockabilly a safe place to park their bikes. “Our goal is to generate vibrancy with

engaging spaces and streetscapes that attract visitors, lengthen stays, and increase spending,” Estes-Cross said. Over the course of winter 2017-18, streatery criteria will continue to be honed and developed, with the goal of beginning construction on the Rockabilly streatery in April or May. The Rockabilly pilot program aims to launch by Mother’s Day. Though Estes-Cross said only one other business has inquired about applying to host a streatery, she is confident “there will be more interest once the requirements are established … we expect that these will be an asset for the community. Other people and businesses will see these and see how they can work in their neighborhood … anyone can apply—this is a city-wide initiative.” Estes-Cross said the application process

will generally entail interested businesses applying for a streatery location. “If it is deemed safe and meets the rest of the criteria … they would be issued a licensing agreement to be in the public right of way,” she said. It would not be a permanent license, but revocable in case of unforeseen circumstances that would force removal. Businesses would retain ownership of the structures they build. Streateries would remain public spaces, but with the primary purpose of providing dining space. Additionally, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board has approved service in streateries, as long as they are located within front window sight distance. Preliminary criteria developed so far would require intended sites to be placed a certain distance from utility poles, hydrants

and other infrastructural components and adjacent to the hosting business. Speed limits around the proposed streatery would have to be 30 mph or less, and an appropriate amount of parking would need to be available nearby. Design standards will be based on existing Bridge-to-Bridge, River-to-Railroad food truck guidelines, with input from the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership. Estes-Cross has applied for a Community Development Block Grant, whose advisory panel recommended that the city council contribute $50,000 to help pay for disability-accessible structures, bike racks and utility hookups. The hosting businesses would be expected to pay a percentage of this cost. The development of streateries also will lay the groundwork for similar spaces in future urban developments, such as Vista Field, which already has outdoor dining space planned into its pedestrian-friendly framework. “I think (streateries) are a huge step in the right direction, especially for our downtown,” Jordan said. “We will be first out of the gate in the region,” Estes-Cross said. BOMBER’S, From page 1 Sligar said his sister has worked hard managing day-to-day operations at the drive-thru for about 10 years. “She has grandkids she wants to spend more time with,” he said. The brother-sister team rebuilt the drivethru when they bought the restaurant. Since then, they’ve tripled sales and “expanded the menu and customer service immensely,” Sligar said. But now it’s time for another business to take its place. Li’l Firehouse Coffee opened its second location there on Oct. 2. Bomber’s fans will be happy to know Li’l Firehouse plans continue serving the restaurant’s popular soft-serve ice cream and shakes. “We want to do good by Bomber’s and be the proper stand and not cut any corners or anything,” said Tyler Davis, barista at the Li’l Firehouse on 3708 W. Clearwater Ave. in Kennewick. Davis said he will oversee the afternoon shifts at the new Richland coffee shop. Though no burgers will be served under the new ownership, Li’l Firehouse will serve its bagel sandwiches until 6 p.m., Davis said. “They are pretty awesome. We have a bunch of people who come to our stand solely for the bagels. We get so many people coming for them that sometimes we run out of them,” he said. The Li’l Firehouse, which opened three years ago, is owned by Chuck and Amy Sleater. Sligar said he’s excited to see L’il Firehouse open as the owners have a good business model. “We’re keeping the building and land and leasing it to them,” Sligar said. The lease will be for five years, he said. Li’l Firehouse’s hours will be from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Hours are extended until 8 p.m. in the spring.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS Consider professional service buy-in for young professionals BY BEAU RUFF

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

One of the big planning challenges for professional service organizations is attracting new talent — young doctors, lawyers, accountants and others — to ultimately take over the business or the practice, and facilitate the business succession strategy. It is a financial challenge for the young professional recently out of school who is trying to simultaneously start a practice, buy a first home and get out from under his or her crushing school debt. When presented with the option of a higher paying job (and no equity interest in the business) and a lower paying job (with the promise of an expensive buy-in down the road), young professionals seek the safety of the higher paying job. This complicates the exit scenario for established equity owners looking for the succession and transition plan. To entice the next generation of professional to the practice, consider the

concept called a “tiered equity buy-in.” This strategy reduces the initial outlay of cash for the professional while compensating the existBeau Ruff ing equity ownCornerstone ers more on the Wealth Strategies backend as the owner exits the business. Often, a professional services business really has two businesses: the operating business and the real estate and building where the operating businesses operates. Consider first the typical buy-in. The new professional loaded with debt must promise to pay a portion (or all) of a successful practice and a valuable building. The initial cash outlay can be monstrous for the young professional. Still, most professional service buy-ins are structured in this manner. uBUY-IN, Page 41

10 Young Professionals honored in 10th annual contest BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

Ten diverse and distinguished emerging leaders have been selected as the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business’ top Young Professionals. It’s a fitting number for our 10th annual contest. Since 2008, we’ve honored 84 Young Professionals. These rising business and community leaders are age 40 or below and work in Benton or Franklin counties. They didn’t have to be business owners to compete for the honor, but they had to prove how they stood out in their career, company or industry. The judges looked for young business leaders who went the extra mile outside their workplace in community service, charity work, leadership or community involvement.

A panel reviewed all the applications after the names of the nominees and their businesses were redacted. They were ranked in several categories and then the points were tallied up. The judges agreed this year’s batch of applicants had inspiring stories to tell about their careers, business philosophies, how they got started, what they like most and least about their jobs, who has inspired them and their hopes and challenges. It wasn’t easy to choose which of these young leaders to highlight because we had many outstanding candidates. We encourage those who weren’t selected this year to apply again next year. To those we singled out in this issue and to all chosen in years past, we’d like to give you a tip of the hat. We look forward to watching you continue to grow professionally and personally.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Young Professionals

Olivia

BERG

Owner of BlankSpace Age: 27 Hometown: Burbank Describe the Company: BlankSpace in Kennewick is an urban gathering place designed to cultivate and inspire community and culture. Essentially, BlankSpace provides infrastructure for people to enjoy each other and the uniqueness of our region, from pop-up shops, to the Karma Juice bar, to high-end event space and creative workshops — all in a venue that is as beautiful as it is purposeful. How long have you lived in the Tri-Cities? I have lived in the Tri-Cities the majority of my life, as has my husband. We spent a year traveling the U.S in a little vintage Airstream, and a short stint living in Colorado, but aside from that, we’ve been here for the better part of the last 27 years. Do you have any family? Pets? Yes! I have been married to my husband, Tanner, for a little over five years, and we have one daughter, Oakley, who just started kindergarten. They are the lights of my life! We just finished building a home in the country, so we just have two labradors right now, but plan to fill our little funny farm up with lots of critters. (Alpacas are on my short list!) Tell us about your business and how you got started in it: At the very foundation, BlankSpace exists because I saw a need for a high-end, intimate event space, and I thought that filling that need could be profitable. Before I opened BlankSpace I noticed that there weren’t really any “cute” places that I could throw a party at — and I’m of the age where I’m throwing a baby shower or a bridal shower every other weekend it seems. I figured that if I opened a space, I knew enough people wanting that sort of thing that I could probably keep it afloat. Turns out I was on to something, and we’ve held more than 300 private events at BlankSpace since we opened less than a year ago. When we were designing our space, I tried to think about how we could be “more” than an event venue, and how we might be able to further differentiate ourselves in the market. So, I decided to try to help solve the problem of “there’s nothing to do in the Tri-Cities” by offering dozens of cool, relevant, workshops (most in the creative realm) … so we have “The Workshop.” This is where it kind of becomes, “If You Give A Mouse A Cook-

ie,” because I figured no one would want to come take a class if they didn’t have something to wet their whistle with. So, then came the juice bar. I was fortunate enough to meet Kati Gessner, who owned a juice delivery company called Karma Juice. Karma Juice now operates out of BlankSpace six days a week. I have a small equity ownership in the company, but the juice bar is Kati’s brain child. She has an amazing product and such a heart for customers. It’s been rewarding to get to see her business grow. I think almost every person that walks through our doors becomes a “regular” because Kati has provided them with an excellent product, service and experience. She definitely brings a community aspect to our space, and it’s been an awesome relationship. Tell us about your business philosophy: My business is first and foremost built on servanthood. You can find me scrubbing toilets and mopping floors almost as often as posting to social media and meeting with clients. I firmly believe that when you start a business, you need to know how to do everything (cleaning, running a till, customer service, marketing, etc.). I have always found that if you put yourself last, and put others (employees and customers) first, then you will have some measure of success in your business. The other cornerstone of my business philosophy is integrity. To me, this just means doing what you say you’ll do, and being someone who clients can trust and rely on. It doesn’t mean not failing, but it does mean saying you’re sorry and making it right if you do fail. How do you stay competitive? Our business is so unique that we haven’t had to worry too much about “competition,” but we do try to stay ahead of the curve by being super active on social media (we’ve built an Instagram/Facebook follower base of 10K in less than a year) and constantly working on the design/aesthetic of our facility. One thing that draws people in is the look of our space. We frequently hear the comment, “This place looks like it belongs in Seattle,” which I take as a compliment, not because I love Seattle, but because it makes me feel like we are succeeding in bringing some fresh design and culture to our area. We also work tirelessly to improve the client experience. I can’t be at every event we book, but I try to at least stop in and tell the host/hostess thank you for choosing our space. Small business is a very

Courtesy Rich Breshears of Breshears Photography

personal thing to me; I want people to feel my genuine appreciation for supporting BlankSpace. To me, great customer service is the No. 1 way to stay competitive. That being said, one of my mottos is “community over competition.” I love finding ways to work with other area businesses, and share any knowledge that I have, rather than being closed off and worried about being “competitive.” What are your future career goals? Well, I have an entrepreneur’s brain, so once I get one business to profitability, I am immediately looking for the next problem to solve or business to start. Right now, we are doing preliminary market research to gauge the feasibility of opening “The Studio” (venue portion of BlankSpace) in several other cities. We’ve found that there is a huge market gap in the event venue industry. There are lots of wedding venues, community spaces (like a grange hall) and restaurants with party rooms, but not many venues like ours. Providing a high-end space at an attainable price-point, as an alternative to hosting an event in your home or at one of the aforementioned spaces has proven very profitable, and we hope to find a way to scale that in the next year. My husband and I also enjoy design and construction (we just finished our first “general contractor” experience, converting a barn in to a home on our property) and we have dabbled in flipping and rentals in the past. Designing BlankSpace was so fun for me, and one of our goals as a couple is to continue building and designing together in some capacity.

Who are your mentors and what did they teach you? I draw a lot of inspiration from Lauran Wang (Mustang Signs) and Gretl Crawford (Gretl Crawford Homes). I think it is super important to have female business owners to look up to and learn from, and those two women have always been so encouraging to me. I really admire the creativity and integrity they infuse in to their companies. Probably the greatest influence on me as a business owner has been my grandfather. He was a serial entrepreneur, and I got to learn many life lessons from him, growing up on his farm. While he would likely be lauded “on paper” for starting a potato farm from nothing, and turning it in to a multi-million dollar operation, what I loved watching most was his work ethic, and his prioritization of family. My grandpa would wholesale us kids potatoes (yes, wholesale, not give) and we would sell them on the side of the road, like a lemonade stand, but more redneck (and more profitable!). Those were some of my earliest lessons in entrepreneurship. Both him and my dad worked really hard, and some days the hours were very, very long, but they always had time to break for a backyard baseball game, a tractor ride, picking cherries or playing cards. They had great marriages (which was also a testament to my mom and grandma) and kids who adored them. To me, business is nothing without relationships and family. I grew up witnessing that firsthand and am eternally grateful to be able to look back on that when I get too caught up in myself and my work. uBERG, Page 40

Young Professionals

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Nathaniel

BURT

President and shareholder at Burt Tax and Accounting Inc. Age: 30 Hometown: Kennewick Describe the company: We are a traditional CPA firm with a modern twist. We provide tax and accounting services typically provided by CPA firms but we have a flat fee structure (instead of hourly) and we leverage technology for efficiency (digital files, digital workflow, etc.) How long have you lived in the Tri-Cities? I grew up in the Tri-Cities, moved away in 2005 and moved back in December 2014. Do you have any family? Pets? I met my spouse in middle school in Kennewick. We have a daughter who is like a pet. Tell us about your business and how you got started in it: I started off college in political science and went on a church mission to Mississippi. I switched to accounting, drawn to the politics of taxation, then applied to law school. I got accepted but changed my mind to teach seventh-grade language arts through Teach For America. Middle schoolers made me decide accounting wasn’t so bad. I went back for a master’s, worked for CLA in Boise, and then bought out my dad in January 2016. Tell us about your business philosophy: To try to be a genuinely good person. To me that means do everything in my power to deliver great value to clients, to create a great work atmosphere and help employees attain personal and professional goals, and of course to be honest and technically capable. Ultimately, I want to live in such a way that if somebody spoke poorly of me no one would believe it. Everything else will fall in line. How do you stay competitive in your job/industry? My field is rapidly changing with increased automation in the financial sector. Instead of closing the books at year end, now you can essentially have real time access to your profit and loss. Instead of dropping off a banker’s box of documents, you can upload relevant documents to a client portal throughout the year as you receive them. If we can stay up to date with technology along side technical accounting skills, we’ll do well.

What are your future career goals? Our business has nearly doubled in the last three years. I think we can continue to this growth trajectory and go from a staff of six to 15 to 20. My hope is that we can achieve one of the more enjoyable workplace cultures and environments in the Tri-Cities while maintaining a superior value offering. I think this goal is both attainable and realizable in the next five to 10 years. Who are your mentors and what did they teach you? It has been a genuine treat to work with my father. He is the most easy-going person and consequently gave me a lot of freedom in the beginning to take calculated risks and learn from them whether they resulted in success or failure. I also have a mentor in Boise who I met while working and going to school in that area. He introduced me to what I think is the best book on small business, “The E-Myth,” and then advised me on how to implement it. What was the toughest career decision you had to make or obstacle you had to over overcome? How to allocate time is a constant balance (especially deciding more at work or more at home). Also, as a service business, our main assets are our human capital. It’s always a challenge to find and maintain the best combination of human capital for any company, but especially in a smaller business in a smaller sized population area. Choosing when to hire, who to hire, and who to hold on to makes for tough choices. What do you like most about what you do? People say accounting is the language of business, and so I can provide this valuable translation for people, but in addition to helping them understand it also saves them money and stress. People generally view me as beneficial to have in their corner, and that’s a good feeling. I also really appreciate having ownership in a business so I can play a role in the human resources, marketing, strategic planning and operations of an enterprise. What do you dislike most about your job? Working with ornery IRS agents. It’s hit and miss; sometimes agents are great to work with and other times it can be a real headache. We are fortunate to have a very reasonable IRS revenue agent based out of the Richland office.

Courtesy Rich Breshears of Breshears Photography

What was your first job and what did you learn there? I grew up taking naps under the desk down the hall in my current office. Since I napped on the job, I don’t think I’d count that as my first job even though I did shred papers, take out trash and file papers. My first real job was mowing lawns when I was 15. I ended up buying a small lawn maintenance company from a friend when I was 16 and selling it to a middle aged man at age 17. I learned then there is value in having a flexible job and being in control of your own success. If you weren’t in your current field, what would be your dream job? My dream job would be to work for a philanthropic organization like The Gates Foundation to determine how best to spend charitable funds. There are so many ways to make a difference in the world through charitable giving, but certainly the dollar goes farther with some endeavors more than others. Tell us about your community involvement/community service: Currently I volunteer regularly as a member of the Trios Health’s Finance and Audit Committee, and the Trios Foundation Planned Giving Committee. I also volunteer with a local Scout troop and with church activities. I participate in events with the Historic Downtown Kennewick Association and with Teach For America. What word best describes you? Modest What is your biggest flaw? Small atten-

tion span. I do have the ability to focus on projects long enough to thoroughly complete them, but my default mode of operation is definitely to switch tasks every few minutes. It takes real effort to avoid getting distracted … anyways I forgot what I was saying… What is your biggest pet peeve? When drivers come to a stop upon entering a clear round-about. What do you do to relieve stress? Get outside and take my phone and watch off. The Pacific Northwest has some of the most beautiful scenery in the country and I love exploring our region. Sometimes though just walking around the neighborhood saying hi to friends does the trick. Dream vacation? Zermatt, Switzerland Favorite book? “The Jungle” Favorite movie? “About Love” Favorite band? Raffi (thanks to my 2-year-old) Favorite gadget? Garmin running watch Favorite website? ESPN.com Favorite thing to do in the Tri-Cities? Tennis, soccer, running and cycling (both road and mountain bike) What would people be most surprised to learn about you? I can’t resist donuts, every time I have them I regret them.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Young Professionals

Patrick

CONRAD

Communications Specialist at Mission Support Alliance Age: 37 Hometown: Olympia, Washington Describe the company: As the Hanford Site integrator, Mission Support Alliance provides the best in critical infrastructure site services to the Department of Energy and Hanford cleanup contractors, allowing them to focus their energies on the cleanup mission. What brought you to the Tri-Cities? I was looking for the next step in my career and my wife, who grew up in Richland, wanted to move back home to be around family. Do you have any family? Pets? I’m married with a 20-month-old son, a baby on the way, and a dog named Addie. Tell us about your job/career and how you got into it: I’m a communications specialist for Mission Support Alliance, or MSA, a contractor for the Department of Energy on the Hanford site. I became interested in communications after a conversation with my parents while I was at community college. After graduating from Washington State University, I worked in radio broadcasting for four years before entering the communications industry at the state Department of Transportation, or WSDOT, and then eventually landing at MSA. Tell us about your business philosophy: Communication and relationship-building are important tools in building a successful business or career. When these two traits are mixed together, I believe only good can happen. We are presented with a unique challenge at Hanford. With more than 9,000 employees and a variety of projects happening all at once, communication is our most important tool. Without a positive relationship, your message can be misinterpreted. How do you stay competitive in your industry? My industry isn’t cutthroat, or an “everyone looks out for themselves” kind of industry. However, I’m always looking for opportunities to improve myself and find new ways of revamping current methods and procedures. I’m constantly researching trainings and seminars that will give me the chance to learn from others and to improve my craft as a communications professional.

What are you future career goals? In addition to constantly improving myself as a professional, my ultimate goal is to be the leader of a communications team. I’ve had some experience as the fill-in director of our team at MSA and it has given me a taste for the leadership role and it’s something I’m determined to reach one day. Since I won’t make it as a professional athlete, I would love to head up the communications team for a pro franchise. But if working in sports doesn’t happen, I would love to find a communications team to lead. Who are your mentors and what did they teach you? I’ve been blessed to have several mentors. This includes my parents, teachers who told me to keep my head up and smile, my boss at WSDOT who pushed me to believe in myself and to keep improving, and my current mentor at MSA who provides real-world expertise and advice for how to advance in my career. All of these people have molded me into the person I am today. I will be forever grateful for their wisdom and support. What was the toughest business/career decision you had to make? The toughest choice for me was leaving a comfortable position at WSDOT for a new career in a new town where I didn’t have any contacts. Eventually, struggles and sleepless nights left me wondering if I made a mistake leaving Seattle, and a job I was good at, and had invested a lot of time and energy into. It was through this experience I met my current boss and landed back on my feet in the communications industry. What do you like most about what you do? My job has made me realize that working in the communications industry is my calling and what I was meant to do. Along the way I have tried a couple different industries and quickly realized that they weren’t for me. It’s been a long journey full of ups and downs, tears and smiles, but finding a home at MSA has been humbling, satisfying and has given me the opportunity to wake up every day with a smile on my face and enjoy going to work. What do you dislike most about your job? It’s hard for me to point to anything that I dislike about my job. I’ve been lucky enough to find a good place with

Courtesy Rich Breshears of Breshears Photography

wonderful people and great management. With a lot of negativity in the public about Hanford, the hardest part of my job is trying to get out positive news stories and promoting the great work happening at the site. What was your first job and what did you learn there? My first job was in high school as a maintenance worker on the golf course in my neighborhood. Besides learning how to cut a green and rake a sand trap, I learned the value of hard work and the importance of molding a mixing pot of personalities and experiences together to complete a task. In this case, keeping the golf course in excellent condition. I have kept this value with me to every job that I’ve had. Tell us about your community involvement/community service: As a recent graduate of Leadership Tri-Cities Class 22, our class project focused on improving and expanding the barn and stables for TROT. TROT promotes the physical, psychological and social well-being of persons with disabilities through their interaction with a therapeutic team of horse, dog, instructor, therapist and volunteers. I’ve also participated with Junior Achievement as an instructor and in the bowling tournament. I also help out with MSA’s various community involvement activities. What word best describes you? Passionate What is your biggest flaw? Rushing through a document I’ve written and not

taking the time to slow down and re-read it word for word. What is your biggest pet peeve? When driving and you stop to let another car into traffic and they don’t acknowledge the nice gesture and wave. What do you do to relieve stress? Hanging out with my family and going for walks. Dream vacation? Cruising the mountains of Colorado. Favorite book? “11/22/63” by Stephen King Favorite movie? “Field of Dreams” Favorite band? Matchbox 20 Favorite gadget? Apple Watch Favorite website? ESPN.com Favorite thing to do in the Tri-Cities? Hanging out in the sunshine and playing golf with friends. What thing would people be most surprised to learn about you? I’m claustrophobic. I do not like being in confined places. When it comes to riding on airplanes, I need to sit on the aisle, so I can stretch my legs and move around.

Young Professionals

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Travis

HARTLIEP

Owner/designer/digital guru at Cougar Digital Marketing & Design Age: 40 Hometown: Prosser Describe the company: Cougar Digital Marketing & Design provides businesses, large and small, with highly effective digital marketing strategies and solutions ranging from websites, search engine optimization, social media marketing, online campaigns, video production, graphic design and branding, and much more. How long have you lived in the Tri-Cities? Moved to Tri-Cities in 2002, and then moved back to Prosser in 2016. What brought you here? Work, family and the beautiful weather. Do you have any family? Pets? Married to Erika for 18 years. Kids: Owen, 10, and Allison, 8. Dog (Deke) and two cats. Tell us about your job/career and how you got into it: Website design was just beginning when I studied at Washington State University. After graduating and while working in marketing, I started a side business called Cougar Graphics, designing websites and print media. In 2012, I began operating Cougar Digital Marketing & Design full time. Over the last five years, the Cougar Digital team has grown to seven fabulous team members. Tell us about your business philosophy: I emphasize client-focused, professional and positive service. My team members collectively use their marketing and design expertise and passion to develop effective and professional marketing strategies — all while listening to and communicating with the client. Plus, we emphasize a positive work culture and environment! How do you stay competitive in your job/industry? At Cougar Digital, we strive to staying up-to-date with new marketing and technology developments. On the evenings and weekends, I am usually reading articles or watching videos on the latest trends in the indus-

try. We also have weekly team meetings where we discuss new ideas and concepts and how we can implement them into our clients’ current marketing strategies. What are your future career goals? I want to continue to grow Cougar Digital to assist more businesses and organizations in the Tri-Cities area and beyond, all while maintaining excellent customer service. We also want to become that one-stop shop where businesses of all sizes can outsource all their marketing needs and partner with us. Who are your mentors and what did they teach you? My grandpa was my mentor growing up. He taught me the importance of hard work, responsibility and perseverance. I worked for him for many years out on his orchards, and even though I was his grandson, I didn’t get any special treatment! I might have complained at times, but now I am truly grateful for the life lessons he taught me. What was the toughest business/ career decision you had to make or obstacle you had to over overcome? I have always struggled with public speaking. When I started Cougar Digital, I tackled this fear straight on by joining a Business Network International group, which required me to speak weekly in front of the group. I continue to push myself in this regard by joining community organizations, such as Prosser United Good Neighbors, and helping coach sports teams. What do you like most about what you do? I love hearing my clients’ success stories culminating from an effective website, search engine optimization, branding development, or other marketing strategy we did for them. Many small business owners start with a dream, and we love helping them make that dream a reality. I am also very blessed to have surrounded myself with an amazing team at Cougar Digital. What do you dislike most about your job? To be honest, staring at a computer all day and sitting in a chair would

Courtesy Rich Breshears of Breshears Photography

top my dislike list. We recently improved this since we implemented stand-up desks for the Cougar Digital team, helping workplace quality and employee well-being.

What word best describes you? Hard-working

What was your first job and what did you learn there? My first job was working in my grandpa’s and Uncle Mike’s orchards helping with cherry harvest, frost protection and other orchard duties. I learned the importance of showing up on time (even if it is at 3 a.m. in the morning), hard work and performing the assigned task correct the first time.

What is your biggest pet peeve? Drivers who ride your rear bumper — “tailgaters.”

If you weren’t in your current field, what would be your dream job? I always dreamed of being a pilot in the Navy or Air Force.

Favorite book? “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown

Tell us about your community involvement/community service: I coached a number of youth sports teams with the YMCA of the Greater Tri-Cities, Greater Richland Little League and AAU. I really enjoyed helping the kids gain skills and learn the importance of sportsmanship. I also joined the board for Prosser United Good Neighbors. I was a member of Christ the King before moving to Prosser and now I attend Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Cougar Digital supports the YMCA of the Greater TriCities by helping sponsor the parentchild golf tournament.

Favorite band? Def Leppard

What is your biggest flaw? Selfconsciousness

Dream vacation? Italy. Hopefully, in two years, we get to go celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. What do you do to relieve stress? Exercise

Favorite movie? The “Rocky” series

Favorite gadget? Television Favorite website? Cougcenter.com Favorite thing to do in the Tri-Cities? Wine tasting What thing would people be most surprised to learn about you? That I was a University of Washington Husky fan when I first moved back to Washington in middle school.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Young Professionals

Walter

KINNEY

Shareholder at PorterKinney PC Age: 33 Hometown: Richland Describe the Company: PorterKinney PC is a full-service CPA firm offering bookkeeping, payroll, tax preparation, business consulting, tax planning and other related tax and accounting services. Our firm is located in Richland and consists of six employees working with a variety of local businesses and individuals. How long have you lived in the Tri-Cities? 26 years What brought you here? Father moved here from California for a job at Boeing. Do you have any family? Pets? Married to wife Tiffany with two children (Logan, age 9, and Scarlett, age 6). We have a dog (10-year-old black lab) named Storm. Tell us about your business and how you got started in it? I am a 50 percent owner in PorterKinney PC. Previous to my ownership at PorterKinney, I was a staff CPA at two other local accounting firms for seven years before teaming up with my business partner, Chris Porter, in June 2014 to form PorterKinney PC. Tell us about your business philosophy: Our business motto is “Raising the professional standard,” which reflects our philosophy of providing high quality service to every client we work with, no matter the size of the engagement. We feel that by taking the time to provide quality service, to communicate clearly and promptly and to be strategic in the advice we give, we can raise the standard of our profession in this area. How do you stay competitive in your industry? We strive to stay current with changes in tax law so we can provide cutting-edge advice to our clients. We encourage all members of our team to be involved in the community and to provide a high level of service to our clients. We invest in advertising with local radio and TV providers and network with other high quality professionals that we can coordinate with to provide comprehensive service to our clients. What are your future career goals? I would like to work to grow our firm so that we can continue to hire more team members and provide both jobs and qual-

ity accounting services to our area. I have lived in the Tri-Cities nearly all my life and hope to build a business that gives back to the community as it grows. Who are your mentors and what did they teach you? I would say my most influential mentors would be my parents. They instilled in my siblings and I a strong work ethic early on in life. Whether it was delivering newspapers or mowing lawns after school, we were always encouraged to be working hard and earning our way. This strong work ethic has benefited me many times throughout my career. What was the toughest career decision you had to make or obstacle you had to over overcome? The hardest decision I have had to make in my career was to quit my steady paying job as an employee and step into owning my own business. I was scared and nervous knowing that I was the primary source of income for my household and I wanted to provide well for my wife and two children. Thankfully with their support it has gone well and also been the best career decision I have ever made. What do you like most about what you do? Working with all the different individuals and businesses that are in various stages of their lives/careers. In one week, I may have the opportunity to meet with new business start-ups and help them navigate their unique questions and challenges, and then also meet with individuals who are getting ready to retire and reap the rewards of their years of work and help them to navigate those tax questions as well. Working with people in a variety of situations is what makes my job enjoyable every day. What do you dislike most about your job? By the end of tax season the 60- to 70-hour work weeks do start to get a little old! I also enjoy being active in my life as much as possible and sitting behind a desk and computer all day can sometimes be unenjoyable. What was your first job and what did you learn there? My first jobs were a paper route and mowing lawns for my neighbors when I was about 12 years old. I learned the importance of showing up when you said you would, of conducting yourself in a professional manner in how you act and speak, and of charging a fair price for your services. All of those les-

Courtesy Rich Breshears of Breshears Photography

sons still apply to me and the work I do today. If you weren’t in your current field, what would be your dream job? My dream job (setting aside professional golfer or Seahawks player) would probably be a guide for some sort of outdoor activity. I enjoy hiking, camping, snow sports, etc. So anything outside and active would be great! Tell us about your community involvement/community service: I have lived in Tri-Cities nearly all my life and enjoy getting to be involved in our great community. Much of my community involvement involves my young children these days including: coaching baseball, football and soccer through the YMCA and being a volunteer in the Boys Scouts of America program. Our firm is also involved in the Kadlec Foundation and has sponsored several of its events over the last several years. What word best describes you? Happy What is your biggest flaw? Like many people I sometimes tend to overestimate my ability to multi-task and take on too many projects in my life at once. What is your biggest pet peeve? Negativity – when people assume the worst until proven otherwise. I believe that the world is full of great people who are capable of great things if they want to

put their mind to it and work hard. Limiting your own potential due to a negative attitude is my pet peeve. What do you do to relieve stress? Spend time playing with my kids, occasionally play golf, go hiking/camping, get together with friends and play games. Dream vacation? Australia/New Zealand Favorite book? “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card Favorite movie? “The Burbs” Favorite band? Foo Fighters Favorite gadget? Backpacking gear Favorite website? www.wta.org Favorite thing to do in the Tri-Cities? Spend time at one of our awesome parks on the Columbia River with family and friends. What thing would people be most surprised to learn about you? I was once on the cover of a magazine that is published nationwide and has a circulation of over 110,000 copies on average. While I’d like to tell you that it was the cover of GQ magazine, it was actually Scouting magazine from back when I was 17 years old. We went on a week long white water rafting trip that was the featured article in the magazine.

Young Professionals

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Melissa

LANTZ

Emergency preparedness specialist at Benton-Franklin Health District Age: 38 Hometown: Selah Describe the employer: The BentonFranklin Health District is a bi-county health district serving both Benton and Franklin counties. The district provides a wide variety of public health services that protect and promote the health and wellness of all residents in Benton and Franklin counties.

district, Heather Hill. She taught be how to be a professional. I was right out of college, and she hired me and took me under her wing, and taught me to how to interact in a professional manner and how to grow professionally.

Do you have any family? Pets? Yes, my husband and two dogs (Hank and Brady).

What was the toughest business/ career decision you had to make or obstacle you had to over overcome? Public health funding is not always stable and as money changed, so did my positions at the health district. There came a point that I thought I was going to have to make a move and leave the district. This was so tough as I had spent my entire career at the district. I was lucky and funding came open for a different position, and that has happened more than once, and it is difficult, but I love the work I do.

Tell us about your job/career and how you got into it: I chose community health education because I wanted to help people. I felt that many people were unaware of public health and what it did for them, and general health information. I wanted to be able to educate the public on health issues, and good health habits since that was never offered to my parents so they could teach me.

What do you like most about what you do? I love helping people. I love being able to present them information and watch them learning the process, and see them use the bits of knowledge and information that I have taught them. I love interacting with other agencies and organizations. It widens my horizons and thoughts and I get to gain experience from them and that allows be to continue to grow.

How do you stay competitive in your job/industry? I stay up on trainings and I jump at the chance to be involved to get more experience. I am certified in my profession as a certified health education specialist, which is a nationally recognized certification for health educators. I keep up with my continuing education credits to keep that certification.

What do you dislike most about your job? There is a lot of typing and writing with large regional plans that have a lot of data and information, which has to be updated annually. This is tough on my extrovert personality because I would much rather be interacting and teaching people the plans, but the emergency plans have to be updated, and all of that data is not going to input itself. Therefore, I need to do it.

How long have you lived in the Tri-Cities? 14 years What brought you here? Internship at the health district in 2003.

What are your future career goals? My future career goals are to move up in the health district, to get my master’s in health administration, and someday be a manager at the health district. Who are your mentors and what did they teach you? My first mentor was my mom. She is a supervisor at Tree Top Inc. and she has been through a lot not only at work but in life, and she taught me to always be myself, be honest, and work hard. My second mentor was my first supervisor at the health

What was your first job and what did you learn there? My first job was washing dishes in an assisted living facility. This job taught me a lot. Patience, and it actually taught me a work ethic. It made me a very hard worker. There were times that had to be met from getting the dishes in and washed from breakfast to turn around and make lunch, and I was drowning at first, but after I worked there a while, my boss told me I was the best employee she had ever had.

Courtesy Rich Breshears of Breshears Photography

If you weren’t in your current field, what would be your dream job? My dream job would be to open up a bakery/cafe and coffee shop on the Oregon Coast, or even in town, to bake people yummy things and interact with them every day. Tell us about your community involvement/community service: In the past I was the March of Dimes captain for the health district. I have been on the Relay for Life Committee, but am currently a team captain. I am currently a Make-A-Wish volunteer wish granter, which has by far been the most rewarding volunteer opportunity I have done. I just recently chose to volunteer for an organization called Team Rubicon which is a disaster response organization for veterans and civilians but focuses on veterans, and my dad was one, so I honor him by doing it. What word best describes you? Enthusiastic What is your biggest flaw? Taking criticism too personally and being overly self-critical. What is your biggest pet peeve? People who chew with their mouth open and people who lie. What do you do to relieve stress? Play softball and be outside in the

mountains with my husband and my dogs. Dream vacation? Ireland or Scotland Favorite book? “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston Favorite movie? “Grease” Favorite band? Oak Ridge Boys Favorite gadget? Anything Pampered Chef Favorite website? Google Favorite thing to do in the Tri-Cities? Play co-ed softball with Kennewick Parks and Recreation, hike Badger, and walk along the river. What thing would people be most surprised to learn about you? That I love to sing. I was in choir from middle school to college, and I used to ride motorcycles.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Young Professionals

Brandon

McEWEN

Commercial insurance sales executive at PayneWest Insurance Age: 34

opportunity at PayneWest Insurance.

Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee

Who are your mentors and what did they teach you? I was very fortunate to be mentored by a top 10 agent in American Family Insurance during my time within the organization. He offered me a wealth of information in terms of agency systems and procedures, how to make best use of time, prospecting methods, and most importantly, how to surround yourself with the right people. I truly believe if you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room. Surrounding yourself with smart, successful people is so important.

Describe the Company: PayneWest Insurance was formed in 2012 from two leading agencies in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest regions. We are now a top 40 nationally ranked insurance agency fiercely committed to our clients, our colleagues and our communities. What brought you to the Tri-Cities? My wife was born and raised in Kennewick. We met in college and moved to Kennewick after we got married to be closer to her family. Do you have any family? Pets? I have been married to my wife Alyssa for almost 12 years and we have four children. Tell us about your job/career and how you got into it: I joined PayneWest Insurance as a commercial insurance sales executive in May 2017 after owning a highly successful American Family Insurance office in Kennewick for the past four years. Tell us about your business philosophy: I have always really loved the quote by Conrad Hilton that says, “Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” We all will have setbacks in our careers and lives. Every time we fail, it leaves us one step closer to success. Keep it moving, maintain a positive mental attitude and success will be waiting around the corner with its arms wide open! How do you stay competitive in your job/industry? Unfortunately, the insurance industry has given clients a false sense of security. The traditional insurance model ignores many of the risks business leaders face. Our process, that you cannot get anywhere else, focuses on those risks. When you couple our process with my natural competitive spirit, it really drives success. What are you future career goals? Grow my commercial book of business to over $1 million in revenue in the next 10 years. Maintain a 95 percent or higher retention rate within my book of business over my career. Be provided an ownership

What was the toughest business/career decision you had to make or obstacle you had to over overcome? Leaving my American Family office to join PayneWest was the hardest decision I have ever made. I poured a lot of blood, sweat and tears into building that agency and really loved all of my clients. Leaving a very good situation for an unknown was tough, but I knew I had to to challenge myself and further my career development. I am extremely happy to have made the decision to move to such a great company. What do you like most about what you do? I love getting to meet with different business owners and learn about their businesses. The best part of my job is being able to take a deep dive into their business and discover a lot of the challenges and risks they might not even be aware of. Being able to offer a holistic risk management approach adds a lot of value in what I do and provides our clients something they cannot get anywhere else. What do you dislike most about your job? I would say the hardest part of any sales job is hearing the word, “No.” Unfortunately, you will not be able to win every account no matter what kind of value you can add to the client. I have learned from years in sales that every “no” is one step closer to a “yes,” so you have to pick yourself back up and keep moving. Fortunately, I work for a company that has an amazing carrier network and proprietary risk management process, so the no’s have been few and far between. What was your first job and what did you learn there? I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. In high school, I started a summer window washing busi-

Courtesy Rich Breshears of Breshears Photography

ness with a buddy. I learned a ton about sales, customer service and running a business that has helped me throughout my career. I spent hours upon hours in the hot sun knocking on doors trying to drum up business. The most important lesson I learned over those summers was every “no” you heard meant you were one step closer to hearing a “yes.” If you weren’t in your current field, what would be your dream job? If I was not doing what I was doing now, I would love to be a general manager of a sports franchise. I love all of the moving parts of a sports organization and would love to help build a successful franchise. Tell us about your community involvement/community service: I am currently on the board of directors of the Kennewick School District Marketing & Business Advisory Committee. Our primary purpose is to promote greater cooperation between the schools and private sector in preparing individuals for employment, future education and helping the education system better prepare students for the labor market. I have also worked the last several years as a liaison with the American Red Cross and Salvation Army in blood and food drives and as a youth basketball coach. What word describes you? Competitive What is your biggest flaw? It would be my resistance to ask for help. I am the type of person who likes to be in control and have had difficulty trusting others to

complete tasks. This is something I am really trying to work on. Over the last couple years, I have realized there are a ton of really talented people on this earth and I need to let them do what they do best. What is your biggest pet peeve? Complaining is definitely my biggest pet peeve. I am a big believer in positive mental attitude and having a growth mindset. Challenges and setbacks are learning experiences and opportunities to become better versions of ourselves. It is critical for us to stay positive and make sure we are growing as a result of these roadblocks. What do you do to relieve stress? I like to stay very active through working out and playing sports. I currently play in local basketball, flag football and softball leagues. Dream vacation? Bora Bora Favorite book? “Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude” by Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone. Favorite movie? “Shawshank Redemption” Favorite band? Imagine Dragons Favorite gadget? iPhone Favorite website? theringer.com uMcEWEN, Page 40

Young Professionals

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Krista

PATTERSON Co-owner of Northwest Paddleboarding Age: 24 Hometown: Tri-Cities Describe the Company: Northwest Paddleboarding provides instructional classes, tours, rentals, retail and more. We are a mobile business serving the Tri-Cities along the Columbia River. How long have you lived in the Tri-Cities? 24 years (born and raised) Do you have any family? Pets? Yes, my handsome husband Dylan, my 4-year-old daughter Avery, my 1-yearold son Brantley and our dog, Jeep. Tell us about your business and how you got started in it? I found my passion in 2014, when I first tried paddleboarding. I always knew I wanted to be a business owner and I had finally found a need for our community that matched with a passion of mine. I previously worked in the fitness industry and this company had the opportunity to make fitness fun and more accessible. Tell us about your business philosophy: To bring people together, promote adventuring outdoors and keep our community healthy and active. How do you stay competitive in your job/industry? This is a tough one for me because I don’t have any direct competition in our area. However, I always strive to be a resource, not a sales pitch, and I believe that mindset will always set me apart. What are you future career goals? To continue to build our business. There are so many people to serve in our area, and in the Northwest overall. In the next few years I hope to build an amazing team to help expand our offerings, class sizes, sales, etc. Eventually, when the right opportunity comes along, we would like to see Northwest Paddleboarding settle down into a physical location (we are currently mobile) and have services to offer yearround. Who are your mentors and what did they teach you? I have had amazing mentors along my journey, but the people who made the biggest difference in

who I am today would be my DECA advisors from high school. DECA is an association of marketing students. I had the privilege to serve as our Area 6 president my junior year and with that, I worked very close with my local and state advisors. I learned and was given the opportunity to lead, and speak in front of thousands of my peers. My favorite classes were entrepreneurship and marketing and so much of what I learned, I use every day in my business. These mentors still encourage me and support me in all my endeavors. What was the toughest business/ career decision you had to make or obstacle you had to over overcome? The toughest decision was the first decision I ever made, and that was to leave my steady, reliable, paying job to venture into the life of a small business owner, knowing that I might fail, and knowing that I probably wouldn’t receive another paycheck for at least a few years. I am three years in and that decision still affects me every day. It is still the biggest obstacle I face. I haven’t failed, I won’t fail and I believe it is the best decision I have ever made. What do you like most about what you do? Marketing. I love marketing, and as a business owner, I get to market however, wherever and whenever I want! It requires creativity and always being ahead of the game. Marketing changes daily, so there is always something new to research or test out and it keeps me on my toes. I also really love to see the joy this business brings people, so that is a close second. What do you dislike most about your job? Having to rely on the weather. Mother Nature can make or break me and not having control over that is the toughest part of what I do. Other than that there isn’t a lot to dislike! What was your first job and what did you learn there? My first job was at Auntie Anne’s Pretzels in the mall. I learned about customer service and what a significant role it plays in any business. I also remember learning about upselling, and I definitely still use those skills today. If you weren’t in your current field, what would be your dream job? This is my dream job. I’m here. I’m living it.

Courtesy Rich Breshears of Breshears Photography

Tell us about your community involvement/community service: In 2015 I started Free Yoga in the Park. This event is a way to bring our community together, get everyone outside and stay active. The event has grown significantly and we had over 3,000 unique attendees in 2016. We have continued again this year and have an average of 200 participants per class. We have brought sponsors on to help with the costs of the event but it remains free to the community. I am also a very active mentor/volunteer for our local and statewide DECA chapters. I have had the opportunity to judge marketing role plays at mini, area and statewide conferences. Last fall I also had the chance to be a speaker at the Western Region Leadership Conference. This fall I will work closely with the Chiawana High School DECA chapter and entrepreneurship class as we use my business as a role play for marketing and other business projects. As my business grows I will continue to support DECA with both my time and money. I truly believe in this association and the value it provides to students.

What do you do to relieve stress? Most people would think I do yoga, which I do, but, if I’m being honest, the best stress reliever is hanging out with my husband and friends around a campfire with a glass of whiskey! It is the perfect way to end a busy work week for all of us.

What word best describes you? Passionate

What thing would people be most surprised to learn about you? I married my husband three months after meeting him and we have been married almost five years.

What is your biggest flaw? My emotions. I react too quickly, become too involved and take things more personally than I should. Being passionate can be both a pro and a con but I am and always will be a work in progress. What is your biggest pet peeve? Bad customer service.

Dream vacation? Aruba Favorite book? “You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth” by Jen Sincero Favorite movie? “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” Favorite band? Granger Smith Favorite gadget? GoPro. I don’t have one, but if I did I would use it a lot. Favorite website? Social Media Examiner Favorite thing to do in the TriCities? Other than paddleboarding, I love to enjoy the local restaurants!

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Young Professionals

Katie

ROUSSO

Education and outreach specialist at Gesa Credit Union Age: 25 Hometown: Bothell, Washington How long have you lived in the Tri-Cities? I have lived in the Tri-Cities for just over three years. What brought you here? What brought me here was my then-boyfriend, now fiancé, who was born and raised in this area. Do you have any family? Pets? I have a wonderful fiancé and a dog named Sammy; they are my family and world. Describe the company: Gesa is a local, community-involved credit union, offering its members a variety of financial services. How do you stay competitive in your job/industry? I continue to educate myself on what I am doing. I love conferences and seminars because I am able to learn the newest trends in my particular industry. Being able to talk with people in a peer-to-peer setting, really helps me and motivates me to do better. I think there are always things to be learned, and I love learning! Tell us about your business philosophy: My business philosophy centers around relationship-building. Something I have learned while working in my current position is that I have a real passion for building them. Relationships are so important in every setting, but building a relationship with those you work with is even better and it allows a culture of teamwork and respect to be created in the workplace. What are your future career goals? Oh man, I have a lot. I have been interested in opening my own event planning business for a while and if that doesn’t work out I would love to be a part of a company where I can use my creativity to benefit them. I am young, so I am still in that phase of figuring out what I really want to do in life. It has been hard, but I think I am close to that point where I can tell people a concrete answer on my goals. It is exciting, but nerve-racking at the same time.

Who are your mentors and what did they teach you? My personal mentor is my mother, Barbie. She taught me the importance of hard work, not giving up and realizing that there is a plan for everyone. My professional mentor would have to be my supervisor at Eastern, Berto Cerillo. He was the first person to really see my potential and build on my strengths. He gave me the confidence to throw out any idea that I had. What was the toughest business/career decision you had to make or obstacle you had to over overcome? I think the toughest business/career decision I have had to make is making the transition from working in college to working in the “adult world.” In college, I was very comfortable in my job as I had been with the organization for three years, but here I am in the “real world” trying to navigate the job market and it was really hard. I have hard to learn that I am young, and I have time to create a career for myself. What do you like most about what you do? Because I am so new to this position at Gesa, I am finding out a lot of things that I like about my job. With being an education and outreach specialist, I am able to utilize and use all these things that I am really passionate about. I am able to plan/coordinate events, which I love doing. Also, I get to interact with people through the seminars and classes that I’ll lead. Another thing I like about my current job is that I am working with a company that is rooted in the community. Working for a company that respects its members and employees is awesome. What was your first job and what did you learn there? My first job was my dream job as a kid. I worked at The Ranch Drive-In, a burger joint in my hometown of Bothell. When I was younger, I would tell my mom that I would work there, and I did! I worked there for about two-and-a-half years and learned a lot there. I learned about working within a team and I think I learned about working etiquette since it was my first job. I also learned about the power of working for your own money and the satisfaction it gave me.

Courtesy Rich Breshears of Breshears Photography

If you weren’t in your current field, what would be your dream job? Oh man, there are so many things that I would love to do. I have passion for dogs, so I would love to run a pet sanctuary and perhaps the event planning business on the side. I could see myself being so happy doing both of these things, which is really important to me. Tell us about your community involvement/community service: I love being involved within the community, so when I moved down to the Tri-Cities I made sure to get involved. I am currently the president of the Board of Directors for the West Richland Chamber of Commerce. Through this I am also a part of the Easter Egg Hunt Committee. This year I volunteered at the Kidz Digz Rigz event put on by the Kadlec Foundation and I loved that. I also oversaw Goodwill’s three Junior Achievement teams, where I became a $500 club member for the first time.

is so important, so when someone disregards that, it gets a little under my skin. Live and let live though! What do you do to relieve stress? I struggle with this sometimes, so lately it has been my mission to find things that allow me to relax. I recently started painting rocks and that has been really relaxing. Also, I recently joined a mixed martial arts gym doing kickboxing and boxing. Dream vacation? Honestly, the Oregon Coast. I love the crash of the ocean and the breeze you get. Favorite book? Not much of a reader Favorite movie? “Lion King” Favorite band? Maroon 5 Favorite gadget? Probably my cellphone, such a millennial.

What word best describes you? Passionate

Favorite website? I love Pinterest. It allows me to be creative.

What is your biggest flaw? I think my biggest flaw is my inability to separate my home life and work life. If things are stressful in either, I bring it home with me. I am trying to separate the two and just be content and happy in both.

Favorite thing to do in the Tri-Cities? I love just walking around. My favorite walk is from Anthony’s to Howard Amon Park. That is also the walk my fiancé proposed to me on!

What is your biggest pet peeve? My biggest pet peeve is people who aren’t willing to be team players, especially when it’s crunch time. I think teamwork

What thing would people be most surprised to learn about you? I love singing and I almost went to Central to major in vocal performance. I love singing, but I don’t do it a lot in front of people.

Young Professionals

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Katherine

STERLING

Material asset manager at Washington River Protection Solutions Age: 37 Hometown: Clear Lake, Iowa Describe the Company: Washington River Protection Solutions is reducing environmental risk posed by 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored in 177 underground tanks. WRPS’ focus is transferring waste from aging tanks into newer tanks where it will be stored until it is prepared for disposal. What brought you to the Tri-Cities? A job at Hanford with CH2M Hill. Do you have any family? Pets? Husband Rick, daughter (one-and-a-half years old) Kennedy, two dogs and my brother, who lives in Kennewick. Tell us about your job/career and how you got into it: I attended a Service Academy Career conference in Washington, D.C., in March 2008 and ended up on the other side of the country living in a different Washington than I had intended. CH2M Hill said my experience in the Army is what they needed to assist in cleaning up the Hanford site. The vice president explained the job scope that I was to do and I wanted to continue serving my country, so I moved to Richland. Tell us about your business philosophy: I care about people who work for me and about those we support and interact with. By maintaining high standards, setting clear expectations and being transparent, the goal is to energize diverse groups of individuals in a collaborative environment to bring about excellent results. I love seeing when someone gets it; the glow of understanding in their eyes is priceless. How do you stay competitive in your job/industry? I see myself as a lifetime learner. It’s difficult right now to pursue a doctorate, but I glean as much as I can from literature, spending time with my mentors and honestly the time I spend with my workers I believe makes me the most competitive. I don’t just hear about what’s wrong, I see it and am walking through it, therefore the corrective actions are usually more effective and thus picked up by others to implement. What are your future career goals? I want to have a good work-life balance as my family is very important to me. Yet

inside of me I have this passion for fixing. I love to be given the worst job that no one wants, dig into what is wrong, develop corrective actions, implement them, and then pass the program/progress off to someone else. I don’t desire a specific position, but I desire to be challenged more and more with each step I take in my career. Who are your mentors and what did they teach you? I have been blessed to have many mentors who all have given me good advice. Mark Lindholm has reinforced in me to be myself and follow my gut. He challenges me and is able to say what I need to hear due to our similar personalities. Laurie Hollick has taught me to view myself as an equal when I sit at a table and try and break down the military structure that was beat into me. My mentor from West Point, Col. David Trybula, taught me truth is in the data and to remember first names! What was the toughest business/career decision you had to make or obstacle you had to over overcome? My biggest career decision was to leave Hanford in 2019 and 2012 for my third and fourth deployments. I knew it would put my career on hold and each time I returned to work it was like I was starting over. While I left active duty in 2008, I still had not gotten rid of my desire to give my country everything. If asked, I still would. But now with a family I will do it in other ways than deploying to a combat zone. What do you like most about what you do? Doing the right thing was instilled in me at a young age and I love reading regulations and procedures and being able to visualize what program/process should be in place, identifying the gap and moving toward that goal. I love working with people, a lot of them have wanted the changes for a long time and being able to empower and reward people is very satisfying. What do you dislike most about your job? I guess if this has to be filled out I would say the commute. I don’t really want a nuclear waste site right next to my house, but I could do without the drive to work and the traffic. I’m the type of person who really likes to work. Sometimes I get discouraged, need to take a step back and understand what caused the discouragement, then determine the path forward and take it.

Courtesy Rich Breshears of Breshears Photography

What was your first job and what did you learn there? My first job was a second lieutenant in the Army. I learned that doing the right thing, while painful and unpopular, will always pay off in the end. I had some hard lessons standing up for what is right, but they all made me stronger. If you weren’t in your current field, what would be your dream job? My dream job is what my husband and I do on the side. We buy houses, fix them up and rent them out. I really enjoy everything from buying the house, fixing it to make it safe and livable, renting it out and continuing a relationship with the renter to ensure they are comfortable and taken care of. We have a goal of 20! Tell us about your community involvement/community service: I did a lot before I had Kennedy and had to cut down to a few favorites. Junior Achievement teacher for seventh and eighth grade, WRPS STEM Champion (specifically STEM Like Me!) and secretary of the YMCA Board of Directors. What word best describes you? Daring What is your biggest flaw? I can be very judgmental. Due to reviewing rules and regulations I can expect that others know what I know. I often have to slow down and remind myself to teach and explain so that when I am talking to others we are on the same page.

What is your biggest pet peeve? When someone comes to me with a problem and no solution. I love to fix issues, but I do not want to fix everyone’s issues! What do you do to relieve stress? Go up to our cabin on Sacheen Lake. Being away from cell service and just having our little family together is priceless. Dream vacation? I love Australia and would love to take my family there when Kennedy is older. Favorite book? “Atlas Shrugged” Favorite movie? “The Usual Suspects” Favorite band? Zac Brown Band Favorite gadget? Coffee maker Favorite website? Zillow.com Favorite thing to do in the Tri-Cities? Walk on the bike path. I love that it is right next to the water and goes for miles. What thing would people be most surprised to learn about you? I stutter. Most people can’t hear it, but I catch on certain words or phrases. My husband kindly finishes sentences for me when he can tell the word gets caught. At work I’m able to recover, but I still know I just stuttered and I usually blush.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

BERG, From page 30 What was the toughest business/career decision? I think the toughest decision we’ve had to make so far was actually just deciding to go for it and open BlankSpace. I was 25 at the time, and no bank would finance us because of our unique business model and lack of experience owning a company of that scale. My husband is probably one of the most riskaversive guys you will ever meet, and extremely responsible with our finances... so to decide to spend what essentially amounted to our life’s savings to start a business that most people didn’t understand and didn’t think would work. What do you like most about what you do? I most love interacting with clients

and customers. In fact, if it were up to me, I would just work the register at the Karma Juice bar inside BlankSpace every day! I genuinely enjoy talking to people...I think that it’s great when you can make someone feel important and that you care about how their day is going, when their baby is due, where they went for vacation last weekend, etc. My other favorite part is marketing. I can spend ridiculous amounts of time “geeking-out” on SEO, Facebook ads, web design and all those things! What do you dislike most about your job? I am a creative entrepreneur with a psychology degree, so you can imagine how my math skills are. Ha! I have really had to work hard at understanding cash flow, AP/AR, balance sheets, projections

Young Professionals and all of those things that are super important in a business. Fortunately, my better half is a numbers guy, so he covers for me a lot! Tell us about your community involvement/community service: I love getting out into our community and volunteering. Our first year in business has been crazy, so I haven’t had as many hours to dedicate to volunteer work as I used to, but some of my involvement past and present has included working with women in crisis pregnancies at You Medical (formerly Tri-Cities Pregnancy Network), and volunteering/financially partnering with Rascal Rodeo (an amazing organization that puts on faux rodeos for individuals with special needs). I also coached high school track for a number of years and really

enjoy working with youth. What word describes you? Charismatic What is your biggest flaw? I think my biggest flaw is my anxiety. I worry way too much; I let little things bother me a lot; and I get worked up pretty easily (you wouldn’t ever know it outside, but ask my husband!). I am a super passionate, TypeA personality, which can really be a doozy when paired with anxiety. As an entrepreneur, I am trying to learn to roll with the punches and really take things in stride. What is your biggest pet peeve? Complacency What do you do to relieve stress? Scream into a pillow or bang my head against a wall. Just kidding! I like being outdoors and being around animals. My husband kind of teases me because I used to spend way more time just talking to my horse than I did riding her...there is something really therapeutic about being around animals. I also spend a lot of time in prayer when I am stressed; it helps me take my eyes off myself and my problems. Dream vacation? Western Montana or Iceland Favorite book? “People Over Profit,” by Dale Partridge Favorite movie? “Pure Country” Favorite band? George Strait Favorite gadget? Wireless headphones Favorite website? Magnolia Market Favorite thing to do in the Tri-Cities? My favorite thing to do in the Tri-Cities is be on the water. And eat. We have a lot of restaurants here, and I love food. What thing would people be most surprised to learn about you? People might be surprised to learn that I am a former D1 college athlete, and that I love big game hunting. I think this surprises people because BlankSpace is kind of a ritzy, design-forward space and a business that is very much built on the high-end aesthetic. But really, I am just a hillbilly with decent taste! I think people might also be surprised to know that I live without cable, internet or reliable cell reception; in fact, we don’t even own a television.

McEWEN, From page 36 Favorite thing to do in the Tri-Cities? Spending time on the river with family and friends. What thing would people be most surprised to learn about you? I have an enormous family! I have seven siblings and six step-siblings. Things were pretty crazy growing up with so many kids and I am pretty sure we destroyed every house we lived in, but I would have wanted it no other way.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Young Professionals BUY-IN, From page 29 An alternative planning strategy is to have the buy-in be paid as the current equity owner exits rather than as the incoming professional enters. An example helps to explain the details. Consider an operating business valued at $1 million and a building valued at $1 million. The practice has three current equity owners who also jointly own the building. Consider that the plan is to bring in the new professional as an equal 25 percent owner. The young professional would have to buy in to both the practice and the building (with the hope of eventually taking over both) for about $500,000. This column will largely focus on the building portion for simplicity’s sake, but the concept can be applied to both components. So, the building buy-in component is $250,000. Let’s also assume that the next year, the eldest existing owner exits the practice and sells a quarter of his share to the other professionals. That existing owner received about $83,000 for the building buy-in from the new professional from a year ago and an additional $250,000 for his buy out at exit, assuming no growth, for a total of $333,000 for building. Consider an alternate buy-in approach. Instead of buying in to the existing equity and shelling out $250,000, the young professional is admitted to the building ownership but only participates in the equity gains from that moment on. The young professional pays zero upon admission but takes on a liability (the

The tiered approach Traditional

Tiered

Buy-in at admission

$250,000

Buy-in at first owner exit

$83,000

$111,000

Young professional equity

$333,000

$111,000

First owner exit total received

$333,000

Remaining owners’ equity

$333,000

$444,000

obligation to buy and the proportionate liability if the property goes down in value). The current equity is reserved to the current owner(s). In this scenario, the young professional would become an owner of the building but have zero equity (all the $333,000 equity apiece would be reserved for the existing owners). Then, upon, the first existing owner’s departure, the three remaining professionals pay the exiting owner for his share of the building ($333,000 plus any appreciation in value of the building since the time of the young professional’s admission). The exiting owner is made whole but the equity ownership of the remaining owners is not equal. Instead, the two original owners would book equity at $333,000 plus $111,000 for $444,000. The newest professional would book his equity at $111,000 (equivalent to his buy-out responsibility for the exiting owner). Effectively, this approach still makes the exiting owner whole while making the buy-in more palatable for the young pro-

fessional and giving him or her time to establish the practice before requiring payments. As to the operating business, a similar approach could be utilized. First, we’d value the business as of the date of hire. The equity could then would be broken into different parts (e.g. the accounts

uNETWORKING Cathy Schaeffer hired as advisor for Baker Boyer

Cathy Schaeffer has been hired as a family advisor in Baker Boyer’s Walla Walla office. Schaeffer has served as the executive director of the Walla Walla Watershed Alliance and Partnership, a business manager and an accountant for several companies. She has served on the Touchet School Board for five years and is deputy district

receivables and the regular assets). The current accounts receivable, or AR, would be attributable to the existing owner. Any increase would be credited to the new owner. The corporation would agree that the AR is a form of deferred compensation owing to the individual professional, thus lowering the value of the business for the buy-in with after tax dollars but allows the new professional to use pre-tax dollars to buy-in to the AR. Here again, the key is to tier the equity in the business for a more gradual buy-in. Of course there are other more traditional strategies like lowering the equity through refinance. But the tiered equity approach is worth considering. Although the numbers are substantially the same as a traditional buy-in, it feels like a better deal to the new professional that doesn’t have to come out of pocket as much early in his or her career.

director for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington. Schaeffer graduated from Washington State University with a bachelor’s in agriCathy Schaeffer business and a master’s in agricultural economics.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Members of the Tri-City Country Club voted unanimously in early October to turn over day-to-day operations of running the club and par-65 golf course to a group of 21 people called Save the Club. Plans include renaming the Kennewick club, opening the restaurant to the public and reducing rates to attract more golfers.

GOLF, From page 4 Stemp said the country club was viable until about five years ago when the economic downturn hit. But it had other problems too. “If you ask anybody about the country club, they’ll say it’s perceived as an exclusive club that was unwelcoming environment to the general public,” he said. “We need to break that mentality to bring ideas to attract younger people. We didn’t want to change because we had very aging group of members. We weren’t able to attract new members. We were somewhat cost prohibitive to other courses. “Little by little, we lost pieces, lost members, lost revenue,” he said. “We started cutting costs. The facility has aged. A lot of TLC needs to happen.” Paid Advertising

Lessons From “Retirement Week” www.edwardjones.com

To raise public awareness about the importance of saving for retirement, Congress has designated the third week of October as National Save for Retirement Week. What lessons can you learn from this event? First of all, save early – and save often. Too many people put off saving for retirement until they are in their late 40s – and even their 50s. If you wait until you are in this age group, you can still do quite a bit to help build the resources you will need for retirement – but it will be more challenging than if you had begun saving and investing while you were in your 20s or early 30s. For one thing, if you delay saving for retirement, you may have to put away large sums of money each year to accumulate SHELLEY KENNEDY Financial Advisor (509) 946-7626

enough to support a comfortable retirement lifestyle. Plus, to achieve the growth you need, you might have to invest more aggressively than you’d like, which means taking on more risk. And even then, there are no guarantees of getting the returns you require. On the other hand, if you start saving and investing when you are still in the early stages of your

career, you can make smaller monthly contributions to your retirement accounts. And by putting time on your side, you’ll be able to take advantage of compounding – the ability to earn money on your principal and your earnings. Here’s another lesson to be taken from National Save for Retirement Week: Maximize your opportunities to invest in the tax-advantaged retirement accounts available to you, such as an IRA and a 401(k) or similar employer-sponsored retirement plan. If you have a 401(k)-type plan at work, contribute as much as you can afford every year, and increase your contributions whenever your salary goes up. At a minimum, put in enough to earn your employer’s matching contribution, if one is offered. Apart from saving and investing early and contributing to your tax-advantaged retirement accounts, how else can you honor the spirit of National Save for Retirement Week? A key step you can take is to reduce the barriers to building your retirement savings. One such obstacle is debt. The larger your monthly debt payments, the less you will be able to invest each month. It’s not easy, of course, to keep your debt under control, but do the best you can. One other barrier to accumulating retirement resources is the occasional large expense resulting from a major car repair, sizable medical bills or other things of that nature. If you constantly have to dip into your long-term investments to meet these costs, you’ll slow your progress toward your retirement goals. To help prevent this from happening, try to build an emergency fund big enough to cover three to six months’ worth of living expenses. Since you’ll need instant access to this money, you’ll want to keep it in a liquid, low-risk account. So, there you have them: some suggestions on taking the lessons of National Save for Retirement Week to heart. By following these steps, you can go a long way toward turning your retirement dreams into reality. Member SIPC

Ryan Brault, CFP® 3616 W. Court St. Ste. I, Pasco

509-545-8121

Dustin Clontz

Jay Freeman

1060 Jadwin Ave., Ste. 325 Richland

16 W Kennewick Ave., Ste. 101 Kennewick

509-943-1441

509-783-2041

Shelley Kennedy, CFP® 767 Williams Blvd. Richland

509-946-7626

Terry Sliger 1329 Aaron Dr. Richland

509-943-2920

T.J. Willingham

1020 N. Center Pkwy, Ste. D Kennewick

509-735-1497

Changes will made to the golf course. “They’ve let the rough grow a bit,” Stemp said. “We’re in the process of speeding up the greens. It’s going to play tougher than its slope. We’re going to do some renovation with sand traps. The truth is, we’re not going to get some big Northwest PGA tournaments here, but as a juniors course it plays really well.” Another renovation to the clubhouse will take place, transforming the upstairs into a sports bar and steakhouse. “We hope to roll that out Feb. 1. We’ll be member-guest until then,” he said. “Members will also get discounts in the new restaurant.” The group must wait 90 days for the new liquor license. “Like every other public golf course, you get golf and some of them have a good snack bar,” Stemp said. “Now here, you’ll get good golf, a really good restaurant, one of the best views from the restaurant, a members-only area on the lower level, with a fitness center, and we’ll push the swimming pool.” The ownership transfer happens Oct. 31 or Nov. 1. “We’ll start running the day-to-day operations then,” said Stemp, who was surprised by the unanimous vote on Oct. 3. “Only two-thirds of the majority were needed,” Stemp said. “There was a vocal group in the minority that were somehow concerned we were going to pillage the assets. We tried to answer those concerns.” Now, it’s about getting more people to play golf. “We want to give the public a chance to see what we’re about,” Stemp said. “Hopefully they like what they see. We’re pretty excited, but it’s a bit overwhelming. The overall membership saw what we were trying to do.” To Stemp and the rest of Save the Club, it’s about what they love. “I love to go out there and play golf,” Stemp said.

Country club’s new annual membership rates for 2018

• Family rate, $2,700 • Senior family (over 65), $2,600 • Single, $2,100 • Senior single (over 65), $2,000 • Junior, $750 • Corporate, $5,000 • Social, $750 • Non-resident (outside Benton County), $2,124

Monthly payments are available with 25 percent down and a 12-month contract. Besides unlimited golf, membership includes seasonal pool, 20 reciprocal golf courses in the Pacific Northwest, access to fitness center, and food and beverage discounts at the golf course and clubhouse. For more information, call the clubhouse 509-783-6014.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Ben Franklin Transit debuts comprehensive service plan changes BY ELSIE PUIG

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Ben Franklin Transit has rolled out comprehensive service changes, including free Wi-Fi on buses and text alerts, more direct and frequent connections, and extended operating hours. The changes were needed as the Tri-City area has grown and developed, said Daniel Elliott, marketing coordinator for Ben Franklin Transit. “We realigned routes to be more direct. Now it’s easier to get from one city to another, because we realize that people who live in Richland, Kennewick, or Pasco don’t necessarily work there too,” he said. The transit agency analyzed ridership data and travel patterns to see “where everybody was going and what the hotspots were,” Elliott said. “Using the data we collected, we were able to develop more direct routes that eventually lessened travel time among major corridors. You can get to your destination faster.” The majority of the 17 fixed bus routes will run every 30 minutes instead of every hour, with the exception of busier corridors like Court Street in Pasco, Clearwater Avenue in Kennewick and George Washington Way in Richland, which will be 15 minutes each. Routes 23 and 26 are now inter-city routes and their numbers have been changed to 123 and 126. Route 123 now connects Knight Street Transit Station to Three Rivers Transit Station by way of Keene Road. Route 126 now connects Knight Street Transit Station to Three Rivers Transit Station by way of Highway 240. Ben Franklin Transit also eliminated five bus routes. In 2016, BFT had 3.6 million boardings, but that number has been decreasing slightly throughout the years, said Kurt Workman, marketing and outreach manager for Ben Franklin Transit.

“This is something that a lot of public transportation districts are experiencing, and it’s tied to lower gas prices,” Workman said. “These changes also help address that.” The transit agency spent $366,000 in initial startup costs for the service changes — which included things like printing signs, holding public meetings, hiring more drivers, overtime pay and hiring AECOM for transit planning consulting. The service changes will cost the agency an additional $3.2 million a year, which includes wages, maintenance, and wear and tear of transportation. The transit is funded primarily from fares and sales tax revenue. “What’s happened in the last few years is that the area has grown so fast and the economy has strengthened, and sales tax revenue increases,” Workman said. “It’s our duty to use those funds to put additional services on the road.” The transit agency has expanded its service hours for fixed routes and Dial-ARide services. Now riders can use the bus from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the week and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. “Riders can be more flexible with their time, allowing them to spend more time with their family and running their errands,” Elliott said. Before the service change, the hours were 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. “Whether it’s grocery shopping or going to see friends, or people using the bus to do chores, riders will have more time to do that,” Elliott said. “We realize not everybody has a traditional 9 to 5 job. There are people that work non-traditional hours.” Before going ahead with the service changes, Ben Franklin Transit held open houses to seek feedback on the proposed routes and other transportation feature requests. The first round of open houses was in January and a second round was in May. The transit system also underwent a

More direct routes, faster connections, free Wi-Fi on buses and real-time updates for bus arrivals and departures are part of Ben Franklin Transit’s comprehensive service changes. (Courtesy Ben Franklin Transit)

major technology upgrade. The new riderfriendly technology lets riders easily choose route options and bus stops, map walking distance, and check travel times depending on their departure and arrival location. Riders also can sign up to receive text message alerts on routes and departure times, and watch real-time stats as the bus moves along its route toward stops. “We wanted to be on par with the technology offerings of bigger transit systems,” Elliott said. Part of that is via Myride.bft.org, a GPSconnected online route planner that allows riders to track the location and status of their bus. “You can track your bus via GPS and it’ll tell you whether it’s running early or running late,” Elliott said. “We also made the sure the website was mobile compati-

ble, making it easy to access the information when they’re on the go.” Free Wi-Fi is now available on all 60 buses. “We want to make sure people don’t have to pause their life when they’re on the bus. Then you can still be connected to people, browse social media and also allows people to do the Myride program while on the bus,” Elliott said. Ben Franklin Transit also updated its website to make it easier for people to navigate. A trip planner option allows riders to view a Google Map of their ride, including stops and bus fares. The regular adult fare is $1.50 per ride, or $25 for a monthly pass. Seniors and children 5 and younger are free. Visit bft.org for more information on routes and bus fares.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

BUSINESS PROFILE

Backyard birders’ store comes to roost in Richland

this new adventure. “We started looking at it in August of David and Hanna Goss knew they were 2016,” said Hanna on to something when they started feeding Goss, who will fill in their backyard birds with seed sold by Wild on the weekends Birds Unlimited Nature Shop. while her husband “Our neighbors started complaining works as the full-time because the birds weren’t coming over to manager. “We got their house anymore,” Hanna Goss said. approved the weekApparently, word of beak spread end after throughout the bird community. Thanksgiving. It was It’s just one of the many reasons the a lot of work between Gosses, married 25 years, have decided to August and open a Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop November. We franchise, the first of its kind in Eastern looked at this (store) Washington. space the first week The store, located at 474 Keene Road in of January. We went Richland in the strip mall adjacent to to 11 stores and talked Yoke’s Fresh Market, planned a soft opento 12 owners. Just David and Hanna Goss stand in front of their new Wild ing Oct. 14 and grand opening Nov. 3. about every person Birds Unlimited Nature Shop in Richland. The store The name Wild Birds Unlimited offers said they’d do it planned an Oct. 14 soft opening and a grand opening visions of a bird store filled with parrots again.” is planned for Nov. 3. and parakeets. Franchise require“Everyone thinks that,” Hanna Goss ments indicate ownThey vetted the company and liked what said. “That would be the Captive Birds ers must have a minithey saw. Unlimited.” mum net worth of $300,000 and liquid “Year after year, it’s been one of the top No. This store is all about feeding birds. capital of $40,000 to $50,000. Startup costs franchises in the country,” Hanna Goss The store will offer fresh, high-quality range from $146,000 to $228,000, accordsaid. food for birds, other necessities for backing to the company’s website. One of the reasons is because of the yard bird feeding, and quality nature gifts. Four percent of gross sales from a franproduct. Backyard birding is the second most chise goes to royalties, and half a percent of Apparently, birds are picky eaters. And popular hobby in the United States, right gross sales go to the advertising fund. most of the bird food sold in big bags at the behind gardening, according to the The average gross sales for stores open box stores just isn’t that great. Department of Interior’s National Survey a full year was $541,755 in 2016. “It’s just filler,” Hanna Goss said. “I’ve of Fishing, Hunting and WildlifeThe couple did franchise-owner training found sticks, twigs and rocks. They’ll kick Associated Recreation. in Carmel, Indiana, then got hands-on it off, then it becomes weeds. Just how And there is big money in it. training at a store in Billings, Montana. much of it is filler? All of ours is 100 percent good.” For example, her husband said, “we have special blends for quail. We want to help people enjoy the hobby. We want to help them solve problems, such as how to keep squirrels out of the bird food. And we can do that.” And yes, it is a serious hobby. “We know of people who drive to Coeur d’Alene to get good bird seed,” Hanna Goss said. That’s because before this week, the closest Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop Rare medical office franchise was in the north Idaho city. vacancies in South “There are 11 on the west side of the state,” David Goss said. “One is coming to Richland! High Wenatchee.” visibility on the corner But the Gosses hope to eventually add a of Gage Blvd. and store in Spokane, where they have the right of first refusal there. Keene Road. Ample First things first. The Gosses want to get parking and ADA Tri-Citians to share their love of backyard birds. accessible. “We’re connecting people with nature,” Hanna Goss said. “One thing I’m excited about, is my backyard is an extension of Suite 100 Suite 101 Suite 200 my indoor space. We’re going to be able to • 1,652 square feet upscale medical • 1,218 square feet on the first • 4,620 square feet on second floor provide some alternatives for people in office with large reception room floor with large reception room (entire floor!) their backyards. Service is going to be one • Private doctor's office w/full • Private doctor's office • Upscale waiting room with large thing that sets us apart.” bathroom • 2 exam rooms w/ sinks and admin/reception area Her husband agreed. • 2 exam rooms + sterile room utility/kitchen room • 3 doctor’s offices, 2 manager offices “People have gotten in touch with us, • Separate doctor/staff entrance • Separate doctor/staff entrance • 8 exam rooms, 1 procedure room, wondering when we’re open,” he said. and reserved parking spaces and reserved parking spaces lab room and file/computer room “Our customer shopping experience is not • Separate staff/patient restrooms like most retail shops. The customer comes • Reserved parking spaces in already happy. What we try to do is share what we know about birds. It’s something For special end of summer pricing, call 509-628-9333! we can provide to enhance their feeding of birds.” ® Professionally managed by RAB Keystone, LLC. | Contact Rob Bill, CPM , 509-628-9333, rkbill2540@frontier.com uBIRDS, Page 46 BY JEFF MORROW

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Nearly 53 million people feed birds or watch wildlife in their backyard; $6.9 billion is spent annually on bird feeding and wildlife watching; and $5 billion is spent annually on bird seed and wildlife feed, according to the Wild Birds Unlimited website. Jim Carpenter understood how big backyard bird feeding was 36 years ago. Carpenter founded Wild Birds in 1981 in Indianapolis as one of the first bird feeding stores in North America. Today, Carpenter is president and CEO of the company that has more than 300 franchise stores. How the Gosses got involved was through a phone call from a friend, who said she was going to own a franchise. David Goss looked up the company’s website and became intrigued by the franchise idea. “And we’ve always fed the birds,” said David Goss, who had taken an early retirement after 25 years in higher education. The couple moved from the North Carolina region to the Tri-Cities more than two years ago so Hanna Goss could take a communications specialist job with a company. “I took an early retirement and we moved here,” said David Goss, who had been looking for something to do. “So now what? Our friend’s call came at a perfect time. We checked out the first store. It was nice. Then we checked out the next one. It was nice too.” The couple have spent over a year doing their research, training and preparing for

ORCHARD HILLS MEDICAL BUILDING 705 Gage Blvd., Richland, WA 509-628-9333

Available Spaces

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

BUSINESS PROFILE

Total Energy Management expands into $1.2 million facility BY ELSIE PUIG

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Total Energy Management is celebrating more than 30 years of growth with a move into a new facility at 2521 Stevens Drive in Richland. The company moved to its expanded facility in September from its previous location at the Richland Airport. In August 2016, the company bought an existing 7,500-square-foot office building from the Port of Benton and last September built an adjacent 23,500-square-foot warehouse and fabrication facility. The new building was completed this spring. The new building at 2531 Stevens Drive houses the warehousing and purchasing departments, process controls division and a complete sheet metal fabrication facility. The existing office building at 2521 Stevens Drive houses the operations and management team. “We were maxed out at our old facility with just about 7,000 square feet total of space, we needed more footprint and more real estate,” said Aaron DeWitt, principal at Total Energy Management. DeWitt said the company also needed more space to accommodate growth in its fabrication division, which builds all the products for its commercial heating ventilation and air conditioning division, such as sheet metal, industrial ventilation and ducting. “We were looking to expand our overall footprint for storing and staging equipment purchases, and for our vehicles,” he said. “We felt for us to expand our service offerings, we had to expand operations to support that growth. We felt like we couldn’t service additional volume, increase fabrication and production through-put in our old facility.” Teton West was the main contractor for the project and Jason Archibald with ALD Architects in Richland was the architectur-

Total Energy Management’s new 23,500-square-foot warehouse and fabrication facility at 2531 Stevens Drive in Richland houses a complete sheet metal fabrication facility. (Courtesy Jordan de Groot of The Kenmore Team Real Estate)

al designer. The total cost of the project was roughly $1.2 million. In 1984, Roger and Lin DeWitt founded Total Energy Management. Back then the company focused exclusively on industrial refrigeration services.

Introducing Tri-Cities Community Federal Credit Union’s new name and logo!

In 2010, the couple’s sons Aaron and Brad DeWitt bought the company from their father. The brothers have been part of the business for 22 years. Since its origin, Total Energy Management has greatly diversified to

include mechanical, electrical and process control services. This includes complete process controls development, design, fabrication, implementation to HVAC direct digital controls, and also system integration and automation. “It’s a pretty neat division we added back in 1995. We were both electrical designers and engineers,” Aaron DeWitt said. “We maintain our Underwriters Laboratories licenses and we fill UL control panels for everything from fruit processing to waste water treatment plants. It’s a pretty neat division.” The company’s service area covers a 400-mile radius from northern Washington to central Oregon. It specializes in working on large school projects, municipal building expansions and retail centers. It also does residential work. Total Energy Management services anywhere from 250 to 300 new homes every year along with existing residential replacement, upgrades and maintenance contracts. uTOTAL ENERGY, Page 46

Our Y strengthens communities by helping kids reach their full potential, encouraging healthy living and inspiring social responsibility. • Spend time together as a family through community events such as Trick or Treat on The Trail. • Kids have a safe place to go to learn and play in our Before and After School Program. • Live a healthier life by becoming a volunteer coach for a YMCA youth sports team. • Give back and help make a difference in the life of each individual our Y serves.

509-735-8331 • www.Tri-CU.com 8,300 sq. ft. • Drive thru teller • ATM • Expansive parking Opening Fall 2018 corner of Highway 395 and 19th Ave. in Kennewick.

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The Y, For a Better Us

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

uNETWORKING Kennewick marketing firm hires 3 new team members Focal Point Marketing and Multimedia in Kennewick has added three new members to its team. • Account executive Alma Carrillo will assist with Alma Carrillo scheduling, organizing and preparing accounts. • Digital marketing strategist Bethany Lee will specialize in optimizing digital campaigns by tailoring them to a client’s speBethany Lee cific needs.

• Daniel Suzuki was hired as a video production artist. He was previously a video and photo editor for Chef’d and Daniel Suzuki the head graphic designer for Sender One Climbing.

4 Conover Insurance agents complete farm certification

Four Conover Insurance employees have earned On Your Side Basic Farm Certification. The designation is intended to help farmers and ranchers recognize agents who have made a commitment to understanding the complex risks faced by the agriculture industry. The agents who completed the program are Jodi Clayton, Kristina Schrader and Jason Bravo Mesa, all of Pasco, and Ryan Moore of Yakima.

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BIRDS, From page 44 The two had to complete training to become certified birdfeeding specialists (their three employees are in the process of training). Certified birdfeeding specialists can help customers attract what they want according to their yard and habitat. That can be a lot of birds. The average backyard is visited by 15 to 20 bird species. But a bird-friendly backyard can attract upwards of 60 different bird species. David and Hanna Goss, the TriCities’ newest bird whisperers, stand ready to help. “People connect with birds almost like pets. They become attached,” David Goss said. “I’m excited. I’m looking forward to getting the seed in the store.” Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop is at 474 Keene Road. It open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Call 509-579-5440 or email wbu. tricitieswa@gmail.com. Online at richland.wbu.com or on Facebook.

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TOTAL ENERGY, From page 45 The business currently employs 96 people. Over the years, Total Energy Management has been active in the community through various partnerships, sponsorships and its own 501(c)3 organization, TEM Community Giving Foundation. The brothers started the nonprofit after their mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2004. “We wanted to raise money and give back to the community and especially to families going through similar hardships as us,” Aaron DeWitt said. “We’ve sponsored various events, and put on our flagship event: the TEM Softball Bash for Cancer.” Total Energy Management raised nearly $40,000 from that event alone and nearly $300,000 since starting the foundation. Though the company hasn’t hosted the softball tournament in the last five years, the brothers are hoping instead to focus on local charities like Wishing Star, which focuses on alleviating the burden for families with a family member facing a cancer diagnosis. Over the years, Total Energy Management has sponsored families in need during the Christmas season, participated in employee food drives for the food bank and sponsored local youth sports teams. “We’ve raised money and knocked on strangers’ doors for families that were battling lifethreatening illnesses and taken a little bit of pressure off and relieved some of those stresses,” Aaron DeWitt said. Total Energy Management: 509946-4500; teminc.com; email to info@teminc.com.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Virtual receptionist on the job to take care of businesses’ needs BY JEFF MORROW

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

A Richland company has a solution for businesses who can’t hire an employee to serve as a receptionist, or a company sharing a building with multiple tenants. Her name is ALICE and she’s a virtual receptionist. Abadan Tri-Cities is offering ALICE’s service to area businesses. ALICE, which stands for A Live Interactive Customer Experience, helps to manage customers virtually. Among ALICE’s benefits are allowing users to display and communicate important information, event news and maps, and to check in visitors. It also can remotely turn on a camera to monitor a lobby area. For companies on a tight budget, it can save money by not using an employee who might be needed elsewhere in the company. Tyler Best, president and general manager of the printing and copy machine company, said staying on top of the latest technology is critical to his company’s success. Abadan discovered ALICE at a recent print expo. “We saw this last year at the Konica Minolta Convention,” Best said. “This year, we decided to pursue it. We’re one of the first companies to start playing with it.” Josh Smith, Abadan’s solutions analyst, has led the way with ALICE. “This is a perfect solution for a multitenant building, or companies with multiple buildings across a city or the country,” Smith said. In Abadan’s case, it owns its own building, with Elevate Tri-Cities as a tenant. Abadan plans to install ALICE in the lobby so when customers come in, the virtual receptionist can greet them. They’ll then be asked to type in their name. The customer will find Abadan TriCities or Elevate on a touch screen and then the employee they are looking for. Meanwhile, Best said, someone in the office – while working on a regular project – may be assigned to answer the lobby “calls.” “Say the customer is looking for one of our salespeople,” Best said. “This way, they can get in contact with our salespeople. Our salespeople are always mobile. About 90 percent of the time they’ll be out of the office because that’s the job.” The employee assigned to reception duties that day would have an app on

their computer tied to ALICE. Her camera would kick on when customers approach, and the employee would be alerted. Because of the camera, ALICE also can act as a security device. Some naysayers may think ALICE is another step in replacing humans in the work force. “I saw that also when it was introduced,” Smith said. “But it’s a solution for people who don’t have receptionists.” Konica Minolta calls ALICE the “Workplace of the Future” on its website, saying it’s technology that empowers professionals to work smarter, increase productivity, maximize efficiency and enhance collaboration. By 2020, Konica Minolta said, five billion more people will be online and 25 billion will be connected to some type of device. A third of the global work force will be working as freelancers. The hardware for ALICE comes in desktop, wall-mounted and kiosk designs. “The hardware can be a couple thousand dollars to $15,000, based on your needs,” said Best, who hopes to sell a few ALICEs this year. Then there is the monthly expense for the software. That can run from $200 to under $1,000 a month, depending on the company’s needs. The software comes via a subscrip-

tion (basic, premium and enterprise), and the length of the subscription can run from one to five years. For companies which deal with many cultures, a multilingual feature is available. “The printing industry is really opening up to this,” said Best of ALICE. And the device complements Abadan TriCities’ goal “to provide our customers with the latest technologies and products, while providing the kind of service Abadan Tri-Cities’ Josh Smith, left, solutions analyst, and they need, expect Tyler Best, president/general manager, pose next to virtual receptionist ALICE. Abadan is selling the new technology and deserve.” to area businesses. Best is realistic about it. “I don’t think vice,” he said. “It’s building our brand. (ALICE will) increase sales,” he said. We’re trying to add another level of But it might maintain the company’s customer service and at the same time current sales level by not missing out on help our sales.” helping current customers. Abadan Tri-Cities: 79 Aaron Drive, “It’s another level of customer serRichland; 509-946-7693; abadantc.com.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION In This Section

Capital campaign underway for new Boys and Girls clubhouse BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Real Estate & Construction

Land behind Richland Target faces rezoning Page 53

Building Tri-Cities

Double Canyon Winery opens in West Richland Page 54

Construction News

Chervenell merges with Walla Walla company Page 59

The enthusiasm Craig Eerkes feels for his community is unmistakable when he talks about the plan to build a new clubhouse in Kennewick for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties. “This whole thing is to be proactive with kids,” Eerkes said, his voice filled with pride, and even awe, as he reflected on the swift and successful capital campaign which raised $3.6 million in nine weeks. “The outpouring of support from the community is unbelievable. It’s unbelievable,” he said. Following the advice of a consultant, the group opted to raise money quietly before announcing the construction project to the public. Now, there’s less than $1 million remaining to reach the $4.3 million target to begin building. Organizers of the Great Futures Tri-Cities campaign hope to close out fundraising before Oct. 20. The groundbreaking for the new clubhouse in east Kennewick north of Park Middle School could be in the spring with the goal of opening the facility next fall. The clubhouse would be located on land bought from the city of Kennewick. The roughly $100,000 purchase price was shared by a team of three business leaders, including Eerkes, Bill McCurley and Bill Lampson. The land didn’t have infrastructure to

Kids from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties stand at the site of the future $4.3 million clubhouse off South Jean Place in Kennewick. (Courtesy Boys and Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties)

access it at the time it was acquired. Kennewick helped support the project by building roads and sidewalks. The land lies almost smack dab in the center of a 10-block square bordered by West Fourth Avenue to the north and West Tenth Avenue to the south, Olympia Street on the west and South Garfield Street on the east. Nine hundred school-age kids live within this area, many in low-income apartment complexes, according to the Boys & Girls Clubs.

Future success for these students is threatened by crime, housing insecurity and chronic absenteeism in school, agency officials said. By locating a clubhouse in this micro-community, the nonprofit hopes to be a resource for children who might otherwise be home alone or on the streets unsupervised. “There are a number of communities that have not been proactive and the alternative is to be reactive,” Eerkes said. “They hire more police, they build bigger jails and the results are not positive.” uCLUB, Page 51

Credit union announces name change, plans for new building BY JESSICA HOEFER

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Around Town

Women gain welding experience at Columbia Basin College Page 71

HE SAID IT “This is still a seller’s market based on historically low inventory across the board and a robust employment market which continues to bring new people to the area.” - Dennis Gisi of John L. Scott Ofﬁces Page 64

Tri-Cities Community Federal Credit Union announced its new name this month and soon the company will get a new home. The credit union is now called Tri-CU (pronounced Tri-Q) as announced during a recent ground-breaking ceremony for a 8,300-square-foot building at 3213 W. 19th Ave. in Kennewick. The new headquarters will be almost triple the square footage of the credit union’s current location at 2626 W. Kennewick Ave. Doug Wadsworth, who has served as the president of Tri-CU for almost a decade, said construction will take about 11 months. If all goes as planned, the employees hope to move in early next fall. “It all depends on the winter,” he said. “We want to get our foundation in within the next month or so.” Tri-CU was founded in 1969 as International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 112, Federal Credit Union, serving local IBEW union electricians and their families. In the mid-80s, it became known as Kennewick Community Federal Credit Union, and in 2009, the name evolved

The new Tri-CU building, which will cost almost $3 million, was designed by Terence L. Thornhill Architect Inc. of Pasco. DGR Grant Construction of Richland is the general contractor. (Courtesy Tri-CU)

to encompass the Tri-Cities. But when the credit union surveyed its nearly 6,000 members, Wadsworth said it was evident the long name was confusing. “We asked (members) to put down the name of our credit union, and there were like 20 different versions of our name. So we said, ‘OK, we see an opportunity. It needs to be shortened and simplified,’” said Wadsworth. “We had a strong brand already,

so we didn’t want to totally change the name. It feels similar to our long name, just short and easy. And we sponsor things often, like Little League teams, so it has to be one word for cheering.” With the help of P.S. Media Inc., Tri-CU chose two colors for a new logo: blue that represents dependability and trust, and orange to signify friendliness. uTRI-CU, Page 52

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Real Estate & Construction CLUB, From page 49 The breakneck speed in fundraising is the final piece of a three-year effort to bring the clubhouse to the community. “This project demonstrates that we will, for the first time in our history, design and build a clubhouse to meet the needs of a strategic community,” said Brian Ace, executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties. “We will work actively to address the needs present in this area, and to ensure that youth have opportunities for success regardless of the challenges they face.” Many kids visit a Boys and Girls Club branch between 3 to 7 p.m., which is the time when school-age students are “most vulnerable to unacceptable behavior,” Eerkes said. Kids can work on their homework, play games, do crafts, use computers and have positive interactions with adults, something often missing from their lives. Inability to pay for access to the club is not a barrier, with middle school and high school students admitted for free, and preschool to elementary students allowed for a $20 yearly membership fee. The school bus drops many students off at the clubhouse in the afternoon. Because of community support, the new location will be open year-round and offer child care, providing a source of revenue. Clubs across the region are open more than 250 days a year, which covers after-school hours while school is in session and weekdays during the summer months. Officials with the Boys and Girls Clubs report that on any given day, 700 club members walk through their doors, with an average daily attendance that has increased 30 percent since 2014. The dream of adding a clubhouse has come closer to fruition, thanks to some unexpected gifts along the way. Eerkes and his wife, Marilee, serve as voluntary co-chairs for the campaign effort, overseeing a cabinet of 14 people who have actively canvassed the community for donations. Cabinet member Greg Chervenell, owner of Chervenell Construction in Kennewick, is the builder on the project and stepped up with what Eerkes described only as a “sacrificial gift” toward the $3.6 million raised. A Coeur d’Alene architect donated the plans, using another model already designed, providing a savings of seven percent on the project. And when campaign cabinet members asked various individuals for a specific donation amount, four of the donors chose to double the amount requested instead. Eerkes, who is president of Sun Pacific Energy, and his wife Marilee have been ardent supporters of the Boys and Girls Clubs following the death of their teen daughter, Laura, 20 years ago in a car crash. Her passion for the nonprofit and the Young Life organization has lived on through her parents and brother through their active involvement in providing a safe, caring space for kids.

The Eerkes family is the namesake of youth crime prevention. the Eerkes Memorial Golf Classic for Organizers promise the new Kids, held yearly to support the Boys 20,000-square-foot clubhouse will serve and Girls Clubs of kids and teens who Benton and Franklin need a place to go Counties and Young after school. Life. They say it will Eerkes said this address two key year’s tournament points when it opens The number of youth raised more than on West Seventh Boys and Girls Clubs Avenue and South $250,000, with all of Benton and but $25,000 going Jean Street next year: directly to the Boys break the cycle of Franklin Counties and Girls Clubs to crime, poverty and serves each year. cover sustaining hopelessness and expenses. Eerkes offer a support sysalso campaigned in tem of caring adults favor of the Benton County public safe- and mentors to kids who need it most. ty sales tax, which passed in 2014. A “I am very concerned about the need portion of the tax revenue supports to provide kids with positive after-

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school activities, especially in areas of our community with large numbers of at-risk youth,” said Sen. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick. “The Boys and Girls Club provides children and teens with not only activities, but a support system, which is vital to keeping kids away from crime, drugs and gangs.” There are 14 Boys and Girls Clubs across Benton and Franklin counties, which serve 2,500 youth each year. It’s expected 250 youth will be served by the new Kennewick facility. To learn more about the Great Futures Tri-Cities capital campaign or to contribute toward the effort, visit greatfuturestc.org or call 509-543-9980.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

TRI-CU, From page 49 When the logo and name were announced Oct. 11, Tri-CU rolled out a new website, Facebook page and sent a newsletter to members about the future move. The new building, across from Southgate Elementary School, will cost almost $3 million. It was designed by Terence L. Thornhill Architect Inc. of Pasco. DGR Grant Construction of Richland is the general contractor. The headquarters will be one story and feature a big, open lobby. The design also includes miniature teller counters, Wadsworth said, where tellers can walk around the edge of the counter to chat with customers. “We’ll have open, round desks so

tellers can stand next to members. Not bank-ish long lines. It’s all about being interactive,” he said. In the company’s 2017 summer survey, Tri-CU discovered members value the local, service-oriented atmosphere but one feature customers really wanted was an ATM. Currently Tri-CU offers a network of free ATM uses in the Tri-Cities and across the nation, such as the machines inside Safeway, 7-Eleven stores and most gas stations. Wadsworth said they’re excited to be able to meet the needs of their members with an ATM at the new location. “We’ve had a lot of people gravitate here because they do not want to deal with a big bank atmosphere. We keep it familyoriented and, in addition to that, we’re

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REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION able to provide all the bells and whistles And while lobby traffic has not grown that the big guys do. We’re able to stay significantly in the last six years, cutting edge, so it’s a win-win.” membership has doubled in size because Wadsworth said a more people are doing lot of the small credit their banking online. unions are struggling “We don’t have to right now because of build a whole bunch “We keep it familyregulatory burdens of new branches, and oriented and, in and the demand for we’ll save money for addition to that, technology. better products, There are about services and lower we’re able to 50 credit unions, fees,” he said, provide all the bells explaining that Triincluding Tri-CU, in the Northwest with CU’s existing building and whistles that assets under $50 will not be turned into the big guys do. ” million. a second location. “We’re one of the The credit union - Doug Wadsworth, has a 40-year lease strongest credit president of Tri-CU from IBEW for the unions of our size, and because we are Kennewick Avenue healthy, it allows us location and the lease to build this new expires in two years. building that will be more spacious and “It worked out nicely because we’ve convenient for our members,” he said. outgrown this building,” he said. In the lobby, Tri-CU will feature Tri-CU has about a dozen employees community artwork. The company also is but will hire more as it continues to grow. working with the city of Kennewick to The credit union handles mortgages and display artwork outside the building— customer loans and has roughly $40 similar to the kind seen in the middle of million in assets. local roundabouts. Parking will increase from about 10 spaces to 65.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Kennedy Road orchards face re-zoning for development State leases 334 acres behind Richland Target; lease expires in 2021 BY ROBIN WOJTANIK

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Agricultural land owned by the state of Washington since the beginning of statehood may eventually be for sale following the completion of the current lease terms. The land on Kennedy Road, north of Vintner Square and behind the Richland Target, includes two leases with Chiawana Orchards LLC, with a portion of the land used for apple trees. The 334 acres are managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and considered trust land. The land benefits the Common School Trust, which supports construction costs of public schools across the state. The land is zoned as agricultural, and the state intends to have it re-zoned to a mix of residential and commercial use when the city of Richland finalizes updates to its comprehensive plan this month. The city is required by the state to update its comprehensive land use plan, which is used to guide decisions about growth, every decade. The plan encapsulates the city’s vision for the next 20 years and helps make decisions on land use, infrastructure and economic development, among other things. Richland considers the land to be “urban reserve,” which means it is set aside for

future development. As part of the lengthy effort to update the plan, Richland met with Department of Natural Resources and Richland School District staff to discuss the large parcel, which borders West Richland. The city’s community development director, Kerwin Jensen, said the property has “potential for a school site, as plotted out on the land use classification map.” The future land use was presented to the Richland City Council. It included a potential expansion of Vintner Square. But no significant changes are expected for a while. The state will continue to honor the leases currently in place, which are set to expire in 2021. When DNR is ready to sell the property, the land will be made available through a public auction to the highest bidder. It has not been decided if the property will be offered in its entirety or if it will be divided into smaller parcels. The state will make that decision once zoning and other land use options are mapped out. About 40 acres of the site are designated for public use, which could mean DNR transfers that portion directly to a local public agency. While not a sale, the Common School Trust would need to be reimbursed for the

More than 300 acres off Kennedy Road behind the Richland Target now zoned as agricultural will be re-zoned to a mix of residential and commercial use when the city of Richland finalizes updates to its comprehensive plan.

portion of the property when transferred. Despite the discussion about the site’s potential for a school, the property could be used for another public use. The current leases for the land provide revenue for the state based on a percentage of annual crop yield. Between 2010 and 2015, revenue generated for the state from the property called “Richland 16” averaged $165,000 a year, with a total revenue of more than $825,000. Since the lease deals with commodity prices, the revenue fluctuates year to year, with the lowest recent year being 2014 when revenue generated for the state was just below $85,000. The high for recent years was 2012 when the state received about $240,000 based on a percentage of crop yield. The

2016 figures are not yet complete. This type of lease is not in use as frequently as it once was, as the state is writing leases based on fair market value instead. While income from land leases goes to build schools, proceeds from an auction sale of the property would instead go into a land replacement account for the Common School Trust. That money is reinvested through the purchase of other revenueproducing property elsewhere in the state. The first step toward any eventual sale and redevelopment of the property will require a request from the state for rezoning. The assessed value for the land is not available and has not been determined by either the state of Washington or the city of Richland.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

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Double Canyon Winery’s new West Richland facility opened just in time for fall harvest and crush. The Cabernet Sauvignon-focused winery has the capacity to produce 50,000 cases — with room to grow — in the facility near Red Mountain at 8060 Keene Road. The 39,000-square-foot building includes a 7,600-square-foot canopy and crush pad and an 800-square-foot wastewater treatment building. Owned by the Crimson Wine Group of California, the winery is about an hour’s drive from its 90-acre vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills where the densely planted vineyard features about 1,850 plants per acre, double the norm in Washington. Kate Michaud will lead winemaking at Double Canyon. She’s a University of Oregon graduate who has made wine in the Northwest since 2002, most recently as the first Washington winemaker to be funded by Naked Wines, an online crowdsourcing wine retailer. Pat DeLong, president and CEO of Crimson Wine Group, said the new facility positions Double Canyon to take its “world-class Cabernet to the next level” because it will be made “in our own facility.” Mountain States Construction Co. of Sunnyside was the general contractor.

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business â&#x20AC;¢ October 2017

Real Estate & Construction

Meet port’s new commissioner BY LAURA KOSTAD

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

The Port of Pasco’s newest commissioner is a longtime community leader wanting to help develop long-term projects to create jobs and enhance the port district’s tax base. Vicki Gordon was appointed to the seat Aug. 24 following the death of commission President Ron Reimann on July 30. Reimann, 74, died when a van crashed into his farm vehicle in Franklin County. Gordon’s name is the only one to appear on the November ballot for the District 1 six-year term seat. She is the second woman to serve as a commissioner for the port. She said her decision to pursue the position stems from her years of experience serving on the state’s Community Economic Revitalization Board. “I really loved that,” she said. “This experience was a key educational opportunity for me to learn about public-private partnerships in Washington state to further advancement for ports, waterways, rail and the employment opportunities for Washington residents as a result of those partnerships.” Gordon said she believes she shares Reimann’s and the other commissioners’ vision for the community. “The most important part of this job is the stewardship of contracts and leases and the development of port assets. Part of our job is trying to make decisions that

are good for the investments of the port,” she said. In addition to helping run her husband’s family-owned and -operated farm and winery, Gordon Brothers Vicki Gordon Cellars, she also serves as a trustee for her alma mater, Washington State University, on the Foundation Board and Advisory Boards for the Colleges of Education, Business and Athletics. She also served on the TRIDEC Board of Directors, Tri-City Community Foundation Board, Columbia Basin College Foundation and Lourdes Health Network Board of Directors. As port commissioner, Gordon earns $21,958 per year, or $1,000 per month and $104 per meeting. Meetings include chamber luncheons, conferences and essentially any convening of the group to represent the port. “I’m really looking forward to working with the staff and other commissioners to move Pasco forward,” Gordon said. Current port commissioners are Jean Ryckman, representing District 2, and Jim Klindworth, of District 3. Ryckman has two years left in her term and Klindworth has four.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017 uNETWORKING Bechtel recognized for efforts on children’s literacy

Bechtel National received the 2017 Literacy Legacy Award from The Children’s Reading Foundation of the Mid-Columbia. The foundation honored Bechtel with this year’s award for support during the past 20 years to increase children’s literacy through annual fundraisers, being the Books and Vines premier corporate sponsor annually for the past decade and senior mangers serving on the foundation’s board.

WSU’s business college ranked among top in U.S.

Washington State University’s Carson College of Business was ranked in the Top 110 best business schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The undergraduate international business program ranked 14th overall and was sixth among public national universities. The college’s undergraduate international program focuses on the markets, people and places involved in trade, commerce and exchanges throughout out the world.

Barker named director of PNNL research center

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Center for Advanced Technology Evaluation, or CENATE,

has named Kevin Barker as its new director. Barker, a computer scientist who has worked at PNNL for seven years, has extensive experience developing Kevin Barker tools and techniques to model performance of extreme scale hardware and software CENATE is a proving ground for supercomputing development. Researchers’ work will provide insight into the impact of the next generation of high-performing computers on the Department of Energy’s research community.

Button named to state museum board

Stephanie Button was named to the Washington Museum Association’s Board of Trustees. She will represent the East Benton County Historical Society and southeastern Stephanie Button Washington. For more information, visit washingtonmuseumassociation.org.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

uNETWORKING Kay Lehmann now agent at Schneider Realty Group

Kay Lehmann has joined Schneider Realty Group in Kennewick. Lehmann has been selling real estate since 2014. She was named a Rising Star in August by Real Producers Magazine and is a designated Kay Lehmann seniors real estate specialist by the National Association of Realtors. Before working

in real estate, she earned a doctorate in education and spent 17 years teaching online. She is a council member for the Alzheimer’s Association, a committee member of the Walk to End Alzheimer’s and a steering committee member for Pasco Schools Enterprise Week.

Longtime CBC instructor named CBC alumnus of year Gene Holand has been selected as the Columbia Basin College Outstanding Alumnus of the Year for 2017. Before teaching business at CBC as an associate professor for 35 years, he had a varied professional history including working as a high school teacher, restaurant owner, cash register salesper-

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION son and finally marketing director for the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho to train Native Americans in marketing. Holand earned two degrees from CBC as well as a bachelor’s from Eastern Washington Gene Holand University. He started teaching at CBC in 1981. In 2000, he created Creative Marketing Consultants, a student-run company providing marketing and innovative support for startup companies and revitalization projects. One of the company’s noted success sto-

ries is helping turn Kestrel Vintners around with an innovative marketing strategy. Holand also created the Center for Innovation and Design to establish a classroom for coursework and training in innovation.

Acting managers named for EPA Hanford project

Laura Buelow has been named acting manager for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Hanford Project Office. Buelow will serve for 120 days. Dave Einan will follow as acting manager for 120 days when Buelow’s term has ended.

TOTAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT 2531 STEVENS DRIVE• RICHLAND

Total Energy Management & HVAC Services Inc.’s new building allows the Richland company to expand operations and better serve the Tri-Cities and surrounding areas. The mixed warehouse, office and fabrication facility features 16,500 square feet of space. The new building at 2531 Stevens Drive is home to the company’s warehousing and purchasing departments, process controls division and a complete sheet metal fabrication facility. The existing office building at 2521 Stevens Drive houses the operations and management team. The company’s total investment in the project was about $1.2 million. The building’s certificate of occupancy was issued March 23 and an open house was held Sept. 14. In 1984, Roger and Lin DeWitt Founded Total Energy Management with a plan to bring high quality HVAC and refrigeration services to the Tri-Cities and surrounding areas. Since its origin, the business has diversified to the mechanical and electrical services they provide. Today, these visions are carried out by the couple’s two sons, Aaron and Brad DeWitt, who have been a part of the company for more than 22 years. The brothers spent years planning and designing

GENERAL CONTRACTOR Total Energy Management would like to thank the contractors who made this project a reality! Your time, energy and commitment are appreciated.

www.teminc.com • (509) 946-4500 2521 Stevens Drive • Richland

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the new state-of-the-art facility. The company employs 96 people. Total Energy Management served as the general contractor for the project. Brad DeWitt, vice president of the company, oversaw construction. ALD Architects of Richland was the architect, and Jason Archibald was the designer. Absolute Engineering of Kennewick was respon-

sible for mechanical, electrical and plumbing design. Mitch Crowe was lead engineer. Teton West was the metal building designer and erecter. Jamie Washburn was the lead and Dave Davis was project manager for Teton West. For more information, call 509-946-4500 or email adewitt@teminc.com.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Walla Walla construction company merges with Chervenell BY TRI-CITIES AREA JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STAFF

A Walla Walla construction company has merged with Kennewick-based Chervenell Construction. The owners of Opp & Seibold General Construction and Chervenell announced the deal last month. The merger will give Chervenell a long-term and consistent presence in the Walla Walla Valley, according to a news release. Financial details about the merger weren’t disclosed. Opp & Seibold is a 43-year-old com-

pany with a broad client base in Walla Walla and the surrounding communities. The founders of the company, Ken Seibold and Larnie Opp, will continue to work as part of the organization. Current projects and clients won’t be affected by the merger and will continue to receive excellent customer service, the release said. Among Opp & Seibold’s projects are a remodel at Key Technology, construction of Columbia REA’s Melrose Street headquarters, the Fort Walla Walla Museum entrance building and exhibit gallery, and several Whitman College and Walla Walla Community College

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projects, according to the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. The impact to Opp and Seibold and Chervenell employees will be minimal, and both companies will continue to operate as is. “This merger will provide more resources for all involved and many opportunities to share and leverage resources,” said Larnie Opp of Opp & Seibold, in a statement. Chervenell Construction has been in business since 1975. It has worked on several community projects in Walla Walla, including Edison Elementary School and the city’s Veterans Memorial

Congratulations Total Energy Management!

Pool. “We are very confident that this strategic partnership has a big up side for Chervenell Construction, Opp & Seibold, all our clients, and more importantly the community moving forward,” said Gary Chervenell, president of Chervenell Construction, in a statement.

Send us your business news info@tcjournal.biz

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Thank you Brad, Aaron and Total Energy Management!

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Real Estate & Construction uNETWORKING Richland aviator earns top award for kit plane

Richland Airport tenant Bill O’Neil of Richland recently won an award for his experimental plane at the annual Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture in Bill O’Neil Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The aircraft, a plane called a Berkut, is one of 17 completed kits out of 70 kits that were produced. O’Neil’s plane was one of 10,000 that flew in for the weeklong event that drew 500,000 spectators. The plane was given the “Home Built Champion” award — one of 10 given — and was judged on design, workmanship, fit and finish. O’Neil also received the Stan Dzik Memorial Award for Outstanding Design Contribution to Aviation.

Journal of Business announces promotion, new ad account manager

Shawna Dinh has been promoted to technology and design director at the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business and Senior Times. She joined the Journal of Business in Shawna Dinh 2014 as an ad designer. Marcus Hair joined the Journal of Business and Senior Times as an advertising account manager. He has 10 years of experience in business-to-consumer and business-to-business sales in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning industry. He was honored with American Standard’s 2012 Sales Excellence award, 2008 Top Marcus Hair Performance Excellence to Goal award, and its national Pinnacle award in both 2007 and 2008. Hair also was warehouse manager of a regional wholesale distributor of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment and supplies for two years. In that role he managed personnel, developed a new warehouse design and improved systems to increase efficiencies. In his new advertising sales position with the Journal and Senior Times, Hair will work closely with customers to develop effective marketing strategies.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Pasco

Pasco recorded an 88 percent increase in inventory, with the biggest gain in the $200,000 to $250,000 price category. Its inventory has been increasing since February. The shortest supply is in the $150,000 to $200,000 category with

4,000

4,110

4,135

4,119

4,042

4,149

4,161

4,123

4,500

3,000 2,500 2,000

June

Total Current Inventory only a two-week supply of homes. We typically sell six homes a year in the $500,000 to $550,000 category and as of Sept. 30, we only had one listed for sale. The most active sales category is between $200,000 to $250,000. The greatest inventory surge was from $400,000 to $450,000 where inventory went up by seven homes.

725

May

669

Feb. March April

648

490

500

432

1,000

534

1,500

July

Aug.

Sept.

Total Units Sold

Kennewick

Kennewick’s shortest supply is in the $150,000 to $200,000 category with only a two-week supply of homes. The most active sale category is between $200,000 to $250,000. The biggest jump in inventory is between $300,000 to $350,000 category. Kennewick’s inventory has increased every month since March.

uHURRICANES, Page 64

ADVANCE AUTO PARTS 1325 W. COURT STREET• PASCO

A national car parts store has expanded into the Tri-City market to offer aftermarket auto parts. Advance Auto Parts is scheduled to open Nov. 20 at 1325 W. Court St. in Pasco, and another is planned in Richland in the coming year. The national chain, headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, operates throughout the state, including stores in Spokane, Yakima and Wapato, primarily supplying commercial repair dealerships and other parts stores, such as Les Schwab. The Pasco store is located at the site of the old Dairy Queen at the corner of Court Street and 14th Avenue. Development of the 8,000-square-foot Pasco site began in June. Corstone Contractors of Snohomish Wa License # ABSOLPI920KZ was the general contractor. Twelve to 14 employees work in each Advance Auto Parts store. The company is also focused on advancing its environmental practices through the sustainable disposal of many waste streams, including car batteries, motor oil and filters, antifreeze and shipping materials. Congrats on your new building! Retrofitting of existing stores to more energy efficient options, such as LED lighting, high-efficiency It was a pleasure working heating ventilation and air conditioning, and the with you on this project. installation of energy management systems, have on average reduced energy usage by 30 percent per ~Sincerely, Rick & Jeff store, according to the company’s website.

509.545.5320 Paid Advertising

Source: Tri-Cities Association of Realtors

3,500

395

I am finishing up my month-end reports for my John L. Scott Offices for September with the television in my office talking about yet another tropical storm. Last month it was the damage from hurricanes Harvey and Irma. They are truly catastrophic storms for all of us, but particularly those living in the Dennis Gisi, region. John L. Scott While the total cost of the two hurricanes is still unknown, AccuWeather projects the total will come in around $190 billion to $200 billion, compared to Hurricane Katrina at $160 billion in 2005. Since hitting land on the Texas Coast on Aug. 25, lumber prices have gone from about $372 per MBF (one thousand board feet) to $405 MBF on Oct. 4 on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The 30-year fixed rate loan rose from 3.74 percent to 4.11 percent during this same period. While neither of these increases seem like a lot, it’s worth noting it’s an 8.9 percent increase for lumber and 10

percent increase for interest rates in a week. Both are significant factors in the housing market. Last October I wrote a column about whether the Tri-Cities was really a seller’s real estate market and I believe the answer is still yes, but I also wonder if the dynamics are changing. According to Tri-Cities Association of Realtors data for our area, home sales have been pretty steady. The total number of units sold are calculated using a rolling 12-month period. For example, the 4,110 units sold in September is the number of homes sold from Oct. 1, 2016, through Sept. 30, 2017. However, look at the inventory numbers. The number of units in all price points has gone from 378 at the end of February 2017 to 725 units at the end of September 2017. This increase in inventory represents a 76.9 percent increase during the building season. Let’s take a deeper dive into these numbers.

378

for Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Number of Units Sold in 2017

BY DENNIS GISI

4,151

Hurricane damage already affecting lumber prices, interest rates

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

ROAD 90 BUSINESS PARK DEVELOPMENT PHASE 1 5804 ROAD 90• PASCO

The first phase of the Road 90 Business Park Development in Pasco will be the new headquarters for several businesses, including Elite Construction & Development; Tri-Cities Engineering; Terence L. Thornhill, Architect; AHBL; and CrossFit Unrestrained. Eight suites are leased and four new ones will be available for future tenants in early December. The 12 units feature a combination of two-story and 18-foot ceilings in flex-space areas. All spaces are 100 percent climate controlled and come with 14-foot tall overhead door. The 25,536-square-foot building at 5804 Road 90 was designed by architect Terence L. Thornhill, who has been in business in the Tri-City area for more than 24 years, specializing in both commercial and residential design. Elite Construction & Development, the general contractor for the project, offers comphensive construction services in different sectors of the construction industry. Current projects include commercial, government, multi-family and residential. The new building features more than 3,800 square feet of storefront glazing on a fully landscaped three-acre business park complex south of

Boardmoor Park outlet mall, just off of Sandifur Parkway. The project introduces a building utilizing a variety of materials and an interesting juxtaposition of building forms to showcase a unique style of multioffice professional and retail accommodations. The building project cost $5.7 million and the

land $300,000. Vitruvius Development Group had the building constructed. For more information about leasing space, contact James Wade at 509-521-3724 or james@kenmoreteam.com.

GENERAL CONTRACTOR We are honored to have provided the site work package for this quality project. SERVING THE MID-COLUMBIA SINCE 1947 RAYPOS*243JE OR: 146682

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

(Courtesy Rich Breshears of Breshears Photography)

Wa License # ABSOLPI920KZ

Honesty and integrity in everything we do.

509-586-6000

Congrats on your new building! It was a pleasure working with you on this project.

www.superior-glass.com ofﬁce@superior-glass.com

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~Sincerely, Rick & Jeff

509.545.5320

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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

Real Estate & Construction HURRICANES, From page 61

Richland

As with Kennewick and Pasco, Richland’s shortest supply is in the $150,000 to $200,000 price category with only a two-week supply of homes. The most active sale category is between $250,000 to $300,000. The biggest jump in inventory is between $350,000 to $400,000 price categories. The most supply measured in the number of months is between $600,000 to $700,000.

West Richland

Interesting that West Richland has the shortest supply of homes between $300,000 to $350,000, a significantly higher price point than the other cities.

Sales are really pretty equal between $200,000 to $400,000 ranges. What is the message in the numbers? Sellers: This is still a seller’s market based on historically low inventory across the board and a robust employment market, which continues to bring new people to the area. Buyers: They’ll be benefiting from more choices in homes that are available as builders work hard to provide supply to meet the demand for homes across the board. Builders: They’ll have to keep an eye on expenses, particularly lumber and interest rates, as we move into winter, given the economic forces in the wake of the hurricanes to maintain their profit margins in the price points that are moving in their target markets. When will this begin to turn? Well, that depends on job growth and the skills required by those new positions. The topic of jobs is for food for thought for another column. Rest assured, we are very fortunate and have been for the last few years to live in such a dynamic economic area as the TriCities. Dennis Gisi is the owner of John L. Scott in Pasco. Gisi is also the retired president, CEO and a former chairman of Bank Reale in Pasco.

uNETWORKING Benton County recognized with national award

Benton County received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association. The award is given based on a proficient rating in categories of policy document, financial plan, operations guide and communications device and criteria within those categories.

Kennewick councilman earns leadership certification

Kennewick city Councilman Matt Boehnke received a certificate of municipal leadership from the Association of Washington Cities. The certificate is offered after completion of 30 hours of training credits that include core areas of roles, responsibilities and legal requirements; public sector resource management; community planning and development; and effective local leadership. Boehnke was elected to the council in January 2016.

Edward Jones ranked No. 3 for best places for women

Edward Jones was ranked the No. 3 Best Workplace for Women by Great Places to Work and Fortune magazine. The list of 100 companies considered more than 400,000 anonymous employee surveys from hundreds of businesses in all sectors of the economy, gauging their organizations’ culture, leadership and fairness. Edward Jones, with offices in the TriCities, also was ranked No. 5 on the Fortune Best Companies list overall.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

PUBLIC RECORD uBANKRUPTCIES Bankruptcies are filed under the following chapter headings: Chapter 7 — Straight Bankruptcy: debtor gives up non-exempt property and debt is charged. Chapter 11 — Allows companies and individuals to restructure debts to repay them. Chapter 12 — Allows family farmers or fishermen to restructure finances to avoid liquidation for foreclosure. Chapter 13 — Plan is devised by the individual to pay a percentage of debt based on ability to pay. All disposable income must be used to pay debts. Information provided by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Spokane.

CHAPTER 7 Yocelin J. Martinez, 191 Bitterroot Drive, Richland. Nelida Meraz, 4808 Malaga Drive, Pasco. Catherine M. Desgranges, 12 W. 24th Ave., Kennewick. Grecilda Licon, 2913 W. Wilcox Drive, Pasco. Gregory A. Vance, 202 N. McKinley St., Apt. A, Kennewick. Francisco and Maria M. Amaya, 1527 N. 16th Ave., Pasco. Dacota J. and Shannon D. Rodgers, 5307 S. Goose Gap Road, Benton City. Kristin N. Selby, PO Box 661, Otis Orchards. Cleotilde B. Estevez, 632 S. Elm Ave., Pasco. Brittiny N. Ernsdorff, 300 Barth Ave., Richland. Emilio Garza Jr., 5722 Coppercap Mountain Lane, Pasco. Albert Trevino, 1602 W. Fourth Ave., Kennewick. Maria G. Clara, PO Box 1612, Prosser. Earl D. Echols, 1445 Alice St., Richland. Kody and Tessa Walton, 2550 Duportail St., Apt. S209, Richland. Kelie M. Hatfield, 210 N. Lincoln St., Kennewick.

Stephen L. and Connie L. Cozart, 6333 Home Run Drive, #37, Pasco. Muhammad N. Aljadallah, 1876 Fowler St., Apt. 202, Richland. Jose Sanchez-Perez and Martha Martinez, 78 Bonanza Drive, Pasco. Miguel A. Chavez, 90 Armistead Ave., Richland. Jason E. and Kami J. Abbott, 515 Thayer Drive, Richland. Shari Davis, 3400 W. First Place #24, Kennewick. Guadalupe Guerra, 1416 S. Fir, Kennewick. Pedro Alcarez, 3324 W. 19th Ave., Kennewick. Jordan D. and Makala L. Larkin, 1455 Denver St., Richland. Jennifer J. Rivera, 912 W. Court St., Pasco. Max and Ashlee Silva, 425 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Apt. N112, Kennewick. Bucky L. and Amy E. Campbell, 50805 N94 PRNE, Benton City. Matilde E. Paz, 816 Madrona Ave., Pasco. Manuel Garcia, 218406 E. SR 397, Kennewick. Rogelio J. A. Jimenez, 617 Sixth St., Prosser. Nicole Noyes, 32 S. Dawes St., Kennewick. Lighthouse Hospitality Company, 9412 Shire Drive, Pasco. Dawn R. Chandler, 9412 Shire Drive, Pasco. Tammy L. Mayer, 1529 Columbia Park Trail, Richland. Eriberto Rojas-Garcia, 415 N. Arbutus, Pasco. Yuly Mendez, 2622 Spruce St., Pasco. Cody L. and Kerri L. Rush, 8709 LaSalle Drive, Pasco. CHAPTER 13 Brian and Manuela Parks, 1001 Long Ave., Richland. Martin A. and Tina R. Knopik, 108 Mesa Drive, Richland. Glodowaldo A. and Annabel Salinas, 10419

W. Argent Road, Pasco. James M. Swanson, 103 N. Lincoln St., Kennewick. Mario Torres, 3324 W. 19th Ave., Lot #121, Kennewick. Yaneth A. Hernandez, 1319 S. Beech St., Kennewick. Brian M. Fountaine, 7911 Saturna Drive, Pasco. Hugo Flores-Gomez, 816 N. Elm Ave., Pasco. Joseph E. Walker, 632 N. Tweedt St., Apt. 102, Kennewick.

3,69 acres. Price: $5,647,500. Buyer: Tri-Cities Self-Storage. Seller: Gilroy Family Three. 303 N. Belfair Court, Kennewick, 6,000-square-foot, commercial building on 0.66 acres. Price: $844,600. Buyer: Kan-D Investments. Seller: Don Pratt. 5147 W. 27th Ave., Kennewick, 10 acres. Price: $1,036,800. Buyer: Brookfield Holdings (Hayden I) LLC. Seller: Richland 132 LLC.

uTOP PROPERTIES

3513 Chardonnay Drive, Pasco, 2,807-square-foot, single-family home. Price: $530,000. Buyer: John and Tammy Hileman. Seller: Brent and Janice Pfundheller. Undisclosed location, 167 acres of agricultural land. Price: $837,500. Buyer: Balcom & Moe Inc. Seller: MJ Record Potato Patch. Undisclosed location, 37.5 acres of agricultural land and 7.55 acres of undeveloped land. Price: $525,000. Buyer: Steve and Judy West. Seller: Bleyhl Farm Service.

Top property values listed start at $500,000 and have been rounded to the nearest hundred figure.

BENTON COUNTY 74905 E. Grand Bluff Loop, Kennewick, 2,244-square-foot, single-family home on 4 acres. Price: $571,000. Buyer: Terry and Hailey Meade. Seller: Riverwood Homes. 2555 S. Quillan Place, Kennewick, 3,944-square-foot, commercial building on 0.65 acres. Price: $725,000. Buyer: Mighty Eighth LLC. Seller: Youth Stimulus Package. 673 Nuvola Vista Court, Richland, 2,919-square-foot, single-family home. Price: $525,000. Buyer: Elizabeth Ballard and Trent Brady. Seller: Michael Rhodes. 2004 N. Bermuda Road, Kennewick, 2,886-square-foot, single-family home on 1.25 acres. Price: $555,300. Buyer: Phillip and Jonni Dron. Seller: Alderbrook Investments. 2611 S. Quillan Place, Kennewick, 10,059-square-foot, commercial building. Price; $3,000,000. Buyer: Yakima Valley Farm Workers. Seller: South Side Up. 3869 Kennedy Road, Richland, 56,942-square-foot, commercial building on

FRANKLIN COUNTY

uBUILDING PERMITS

Building permit values have been rounded to the nearest hundred figure.

BENTON COUNTY Paterson School District, 5140 W. Prior Ave., $59,500 for commercial addition. Contractor: Steel Structures America. AH Properties, 106010 E. Wiser Parkway, $2,195,400 for new commercial construction. Contractor: MH Construction. BWR Holdings, 1115 S. Clodfelter Road, $69,800 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Apollo Sheet Metal.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 66

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

PUBLIC RECORD, From page 65 Growth Leasing, 43001 N. Griffin Road, $576,300 for new commercial construction. Contractor: owner. Zirkle Fruit Co, 52300 S. Sloan Road, $5,100 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company. Sprint/Hoss Consulting, 87905 Reata Road, $5,000 for an antenna/tower. Contractor: North Sky Communications. Sprint/Hoss Consulting, 4 Mile Canyon, $5,000 for an antenna/tower. Contractor: North Sky Communications. State of WA WSU, 24106 N. Bunn Road, $8,400 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company. FRANKLIN COUNTY Riverview Baptist Church, 4815 W. Wernett Road, $115,400 for commercial remodel. Contractor: owner. Lamb Weston, 960 Glade North Road, $17,100 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company. Dirt Holdings, 3813 Glade North Road, $413,400 for new commercial construction. Contractor: C&E Trenching. Lamb Weston, 960 Glade North Road, $47,200 for a fire alarm/system. Contractor: Johnson Controls Fire Protection. Verizon Wireless, 3109 Fir Road, $9,400 for a tower/antenna. Contractor: Kasco of Idaho. KENNEWICK Vista Field Industrial Park, 6416 W. Hood Place, $2,800,000 for new commercial construction and $30,400 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: O’Brien Construction and Chinook Heating & Air. John Danny Gray, 8378 W. Gage Blvd., $20,300 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Columbia Basin Builders. Fang Properties, 1410 N. Pittsburgh St., $25,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: MH Construction. City of Kennewick, 524 S. Auburn St., $112,700 for demolition. Contractor: Andrist

Enterprises. JC Penney Properties, 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $76,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Michigan Woods Construction. Columbia Mall Partners, 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $15,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Synergy Contracting. Armando Ruiz, 2635 W. Deschutes Ave., $20,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Rojas Builders. IBEW Local No. 77, 2626 W. Clearwater Ave., $13,000 for plumbing. Contractor: Atomic Plumbing & Mechanical. Clearwater Properties, 201 N. Edison St., $5,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor; owner. Community Bible Church, 5807 W. Umatilla Ave., $10,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: New Creation Homes. Basin Investment Group, 818 W. Vineyard Drive, $10,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Bosch Construction. James Magelsen, 22 S. Olympia St., $16,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Above the Rest Roofing. West Highlands Methodist Church, 17 S. Union St., $7,400 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company. Marquina LLC, 1107 W. Fifth Ave., $57,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Silver Bow Roofing. PM2 West Limited Partnership, 8551 W. Gage Blvd., $89,000 for commercial construction. Contractor: Leone & Keeble. Petesway, 901 N. Columbia Center Blvd., $97,800 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Market Contractors. Roundup Co Properties, 2811 W. 10th Ave., $95,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Critical Path Management. Ahuja Dheera, 3918 W. Clearwater Ave., $5,100 for a sign. Contractor: Quality Signs. Pik Properties, 2459 S. Union Place, $6,500 for a sign. Contractor: Cascade Sign & Fabrication. Eldorado Properties, 4421 W. Hood Ave., $15,800 for commercial reroof. Contractor: A&A Roofing. Kennewick Irrigation District, 2015 S. Ely St., $15,000 for demolition. Contractor: owner. HAPO Community Credit Union, 7601 W. Clearwater Ave., $5,000 for plumbing.

PASCO 3JM Enterprises, 1510 N. Commercial Ave., $1,471,200 for new commercial construction. Contractor: CRF Metal Works. CRF Frozen Foods, 1825 N. Commercial Ave., $25,000 for demolition. Contractor: Fisher Construction Group. Genius Clinic, 4802 Clemente Lane, $62,000 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Apollo Sheet Metal. Sheet Metal Training, 1718 W. Sylvester St., $84,400 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Leslie & Campbell. McCurley Subaru, 1230 Autoplex Way, $12,800 for signs. Contractor: Quality Signs. Thomas Matheson, 615 S. Oregon Ave., $8,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: Oxarc. Sohal Truck Wash, 3508 N. Capitol Ave., $9,500 for plumbing. Contractor: Double A Plumbing. City of Pasco, 827 S. Elm Ave., $148,600 for demolition. Contractor: to be determined. Pasco School District, 11315 N. Seventh Ave., $76,000 for a fire alarm/system. Contractor: Fire Protection Solutions. Charles John, 2200 W. Shoshone St., $2,200,000 for commercial remodel. Contractor: Cliff Thorn Construction. Port of Pasco, 639 Fairchild St., $50,000 for siding/windows. Contractor: Vincent Brothers. K&S Family Enterprises, 1101 N. Utah Ave., $60,700 for a fire alarm/system. Contractor: Cascade Fire Protection. CRF Frozen Foods, 1825 N. Commercial Ave., $1,780,700 for new commercial construction. Contractor: Fisher Construction Group. McCurley, 9620 Sandifur Parkway, $49,400 for commercial construction. Contractor: Real Centric Solutions. Autozone, 3733 N. Capitol Ave., $18,700 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company. PROSSER Public Utilities District #1, 250 Gap Road, $15,000 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Total Energy Management. Port of Benton, 2880 Lee Road, $11,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: MP

“The Kennewick School District just opened its largest elementary school, Westgate Elementary. The project was built by Chervenell Construction.

Construction. Milne Fruit Production, 804 Bennett Ave., $120,000 for mechanical. Contractor: Permacold Engineering. Yakima Federal Savings, 601 Market St., $30,100 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Elite Construction. Meadows 166, 1215 Meade Ave., $17,600 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Absolute Comfort Technology. RICHLAND Shadow Mountain Industrial Properties, 2550 Schaeffer Way, $2,288,600 for new commercial construction. Contractor: owner. Shadow Mountain Industrial Properties, 2570 Schaeffer Way, $2,647,700 for new commercial construction. Contractor: owner. Port of Benton, 2926 Kingsgate Way, $8,600 for a shed. Contractor: O’Brien Construction. River Park Apartments, 1878 Fowler St., $48,000 for commercial reroof. Contractor: Tab Enterprises. Richland Investment, 1515 George Washington Way, $6,500 for plumbing. Contractor: Campbell & Company. Winco #45, 101 Columbia Point Drive, $120,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: DTL Builders. Central United Protestant, 1124 Stevens Drive, $17,500 for mechanical. Contractor: Campbell & Company. Energy Northwest, 3000 George Washington Way, $28,000 for tenant improvements. Contractors: owner and Columbia River Plumbing. Wright Street, 1001 Wright Ave., Suite 103, $6,700 for tenant improvements. Contractor: NW Power. Michele Abrams, 2323 Henderson Loop, $175,000 for commercial addition. Contractor: Cliff Thorn Construction. American Tower, 1565 Georgia Ave., $20,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: SAC Wireless. Kohlyan Investments, 1302 Van Giesen St., $5,000 for siding/windows. Contractor: owner.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 67

Washington Elementary

The partnership and teamwork exhibited by the Chervenell team during the sixteen month project was a huge beneﬁt to the Kennewick community! My appreciation for the expertise, professionalism and dedication Chervenell provided is off the charts. Chervenell is a top quality company.” - Doug Carl

Naches Valley Elementary

Capital Projects Director Kennewick School District

Columbia Basin College Social Sciences & World Languages

Dedicated to our community partners since 1975

509-735-3377

www.chervenell.com

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017 PUBLIC RECORD, From page 66 Burger King #3205, 1033 George Washington Way, $125,000 for tenant improvements. Contractor: Tricon Building Solutions. Cheryl Ann Moe, 1845 Terminal Drive, $38,800 for commercial reroof. Contractor: JR Swigart Co Tagaris Winery, 844 Tulip Lane, $164,400 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Campbell & Company. Plastic Injection Molds, 2695 Battelle Blvd., Suite A, $30,000 for plumbing. Contractor: Construction Management Specialists. WEST RICHLAND Wes Heyden, 3205 Kennedy Road, $100,000 for new commercial construction and $21,000 for a heat pump/HVAC. Contractor: Ray Poland & Sons and Apollo Sheet Metal.

uBUSINESS LICENSES At press time, business licenses for the city of Kennewick and Pasco were not available.

KENNEWICK Mountain States Construction, 803 Scoon Road, Sunnyside. Boyd Coffee Company, 19730 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland, Oregon. Evolutions, 2005 S. Harrison St. Sunshine Floor Maintenance & More, 201 N. Edison St., Suite 226. Andrea Henshaw, 8428 W. Gage Blvd., Suite A. 2F Enterprises, 2601 S. Oak St. Eleven Western Builders Inc., 2862 Executive Place, Escondido, California. Energy Source/Chimney Doctor, 3503 W. Clearwater Ave. Three Rivers ENT, 7105 W. Hood Place, Suite A103. The Glass Punty, 6818 W. Kennewick Ave., Suite D. Kelly’s Excavating, 4806 W. Van Giesen St., West Richland. Anchor D Construction, 627 Thayer Drive, Richland. Knights of Columbus #10653, 7409 W. Clearwater Ave.

Golden Services LLC, 11016 E. Montgomery Drive, Suite 104, Spokane Valley. Directors Mortgage Inc., 1030 N. Center Parkway. Rp Construction, 1329 Chardonnay Drive, Richland. Lutheran Community Services Northwest, 500 N. Morain ST., Suite 1200. C2 Resources, 3121 W. 20th Ave., Bldg G101. Magnum Power, 3458 Pacific Ave N, Kelso. Precision General Commercial Contractors, 300 Turney St., Sausalito, California. Signs Plus, 766 Marine Drive, Bellingham. Inland Waterproofing Services, 116 W. Clayton Ave., Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho. Dakota Concrete, 4509 W. Pearl St., Pasco. Lularoe Kelly Huff, 2306 Boulder St., Richland. Ken’s Auto Rescue, 222 E. Bruneau Ave., Suite B. Mayhew Properties LLC, 1736 S. Dayton Pl. Frankenfield Enterprises Inc, 7701 W. Fourth Ave. Craig F. Bolling, 8905 W. Gage Blvd., Suite 300. Wellens Farwell Inc., 107 W. Alder St., Enterprise, Oregon. Panterra Construction, 14901 Quorum Drive, Suite 320, Dallas, Texas. Dreaming Bear Healing Arts, 201 W. 33rd Ave. Kamiakin Storage & RV, 5402 W. Hood Ave. Columbia Basin Therapy, 6601 W. Deschutes Ave., Suite D. Ingenium, 1036 Fourth Ave. N., Kent. D&R&G Roofing Partnership, 8014 Canyon Drive, Pasco. Guadalajara Wireless, 4215 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite A. Exclusive Events, 621 First St., Mattawa. Tricon Building Solutions, Inc., 208 W. Main St., Suite 3A, Visalia, California. Acme Pest & Spray, 11520 W. Clearwater Ave. L.K. Porter Construction, 9595 SE 327th Ave., Boring, Oregon. Elena V. Connors, 617 Meadows Drive S., Richland. Flat Works WA LLC, 5880 Alder Road, Pasco. Vargas Pro-Floor Installation, 6102 N. Road 68, Pasco. His Masterpiece LLC, 1032 W. 14th Place. Xtramile Construction, 22203 E. Sandstone Drive, Benton City. Vera Services, 11 E. Kennewick Ave.

Advent Care, LLC DBA Home Instead Senior Care, 8113 W. Quinault Ave., Suite 100. Consistent Care Services, 7105 W. Hood Place, Suite A101. Now Solar LLC, 3314 W. 24th Ave. K Pratt Design, 8834 W. First Ave. Absolute Insurance Coverage and Document Services LLC, 3320 W. Ninth Ave. Three Rivers Valley Landscaping, 1614 W. 35th Ave. Earth Design Landscape, 8511 Road 24 SW, Mattawa. Fernanda Rojas, 8901 W. Rio Grande Ave. Discount Vac and Sew, 115 W. First Ave. Martin Consultants, 4002 S. Reed Court. Capital Renovations LLC, 602 S. Wilson St. Riverside Appraisal Service, 215 George Washington Way, Richland. 11Exhale Yoga, 4528 W. 26th Ave., Suite 140. Kpr Quality Painting, 220 N. Alvina Court, Pasco. R&K Garage Doors, 1005 SW Frazer Ave, Suite 100, Pendleton, Oregon. Bedoya Construction, 5501 W. Hildebrand Blvd. Scott C. Matson, 8486 W. Gage Blvd., Suite C. Jill Predmore, 5603 Maui Court, West Richland. Cardpool Inc., 2811 W. 10th Ave. G&G 1 Construction, 3308 W. Hood Ave. Mighty Eighth, 2555 S. Quillan Place. Northwest Therapy Providers, 8204 W. Bruneau Ave. Herres Backflow & Construction, 3212 W. Garland Ave., Spokane. Pro Image Construction & Remodeling, 5313 Roosevelt Drive, Pasco. Mgp Sheet Metal LLC, 6205 W. Okanogan Ave., Suite 130. Mvr Construction LLC, 8721 W. Second Ave. Baymont Inn and Suites, 4220 W. 27th Place. 7D Development at Dolphins Apartments, 9 N. Waverly Place. Meraki Studio LLC, 9027 W. Rio Grande Ave. Four Seasons Landscaping, 1413 Potter Ave., Richland. House of Curiosity LLC, 206 N. Benton St., Suite A. Pasco Union Firefighters Charitable Foundation, 7511 W. Arrowhead Ave., Suite C. Evolution Flooring, 209613 E. Schuster Road. Atm Trucking LLC, 1106 S. Cedar St.

Benjamin’s Drywall, 1127 W. Margaret St., Pasco. Harris Excavation, 617 Riverside Drive, West Richland. Affordable Striping, 2506 S. Gum St. Blue Sky Lawn LLC, 27905 S. 932 PRSE. Albert’s Granite & Landscaping, 202144 E. SR 397. Lifestyle Homes, 3307 W. 47th Ave. Fish Cute, 1706 W. 39th Ave., Building 1. Ctc Custom Homes, 1552 Georgia Ave., Richland. Hyle Media LLC, 10307 W. 16th Place. GI Florring LLC, 90 S. Verbena St. Reach Supported Living LLC, 3814 W. 19th Court. Wall to Wall Painting, 1725 N. 21st Ave., Pasco. Whitney Insurance Group and Financial Services, 3617 Plaza Way, Suite H. Events by Edz, LLC, 8350 W. Grandridge Blvd. Always Affordable Custom Concrete, 124 W. 21st Ave. Myre LLC, 5604 W. 18th Ave. Ascent Solutions, 2806 S. Dawes St. Daily Clean LLC, 3703 W. Kennewick Ave. Evergreen Restorative Touch, 4018 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite D. Nichole V. Jones – Jones Family Insurance, 320 N. Johnson St., Suite 300. Industrial Construction of Washington LLC, 84609 N. Yakima River Drive, West Richland. Kylee Schwartz, 500 W. First Ave., Suite A. Handy Helpers & General Contracting, 1624 Venus Circle, Richland. Gradin & Sons LLC, 261 Maple St., Burbank. Fun Fashions, 5706 W. 15th Ave. Regie’s Fx, 7101 W. Hood Place, Suite 102. Stephen R. Plummer, 1902 W. 51st Ave. Thriving Connections Media LLC, 4415 W. Clearwater, Suite 8. Dale Witwer Benefits, 7105 W. Hood Place, Suite B202. Northwest Cajuns, 43405 S. 2106 PRSE. Pride Painting Contractors NW, 416 W. Chestnut St., Walla Walla. La Rosa Tortilla Distributions USA, 5628 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite E10. Nomad Auto Detailing, 552 Tanglewood Drive, Richland. Metal Work 300 LLC, 8107 W. Deschutes Ave.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 68

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

PUBLIC RECORD, From page 67 A. Fields Painting Co., 6626 Chapel Hill Blvd., Pasco. Grooming by Ted, 3030 W. Clearwater. Daydream Photography, 1137 W. 30th Ave. Benjamin Miller, 5031 W. Clearwater Ave. Engel Consulting, 2514 W. 32nd Ave. Danica Mills, 3311 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite B160. Chiloe’s Corner 12 Step Café, 102 E. Kennewick Ave. Toolbelt Divas Property Care, 701 N Hawaii St. 3 Rivers Aerial LLC, 55107 E 95 PRSE, Benton City. Chris Goddard General Contractor, 16 SW 13th St., College Place. Brian White Consulting, 701 W. 42nd Ave. Crystal Gemmell, 3311 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite B160. Betty’s House Cleanings, 5710 Okanogan Lane, Pasco. G&G Lawn Services, 1504 W. Bonnevile St., Pasco. From the Bottom to the Top Cleaning Services, 316 S. Washington St.

Bimini Medical Esthetics, 10121 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 105. Label Jack, 7803 W. Deschutes Ave. Automotive Accounting Services, 228 W. 53rd Ave. Maya’s Stem Training and Consulting, 8903 W. Bruneau Ave. Nirvana Massage, 3902 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 106. Loren Fallin Uber, 1914 George Washington Way, Richland. Udana Yoga, 1441 Purple Sage St., Richland. Meredith Mcintosh, 16 Galaxy Lane, Richland. The Beautiful Group, LLC, 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Suite 374. PASCO Betty’s House Cleanings, 5710 Okanogan Ln. Copper State Bolt & Nut Company, 607 N. Oregon Ave. Callies Welding & Fabrication, 1100 E. Columbia St. New Way Transport LLC, 4613 Campolina Ln. Perfection Contracting Services, 7611 Pender Drive.

Double Diamond Masonry, 305 Fortaleza Ln. Pacific King Relocation & Logistics System, 608 W. Yakima St. Baskin Robbins #4928, 2307 W. Court St. MP Consulting, 6122 Thistledown Drive. Nellis Properties LLC, 10008 W. Court St. Lone Wolf Guide Service, 3821 W. Jay St. Meals Accomplished, 110 S. Fourth Ave. Felix Mobile Detailing, 2105 N. Steptoe St., Kennewick. Herrera Environmental Consultants, 2200 Sixth Ave., Suite 100, Seattle. One Group Management, 3606 E. Newby St., Nampa, Idaho. Razor Tech LLC, 802 S. Maitland Ave. Loren Austin Welding & MFG LLC, 214 E. Albany Ave., Kennewick. Outreach Floors LLC, 9811 Chelan Court. Superior Drywall & Paint, 562 Punkie Lane, Richland. Studio 70 LLC, 6916 W. Argent Road. Ez Fix Inc, 520 W. Clark St. Cocina Puerto Nuevo, 1515 W. Lewis St. Zion Carpeting, 1320 N. Oregon Ave. Soto Painting, 6204 James St., West Richland. NL Farm Labor Contractor, 2013 W. Yakima.

Indulge LLC, 110 S. Fourth Ave. Powercom Inc, 4000 E. Boone Ave., Suite 101, Spokane. Four Seasons Landscaping, 1413 Potter Ave., Richland. Stone Age Granite, 1520 W. Howard St. J&J Painting, 1736 N. 18th Ave. Blankenship Commercial Builders LLC, 8905 W. Gage, Suite 209, Kennewick. Camacho Comix, 627 N. Sycamore Ave. Contractors Equipment Maintenance Company, 2312 S. Ely St., Kennewick. Extreme Hardwood Floors, 3807 S. Waverly St., Kennewick. Faith Technologies, 225 Main St., Menasha, Wisconsin. Daily Clean LLC, 3703 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick. Talk of the Town Barbershop, 2305 W. Argent Road. Intermountain Cleaning Service, 515 N. 20th Ave., Yakima. Bedoya Construction LLC, 5501 W. Hildebrand Blvd., Kennewick. Express 24 HR Plumbing & Drain, 2477 Hanson Loop, Burbank. Family Home Care, 6855 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite H, Kennewick. Taco Zone, 110 S. Fourth Ave. Aspen Dental of Oregon, 7160 Burden Blvd. RICHLAND Potelco, Inc., 14103 Stewart Road, Sumner. Call Co, 2151 Henderson Loop. The Richland Players, 608 Henderson Loop. Matthew Rutt, Attorney at Law, 719 Jadwin Ave. SPL Integrated Solutions, 21312 30th Drive, SE, Suite 102, Bothell. Oasis Physical Therapy Queensgate, 1020 Queensgate Drive. Catone’s Construction Cleanup, 508 Sanford Ave. Dogz on the Run, 7607 W. 12th Ave., Kennewick. Hancock Sandblast & Painting LLC, 900 N. Avery Ave., Pasco. T-Mobile, 1717 George Washington Way. Premier Amusements, Inc, 101 Columbia Point Drive. McPherson Organizational Consulting, 575 Columbia Point Drive. Washington River Protection Solutions, 2425 Stevens Center Place, Suite 226. John A Fisher MD PS, 1452 Tuscany Place. Crown Coating Company, 223 E. Allen Ave., Chelan. DTL Builders, Inc, 101 Columbia Point Drive. Pinnacle Sleep & Wake Disorders Center, 1446 Spaulding Park, Suite 301. Mastec Network Solutions, 22263 68th Ave. S., Kent. Vestis Systems, 840 E. Spokane Falls Blvd., Building 1, Spokane. Swagelok Northwest (US), 1934 Butler Loop. Li’l Firehouse Coffee, 895 Stevens Drive. Alma’s Cleaning Service, 2105 N. Steptoe St., Kennewick. Matson Construction LLC, 8486 W. Gage Blvd, Suite C, Kennewick. Drake Acoustics, 1603 S. Vancouver St., Kennewick. Trutik, Inc., 710 George Washington Way, Suite A. Wild Birds Unlimited of Tri-Cities, 474 Keene Road. Atomic Anglers Guide Service, 6599 Cyprus Loop W., West Richland. Still Plumbing and Mechanical, 53505 Appleton Road, Milton-Freewater, Oregon. Clear Site Construction LLC, 619 Grosscup Blvd., West Richland. Papa Murphy’s Pizza, 612 Gage Blvd. J&L Landscaping, 4216 W. John Day Place, Kennewick. Center for Whole Health LLC, 1427 Potter Ave. AP Floor Covering, 1845 Leslie Road. Iglesia de Cristo Avimmiento MLLF, 1007 Wright Ave. Parli Aesthetics, 1101 S. Steele Road, Prosser. Drewboy, 285 Williams Blvd. Benjamin’s Drywall, 1127 W. Margaret St., Pasco. Pester Marketing Company, 2551 Stevens Dr. Nailed It! Home Projects and Repair LLC, 141802 W. North River Road, Prosser. Premier Computer LLC, 601 Knight St., Suite 1. Purple Rose Counseling, 400 Columbia Point Drive, Suite 201.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 69

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017 PUBLIC RECORD, From page 68 Wholesale Electric Supply Company of Houston, 224 Riverwood St. DS Rice LLC, 4102 W. Third Ave., Kennewick. Gosney’s Real Estate LLC, 1303 Rochefontaine St. Nai Group LLC, 89 Gage Blvd. Bon Voyage French School LLC, 2021 Greenbrook Blvd. Canine Concierge, 92 Van Giesen St. Reality Painting, 4815 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick. Grendreabrown LLC, 256 Orchard Way. Atkins Nuclear Secured LLC, 3100 George Washington Way, Suite 108. Peak Performance Physical Therapy, 120 Keene Road. The Hub Community Church, 1341 George Washington Way, Suite F. Quality Mobile Washes & Showroom Details, 24306 N. Rankin Road, Prosser. Lionella’s Makeup Artistry, 404 Riverwood St. Andy Scan Photography, 1995 Crab Apple Circle, West Richland. Double B Contracting, 2694 Eagle Watch Lp. Richland Mini Go, 1409 Cimarron Ave. Picture Perfect Landscaping, 1133 W. Nixon St., Pasco. Della Rose Staging LLC, 1401 W. 24th Loop, Kennewick. Nevada Fleet LLC, 1552 Georgia Ave. Kelly Menter Hair Design, 123 Gage Blvd. Riverside Restaurant & Lounge, 50 Comstock St. Inspire Plastering LLC, 5605 W. Melville Road, Pasco. Blend, 1324 Mahan Ave. Lost Woods Anesthesia, Inc, 8715 W. Clearwater Place, Kennewick. Muzzy Construction, 1843 Sagewood Loop. Lori’s Cleaning and Pet Services, 152 Englewood Drive. Thunder Goose Creative LLC, 742 Kirkland Circle, Kirkland. Shifted Element Studio, 1019 Rio Senda Court. Ellie Logan, 1419 Brookwood Ave. Cerulean Design, 604 Wright Ave. Jason Wong, 1655 Sagewood St. Briana Edwards, 123 Gage Blvd., Suite 123. Maleny Rios Makeup, 303 Gage Blvd. Stuff n Things Crate, 8180 W. Fourth Ave., Kennewick. Growth Through Gratitude, 4774 Mount Adams View Drive, West Richland. Silver Mermaid Photography, 2371 Copperbrook Court. National Opioid Reversal Education Organization, 405 Snyder St. Ciel Consultants, Inc, 1427 W. Dolan Road, Rathdrum, Idaho. Evglobal, 2727 SE Raymond St., Portland, Oregon.

Jade Townsend, 123 Gage Blvd. Wit Zen D Handyman Services, 1416 Thayer Drive. Coka’s Home & Office Cleaning LLC, 3902 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 107, Kennewick. Black Currant Creative, 2990 Crosswater Lp. AGM Construction, 626 S. Everett St., Kennewick. Ray LLC, 2173 Van Giesen St. Pink Ladys Cleaning Service, 3324 W. 19th Ave., Kennewick. Little Gems Gymnastics, 2103 Trippe St. Monan LLC, 703 Symons St. Benjamin Wagar_Uber Rideshare Drive, 213 S. Sherman Place, Kennewick. K5 Construction and Renovation, 1008 Torbett St. Joanna Marie Matz, 1922 Lassen Ave. MPDesigns Co., 322 Casey Ave. Duraglaze USA, 2814 S. Dayton St., Kennewick. WEST RICHLAND Nailed It! Home Projects and Repairs LLC, 141802 W. North River Road, Prosser. Coka’s Home & Office Cleaning LLC, 3902 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 107, Kennewick. AGM Construction, 626 S. Everett St., Kennewick. Parli Aesthetics, 1101 S. Steele Road, Prosser. Atomic Anglers Guide Service, 6599 Cyprus Loop W. Lodestar Construction Services Inc, 5031 Canter St. Taco Jose, 3680 W. Van Giesen St. Pet Over Population Prevention (POPP), 5811 W. Van Giesen St. Duarte Aguilar Enterprises LLC, 84205 E. Sagebrush Road, Kennewick. Alma’s Cleaning Service, 2105 N. Steptoe St., Kennewick. Soriano Floor Finishing, 1215 N. Gallant Lane, Meridan, Idaho. Reality Painting, 4815 W. Clearwater Ave., Kennewick. Otis Elevator Company, 510 E. North Foothills Drive, Spokane. Swift Rehabilitation, 4900 Paradise Way, #107. Della Rose Staging LLC, 1401 W. 24th Loop, Kennewick. Matson Construction LLC, 8486 W. Gage Blvd., Suite C, Kennewick. Velasquez, 8921 Franklin Road, Pasco. Picture Perfect Landscaping, 1133 W. Nixon St., Pasco. Itasca Construction Services, 1900 Fowler St., Suite B., Richland. Canine Concierge LLC, 92 Van Giesen St., Richland. Avila Distributing LLC, 1306 S. 45th Ave. Still Plumbing and Mechanical, 53505 Appleton Road, Milton-Freewater, Oregon. Johnny Lolita’s, 2640 Kingsgate Way #197,

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Richland. Drake Acoustics, 1603 S. Vancouver St., Kennewick. Martys Mobile Music, 5300 S. Desert Dove Lp. O.J.’s Cabin, 6509 Westview Loop. Andy Scan Photography, 1995 Crap Apple Cr. Nai Group LLC, 89 Gage Blvd, Richland. Freepons Construction, 91 Wing Hill Road, Grandview.

uJUDGMENTS The state can file lawsuits against people or businesses that do not pay taxes and then get a judgment against property that person or business owns. Judgments are filed in Benton-Franklin Superior Court. The following is from the Franklin County Superior Court Clerk’s Office.

Fidel C. Valencia et al, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 1. Noemi G. Palomino et al, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 5. Juan Meraz et al, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 5. Fidel C. Valencia et al, unpaid Department of

Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept. 5. Jasmine T. Castellanos, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept. 11. Brian Lewis Bonilla Torres, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 11. Zulay Cruz, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 11. Linda S. Hathcox, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 11. Kevin J. Frankenfield, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 11. Armando Renteria, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 11. Vidala M. Espinoza, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 11. Carefree Meats LLC, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 11. Pink Farms LLC, unpaid Employment Security Department taxes, filed Sept. 11. Carniceria Los Toreros #2, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 14. Columbia Memorial Park Inc, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 14.

uPUBLIC RECORD, Page 70

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

PUBLIC RECORD, From page 69 Eduardo Rangel-Castro et al, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 14. Essential Planning Incorporated, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 14. Hartley Restaurant Concepts LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 14. Ofelia Ochoa et al, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 14. L&M Auto Sales Inc, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 14. Miguel S. Estrada et al, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 15. Roccos Pizza LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 15. Leocadio Alegria Jr et al, unpaid Department of Licensing taxes, filed Sept. 18. La Pinata Payaso LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 21. Bales Custom Homes LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 21. Garibaldi Inc, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 21. Arlene Faye Anderson et al, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 25. JJ Carpeting Installers LLC, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 25. Ainsworth Collision Center Inc, unpaid Department of Revenue taxes, filed Sept. 25. 3 Cities Landscaping LLC, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept. 25. Social Webnet LLC, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept. 25. Jak Ventures LLC, unpaid Department of Labor and Industries taxes, filed Sept. 25.

uLiquor Licenses BENTON COUNTY NEW LICENSES Seoul Fusion, 5011 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite A, Kennewick. License type: beer/wine restaurant. Application type: new. Suji’s Asian Diner, 5431 W. Van Giesen St., Richland. License type: direct shipment in Washington only; beer/wine restaurant. Application type: new. McKinley Springs, 357 Port Ave., Studio G,

Prosser. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: added/ change of class. Gateway Chevron, 20 Merlot Drive, Prosser. License type: grocery store beer/wine. Application type: assumption. Jet Mart Conoco, 1001 N. Volland St., Kennewick. License type: grocery store beer/ wine. Application type: assumption. APPROVED Gunpowder Creek, 894 Tulip Lane, Richland. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: new. Castaway Cellars, 500 Merlot Drive, Prosser. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: new. Smitty’s Paradise 6229, 1400 Bombing Range Road, West Richland. License type: grocery store beer/wine. Application type: assumption. Double Canyon Vineyards, 8060 Keene Road, West Richland. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Application type: change of location. Second Chance Spirits, 1123 Dudley Ave., Prosser. License type: craft distillery. Application type: change of location. Wit Cellars, 2880 Lee Road, Suite B, Prosser. License type: winery warehouse. Application type: new. DISCONTINUED Priced-Less Cigarettes, 1729 George Washington Way, Richland. License type: beer/wine specialty shop. FRANKLIN COUNTY NEW LICENSES Amarilis’s Meat Market, 1825 W. Court St., Pasco. License type: direct shipment receiver in Washington only; grocery store beer/wine. Application type: new. Taqueria Los Lopez, 404 W. Lewis St., Pasco. License type: beer/wine restaurant. Application type: assumption. Billares Plaza, 528-B W. Clark St., Pasco. License type: spirits/beer/wine restaurant.

Application type: added/ change of class. Town & Country Lanes, 641 S. Columbia, Connell. License type: snack bar. Application type: assumption. El Mirador, 1315 N. 20th Ave., Pasco. License type: spirits/beer/wine restaurant lounge. Application type: new. Evergreen Mexican Grill, 1515 W. Lewis St., Pasco. License type: beer/wine restaurant. Application type: new.

FRANKLIN COUNTY APPROVED

APPOVED

NEW BUSINESSES

Eastside Super Station, 1303 E. Lewis St., Pasco. License type: direct shipment receiver in Washington only. Application type: new. DISCONTINUED Gordon Estate, 5236 Outlet Drive, Pasco. License type: domestic winery <250,000 liters. Pasco Farmers Market, Fourth and Columbia, Pasco. License type: farmers market for wine.

uMARIJUANA Licenses BENTON COUNTY NEW LICENSE Body Works Alternatives, 102003 E. Badger Road #A, Kennewick. License type: marijuana producer tier 2; marijuana processor. Application type: added/change of class. APPROVED Craft Cannabis, 41305 N. Griffin Road, Suite D, Grandivew. License type: marijuana producer tier 3. Application type: change of corporate officer. Dennis Farm, 89301 N. 134 PRNW, Suite A, Prosser. License type: marijuana producer tier 2. Application type: added/change of class. Nugs, 234805 E. Straight Bank Road, Suite D, Kennewick. License type: marijuana producer tier 3. Application type: added fees. Randolph and Mortimer, 15505 Webber Canyon Road, Benton City. License type: marijuana producer tier 3; marijuana processor. Application type: added fees.

Clear Mind Cannabis, 335 E. B Circle, Pasco. License type: marijuana retailer. Application type: new.

ubusiness UPDATES Crown Dental has opened at 4001 Kennedy Road, Suite 1 in West Richland. The clinic offers general dentistry, crowns, veneers, implants and other cosmetic treatments. Hours: by appointment. Contact: 509412-3405, crownfamilydental.com, Facebook. Dynamic Fat Loss has opened at 7535 W. Kennewick Ave., Suite E in Kennewick. The business offers fat loss programs, nutrition and exercise strategies designed to help patients lose weight. Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact: 509-5790970, dynamicfatloss.com, Facebook. Nirvana Massage has opened at 3902 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 106 in Kennewick. The business offers massages, henna and private yoga lessons. Hours: by appointment. Contact: 509-440-4412, nirvanamassage.org, Facebook. Salon 509 has opened at 2909 S. Quillan St., Suite 152 in Kennewick. The business offers haircuts, colors and styling as well as nail services, facials and waxing. Hours by appointment. Contact: 509-820-3930, Facebook. MOVED Free Culture Clothing has moved to 2411 S. Union St., Suite D in Kennewick. Contact: 509-948-8187, freecultureclothing.com, Facebook. MV Esthetics has moved to 8905 W. Gage Blvd., Suite 201 in Kennewick. Contact: 509302-3541, Facebook. CLOSED Scrap Tri-Cities at 323 W. First Ave. in Kennewick has closed.

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business • October 2017

AROUND TOWN

The Volpentest HAMMER Federal Training Center celebrated its 20-year anniversary Oct. 5. The training facility is globally known for its staff, worker trainers, partnerships and hands-on safety training for workers and emergency responders who protect and safeguard the public and environment. Elected officials, Hanford site leaders, national labor general presidents and others attended the celebration at 2890 Horn Rapids Road. (Courtesy Mission Support Alliance)

Brett Dillahunt, teacher at Prosser High School and founder of the nonprofit Mustangs 4 Mustangs, was surprised as a “Smile Maker” in front of students and staff for his dedication to the Prosser community. The surprise was part of Delta Dental of Washington’s Smile Power tour recognizing those making their community a better place to live. The Tooth Fairy and Smile Power team also visited the Boys and Girls Clubs’ Discovery Preschool in Pasco, The Arc of TriCities in Richland, Enterprise Middle School in West Richland, Ruth Livingston Elementary School in Pasco, Addus HomeCare in Kennewick and Roasters Coffee in Richland. (Courtesy Ben VanHouten of VanHouten Photography) Columbia Basin College recently offered a free WOW, or Women of Welding, class which allowed for 16 women to create welded garden art, wall hangings or other creative pieces alongside three welding faculty mentors. The program aims to give women hands-on, practical experience learning some welding fundamentals to create a project. (Courtesy CBC)

Loree and Doug Swartz needed help painting their Kennewick home so they reached out to Rebuilding Mid-Columbia, a nonprofit that helps low-income homeowners make repairs to their houses with volunteers and business partners. More than 60 students in the construction trades program at Tri-Tech Skills Center in Kennewick not only painted their home, but replaced the siding on the chimney, fixed roof vents and prepared the yard and garden for winter weather. “They’ve just done far and above what we dreamed and we just can’t believe it,” Loree Swartz said. (Courtesy Kennewick School District)

Washington Conservation Corps’ AmeriCorps members help install blue tarp on a home in Florida. Members were deployed from all across Washington to respond to the hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria to support response and cleanup efforts in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. As of Oct. 2, Washington’s teams have completed 326 damage assessments, mucked and gutted 84 homes and are supporting seven Volunteer Reception Centers in Texas. (Courtesy Washington Department of Ecology)

Kay Teal of Kay’s Klub hosted bridge players aboard the riverboat American Empress and players from American Contract Bridge League Unit 442. More than 70 players participated in two-section pair games Sept. 27 at the Richland Community Center. Kay’s Klub hosted the event. Unit 442 includes five bridge clubs in the Tri-Cities.

Email Around Town photo submissions with captions to editor@tcjournal.biz

Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business â&#x20AC;¢ October 2017