Oct 17, 2023

Grays Harbor Superior Court

Samuel

Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Vini E. Samuel to the Grays Harbor County Superior Court. She will replace Judge David Edwards, who will retire from the bench after this year. Currently, Samuel serves as the mayor of the xity of Montesano and has also owned and operated a private law firm in Montesano since 2004. Her practice has focused on family law, and also includes estate planning, real estate and probate. Prior to 2004, Samuel's practice included handling criminal matters, bankruptcies and serving as a guardian ad litem. During her career, she has also served as a pro tem judge on the Grays Harbor District Court bench, as well as a hearings officer for the city of Montesano. She has worked primarily in Grays Harbor since 1997 but also regularly appeared in Pacific County, Quinault Tribal Court, and Thurston County courts. Samuel is active in the Grays Harbor County community, as a Rotarian, a lifetime member of the Friends of the Library, a member of Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia State Parks, and a member of the Grays Harbor Communications E-911 Board of Directors. Samuel earned her bachelor's degree from Western Washington University where she now serves on the University's Foundation Board. She earned her law degree from Seattle University School of Law.

Zones

Auburn-based Zones, a global provider of end-to-end IT Solutions, has been positioned by ISG as the exclusive “Rising Star” in Supply Chain IT Operation Services in the U.S. in its Supply Chain Services 2023 report. The ISG report recognized that Zones' digitally focused supply chain services and strong focus on innovation and advancements. ISG highlighted Zones' strengths in three critical areas: Supply Chain Offering, Customer-First Approach, and Extensive Partner Ecosystem. Derrek Hallock is president and COO of Zones. Zones, a Minority Business Enterprise in operation for over 35 years, specializes in Digital Workplace, Cloud & Data Center, Networking, Security, and Managed/Professional/Staffing services, and operates in more than 120 countries.

Russell Investments

Russell Investments has entered into a partnership With Venerable Holdings to build a new multi-manager variable annuity platform. Venerable announced that Venerable Investment Advisers, its new wholly-owned subsidiary, intends to engage Russell Investments to provide sub-advisory and administration services to funds in its newly formed Venerable Variable Insurance Trust (VVIT). VVIT has filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for Venerable High Yield Fund, Venerable Large Cap Index Fund, Venerable Moderate Allocation Fund, Venerable Strategic Bond Fund, Venerable US Large Cap Core Equity Fund and Venerable US Large Cap Strategic Equity Fund, each an initial series of VVIT. Russell Investments is a global investment solutions firm providing a wide range of services to institutional investors, financial intermediaries and individual investors. Headquartered in Seattle, Russell Investments has 17 offices in major financial centers, including New York, London, Paris, Toronto, Tokyo and Shanghai. Venerable is a privately held company with business operations based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Des Moines, Iowa and New York.

Trico Companies

Meehan

Burlington-based Trico Companies hired Jordan Meehan as a superintendent. Meehan has over a decade of experience as a general contractor, and holds a bachelor's degree in construction management from Washington State University. Trico says Meehan is a solutions-driven builder with diverse project experience in commercial construction, including office, housing, data center and industrial projects. He also is a DBIA Professional. “Jordan believes that a good superintendent is more than a great builder, but someone who is dedicated to understanding their client and the goals of all stakeholders to effectively guide a project from concept to completion,” the company says.

Advanced Traffic Products

Applied Information, a provider of intelligent transportation infrastructure technology, formed a partnership with Everett-based Advanced Traffic Products to distribute traffic signal preemption and priority products in the Northwest. Applications for Applied Information's technology include emergency vehicle preemption for fire, police and ambulance services, and signal priority for transit buses, school buses and snowplows. Applied Information's technology uses multiple redundant communication methods including optical, line-of-sight radio, and Cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X network). Applied Information is based in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Oct 13, 2023

Inland Northwest AGC

NWAGC representatives accepted the award at national construction conference in Washington, DC.

The Inland Northwest AGC received a national construction award this month which honors organizations for their outstanding contributions to the local and national construction industries. The NWAGC earned the AGC Chapter of the Year Award for 2023, which recognizes chapters for outstanding programming, tangible accomplishments and overall excellence throughout 2022 and 2023. The Inland Northwest AGC is a membership organization dedicated to advancing the needs of commercial construction contractors throughout Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, and this year implemented its Trade Up 2 Construction campaign highlighting local workers and bringing attention to career opportunities in construction. The chapter was recognized for its significant accomplishments in workforce development, PAC fundraising, and construction education. Representing almost 400 companies in the region, The Inland Northwest AGC chapter was founded in 1921, and is one of 89 chapters of the Associated General Contractors of America.

TrueBlue

Schweihs

Tacoma-based TrueBlue, a provider of specialized workforce solutions, announced that Carl Schweihs has been promoted to chief financial officer from his position as president & COO of TrueBlue’s PeopleManagement division effective October 30, 2023. Schweihs will succeed Derrek Gafford who, after nearly two decades as CFO, is leaving to pursue other opportunities. To ensure a smooth transition, Gafford will serve in an advisory capacity through the end of the year. Schweihs has been with TrueBlue since 2014. Preceding his current role, he served as senior vice president of strategic accounts and before that vice president of finance and controller. Schweihs joined the company as part of its acquisition of Seaton in 2014, prior to which he served in a variety of financial leadership roles at Seaton and Grant Thornton. In conjunction with Schweihs’ appointment as CFO, Jerry Wimer has been promoted to general manager of PeopleManagement’s on-site staffing business and will serve as acting president of PeopleManagement. Wimer has been with TrueBlue since the acquisition of Seaton in 2014, most recently serving as general manager and senior vice president of global operations for staff management | SMX, which he joined in 1996. In 2022, TrueBlue served 84,000 clients and connected approximately 611,000 people to work. Its PeopleReady segment offers on-demand, industrial staffing; PeopleManagement offers contingent, on-site industrial staffing and commercial driver services; and PeopleScout offers recruitment process outsourcing and managed service provider solutions to a wide variety of industries.

City of Bellevue

Miyake

After 33 years of service, Bellevue’s city manager Brad Miyake has announced his retirement. Miyake has worked at the city in a multitude of positions, including utilities director, budget manager, and most recently, city manager. His last day with the city will be December 1, 2023.