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.

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.

May 04, 2023

Recreation and Conservation Board

Craig

Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Kathleen “Kitty” Craig, a national program director for The Wilderness Society, to the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Funding Board. The board awards about $200 million in grants every other year to tribes, nonprofits and government agencies to create parks, trails and other outdoor recreation opportunities. The board also awards grants to conserve the state's natural resource heritage by protecting working farms and forests and wildlife habitat, including places inhabited by plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. As director for the Urban to Wild program, Craig helps lead The Wilderness Society's efforts to advance equitable access to nature in urban communities across the country by eliminating barriers and fostering connections to the outdoors and public lands. The Wilderness Society is a national nonprofit land conservation organization founded in 1935 that works to protect America's wild places. Craig joined The Wilderness Society in 2010. She became advocacy director for urban communities in 2021, and a year later took the job as Urban to Wild director. Before joining The Wilderness Society, Craig led The Trust for Public Land's Conservation Vision program in Washington state, where she worked with communities to develop collaborative action plans that balanced community recreation, conservation and development needs. Craig has a bachelor of arts degree from Whitman College and master of arts degree in community and regional planning from the University of Oregon. She is on the boards of directors for the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust and the Stewardship Partners, and serves on various advisory committees for public agency grant programs. Craig's term runs through 2025.

May 03, 2023

Stoel Rives

Griffith

Stoel Rives announced that Kiran Griffith has returned to its Seattle office as a partner. Griffith, an employee benefits lawyer who joins the firm from Perkins Coie, was an associate at Stoel Rives from 2013 to 2016. She brings to the firm 10 years of experience in employee benefit matters relating to health and welfare plans.

Griffith has significant experience advising public and private sector employers, associations, and boards of trustees, as well as service providers in the health and welfare space. She advises on plan design and drafting, strategy and innovation, and regulatory compliance, with a focus on the Affordable Care Act, health care transparency, mental health parity, COBRA, and other federal and state laws that affect health and welfare plans. Griffith also regularly advises on HIPAA privacy and security matters for health plan benefits. Griffith earned her J.D., summa cum laude, from Seattle University School of Law, and attended the University of Texas at Austin for her undergraduate education. Prior to attending law school, Griffith served as a senior compliance manager at Gerson Lehrman Group, a financial services company. Griffith currently serves on the board of Seattle Arts & Lectures, as well as the board of Campaign for Equal Justice. Stoel Rives has offices in seven states and Washington, D.C.

Appen

Johnson

Appen Limited appointed Helen Johnson as chief financial officer. Appen's current CFO, Kevin Levine, will remain with the business in an advisory role until 1 September 2023 to ensure a smooth transition. Johnson has more than 25 years leading finance organizations across a variety of industries, including privately held IT Managed Service providers, medium sized public healthcare and financial services companies, and Fortune 500 ranked publicly traded corporations in the IT industry. Most recently, she was CFO of North America for Insight Enterprises. Prior to her 14 years at Insight, Johnson served as senior vice president, treasurer for eFunds Corporation, a publicly traded, multi-national enterprise that delivers electronic payments and risk management solutions. Johnson will be based out of Appen's offices in North America. Appen is a global market platform for the AI Lifecycle. Founded in 1996, Appen has customers and offices globally, with its United States headquarters located in Kirkland.

Alaska Airlines

On the heels of its inaugural trans-Pacific flight to Los Angeles, Taiwan-based luxury carrier Starlux Airlines announced a strategic partnership with Seattle-based Alaska Airlines. The agreement will give both Starlux and Alaska loyalty program members more opportunities for rewards by earning points on flights operated by each carrier. Once fully implemented, the partnership will allow customers of both airlines to book connecting flights on a single ticket. The partnership will greatly expand Starlux's reach into the U.S., with customers accessing Alaska Airlines' domestic and international network, connecting at Alaska's Los Angeles gateway. It will also increase travel choices for Alaska customers looking to travel to Asia, with access to 16 destinations, with a transfer in Taipei. The new Taipei-Los Angeles flights will be flown on Starlux's Airbus A350 aircraft and feature four seats in First, 26 in Business, 36 in Premium Economy and 240 in Economy. Starlux was launched in 2020.