Dec 10, 2020

Emerald Heights

Emerald Heights, a senior Life Plan Community in Redmond, has created and donated more than 350 wooden toys to charities in Western Washington. A group of 13 Emerald Heights residents created wooden puzzles, airplanes, dinosaurs, cars, blocks and tugboats. Bill Dumar, a former resident at Emerald Heights began the Wooden Toys for Charity group in 2014. Since the group began they have donated more than 2,500 toys to children through various charities.

AAA Washington

Kirk Nelson, president & CEO of AAA Washington, provider of emergency road service in Washington and North Idaho, announced plans to retire next summer. Nelson has served as president and CEO since April 2011 after a career at Qwest Communications where he was Washington president. Nelson currently serves on the boards of the Benaroya Research Institute, American Commerce Insurance and Forterra, The AAA Washington Board of Trustees has retained Russell Reynolds to execute the CEO search. The search committee will be led by incoming board chair Greg Bever (retired publisher of Spokane Journal of Business), and Sheila Edwards Lange (president of Seattle Central College). Interested candidates can email Russell Reynolds at AAAWashington@russellreynolds.com.

Panopto

Panopto, a video management system provider for enterprise and higher education, has won the 2020 Training Magazine Network Choice Award for Best Authoring Tools. This is the second year in a row that Panopto has won this award. Headquartered in Seattle, Panopto was founded by technology entrepreneurs and software experts at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science.

DeLille Cellars

DeLille Cellars, one of Woodinville's founding wineries, has announced the hiring of Janna Rinker as director of national sales. Rinker joins DeLille from Copper Cane Wines and Provisions, where she most recently held the role of national account manager. Prior to Copper Cane, Rinker was a founding team member of Washington's Latta Wines. With the addition of Rinker, DeLille will no longer be represented by Vintage Point Partners, a Sonoma-based sales and marketing company. The move follows DeLille's recent remodel of the former Redhook Brewery in Woodinville, including the construction of a new three-story tasting room.

Dec 09, 2020

Washington State Senate

Republican Sen. John Braun has been elected by his caucus to be the new Senate minority leader. Braun, of Centralia, replaces Sen. Mark Schoesler, who announced he was stepping down from his leadership role after eight years but would remain in the chamber as a senator. Braun, first elected to the Senate in 2012, has served as ranking member of the Senate Ways & Means Committee since 2017. He was unanimously elected to the leadership post during the Republican caucus vote, as were other caucus leaders. Sen. Ann Rivers was elected as caucus chair and Sen. Shelly Short was re-elected as floor leader. Sen. Keith Wagoner will step into Rivers' place as floor whip.

Association for Learning Environments

The Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) has recognized Edward Peters with its 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award. This award is designed to honor a member who has distinguished themselves by making significant lasting contributions to the educational facility planning industry throughout their career. Peters is the director of capital projects in the Edmonds School District and a long-time member of the Association. His role with the Edmonds School District has been heavily involved in master-planning and bond proposals, focused on the replacement of many dilapidated schools. He has served as Washington State chapter president, as an ALEP commissioner, as chapter governor, and is a multiple recipient of the Pacific Northwest region Lifetime Achievement Award. With approximately 5,300 members, the Association's goal is to build healthy, safe, resilient and sustainable 21st Century learning places.

Fortive

Fortive announced that Rejji Hayes has been appointed to its board of directors, as well as to the audit committee. Since 2017, Hayes has served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of CMS Energy, a publicly traded electric and natural gas company. Hayes also currently serves as chairman of the board of EnerBank USA, a CMS Energy subsidiary and nationwide provider of home improvement loans. Fortive is a provider of technologies for connected workflow solutions, and is headquartered in Everett.

Dec 08, 2020

Comcast RISE Awards

Comcast Business announced that five black-owned small businesses in Western Washington received Comcast RISE program awards. The awards will allow these businesses to receive consulting, media and creative production services from Effectv, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, or technology upgrades from Comcast Business. The local businesses receiving awards from the first phase of the Comcast Rise program include F-Rock Printing (Seattle), Idman Childcare (Tukwila), Sphere Solar Energy (Seattle), TaxBunny (Burien), ValMed (Tacoma) and Your Money Matters (Auburn). The first phase of Comcast RISE, which stands for “Representation, Investment, Strength and Empowerment,” focused on U.S. Black-owned, small businesses, which were hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. The next phase opens eligibility to include Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-owned, small businesses. They can apply at http://www.ComcastRISE.com.

Seattle Public Schools

The Seattle Public School Board has elected a new slate of officers: Chandra Hampson, president; Brandon Hersey, vice president; and Lisa Rivera-Smith, member-at-large. The board officers will serve for a one-year term.

Impinj

Seattle-based Impinj named Umesh Padval to its board of directors. Padval is a venture partner at Thomvest Ventures and serves as a board member at multiple growth-stage technology companies. Prior to joining Thomvest, Padval worked for over eight years at Bessemer Venture Partners. Padval joins Tom Alberg, Clinton Bybee, Chris Diorio, Dan Gibson, Cathal Phelan, Gregory Sessler, Peter van Oppen, and Theresa Wise on the Impinj board of directors. Impinj is a manufacturer of radio-frequency identification devices and software.

Infectious Disease Research Institute

Seattle's Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) appointed Candice Decaire to the role of general counsel. Decaire previously held the title of director of legal affairs for IDRI, and prior to that held positions with CACD Consulting, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan. IDRI is a nonprofit global health organization. Founded in 1993, IDRI has 55 employees with more than 100 partners/collaborators around the world.