Port of Kennewick Honors Don Britain as the 2021 “Friend of the Port”

Don Britain

At Port of Kennewick’s regular business meeting yesterday, port President Skip Novakovich announced Don Britain as “Friend of the Port” for 2021. The port presented the annual award to recognize outstanding service to the port and the community. 

The commission recognized that Don Britain personally worked to foster and a partnership with Port of Kennewick that led to renovations of the port’s Oak Street Industrial Park buildings, creation and development of the Columbia Gardens Wine & Artisan Village, restoration of the Clover Island’s shoreline, and redevelopment of Vista Field from a general aviation airfield into a master-planned urban town center.

In presenting the award, port commission President Skip Novakovich stated, “Over the years we would often meet to discuss how the City and the Port could work together. This helped forge a relationship between the entities we represented to clean up the east end of Kennewick, to “bring back the magic of the river,” and to establish the beginning of a new regional town center right in the middle of Kennewick at Vista Field.” 

Continued Novakovich, “Don has been an outstanding advocate for Clover Island and Columbia Drive and has worked tirelessly to help connect the Historic Waterfront District with Kennewick’s downtown business district. His involvement with the Hanford Area Economic Investment Fund Advisory Committee (HAEIFAC) led to critical investments in port facilities. His work on the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership Board helped foster the city’s investment in the Columbia Gardens Wine & Artisan Village and led to the recent Washington Street corridor improvements. And his leadership as mayor of the Kennewick City Council was instrumental in helping the port move forward in restoring Clover Island’s shoreline and in transforming Vista Field. Don has a tremendous heart for service and this community.  And it is for those reasons, that I am truly honored to announce Don Britain as our ‘Friend of the Port’ for 2021.”

A plaque presented to Britain reads: “Presented to Don Britain in recognition of your stalwart support of port endeavors; efforts to foster vibrancy within Kennewick’s Historic Waterfront District; and outstanding leadership in helping transform Vista Field into an urban town center.”  A second plaque is to be placed within the Port of Kennewick’s offices on Clover Island. 

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