2017 Financial Executives of the Year

2017

FINANCIAL EXECUTIVES OF THE YEAR

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Business Examiner Media | Financial Executives of the Year 2017 | 1

2017

FINANCIAL EXECUTIVES OF THE YEAR

This annual recognition event features the best of senior level financial officers, individuals who daily provide the fiscal evaluation, analysis and recommendations that help their organizations survive and excel in today’s most challenging economic environment. Individuals who choose to primarily work with numbers often are not predisposed to focus on their own accomplishments, as might be more common with sales leaders or other executives, so we use this occasion to do it for them.

There are 14 exceptional financial leaders from private companies, nonprofit organizations and government offices located around the South Sound in this year’s group.

As in each of three prior years, the roster of finalists highlighted on the following pages come from workgroups large and small, geographically spread from Olympia to Federal Way with Tacoma, Fife and Sumner in between.

While aligned by the work that they so capably do, these individuals, evenly divided between women and men, reflect a broad demographic range — from anticipating at least semi-retirement soon to eagerly embracing a career less than a decade old.

One began work at mid-life after raising a family, then earned a business degree and has grown through an advancement of professionally responsible assignments since.

From their supervisors and associates who made the nominations, to words from these finalists themselves in response to questions for a judg-

ing panel, we are provided a window into accomplishments and their approach to the work — as well as to themselves — that is beyond impressive.

“Numbers are more than figures on a page, in a bank account or on a spreadsheet,” one finalist explained. “They represent people, programs and can even play a role in changing a life for the better.”

Another said, “People think that finance is wrapped up in policies and procedures. But the real challenge is problem-solving solutions and creating efficiencies.”

To realistically select the most worthy candidate in each of four categories, a judging panel considered the obvious achievements in each finalist’s work world, along with their personal stories and the level to which they’re invested in their community beyond the workplace.

Past honorees from the South Sound Financial Executive of the Year agreed to be the evaluators, including: Jutta Stevens, CFO of Golden Services LLC, who was 2016 Small Employer honoree; Brian Sanda, CFO of the Community Action Council for Lewis, Mason and Thurston Counties, who received the Nonprofit award last year; and Mark Horaski, CFO at Valley Regional Fire Authority, the 2016 honoree from Government service.

Lynda S. Livingston, Ph.D., a finance professor in the School of Business and Leadership at University of Puget Sound and a principal at Four Horsemen Investments, also served as a judge for the third consecutive year.

2 | Financial Executives of the Year 2017 | Business Examiner Media

SMALL COMPANY

A.J. Gordon CFO - SiteCrafting, Inc., Tacoma A natural problem solver described by a nominator as “truly the financial arbiter for SiteCrafting” who “can always find a win-win situation for both the client and SiteCrafting as a business,” CFO AJ Gordon’s keen eye for financial strategy hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Just the opposite, in fact — he was asked to be the treasurer for the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber’s Board of Directors, a moment Gordon calls a benchmark in his career.

“The reason why it was so important was because a group of highly respected business leaders in our community recognized my skillset as a financial executive,” said Gordon of the honor.

For good reason, too: SiteCrafting continues to grow under Gordon’s eight-year financial steerage, with revenue and profitability climbing annually.

Shantel Jones

CFO - Tacoma Propeller, Tacoma Tacoma Propeller’s turnaround is a testament to Shantel Jones’ skills in the realm of finances. Jones came to the company six years ago, during a time when it was struggling financially and needed leadership.

“Shantel met the need head on,” according to her nominator, “and excelled beyond expectations.”

Today, Jones supervises 10 members of the Tacoma Propeller team, and pitches in on the numbers side off the clock as well: She serves on two homeowners’ associations, giving her time to help better their savings and financial operations.

Not bad for someone who decided to go to college full-time at the age of 30, while continuing to work a full schedule and supporting a family. (In that endeavor, of course, Jones again excelled, obtaining both her AA and BSBA in business and accounting within four years.)

Business Examiner Media | Financial Executives of the Year 2017 | 3

MEDIUM/LARGE COMPANY

Gareth Floyd

CPA, Director of Finance PCS Structural Solutions, Tacoma PCS Structural Solutions has been lauded multiple times as a top engineering firm to work for by the field’s trade publications, with $2-3 billion worth of jobs in the office at any give moment. Gareth Floyd, the company’s director of finance, is the steward of the revenues those jobs bear, but according to the person who nominated him, he’s also much more.

“Gareth loves being involved in our local community process of building design,” said the nominator. “On many occasions, local architects and contractors have called me and asked if they can ‘bounce financial/billing ideas off Gareth.’”

The request is understandable; Under Floyd’s purview, the company’s billings have doubled in recent years, and its percentage of accounts receivable over 90 days has actually decreased.

Gareth Rocks!

Congratulations and thanks to our CFO Gareth Floyd for his exemplary leadership. We’re proud you’re a part of our team!

PCS Structural Solutions—a nationally recognized structural engineering firm headquartered in Tacoma for over 50 years.

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4 | Financial Executives of the Year 2017 | Business Examiner Media

MEDIUM/LARGE COMPANY

David Gleason Controller - PM Testing Laboratory, Inc., Fife Sometimes, choosing finalists for these awards can be easy; just listen to the nominators.

David Gleason’s case, for example, per his nomination: “David enabled PM Testing to use operating profits to commence the ownership transition from its founder, Patrick Murphie, to its longtime manager Jerry Walden; negotiated improvements to the company’s employee benefits offerings … developed a financial plan for sharing profits with employees to encourage an ‘ownership’ mindset among the staff; and improved financial analysis tools to enable profitable management of a 78 percent growth in sales over four years.”

Gleason, humbly, is quick to deflect. “Numbers are much easier to manage than people,” he joked. Of course, he truly enjoys the challenge; “if you don’t love your job, it’s work,” he said.

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MEDIUM/LARGE COMPANY

Rand Hill

CFO - Dillanos Coffee Roasters, Inc., Sumner Rand Hill was described by a nominator as “invaluable” to Dillano’s Coffee Roasters, which recently marked 25 years in business with sales exceeding $17 million.

Hill has established a successful companywide profit-sharing plan; fine-tuned its budgeting; saved hundreds of work hours by revamping the Dillano’s inventory process; and implemented an effective ERP software system, all while managing four companies owned by the company’s founders.

He has long showed an aptitude for managing high profile finances; when a small company he worked for went out of business, he decided to interview for a $300 million dollar company in Portland. A recruiter told him after the interview that there were far more qualified candidates for the position, but a phone call shortly thereafter confirmed he’d nailed the job.

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6 | Financial Executives of the Year 2017 | Business Examiner Media

MEDIUM/LARGE COMPANY

Beth Marker Finance Director - Evergreen Eye Center, Federal Way Evergreen Eye Center was in a self-admitted bind before Beth Marker came on board. The practice was going through an ownership transition. The company was having trouble collecting from patients and insurers. It was having difficulty balancing its billing software with its accounting suite. Internal financial reporting to the shareholders was slow and unreliable.

Enter Marker, who has righted the company’s financial ship in a major way. She has cleaned up the financial statements and smoothed its processes, increasing both charges posted and subsequent collections. The resulting accounts receivable decrease has been over $1 million.

Evergreen, of course, knew what it was getting: Marker is a self-starter who, at a previous company, went from a $7-an-hour administrative assistant job to becoming its CFO, helping it grow from three offices to 25.

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NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

Richele Center

Finance Director - United Way of Thurston County, Olympia Richele Center, according to the person who brought up her name for this honor, is “an empathetic leader, committed to overseeing a $1.7 million budget and making sure that every penny pledged to United Way of Thurston County is processed with accuracy and invested back into the community.”

She has a track record of results: three straight annual reports without findings, a balancing act of grants, and a trail of terrific reviews from auditors, all while managing a growing staff payroll and benefits programs.

Center’s transition from for-profit to nonprofit work has been a boon to the United Way, which has reaped the benefits of her enthusiasm and creative solution-seeking for the last two years.

“Data,” she says, “is wonderful, but following your intuition is where the magic happens.”

Pete Grignon

Finance Director - United Way of Pierce County, Tacoma Pete Grignon of the United Way of Pierce County is definitely a worthy addition to this year’s class of finalists, with over 30 years of loyal service through three executive directors.

“Pete’s been a stable force in a changing environment,” said his nominator, extolling his active workplace leadership and consistently clean audits alike. He started an endowment, was instrumental in purchasing the historic building that now houses the organization, and was a driving force behind a planned giving initiative.

Grignon said he chose financial management, simply, “because I like balance. The books have to balance.” He enjoys the same success balancing books as he does his professional and personal lives; he plays in a band, Possible Solutions, with the proceeds going back to United Way.

8 | Financial Executives of the Year 2017 | Business Examiner Media

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

Sue Horgen

Senior Director of Finance & Administration The Rescue Mission, Tacoma “For the past 15 years,” wrote a nominator of the Tacoma Rescue Mission’s Sue Horgen, “(she) has kept near-perfect financial order of numerous local, state and federal grants, plus a huge private donor base of 10,000+ contributors.”

Called a “steady hand the board and staff can always count on,” she has helmed the financial side of the approximately-$4-million-per-year nonprofit operation through four executive directors.

After a 17-month break in service between 2012 and 2013, her absence was felt; after her return, she spent months correcting financial transactions recorded in her absence and reorganizing files, both paper and electronic.

“The standard that my staff had set during my first tenure with the Mission was excellent,” she said, “and we worked very hard to reachieve that standard when I returned.”

of Finance/Operations/HR Greg Welch Director Association of Washington Business, Olympia Humbly, Greg Welch of the Association of Washington Business says that one of the things that excites him about his job is “hiring great people and getting out of their way.”

People, Welch says, are the biggest factor in an organization’s success — and in his 22 years as a controller and chief financial officer, he’s certainly seen his share. In his current capacity, he manages the operations of the AWB, including both its for-profit side and its membershipbased nonprofit. That latter status comes with the added pressure of serving as a good steward of members’ investments, and Welch’s finance team has passed its annual audits and overviews with nary a finding.

All in a day’s work for a man who said he has “always enjoyed figuring out how to get the most bang for the buck”; after all, per Welch, “it is all just a puzzle!”

Business Examiner Media | Financial Executives of the Year 2017 | 9

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

Anne Porter

VP/CFO - YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties, Tacoma Anne Porter’s distinguished financial service for the YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties was noticed by multiple nominators, and for excellent reason.

Since her arrival in 2008, the organization has seen 126 percent growth over a seven-year period. Porter’s diligent internal control of the finances, ensuring timely and accurate reporting, has been key. It’s hefty commendation, considering the Y’s value to kids and families throughout the South Sound and the impact of Porter’s stewardship of the group’s budget.

Just as glowing was the praise of Porter’s professionalism, with one nominator saying that “Anne has been able to achieve greatness while also leading with honesty and integrity.

She is respected within her organization as well as by those she works with in the business community.”

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GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION

Mary Schmidtke

Fiscal Services Manager Pierce County Auditor’s Office, Tacoma Mary Schmidtke was Pierce County’s budget manager for approximately two decades — a veritable lifetime in the business cycle. During that time, she managed a budget of over $500 million, was the first to produce the county’s award-winning budget reports and spearheaded the development of a proprietary budget management system now used by all departments to monitor annual budgets.

Personal health issues 10 years ago led to a voluntary re-balancing of job duties and a new post at the Auditor’s Office — and its $11 million operating budget — but her contributions haven’t wavered, all while mentoring her cohort of colleagues.

“During her tenure, Mary’s name was synonymous with financial leadership in Pierce County,” volunteered one of them, calling her “an exceptional financial leader.”

Holly Woodmansee

VP Administration Services Bates Technical College, Tacoma Holly Woodmansee has enjoyed a career of over 45 years in financial management, all in two-year higher education institutions. She chose this career path due to the excitement of seeing student success, and her passion for the job is evident.

Since coming to Bates Technical College, she has established a balanced budget and processes for accountability, leading her team successfully through multiple state audits with zero findings. The position can be a challenge on a shrinking budget and limited state resources, but her talents, according to her nominator, have been key to always maximizing the contents of the school’s coffers.

“As a colleague,” the nominator wrote, “she is integrity-filled, reliable, team-focused and dedicated to building something special at Bates.”

12 | Financial Executives of the Year 2017 | Business Examiner Media

GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION

Lisa Woods

Business/Finance Manager City of Tacoma Venues & Events Dept., Tacoma The City of Tacoma found a jewel in Lisa Woods, who had more than 25 years of accounting experience — including working for Fortune 500 companies — prior to joining the team.

She has been business manager for the Tacoma Venues and Events department for more than five years, supervising day-to-day financial operations for venues such as the Tacoma Dome and Greater Tacoma Convention Center. The numbers speak for themselves: operating revenues were 15 percent over budget and operating expenses 3 percent under budget for the past biennium, and the Tacoma Dome’s net revenue per attendee is up 14 percent.

She’s accomplished this all while learning on the fly in the venue management industry, but her peers agree she continues to be up for the task.

“She’s amazing,” said one. “With her, we’ve accomplished so much.”

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