BBB is looking for nominations for our annual Torch Awards for Ethics! If you are or know a business in the Tri-Cities region that is a marketplace role model, please nominate here. 

The deadline for nominations is Monday, August 13.

What are the BBB Torch Awards?

Better Business Bureau’s annual Torch Awards for Ethics honor businesses and charities that demonstrate excellence in the marketplace. BBB Accreditation is not a requirement for entry, nor will it be considered in the scoring process. One winner per region (in this case, one for entire Eastern Washington). 

FULL RELEASE:

Do you know a trustworthy business or charity that deserves to be honored? Then nominate them today for Better Business Bureau Northwest + Pacific's 2018 Business of the Year and Charity of the Year Torch Awards!

The BBB Torch Awards program honors companies and charities who demonstrate a high level of integrity and ensure that the organization's practices meet the highest standards of ethics. We are looking for businesses and charities that generate a high level of trust among their staff, customers and communities.

BBB is accepting nominations at go.bbb.org/torchawards until Aug. 13, 2018. Self-nominations are accepted.

Categories include:

* Business of the Year: Honors businesses that demonstrate a commitment to ethics, integrity and building trust in the marketplace.

* Charity of the Year: Honors a 501c(3) organization that demonstrates its effectiveness in impacting positive change in its community ethically and responsibly.

A Business of the Year recipient will be named in each region that BBB Northwest + Pacific serves including Alaska, Idaho/W. Wyoming, Montana, Oregon, Hawaii, Eastern Washington and Western Washington. One recipient from the Northwest and Pacific territory will receive an award for Charity of the Year.

Entries are evaluated by independent, voluntary panels of judges comprised of business and community leaders. Charities and businesses of all sizes are eligible to apply for this award. To learn more about the Torch Awards criteria, or to make a nomination, visit go.bbb.org/torchawards.

Stephens Media Group has launched a new contemporary Christian music station in Tri Cities, Washington. KKSR, a 100kw signal serving Tri-Cities and Walla-Walla will
be known as Shine 95.7.

“This is an exciting time for the people of Tri-Cities and surrounding areas,” said Stephens Media Group National Programming Manager Bob Thornton. “Christian music is one of the most popular formats in the country and has been underserved in the Tri-Cities area.”

"This format really hits home for so many in the Tri-Cities. We are proud to bring SHINE 95.7 to the community, a loyal and passionate group of listeners and a lifestyle we are committed to represent” said SMG Tri-Cities General Manager Jessica Silinovich-Serrano.

The station launched at 3pm on July 26th with tobyMac introducing his hit song "Lights Shine Bright" followed by the throwback Newsboys classic "Shine". Simultaneous to launch, the station began streaming at shine957.com and on free mobile apps as well as on Amazon Alexa devices via a free skill.

An immediate search has begun for a Program Director/On Air Host and additional air staff with applications going through Thornton. Stephens Media Group recently purchased KKSR and 13 other stations in Tri-Cities and Yakima markets. Stephens Media Group operates 41 stations across 4 states.

Friends of Mid-Columbia Libraries announces its first ever one-day-only, mid-summer used book sale! The public is invited to Kennewick library on Saturday, Aug. 4 from 9 am to 4:30 pm for the Friends’ Summer Book Sale featuring some of everything, from fiction bestsellers to DVDs, audiobooks, and more. Cash and credit cards are accepted.

Volunteers are needed for set-up on Aug. 3; anyone interested in helping is encouraged to stop by the library, or contact Fernie Coe at 509-322-6949 for more information.
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Kennewick library is located at 1620 S. Union St. in Kennewick.

The City of Kennewick and the Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC) are hosting a Community Meeting regarding the proposed Columbia River Shoreline Reconveyance on Thursday, August 2nd at 10am at the Clover Island Inn - 435 Clover Island Drive, Kennewick, WA. 

This is a great opportunity to hear about the reconveyance efforts to date and the vision for the future. Guest speakers include Congressman Dan Newhouse, Mayor Don Britain, David Reeploeg from TRIDEC, and former City of Kennewick Mayor Brad Fisher. 

The event is free and open to the public. For more information please contact (509) 735-1000.

Long-time Junior Achievement volunteer and Washington River Protection Solutions employee, Nathan Morgan was recently named Junior Achievement’s 2017-18 Volunteer of the Year! Awarded annually to a local volunteer, the Volunteer of the Year award is one of the highest honors given by our Junior Achievement of Washington, Southeastern Region office.

Nathan has a passion for helping students prepare for the workforce and has been an advocate for JA many years. An incredible classroom volunteer, board member, Titan Business Challenge Chair, and Strategic Planning Chair, Nathan continues to make a difference in the lives our students. Susan Fillafer, Regional Director of Junior Achievement, presented the award to Nathan at a senior leadership meeting. Susan stated “Nathan is a visionary leader and we are fortunate to have him in our JA Family. He’s an inspiration to the students he works with and to everyone around him.”
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Nathan, a 10 year veteran at WRPS began his journey with Junior Achievement 15 years ago when he joined a fundraising team for JA’s annual bowling classic. This positive experience peaked his interest in the organization and their purpose and he decided to become a classroom volunteer. He wanted to be a part of promoting education, stating “Many people, especially children, are sorely lacking the knowledge when it comes to financial literacy and will struggle with future issues from balancing checking accounts to creating a financial plan for retirement. It’s my belief that those who are able to provide such knowledge and guidance give back to their communities which have provide them so much. It is more important now than ever to teach our youth true life skills that will impact their future. These students are the next generation of leaders in our workforce and our community”.

The Association of Washington Cities (AWC) announced that Kennewick Mayor Don Britain was elected president of AWC on June 28 at its Annual Business Meeting in Yakima. 

“It is an honor to serve AWC’s members as President,” said Britain. “I look forward to supporting all of Washington’s cities and towns by advocating for smart legislation that will meet the diverse needs of our communities.”

Britain has served on the AWC board since 2014. He was first elected to the Kennewick city council in 2009, and elected mayor in 2018.

The AWC Board of Directors is the association’s governing body. The board is comprised of 25 directors, 23 of whom are mayors or city councilmembers from Washington cities or towns, and two non-elected city officials who also serve as the president and past president of the Washington City/County Management Association. 

AWC serves its members through advocacy, education and services. Founded in 1933, AWC is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation that represents Washington's cities and towns before the state legislature, the state executive branch, and with regulatory agencies. Membership is voluntary. However, AWC consistently maintains 100 percent participation from Washington’s 281 cities and towns. AWC also provides training, data and publications, and programs such as the AWC Employee Benefit Trust, AWC Risk Management Service Agency, AWC Workers’ Comp Retro, AWC Drug and Alcohol Consortium, and AWC GIS Consortium.

The first Tri-Cities Tech Summit was announced this week and will take place at the Uptown Theater in Richland on September 14. Tech companies are growing in our region, and technology is becoming more important to the growth of business in general. The Tri-Cities Tech Summit is a conference for professionals and innovators to come together and find out more about what’s happening in the Tri-Cities across technology fields.

The theme for the one-day summit is Innovation Forward and will consist of local speakers and a special keynote speaker, along with demos of technology as part of the summit. Through an interactive and engaging atmosphere, participants will be able to learn, exchange ideas, network and establish relationships with others in the community.
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As part of the event, there is a current search for tech-focused speakers to engage and inspire attendees. Those wishing to be a speaker or exhibit at the summit can apply at www.tctechsummit.com.

The Tri-Cities Tech Summit is the brain child of Byron Martin of Teknologize and Ty Mulholland of Wildland. Both have worked in technology industries for the past 15+ years and wanted to create an event where they could bring together local innovators and organizations to share new technologies and discuss how it is changing business and creating opportunities.
The summit is co-hosted by Teknologize, Wildland, Fuse SPC and Tri-Cities Research District. Opportunities are still available for those wishing to help sponsor the event.

Registration begins in July. Those wishing to be contacted when registration is live may enter their contact at www.tctechsummit.com.

Polestar Technical Services, Inc. (Polestar) moved its headquarters to a new office in Richland, Washington on June 14.  Polestar is now located in the Jadwin Professional Building at 1933 Jadwin Ave., Suite 230.  

“The 1933 Jadwin location in Richland places us closer to our client base at Hanford” said Polestar Managing Director Kathy Miller.  “In addition the space allows Polestar the flexibility to grow as we implement our growth strategy over the next few years”.  

Polestar is a closure company; preparing, guiding, executing and delivering successful cleanup outcomes for our clients.  We provide subject matter experts to the Department of Energy and prime contractors associated with nuclear operations and cleanup sites.  Our SMEs have a broad range of technical expertise in areas such as project management, operations, radiological modeling and analysis, environmental and remediation strategies and organizational development. 
We work with our clients to develop solutions to their most challenging and complex projects.  For more than 25 years Polestar has supported more than 150 clients delivering tailored solutions with measurable results.   Every problem is unique, our client’s success is our priority.

Owned and operated by Kathy Miller, Patty Bailey and Bill Bailey, Polestar is a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), registered with the Small Business Administration as a WOSB.

For more information about Polestar please visit our website at www.polestartechnicalservices.com, LinkedIn and Facebook or contact Kathy Miller at 509-946-8279.  

Hayden Homes was honored with first place in the Headquartered Outside Washington category for Seattle Business Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For.” The award salutes Washington companies that set the standard for executive leadership, benefits, rewards/recognition, corporate culture, training, work environment and more.  The Best Companies to Work For are determined by anonymous responses to direct employee surveys.
 
“It is humbling and inspiring to be recognized as the Best Company to Work For by our employees and Seattle Business Magazine,” said Steve Klingman, President of Hayden Homes. “Rooted in a culture of generosity and abundance, this spirit determines everything from our team member experience, to the quality of our work, to the way we act as a company. We earned the #1 spot on this list because of our team members who bring the Hayden Homes’ culture to life and are dedicated to making our world a better place to live.”
 
Seattle Business Magazine sent anonymous workplace surveys to employees throughout Washington state as part of the selection process. Based on thousands of confidential surveys completed by employees, the honorees encompass companies across the state of Washington in four categories – small firms, midsize firms, large firms and firms headquartered outside Washington State.
 
Michael Romoser, associate publisher of Seattle Business magazine, said, “This is the 29th year of producing our state’s 100 Best Companies to Work For program. The vast number of companies that participate in the in-depth, direct-to-employee survey process never make the list. For the ones that do, it is a remarkable achievement and testament to their fostering inclusive, engaged work environments.”

Inspired by “Pride and Prejudice,” author Lacy Williams has introduced a new dual love story with a Wild West twist. “Cowboy Pride” has been selected for the next Big Library Read, and Mid-Columbia Libraries (MCL) invites the community to take part in the world’s largest global eBook reading club.

From July 9 to July 23, library customers can borrow the eBook and eAudiobook format of “Cowboy Pride” without wait lists or holds by visiting midcolumbialibraries.org/ebooks or by downloading the Libby app. If residents in the MCL service area do not yet have a library card, they can quickly and easily get a free digital library card using just their mobile phone number by visiting midcolumbialibraries.org/ebooks and following the “Need a card?” prompt. The title will automatically expire at the end of the lending period, and there are no late fees.

Williams is the USA Today bestselling author of the acclaimed “Wyoming Legacy” and “Cowboy Fairytales” series. “Cowboy Pride,” the third installment of “Wyoming Legacy,” is a love story where hearts and emotions get tangled, and first impressions count. It's a contemporary romance that serves as an escape from reality for readers.

Big Library Read is made possible through a partnership between MCL, OverDrive, and Lacy Williams Books LLC, publisher of “Cowboy Pride.” Librarians and library readers voted the book as their choice for Big Library Read. For more information, visit biglibraryread.com.