Feb 05, 2025

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.

Jan 30, 2025

Milliman

Linton

Seattle-based Milliman, a global consulting and actuarial firm, elected Bret Linton as its next chair of the board. Linton joined Milliman in 2009 and has most recently served as global practice director, employee benefits. Linton will succeed Ken Mungan, who is completing a 10-year, term-limited tenure as chair. Linton is a retirement actuary with expertise leading global teams and serving both the employee benefit and management consulting industries. He is a principal with Milliman's Boise office, specializing in retirement plan consulting to private and public employers. He has helped lead Milliman's global benefit affiliate, MBWL International, which provides benefit solutions to multinational companies. Mungan's tenure as chair was noteworthy for its growth and commitment to mission-driven work. The firm grew 96%, added offices in 11 new countries, and acquired 11 new companies — many of which are data and analytics companies. Founded in 1947, Milliman is an independent firm with offices in major cities around the globe.

Perkins Coie

Shannon

Anthony Shannon has joined Perkins Coie as its new chief people officer. Shannon will oversee all of Perkins Coie's human resources operations, including benefits, lateral partner recruiting, lawyer recruiting and retention, staff employment, learning and engagement and employee relations. He joins Perkins Coie from Kobre & Kim, where he had served as the global people officer since 2021 with responsibility for all the firm's talent, training and resource programs. Prior to that role, he served as the director of employee relations and human resources business partners at his prior firm, the interim chief talent officer and assistant chief talent officer and director of labor relations of a Connecticut municipality, and as an employment lawyer at Shipman & Goodwin. Shannon has extensive experience managing legal recruitment and programs in national and international markets. He is a Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional and received his J.D. from the University of Connecticut and his B.S. from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. Headquartered in Seattle, Perkins Coie is a global law firm. Shannon will be based in its Washington, D.C., office.

Kodiak Island Advanced Broadband Network

Alaskans in four tribal communities on Kodiak Island will receive broadband service, thanks to a Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program Round 2 grant funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The collaboration, named Project Nunapet, between Old Harbor Native Corporation and Alaska Communications will install a middle mile subsea fiber optic cable from Homer to Kodiak Island. It will also deploy a last-mile fiber network offering Gigabit speeds to the tribal communities of Old Harbor, Chiniak, Akhiok and Womens Bay, serving 570 homes. Nunapet is an Alutiiq word meaning “our lands.” In addition to eliminating the digital divide for residents in these communities, Project Nunapet paves the way for broadband service improvements throughout the Kodiak Archipelago region. Connecting with Alaska Communications' fiber landing station in Homer, the subsea route will consist of 155 miles of subsea middle mile fiber, making landfall in Ouzinkie. From Ouzinkie, the subsea cable will travel around the eastern coast of Kodiak Island, landing in Narrow Cape, Old Harbor and Akhiok. Incorporated in 1973, Old Harbor Native Corporation serves more than 500 shareholders residing primarily in Anchorage, Kodiak and Old Harbor. Alaska Communications, an affiliate of ATN International, is a leading provider of communications infrastructure in Alaska.