Aug 05, 2021

Central Washington University

The Central Washington University Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Robert Nellams as its new chair. The 1982 CWU College of Business alum began his six-year term on the board in 2015 and previously served as vice chair under outgoing president Ronald Erickson. Aside from his role on the board, Nellams is the director of the Seattle Center, where he manages a staff of 240 full-time employees and more than 650 intermittent staff. He also is the former chair of the CWU Foundation Board. In addition, Nellams has been an active member of the Breakfast Group, a Seattle-based nonprofit service organization devoted to mentoring African-American and other low-income and at-risk young men of color. He currently serves on the group's board of directors as chair of the fundraising committee. The board also voted to install Ray Conner, former vice chairman for The Boeing Co., as its new vice chair. Conner graduated from CWU in 1979 and joined the board in 2018. Erickson was chair of the board from 2018-21, and has more than 35 years of experience as an attorney and entrepreneur, leading a number of technology enterprises in the global marketplace.

First Interstate Bank

First Interstate Bank has hired Patrick Kennedy as a commercial relationship manager. Kennedy will be responsible for developing and growing new business and maintaining and strengthening existing relationships. With more than 30 years of experience in banking, Kennedy holds a BA in Political Science from Kent State, an MBA from Northern Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in Industrial & Organizational Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. He serves as the president of the board of directors for the Whidbey Camano Land Trust and on several committees for the Goosefoot Community Fund. First Interstate is headquartered in Billings, Montana, and offers banking and wealth management services throughout Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota and Wyoming.

FCS GROUP

Melanie Hobart, who joined FCS GROUP in 2016, has been promoted to project manager. In addition to providing financial analysis and rate modeling for water, sewer, electric and solid waste utilities, Hobart also performs policy and regulatory analyses for public utilities and special purpose districts. Prior to joining FCS GROUP, Hobart maintained her own consulting practice, in addition to previously working with two other management consulting firms. Hobart has been supporting clients throughout the Western United States with projects in Colorado, Washington, Arizona and Idaho. FCS GROUP, established in 1998, specializes in utility rates and charges, utility management, general government finance, and economic services, and is headquartered in Redmond.

Aug 04, 2021

PRR

PRR, an integrated communications agency, announced that Greg Eppich will serve as its new senior director of creative and marketing. Eppich has more than 20 years of creative and marketing communications experience. As part of PRR's senior leadership group, Eppich will lead a team of social marketing, creative, digital marketing, and behavior change specialists across a portfolio of public and private sector clients including King County, Sound Transit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington State Department of Health, Washington State Department of Transportation, and the Virginia Department of Rail and Transportation. Prior to joining PRR, Eppich was a senior vice president at MSL, a global marketing communications firm. Established in 1981, PRR is a certified women-owned business, and has offices in Seattle, Washington D.C., Norfolk, Va., and Baltimore.

Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson

Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson announced that its Family Law Practice Group has received Tier 1 ranking recognition by Chambers and Partners Global High Net Worth Guide for 2021 in the category of Family/Matrimonial. In addition, family law attorneys Linda Kelley Ebberson and Lisa Ann Sharpe were recognized in Tier 1 and Tier 2, respectively, with high marks in complex divorce proceedings for wealthy and notable individuals. Chambers research is conducted by 200 research analysts, across 200 jurisdictions and provides nearly 6,000 rankings tables. They collect hundreds of thousands of responses from clients, the majority via in-depth interview, each year. Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson was founded 48 years ago in Seattle.

NW Natural Holdings

NW Natural Holdings has released its second annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report outlining the company's progress in 2020 on safety, carbon reduction, diversity, community engagement and governance goals. The ESG report, posted online at http://www.nwnatural.com/about-us/the-company/sustainability, incorporates disclosures recommended for the industry by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). The items highlighted in the report included that the company moved its Portland headquarters and operations center into a new LEED Core and Shell Gold certified building that reduces energy use and waste; continued its focus on diversity, equity and inclusion; contributed nearly $1 million to community organizations through the NW Natural Corporate Philanthropy Fund; and provided a 100% company match for two employee-giving campaigns that raised $350,000 for local nonprofits. Northwest Natural Holdings has been doing business for over 160 years in the Pacific Northwest. It owns NW Natural Gas, NW Natural Water and other business interests.

Aug 03, 2021

Boise Cascade

Hoffmann

Boise Cascade has promoted Tom Hoffmann to senior vice president. He currently leads the purchasing activities for the Building Materials Distribution (BMD) division. Hoffmann began his 40-year career with Boise Cascade as a sales trainee at the company's Salt Lake City BMD branch following his 1981 graduation from the University of Idaho with a bachelor's degree in marketing and management. Hoffmann moved to the Denver location in 1987 and eventually was named its branch manager. He relocated to Idaho to Boise Cascade's headquarters as the Pacific Region manager, followed by division operations manager, and a promotion to vice president of operations in 2016. Hoffmann is active with the North American Wholesale Lumber Association.

Journal of Wealth Management

Bouchey

Portfolio Management Research (PMR) has tapped Paul Bouchey, global head of research at Seattle-based Parametric, as co-editor of The Journal of Wealth Management (JWM). Bouchey joins Jean Brunel, managing principal of Brunel Associates and editor of JWM since its founding in 1998. Bouchey has authored numerous articles for PMR's suite of 11 peer-reviewed practitioner journals, including JWM, The Journal of Portfolio Management, and The Journal of Index Investing. A CFA charterholder, he is a member of the CFA Society of Seattle. The mission of JWM is to help wealthy individuals and families as well as those who serve them do the best possible job advising them and managing their assets. Portfolio Management Research is an independent research platform for the investment management industry, and is powered by a community of practitioners, academics, institutional investors, and researchers, including Nobel laureates.

Cascade Windows

Cornerstone Building Brands has reached an agreement to acquire Cascade Windows for a cash purchase price of $245 million. Cascade is a leading independent manufacturer of energy-efficient vinyl windows and doors serving the residential new construction and repair and remodel markets. Headquartered in Spokane Valley, Cascade has approximately 800 employees at six manufacturing and three distribution locations across the West and Pacific Northwest. The transaction, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions, is expected to be funded with cash on hand and close in the third quarter of 2021. Cornerstone Building Brands is a manufacturer of exterior building products for residential and low-rise non-residential buildings and is headquartered in Cary, N.C. Cornerstone has more than 20,000 employees at manufacturing, distribution and office locations throughout North America.