Feb 05, 2025

Hargis

Barranick

Kavulla

Brush

Eldredge

Slatton

Koch

Ide

Kunimoto

Helms

VanderKley

Peery

Pentz

Koch

Hargis Engineers has promoted seven employees to the senior leadership team. Brad Slatton, Kevin Eldredge, and Shannon Brush have been promoted to principal and are joined by new associate principals Josh Kavulla, Michael Baranick, and Taylor VanderKley, and new senior associate Ben Helms.

Since joining Hargis in 2007, Slatton has leveraged his background as a financial business analyst to strengthen the firm's business operations team. His leadership has supported the firm in navigating domestic and global growth, identifying advantageous benefit options for staff, and aligning with the distinct financial reporting requirements of public, private, and Fortune 100 clients.

Eldredge brings nearly three decades of telecommunications and audio-visual experience. Accustomed to working with Fortune 100 and 500 enterprise clients, he applies his technical expertise and leadership to guide teams in delivering solutions that align with innovative priorities and highly sophisticated specialty program applications for visionaries across the Americas.

With over 22 years of service, Brush has been a cornerstone of Hargis' marketing and business development efforts. Her active involvement as the team lead and mentor, as well as serving on boards and committees across the industry, fuels the firm's brand recognition and position across multiple markets, while her focus on cultivating market sector expansion through new discipline introductions contributes to the firm's broader reach.

Kavulla brings 25 years of experience as a consultant and owner representative specializing in multiple facets of technology. His leadership is instrumental in serving Fortune 100 and 500 clients, driving high-profile corporate office regional growth, and delivering hyperscale data center applications on accelerated timelines to meet the demands of dynamic client expansion.

Baranick leads Hargis' energy services team, helping clients achieve conservation benchmarks and align capital planning with sustainability goals. His advocacy on technical committees and leadership in code development ensure that Hargis remains a voice for productive change in the industry.

VanderKley's investment in the delivery of educational projects has contributed to several firsts for clients throughout the Puget Sound region. His adaptive approach has enabled him to be responsive to changes in the industry, build new relationships, and provide internal leadership to our digital applications team in the spirit of delivering on clients' needs.

Helms joins the team as a senior associate. He is a key member of the security and telecommunications team that serves public clients' interests. He is actively serving the enterprise needs of Washington state's departments of corrections, social and health services, and children/youth/family services. His efforts have also served colleges and universities statewide, demonstrating his commitment to higher education enterprise needs.

Hargis also announced six new associates. They are Brian Kunimoto (telecommunications), Devin Ide (mechanical), Haley Koch (electrical), Jake Reny (mechanical), James Pentz (mechanical), Travis Peery (telecommunications).

Cochran

Cirrotti-Caruso

Cochran, an electrical and technology services provider in the Pacific Northwest, has promoted Seth Cirrotti-Caruso to director of preconstruction. In this role, Cirrotti-Caruso will lead the preconstruction process for electrical and technology projects, ensuring seamless coordination from initial design through construction.

His responsibilities include supervising and integrating key functions such as strategic project pursuits, building information modeling, procurement, budgeting, and pre-fab operations. With a focus on early-stage project development, he will collaborate closely with clients, architects, and internal teams to align project goals, optimize designs, and deliver value-driven solutions.

He brings extensive experience in the electrical industry, having joined Cochran in 2007. Over the years, he has advanced through several roles, including electrical estimator, project assistant, project engineer, project manager, and project executive. He has played a key role in delivering some of Cochran's most high-profile and technically demanding projects, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation headquarters, Microsoft and Amazon campuses, and mixed-use towers in Seattle and Bellevue.

Kenmore Air

Kenmore Air, in collaboration with the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, announced the extension of their seasonal seaplane flight service between Tacoma's Ruston Way and Victoria, BC's Inner Harbour. The service will run from May 15 through Sept. 15. The daily flight will depart Tacoma at 2:45 pm, flying for approximately one hour to Friday Harbor Marina. After a 30-minute stopover, the flight will continue for a 20-minute leg to Victoria's Inner Harbour, making the total flight time 1 hour and 50 minutes. Prices start at $199 per person, one-way. In addition to the Victoria route, May 15 will mark the return of Kenmore Air's seasonal seaplane service between Tacoma and the San Juan Islands with direct service to Friday Harbor Marina and stopover service to Roche Harbor, as well as a variety of seaplane marina locations on Orcas Island and Lopez Island. This service will also be available through Sept. 15, with fares starting at $199 per person, one-way. Matt Wadhwani, CEO of Puyallup Tribal Enterprises and the tribal financial officer, said the partnership with Kenmore is another success for the Tribe's economic development wing. “When we partner with the right people, we make great things happen. Kenmore has been a terrific partner from the start,” he said. “Two years ago, we said we intended to go global, and here we are.” Puyallup Tribal Enterprises is the Puyallup Tribe's economic development arm. Its objectives are to increase the Tribe's land asset base and to create jobs and job training opportunities for Tribal members, and to leverage its existing assets to generate above-market returns for the Tribe and its strategic partners. Founded in 1946, Kenmore Air serves over 90,000 passengers annually.

Chuckanut Bay Foods

Chuckanut Bay Foods named two additions to its executive team: Robert Kinsella as president and Mark Budd as director of sales. Both bring extensive experience in the bakery segment. Kinsella has had a successful 33-year career as a food broker and was the founder of Premier Sales Solutions. He revolutionized the in-store bakery segment, expanding across 37 states and achieving over $1 billion in retail sales for clients before selling his company to Empire in 2013. He stayed on as chairman of Premier Sales Solutions which would eventually was rebranded to Epic Sales Partners, a national perishable broker. At Epic he served as senior vice president of Business Development - Bakery. Budd brings over 40 years of experience in the food industry, specializing in sweet baked goods and private-label product development. Most recently, he served as director of sales at The Killer Brownie Company, where he spearheaded growth initiatives by securing key accounts, launching innovative products, and expanding into new channels. His expertise spans grocery, convenience, and foodservice channels. Chuckanut Bay Foods provides premium dessert offerings, and is based in Blaine, Wash.

Feb 04, 2025

Starfire Sports

Lewis

Starfire Sports announced that King County Council Chief of Staff Rhonda Lewis has joined its board of directors, bringing more than three decades of public-service experience and deep-rooted community connections to the social-enterprise nonprofit. Lewis currently serves Councilmember Girmay Zahilay in King County's District 2. Starfire delivers inclusive, world-class soccer experiences and social programs that inspire, encourage, and empower the thousands of youths who participate in their classes, leagues, jamborees, and sanctioned tournaments throughout the year. The organization is actively expanding its board and service offerings to help meet an increasing need for safe, inclusive spaces, particularly among underprivileged populations in South King County. Over the past two years alone, demand for Starfire programs has grown more than 200%, with financial assistance requests nearly tripling over the same period. In 2019, Starfire launched its STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) program to meet the evolving needs of the community. In 2024, more than 50% of STEM participants accessed the program at no cost, underscoring Starfire's commitment to making soccer and educational programs accessible to all youth. Looking ahead, Starfire is poised to launch new initiatives designed to equip local youth with the tools they need to thrive in all aspects of their lives.

King County DCHS

The King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) named Michael Bailey as the new division director for adult services. Bailey brings over a decade of experience leading health and human services organizations, advancing economic mobility efforts, supporting aging adults, and co-creating community-led programs. In this role, Bailey will oversee the Adult Services Division within DCHS, which includes stewarding implementation of the Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy to secure a network of services for veterans, service members and their families, older adults and their caregivers, and resilient communities. The division focuses primarily on partnering with communities to develop, support, and provide human services programs that improve housing stability, financial stability, healthy living, social engagement, and service system access. Before joining King County, Bailey held positions both within and outside of government, including president of Compass Housing Alliance, deputy director at the Seattle Human Services Department, assistant director of the Washington Department of Revenue, and deputy director of Legislative Affairs and Outreach at the Georgia Department of Human Services.

Jan 31, 2025

Utilities and Transportation Commission

Rybarik

Gov. Bob Ferguson appointed Brian Rybarik to lead the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, effective March 3, 2005. The UTC protects Washingtonians by ensuring investor-owned utility and transportation services are safe, reliable and affordable. “Washingtonians are impacted every day by the availability and safety of electricity, telecommunications, natural gas, water and transportation,” Ferguson said. “Brian's decades of regulatory experience will help the Commission to protect these vital services and center people's needs as Washington advances forward on a clean energy transition.” Rybarik brings over two decades of regulatory experience and leadership in utility law and policy in utility ratemaking, energy development and regional energy markets. He most recently led a team at Microsoft to protect and advance the rights of workers in the company's supply chains. He strengthened Microsoft's sustainability commitments as the chief of staff for the company's environmental sustainability team. He also collaborated with utilities and policy makers to deliver sustainable and cost-effective energy while a member of the company's cloud energy team. Rybarik previously held various legal and leadership roles at the MidAmerican Energy Company, Midcontinent Independent System Operator and Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. He earned a bachelor's degree and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Fortive

Fortive Corp. named Sharmistha “Shar” Dubey as the chair of its board of directors. Dubey succeeds Alan Spoon who has notified the board that he will retire and not stand for reelection at the upcoming annual general meeting in June 2025. Dubey served as a director on the Fortive Board of Directors since 2020 and has been a member of the Nominating and Governance and Compensation Committees. She previously served as the CEO of Match Group from 2020 to 2022, and prior to that, held various leadership roles at Match Group since 2006, including as Match Group's president, chief operating officer of Tinder, president of Match Group Americas, chief product officer of Match, and chief product officer and EVP of The Princeton Review. In addition to her role at Fortive, Dubey also has served as a board member at Match Group since 2019 and Prosus and Naspers Limited since 2022. Fortive is a provider of technologies for connected workflow solutions across a range of attractive end-markets. The company is headquartered in Everett, and employs a team of more than 18,000 research and development, manufacturing, sales, distribution, service and administrative employees in more than 50 countries around the world.

Tractor Supply

Tractor Supply, a rural lifestyle retailer, announced plans to construct a new distribution center in Nampa, Idaho. The approximately 865,000 square-foot facility is expected to create more than 500 new full-time jobs for local residents and represents a nearly $225 million investment in the local economy. Construction is currently scheduled to begin in spring 2025, with an anticipated completion in late 2026-early 2027. The distribution center will eventually serve more than 200 Tractor Supply stores located throughout the Pacific Northwest, including nearby stores in Middleton, Kuna and Emmett, Idaho. This is the Company's first distribution center located in the Pacific Northwest. It will be built with the goal of LEED certification. Tractor Supply is commemorating its arrival in Nampa with two donations of $10,000 each to Ridgevue FFA and Canyon County 4-H.