Clark County Business Briefing

People in Business

James “Jim” Barr IV was named chief executive officer of Vancouver-based fitness equipment company Nautilus starting July 29. He will also serve on the company’s board of directors. Most recently he was employed by Ritchie Bros., leading the auction company’s marketing, technology and online product teams. His resume also includes jobs at the former OfficeMax, Sears Holdings Corporation and Microsoft’s online businesses such as MSN Business Development.

Angie Gaub, of Vancouver, was named principal of Union Ridge Elementary School by Ridgefield School District’s board of directors. She has been employed by Vancouver Public Schools for 19 years, most recently serving as assistant principal at McLoughlin Middle School. She also worked for 15 years teaching at Harney, Roosevelt and Eisenhower elementary schools. Gaub holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Washington State University.

Clark County Elections employee Janielle Tomlin was named by Secretary of State Kim Wyman as Washington’s County Elections Employee of the Year for her contributions in developing VoteWA, a new election management and voter registration system. Election offices in each of the state’s 39 counties have been working with the Office of the Secretary of State on the system. Tomlin in particular has worked on planning same-day voter registration, and is a VoteWA regional trainer and super-user. The system is meant to improve security and increase consistency of election procedures across the state.

Erin Middlewood was hired as features editor at The Columbian. She will write and edit stories for the Life and Weekend sections. Middlewood previously was employed by the newspaper starting in 1995 and worked there off-and-on through 2014. While growing up in Vancouver, she was a youth carrier for The Columbian. She graduated from Mountain View High School and Western Washington University. Reach her at 360-735-4557, by email at erin.middlewood@columbian.com, or on Twitter at twitter.com/emiddlewood.

The Southwest Washington Contractors Association hired Gina Lange as a community development manager. In her role, Lange will focus on recruitment and retention of members, increase the number of construction plan documents accessible to member contractors and coordinate events. She previously ran a fitness business in Austin, Texas, for 10 years. For more information, visit www.swca.org.

Kim Bennett received Visit Vancouver USA‘s Spirit of Tourism Award in recognition of her 20 years of employment. She founded the tourism office in 1999 and retired June 28. The award is presented annually to an attraction, venue, event, business or person that has “contributed to the economic vitality of the region by attracting visitors to Vancouver and Clark County,” according to a news release. The award was presented to Waterfront Park last year and the cruise ship American Empress received it in 2017. During Bennett’s time with Visit Vancouver USA, she helped grow the staff from one to a team of nine.

Phil Harding was hired by Willamette Falls Paper Company as its director of technology and sustainability. Located in West Linn, Ore., the company is a subsidiary of Columbia Ventures Corporation in Vancouver. Harding most recently worked as the Linus Pauling chair of chemical engineering at Oregon State University. At Willamette Falls Paper Company, he will help develop paper and other products from wheat straw, recycled fiber and hemp.

William “Cody” Erwin and Thomas Kemp were recently elected as trustees to the Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center foundation board. Erwin co-owns and is CEO of JEA Senior Living, and is co-owner and president of Erwin Construction, both located in Vancouver. Kemp is co-owner and CEO of Peninsula Glass, Vancouver. Dr. Mehrdad Shojaei was re-elected to the board. New officers include Marg C. Nelson, chair; Dennis R. Malin, vice chair; Michael R. Burgoyne, treasurer and investment committee chair; and Erin C. Lambley, secretary. The foundation raises funds to support medical center programs.

Robin Grimwade was appointed by the Clark County Council to serve on the Columbia River Gorge Commission, a four-year term position. Grimwade, of Battle Ground, is the vice president of corporate projects at Columbia Credit Union. He has served on the Clark County Planning Commission since 2017. He studied parks and horticultural management at University of South Australia. The Columbia River Gorge Commission’s goal is to implement and enforce policies and programs that protect the Gorge, as well as support economic development where possible. It also serves as a neutral appeals board for land-use decisions in the national scenic area.

Dr. Jillian Stansbury, the medical director of Battle Ground Healing Arts, 408 E. Main St., recently was honored at the National University of Natural Medicine, Portland. She received the school’s Order of the University Award on June 29 for her achievements in creating an ethnobotany curriculum in South America, mentoring students at her medical office and writing seven books, including academic textbooks. Stansbury has been a professor at the university for 30 years and also serves as the executive director of Clark County Community Health Network. A ribbon-cutting with the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce took place on July 13 at Battle Ground Healing Arts to celebrate the business’s 30-year anniversary.