May 09, 2023

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates

Carruthers

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, the largest winery in the Pacific Northwest, appointed Robert Carruthers as the new vice president, East Region. In this role Carruthers will lead the company's sales organization in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, and South Carolina. Carruthers comes to Ste. Michelle with two-plus decades in the wine industry. Most recently he served as a senior vice president for national/strategic accounts for Foley Family Wines. Previously, he served in leadership roles at Terlato Wines, as well as E&J Gallo Winery. Carruthers replaces Derek VanTine who was recently named vice president of customer marketing for Ste. Michelle. The Ste. Michelle Wine Estates portfolio includes: Chateau Ste. Michelle, 14 Hands, Columbia Crest, Col Solare and Spring Valley Vineyard from Washington; A to Z, Erath, and REX HILL from Oregon; Stag's Leap Wine Cellars and Patz & Hall from Napa and Sonoma, respectively; Marchesi Antinori of Italy; and Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte of France.

Banner Bank

Newsweek named Banner Bank as one of America's Most Trustworthy Companies 2023. This list is compiled by Newsweek, in collaboration with market research partner Statista, a statistics portal and industry ranking provider. Mark Grescovich is president and CEO of Walla Walla-based Banner Bank. America's Most Trustworthy Companies were identified in an independent survey based on a sample of U.S. residents who rated companies they know in terms of three touchpoints of trust: customer trust, investor trust, and employee trust. A total of 95,000 evaluations were submitted. All U.S. public and private companies with more than $500 million in revenue were considered in the study. Newsweek and Statista teams selected the most trustworthy companies across 23 industries. In the banking industry category, Banner ranked seventh of the 37 companies that made this year's list.

Washington Federal

Washington Federal, Inc., the parent company of Washington Federal Bank, and Luther Burbank Corporation, the parent company of Luther Burbank Savings, jointly announced that at special meetings of their respective shareholders held on May 4, 2023, Washington Federal shareholders approved the issuance of shares of Washington Federal's common stock to the shareholders of Luther Burbank pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Reorganization, (The Merger Agreement), dated as of November 13, 2022, and Luther Burbank's shareholders approved the Merger Agreement, the merger of Luther Burbank with and into Washington Federal, with Washington Federal as the surviving corporation. The final results on the proposals voted on at the special meetings of each company's shareholders will be set forth in the companies' separate Form 8-Ks to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after certification by each company's inspector of election. The consummation of the Merger remains subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approval. Washington Federal is headquartered in Seattle, and has 199 branches in eight western states. Washington Federal conducts its business primarily through its wholly-owned subsidiary, WaFd Bank. Luther Burbank is headquartered in Santa Rosa, California, and operates 10 full service branches in California, 1 full service branch in Washington, and several loan production offices located throughout California.

Lydig Construction

Burton

Katie Burton is the new chief financial officer at Lydig Construction. Burton, a CPA, served as controller at Lydig for five years before her promotion. She graduated from the University of Idaho and has over 20 years of experience in accounting and finance. Prior to joining Lydig, Burton spent 15 years at Moss Adams, specializing in audit before transitioning to tax accounting. She replaces Mark Bray, who retired at the beginning of the year after 28 years as CFO. Lydig has offices in Bellevue, Spokane and Kennewick.

UMC

Golden

Hookfin

Gough

Weaver

Di Cristina

Mechanical contractor UMC recently added several employees to various departments within the company. In the Marketing Department, Ashley Di Cristina joined as a marketing specialist. Di Cristina focuses on a variety of marketing efforts including the pursuit and proposal process, client relationship management, event coordination, award submittals and marketing collateral development. In the Major Projects Group, Elijah Seenandan joined as a project engineer. Seenandan assists in coordinating with the field, communicating with vendors, creating and documenting submittals, conducting diagnostic tests on mechanical systems, and quality control and assurance on jobsites. Aubrey Weaver joined the Purchasing Department as an administrative assistant, where she provides administrative support and organizational oversight. In the Special Projects Group, Hailee Gough joined as a project engineer and Tracy Hookfin as a project coordinator. Gough supports the project and account managers with coordinating communication, and creating and documenting submittals. Hookfin supports teams by defining and executing project frameworks. In the Industrial Group, Minhkennedy “Minh” Pham joined as a project engineer and JB Gearheard joined as a project manager. Pham assists in coordinating with the field, communicating with vendors, providing estimating support, and maintaining and creating project documentation. Gearheard is responsible for coordinating project teams delivering efficient HVAC and plumbing systems. New to the Facility Services Group are Joe Golden, customer service representative, and Emily Jones, operations coordinator. Golden develops and maintains client relationships across all markets in the greater Seattle area. Jones provides administrative and project support for UMC's customer service and dispatch teams. Brandon Thompson, PE, LEED AP, joined the Engineering Department as a lead engineer. Thompson is responsible for mentoring junior engineers while delivering detailed engineering plans.

Clark Construction

Dykeman

Bond

Kellen Bond and Chris Dykeman will be promoted at the end of next month to key leadership positions at Clark Construction, as founder and President Rachele Turnbull retires. Bond will become president and Dykeman will become vice president of construction. Bond joined Clark in 2014 and has over 17 years of construction industry experience. He worked his way up in the company, from project manager, superintendent, project principal, and vice president of construction. Dykeman joined Clark in February 2022 after spending 50 years in the construction industry on the East Coast, where he worked on medical facilities, laboratories, educational campuses, factories and food processing plants, high-rise buildings, bridges and railroads. He holds a bachelor's degree in business management and is a licensed Master Electrician. Clark is headquartered on Bainbridge Island, with a satellite office in Sequim. The company has nearly 100 employees and a projected annual volume over $50 million. It builds commercial, multifamily and custom residential, with a special interest in affordable housing and sustainable building practices.

Absher Construction Co.

Puyallup-based Absher Construction Co. opened an office in Wenatchee at 123 Easy St. that serves projects throughout central and eastern Washington and Oregon. The office's current projects include the Chelan PUD Service Center, Confluence Technology Center demolition and salvage, The River Academy, and the new Wenatchee Valley YMCA. Senior project manager Aaron Binger is leading the Wenatchee office, with a focus on health care, educational, public works, recreational and tribal projects. The office operates independently, while having full support and resources from company headquarters. Absher says Wenatchee was picked for the office due to its central location. Absher has been building in the region for over 10 years.

May 05, 2023

City of Tacoma

The city of Tacoma will conduct an economic disparity study from June through December to refine its efforts to help historically underutilized small businesses. Through its Equity in Contracting (EIC) Program, the city seeks to ensure that small businesses, and those owned by BIPOC individuals and women, have equal access to contracting opportunities with the city. While the current focus is on public works contracts, the goal is to expand the scope to include contracts for supplies, goods and services. The EIC Program is housed within the city of Tacoma's Community and Economic Development Department, which has expanded its efforts in recent years to facilitate economic growth while supporting broader goals relating to equity and accessibility with increased levels of culturally competent support, guidance and technical assistance. Once EIC Program staff members have reviewed the results, and presented those results along with their recommendations to the Tacoma City Manager and City Council, that information will also be made available on the city's website at cityoftacoma.org/disparitystudy, social media channels and other official platforms. Additionally, the consultant selected for the study will conduct public outreach meetings in the Tacoma Public Utilities service area to share study findings.

PACCAR

PACCAR and Toyota Motor North America announced an expansion of their joint efforts to develop and produce zero-emissions, hydrogen fuel cell (FCEV) Kenworth and Peterbilt trucks powered by Toyota's next-generation hydrogen fuel cell modules. The expanded agreement supports ongoing development and commercialized zero-emission versions of the Kenworth T680 and Peterbilt 579 models featuring Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell powertrain kit, with initial customer deliveries planned for 2024. PACCAR and Toyota have collaborated on FCEV truck development for the past several years, including a successful pilot program which deployed ten Kenworth T680 FCEV trucks at the Port of Los Angeles. Designed for use in heavy-duty commercial vehicles, Toyota's heavy-duty fuel cell electric powertrain kit was recently awarded the Zero Emission Powertrain certification by the California Air Resources Board. Toyota will begin assembly of the modules in the United States in late 2023. Bellevue-based PACCAR designs and manufactures Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF trucks.

Amazon Business

Amazon Business, the Amazon business procurement storefront, kicked off its second annual Small Business Month with the announcement of its 2023 Small Business Grants, designed to spur innovation and support the growth of small businesses that are driving impact in their local communities. This year, Amazon Business will give eligible small businesses in the U.S. the chance to win more than $250,000 in grants. Existing Amazon Business customers with annual revenues of $1 million or less can apply for a grant, with one grand-prize winner, a group of finalists, and semifinalists receiving monetary grants, Business Prime membership, and select Amazon devices. Applications are due by May 21, and winners will be announced on July 17. Additional information about how to apply is available at the Amazon Small Business Grants website.