Nov 09, 2022

Blueline

Montes De Oca

Ho

Oswald

Roberts

Nychuk

Wanqin

Padgett

Blankas

Blueline has eight new hires. Breanne Nychuk was hired as an engineer to work on public projects. She received her degree in Civil Engineering with a minor in Environmental Engineering from McGill University in Montreal and has fiver years of experience supporting development from a feasibility level through construction.

Matt Roberts was hired as an engineer to work on residential projects. He recently received his degree in Civil Engineering from Gonzaga University and is joining Blueline straight out of college.

Cyrus Oswald joins the firm as an assistant planner to support the land use planning team. He recently received his degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont and has experience with sustainable local business practices and transit planning.

Jenelle Ho was hired as an engineer to work on public projects. She received her degree in Civil Engineering from Seattle University and has experience interning with Seattle Public Utilities as a drainage and wastewater modeling and operations intern.

Niomi Montes De Oca joins the firm as a senior planner to support long-range and current planning projects for the public and private sector. She received her MS in Planning from the University of Arizona and has been a Municipal Planner since 2012 and has experience serving as a senior planner with the City of Redmond.

Michelle Blankas was hired as a planner to support planning projects for the public and private sector. She received her MS in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Colorado. Blankas' experience ranges from being an executive assistant for a small non-profit, a farmer, an administrative assistant for a city attorney's office, and most recently a Planner I in Boulder County.

Betty Padgett was hired as a permit technician. She is a graduate of Texas State University with a B.S. in Resource and Environmental Studies, a GIS Certificate, and a minor in economics. Padgett will be helping coordinate permits and serving as a liaison between clients and local jurisdictions for Blueline.

Su Wanqin joins the firm as a landscape architect. She received her B.S. in Landscape Architecture from Tongi University in Shangai, her M.S. in Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State University, and an M.S. of Business Administration from the International Technological University. Wanqin held her most previous position at a landscape architecture and civil engineering firm for nearly four years has been a licensed Landscape Architect since 2021.

Historic Seattle

Stanek

Historic Seattle welcomed Megan Stanek as the organization's new horticulture manager. Stanek has a degree in Plant Science and a robust professional background in managing botanical gardens. She will be improving the gardens at Historic Seattle's properties for both humans and non-human critters.

Woodruff Sawyer

Schmidt

Woodruff Sawyer hired Tim Schmidt as vice president, producer for its Seattle office. Prior to joining Woodruff Sawyer, Schmidt spent seven years at Parker, Smith and Feek, where he was a construction and P&C producer. Prior to that, he spent 10 years in commercial banking. In his role, Schmidt will partner with construction clients to navigate insurance solutions and advise on their overall risk management. He will be directly involved in the placement of insurance through guaranteed cost, loss sensitive, and alternative risk programs. Schmidt is certified as a Construction Risk Insurance Specialist, and attended Washington State University. Woodruff Sawyer is an insurance brokerage and consulting firm headquartered in San Francisco with offices throughout the U.S.

Summit Bank

Summit Bank was recognized as the 2022 Top Community Bank Lender in Oregon. Lending year-end totals reported by the U.S. Small Business Administration Portland District Office (with territory including Oregon and Southwest Washington) were recently published. The results detail that Summit Bank is the number one community lender in SBA 504 loans and the top community bank lender for SBA 7(a) loans. Summit Bank's SBA program has achieved recognition as the top community bank lender in Oregon since 2015. In addition, Ashley Horner, Summit Bank SBA Program Administrator, was recently elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Guaranteed Lenders, a national trade association serving private-sector lenders. Summit Bank has offices in Eugene, Central Oregon, and downtown Portland.

CRU Data Security Group

CRU Data Security Group announced the addition of Jim McCartney as vice president of sales. McCartney will lead the sales operations for the company from its Vancouver headquarters. McCartney brings more than 30 years of expertise in technology sales and leadership. Most recently he worked with Wacom Technology as head of sales, professional products. His experience spans a wide range of industries including transportation, construction, manufacturing, education, healthcare, consumer electronics, business services and nonprofit organizations. He worked in sales for hardware and software companies in the Silicon Valley after earning his bachelor's degree in strategic communications from the University of Wisconsin. CRU Data Security Group designs and develops products that secure and protect data from cyber and natural threats via its four brands, CRU, DIGISTOR, ioSafe, and WiebeTech. The company's TAA-compliant solutions are used by the Department of Defense, members of NATO, federal agencies, major OEMs, law enforcement, and businesses worldwide. The company maintains offices in California, Idaho, Kansas, Ohio, and Texas.

Pro-Vac

Puyallup-based Pro-Vac has acquired Vac-One, a provider of hydro excavation services in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and New Mexico. The combination will enable Pro-Vac to rapidly expand its subsurface infrastructure service offering across a national footprint. The combination was supported by Gallant Capital Partners, the majority owner of Pro-Vac, who will continue to invest significant capital into the combined business to further expand Pro-Vac. Founded in 2002, Pro-Vac is a provider of essential subsurface infrastructure services. The company's service offerings include hydro excavation, stormwater and sewer systems maintenance, pipeline jetting, pipeline repair / grouting, CCTV pipe inspections, vacuum sweeping and other specialty services. Pro-Vac's customers include contractors, municipalities, and utility companies. Vac-One was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Deer Park, Texas. Gallant Capital Partners, headquartered in Los Angeles, is a private equity firm that makes control investments in industrial, business services, and technology companies.

Nov 08, 2022

Alaska Power & Telephone

Alaska Power & Telephone subsidiary AP&T Wireless (AP&T) completed installation of the SEALink submarine fiber optic cable system, providing Prince of Wales Island with its first ever fiber optic link to continental North America, and the rest of the world. The submarine cable is a core component of a regional fiber deployment project funded via a $21.5m grant from the USDA Rural Utilities Service ReConnect program, and approximately $7m in private investment supplied by AP&T. Beginning in 2023, AP&T will install fiber and turn up service to homes in the Prince of Wales communities of Coffman Cove and Kasaan. The submarine cable was manufactured by Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke of Nordenham, Germany, and installed by International Telecom. Rock-N-Road Construction, a woman-owned small business from Petersburg, Alaska, constructed beach landing sites in the communities of Coffman Cove and Petersburg. AP&T line crews constructed 17 miles of aerial transport fiber, and directional boring contractor Tundra Utility Construction installed over 9 miles of underground fiber. AP&T anticipates SEALink will be fully operational in March 2023. AP&T is currently completing detailed engineering designs, undertaking environmental/permitting work, and ordering materials and equipment for fiber build-outs in Craig, Klawock, and Hollis, which is scheduled to occur between 2024 and 2027. AP&T is also applying for additional USDA grant funds to build fiber to premises in Thorne Bay, Whale Pass, and Hydaburg, with a target completion date of 2028. APTL is an employee- and investor-owned utility providing utility services in over 40 communities in rural Alaska.

Seyfarth

Seyfarth added three partners to the firm's Seattle office. Michael Herbst and Russel Robertson join the firm's Corporate department, and Ryan Dumm joins the Litigation department. The partners join a Seattle office that has added more than 30 attorneys since its opening in 2020, representing a cross-section of the firm's departments, including Labor & Employment, Construction, Real Estate, Employee Benefits, Corporate, and Litigation. Herbst's practice focuses on corporate and joint venture formation for real estate, project development and general transactions, mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs, recapitalizations, and dispositions. He principally represents U.S. and international clients in the real estate, development, and construction industries with respect to their U.S. and especially Pacific Northwest operations. He also represents U.S. and international clients engaged in the education, software, logistics, and food manufacturing industries. Herbst received his JD from New York University School of Law. Robertson's practice focuses primarily on advising on all aspects of commercial real estate development, including acquisition and disposition, development agreements, leasing, joint venture formation and structuring, and debt and equity financing transactions. He also advises clients in a wide range of other industries on corporate matters, structuring, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial finance. Robertson received his JD from Seattle University School of Law. Dumm's work includes representing developers and general contractors in commercial high rise, multi-family, heavy civil, green energy, and other complex construction projects. He works with clients across the life-cycle of each project, including construction and design agreements, advice, and claims resolution. Dumm received his JD from Seattle University School of Law. With more than 900 lawyers across 17 offices, Seyfarth Shaw provides advisory, litigation, and transactional legal services to clients worldwide.

Luvera Law Firm

Luvera Law Firm has earned two tier-one designations in the 2023 U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” rankings for its excellence in personal injury litigation and medical malpractice law for the 13th consecutive year. The “Best Law Firms” guide elevates select law firms to recognize professional excellence and consistently stellar ratings from clients and peers. Luvera recently secured a $150 million verdict on behalf of the family of a former city of Seattle planning official, who was the victim of a crane collapse in 2019. Additionally, the firm secured $16.75 million and $10 million verdicts for four individuals injured in the Washington state Amtrak train derailment. In addition to personal injury advocacy, Luvera has a long history of helping clients with medical malpractice and negligence claims. The U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” rankings are determined by a peer-review survey comprised of evaluations from leading lawyers, as well as client evaluations, and peer reviews from top attorneys in their field. To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must have one lawyer listed in The Best Lawyers in America, which recognizes the top 5 percent of practicing attorneys in the U.S. Luvera Law Firm handles a broad variety of cases, including serious injuries and wrongful death caused by commercial and vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, product defects, construction site accidents, corporate wrongdoing, and insurance misconduct.

Compass Construction

Stewart

Leahy

Perez Martin

Lopez

Compass Construction hired Veronica Lopez as Certified Payroll Specialist; and promoted Sebastian Perez Martin from assistant superintendent to field superintendent, Tim Leahy from field superintendent to superintendent, and Jeff Stewart from labor foreman to assistant superintendent. Lopez has nearly a decade of experience in accounting, payroll and accounts payable. Perez Martin is working at the Liza project in Seattle. He began his career at Compass in 2013 as a laborer and climbed the ranks to labor foreman and later assistant superintendent. Leahy is working on the Marina Square project in Bremerton. He has been with the company for six years, starting as a carpenter and moving to labor foreman, assistant superintendent and field superintendent. Stewart is working on the Simon Northgate project. He started with Compass in 2020, and has 10 years of construction industry experience.

Pro-Vac

Puyallup-based Pro-Vac acquired Vac-One, a provider of hydro excavation services in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and New Mexico. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. A news release from Pro-Vac says the combination “significantly enhances and expands Pro-Vac's scale and geographic reach.” Pro-Vac provides subsurface infrastructure services such as hydro excavation, stormwater and sewer systems maintenance, pipeline jetting, pipeline repair/grouting, CCTV pipe inspections and vacuum sweeping. The deal was supported by Los Angeles-based Gallant Capital Partners, a private equity firm and the majority owner of Pro-Vac. Vac-One is headquartered in Deer Park, Texas, and its customers include contractors and municipalities, as well as industrial, energy and utility companies.

ABC of Western Washington

Considerate Contracting & Design of Auburn is the newest member of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Washington. Considerate performs apartment renovations, home remodels, demolition, framing, land clearing, mulching and tree services. Tom Lyman is CEO and owner.