Member News

On Friday, September 28th, 2018 from 6:30 – 8:00 a.m. the Tri-Cities Cancer Center will kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month with our Let’s Make Pink Just Another Color event. The awareness event is open to the public and is free of charge.
Commemorative Let’s Make Pink Just Another Color Sweatshirts will be available for free to the first 100 people through the doors.

Attendees will learn about our nationally-accredited NAPBC Breast Center, breast self-exams, ways they can reduce their risk, clinical trials and our community survivorship program created to help patients achieve the highest quality of life after treatment. Fun booths, treats, tours and raffles to benefit breast cancer awareness efforts in our region. Once again, we will be lighting the building PINK with 3,000 twinkling lights in honor of those impacted by Breast Cancer.

The Resource Center at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center provides many valuable non-reimbursed cancer programs and services for patients, their families, and the community. Programs include Patient Nurse Navigation, no-cost screenings, cancer-education presentations, and wigs, hats, scarves, mastectomy bras, breast prostheses and so much more. These services are provided at no cost thanks to generous community support of the Tri-Cities Cancer Center Foundation.

What: Let’s Make Pink Just Another Color Breast Cancer Awareness Event
When: Friday, September 28th, 6:30 – 8:00 a.m.
Where: Tri-Cities Cancer Center, 7350 W. Deschutes Ave., Kennewick

At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, the Department of Ecology presented the City with the 2017 Wastewater Treatment Plant Outstanding Performance award for achieving full compliance with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit in 2017. The City was evaluated on its compliance with effluent limits, monitoring and reporting requirements, spill prevention planning, pretreatment, and overall operational demands of the NPDES permit.

“It takes diligent operators and a strong management team, working effectively together, to achieve this high level of compliance,” said Department of Ecology Water Quality Program Manager Heather Bartlett. “It is not easy to operate a wastewater treatment plant 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without violations.”

This is the eleventh consecutive year the Kennewick Wastewater Treatment Plant has received this award!

Fuse SPC will be deploying an extension of Fuse Launch, formerly known as TC Launch, an eight-week course called Launch University: Startup. Each week will feature a different topic ranging from customer service to legal to team building. Classes will be instructed by a Fuse mentor, member, or key partner; these people walk their walk, and consequently each class will have a slightly different feel.  However, each class will follow a standard program proven to boost learning and retention.

This eight-week course is designed to give startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses a deeper understanding of their business model, including strengths and gaps. Students who go through the course will gain the confidence and skills to create their own action plan to launch their business to the next level. Launch University: Startup is structured to focus on the most useful and transferable skills for owners, C-level executives, and presidents of existing, early-stage companies. Ideally these are companies that have already formed, currently have customers and revenue, and are working through some challenges.

Classes will be held every Tuesday starting October 9th running through December 4th, with a one-week gap for Thanksgiving week. Each class will run approximately two hours starting at 6:30 p.m. The cost to attend for Fuse members is $292, or $36/class; non-members $396.

For more details and to register: fusespc.com/fuse-launch or email info@fusespc.com.

The Mid-Columbia Mastersingers return to the B Reactor National Historic Landmark for a weekend of concerts commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Manhattan Project. The performances will take place Friday and Saturday, September 28 and 29 (5:30pm bus departure), and Sunday, September 30 (4:30pm bus departure).

The concert program will explore aspects of why the U.S. chose to join World War II, framed by a celebration of our democratic system of government. Music will include Stravinsky’s arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner, the opening chorus of John Adams’ opera Doctor Atomic, Francis Poulenc’s Un Soir de Neige, Benjamin Britten’s Holy Sonnets of John Donne featuring tenor soloist Jason Wickson, Ligeti’s Lux Aeterna from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, and more.

The Friday and Sunday performances ($100) include dinner and are for guests 21 years of age and older. The Saturday performance ($75) includes heavy appetizers. There is an optional add on fee for beer/wine service on Friday and Sunday. Catering will be provided by Ethos Bakery & Cafe. All three performances will include bus transportation to the reactor site. Visit www.MCMastersingers.org to order tickets. Tickets must be purchased in advance and none will be sold at the door. A portion of each ticket sold will be donated to support the Hanford Unit of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.

For more information, call (509) 460-1766, email info@mcmastersingers.org or go to www.MCMastersingers.org.

MBC has been providing full service medical billing and practice management solutions for medical providers and businesses in the Tri-Cities community and outlying areas for the past 15 years.  MBC is now expanding our services to other areas of business as well.

We will be having an open house on Friday October 19th at our office located at 7320 West Hood Place, Suite 101 (downstairs from main building) in Kennewick from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. There will be refreshments, drawings and giveaways. If you are unable to attend, please make sure to check out our Facebook page MBC Tri-Cities. We will be doing a separate drawing and giveaway on Facebook on the 19th.

Please join us in celebrating our anniversary and come to learn more about the new services we are providing.

Early this summer, 1889 Magazine approached Black Heron Spirits owner, Mark Williams, about sharing a cocktail recipe for their “Cocktail Card” featuring Black Heron’s award-winning Bourbon. The recipe is featured in the August/September issue of 1889 Magazine on local magazine shelves now.
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“1889 Magazine requested a unique recipe,” explained Mark Williams, “so we reached out to one of our partner restaurants that features Black Heron.” ChocMo in Poulsbo serves Black Heron, and they’ve developed the signature Nocino Manhattan with Black Heron Bourbon. “It was a great opportunity to share an amazing cocktail with the 1889 readers and feature a partner as well,” noted Mark Williams.

The Tri-Cities Legacy Awards will recognize five individuals age 55+ who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to improving the quality of life in the Tri-City community or surrounding areas. Nominees should exhibit outstanding leadership through volunteer service while having an irrefutable positive impact on society. The foundation of this nomination should be for public or volunteer service, for which no monetary compensation is received.

The nomination and selection committee will base their decision upon the completed 2018 Nomination Form and written or typed responses to the criteria below. Additional testimonials and supporting letters or documentation will not be considered for the selection.

Those chosen for the Tri-Cities Legacy Awards will be invited to the ceremony held in conjunction with the first Love-the-Tri CommUNITY Picnic event organized by the City of Kennewick, Richland and Pasco, and sponsored by Pacific Crest Planning. The event is for all ages with emphasis on honoring those 55+ and held on Friday, September 21 at the Southridge Sports and Events Complex from 11am until 2pm. The event is free and will include live entertainment, food trucks or a boxed lunch with prior registration of $5, Tri-Cities Legacy Award ceremony and other fun activities for all ages.

Email submission is preferred. If mailing, please have completed nomination form postmarked by Monday, September 17, 2018. Completed form must be received in person or by email no later than Monday, September 17, 2018 at 4pm.
Nomination forms can be located on the City of Kennewick website https://www.go2kennewick.com (Look for the event in the “Latest News” section at the bottom of the page)
or email nomination(s) to:
communitycenter@ci.kennewick.wa.us. Mail nomination(s) to:
Kennewick Community Center
Attn: Legacy Awards
PO Box 6102
Kennewick, WA 99336
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Questions? (509) 585-4303

The Mid-Columbia Mastersingers is proud to announce the launch of our youth choir program expansion on September 17.
 
Registration is open at www.mcmastersingers.org for all young singers in grades 4-12. Rehearsals will begin on Monday 9/17 for four distinct Mastersingers Youth (MY) choirs: Boys’ Choir, Girls’ Choir, Young Men’s Choir, and Young Women’s Choir. The expansion into multiple youth choir groups was inspired by the success that Directors JoLyn Glenn and Kurtis McFadden have seen in four years leading the Mid-Columbia Boys’ Choir. Many singers in this group have begun to develop their adult voices, dropping many voices from sopranos to tenors and even basses in a short time period. The Young Men’s Choir will provide a platform for the Directors to help develop these changing voices and focus on the unique needs of this group. The expansion also includes the introduction of a long-sought-after Girls’ Choir, providing the same extracurricular choral opportunities for girls and young women that boys have been enjoying for these last four years.
 
Participants will have the opportunity to perform in a wide array of venues, sing a variety of musical styles, and share the stage often with the seasoned musicians of the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers adult choirs as well as other local groups like the Mid-Columbia Symphony and Mid-Columbia Ballet. Students who sing in choir outperform non-arts peers on the SATs and show a 20 percent increase in test scores in both language and math. By singing in choir, students learn to analyze problems, and to solve them in collaboration with colleagues to achieve a common goal. 
 
Mastersingers Youth Directors JoLyn Glenn and Kurtis McFadden are both choir teachers for Pasco School District, at Chiawana High School and McLoughlin Middle School respectively. Glenn will lead the Young Women’s Choir for girls in grades 8-12, while McFadden leads the Young Men’s Choir for boys in grades 7-12 whose voices have begun to change. Two newly hired Associate Conductors will lead the younger groups; Scott Wagnon, choir teacher at Kamiakan High School, will take over the Boys’ Choir, and the Girls’ Choir will be led by community choir director Marianne Larsen.
 
The 2018-19 choir season will consist of two 4-month sessions: Sept-Jan and Feb-May. Mastersingers Youth (MY) Choirs is committed to accessibility, and offers an established, need-based financial aid program to ensure than any child who wants to sing in a MY Choir has the opportunity to do so.

The Academy of Children’s Theatre is announcing staff changes naming Josh Darby as the Director of Education, and Julie Schroeder as the newly created Director of Outreach. Both are long time employees at ACT, with their new assignments capitalizing on the importance of their individual strengths in leading the organization.

Josh Darby is a graduate of Central Washington University with a degree in Theatre Arts. He has also worked at Seattle Children’s Theatre in the Teaching Artists Apprentice Program. He has been involved in children’s theatre as a director, teaching artist, actor, and writer in Seattle, Los Angeles, and the Tri Cities. He previously served as the ACT Artistic Director, and this transition to Education Director is a reflection of his passion for theatre as a critical component of education for youth.
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Employed as at teaching artist by ACT since 1999, Julie Schroeder has led ACT’s dedicated effort at community outreach, particularly in bringing full scale ACT productions during the day to local school children. She also has spearheaded the outreach programs for children on the autism spectrum, as well as developed creative theatre-based anti-bullying initiatives for schools. The new position will allow Julie to expand her efforts to promote the multi-faceted benefits of theatre education for children. Julie is certified as a teacher of Drama for Autism and has directed ACT’s award-winning performance groups Troupe and Troupers. Julie is currently a participant in the Leadership Tri Cities program.

The Tri-Cities Airport has begun construction on an important taxiway renovation effort. The $10.5 million project will be performed in four phases, without any impact to the traveling public.

As part of the plan, the airport will temporarily close Runway 12-30 and general aviation runway 3R-21L. The airport will then relocate and rehabilitate Taxiway A in order to bring it in line with current FAA design standards. Two additional taxiways will have their pavement rehabilitated, and portions of the apron will be extended. Including stops for winter weather, the project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2019.

“Airports are constantly evolving to keep pace with passenger growth, safety regulations, technological advancements and more,” said Buck Taft, Director of Tri-Cities Airport. “This realignment project ensures that the airport will meet federal standards and continue to operate safely and efficiently.”  

J-U-B Engineers is the project manager and also developed the taxiway project design; Inland Asphalt Company will perform the construction work. Both firms have offices in the Tri-Cities area.

Ninety percent of the project’s costs come from a US Department of Transportation grant, with the remaining portion being paid by the airport. The taxiway realignment project will not use local tax dollars.