HDKP Announces 2019 Downtowner, Business, and Volunteer of the Year Award.
HDKP Announces Downtowner, Business, and Volunteer
of the Year Award.
August 11, 2020, Kennewick, WA - The Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership is honored to announce the 2019 Volunteer, Business, and Downtowner of the Year Awards. The honorees were announced during the August Network Breakfast Zoom event.
The Downtowner Awards are usually awarded at the Annual Downtowners Banquet when the downtown Kennewick community comes together to celebrate and raise funds for the next year’s improvement project. The announcement of the Volunteer, Business, and Downtowner of the Year is a carefully guarded secret until they are revealed at this treasured event.
“We were heart-broken that we couldn’t hold our Annual Downtowner Banquet back in April. We have been waiting for an opportunity to celebrate our honorees,” says Director, Stephanie Button. “While we might not be able to hold our awards banquet in person this year, we still want to celebrate the honorees and we believe that we have come up with a wonderful solution.”
The honorees will be given their awards during a small, socially distanced ceremony on Friday, August, 14th at 8:30 am at Flag Plaza located at 204 W. Kennewick Ave. The Volunteer and Business of the Year and the Kennewick Downtowner of the Year are chosen by the HDKP Organization Committee and the Past Kennewick Downtowners of the Year Committee. The honorees are selected based on the impact they have had on the good of the downtown Kennewick community. “We know that our Downtown Kennewick community has heart,” says Button. “Our community gives back and takes every day as a new opportunity to make our downtown a better, brighter, more welcoming place. The honorees we are celebrating this year, typify this sentiment.”
The 2019 Downtown Kennewick Awards are as follows:
Volunteer of the Year is Jason Bergan of Bergan’s Timeless Treasures
Business of the Year is Red Mountain Kitchen, jointly owned by Courtney Bauer, Alanna Lindblom, and Chris Bauer.
Downtowner of the Year is Jay Freeman of Edward Jones
Downtown Kennewick Volunteer of the Year: Jason Bergan
Jason Bergan has made an impact in downtown Kennewick that you can see! He was nominated and selected as the Volunteer of the Year for his leadership in the first Deck the Downtown campaign where he helped organize downtown businesses to participate in a raffle to raise funds for more holiday decorations for the downtown. He helped raise over $4,000. Jason Bergan also helps his neighbors with graffiti abatement. He has donated his time and resources to paint over graffiti and is always willing to help out downtown businesses with making their facades more beautiful.
Join us in celebrating Jason Bergan as the Downtown Kennewick Volunteer of the Year!
Downtown Kennewick Business of the Year: Red Mountain Kitchen
Red Mountain Kitchen first opened in downtown Kennewick in December of 2018, but the economic impact that this business had made since it’s opening is significant and worthy of the Business of the Year title. Red Mountain Kitchen is a specialty commercial kitchen and flex space that has brought dozens of new businesses and food entrepreneurs to downtown. RMK has become a gathering place through its Flex Space where it has hosted indoor markets, pop-up events, and community cooking classes.
Red Mountain Kitchen has made downtown Kennewick a better place to be and it has done this by creating a space where food, love, and community can come together. This business was based on a shared dream and has made it possible for the dreams of other entrepreneurs to become realities.
Join us in celebrating Red Mountain Kitchen as the Downtown Kennewick Business of the Year!
Downtown Kennewick’s Downtowner of the Year: Jay Freeman
Jay Freeman is currently serving his second term on the HDKP Board of Directors and is also it’s Board President. Jay brings a wealth of life and professional experiences to the downtown Kennewick community that he shares freely. As Board Member and volunteer with the Downtown, Jay has been a driving force behind several committees, especially the Economic Vitality Committee.
Not afraid of hard work or making tough decisions, Jay has been a strong advocate, not just the downtown Kennewick community, but for the Main Street philosophy of community working together with the common goal of moving forward and building stronger, sustainable tomorrows. Jay has been an anchor for HDKP’s organization and stability and the positive and lasting impact that he has made on the downtown cannot be denied. Jay has invested his time, resources, business, and heart into our downtown and our community gets to benefit from Jay’s dedication and passion.
Please join us in congratulating Jay Freeman as our Downtowner of the Year!
A 10-foot by 4-foot banner honoring all three awardees will be installed and unveiled to the public on Friday, August 14th at 8:30 am in Flag Plaza located in downtown Kennewick at 204 W. Kennewick Ave. The banner will remain on display through the end of 2020. The public is invited to join us for this outdoors, physically distanced presentation. Parking is available on Benton Street.
The Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership is a National Main Street Accredited, volunteer-driven 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation aspiring to reflect our diverse community, provide an inclusive and vibrant downtown destination, encourage economic and creative opportunities, and preserve our rich history to support a dynamic future. You'll find us on the east side of the Tri-Cities area in Kennewick, WA near the beautiful Columbia River. Visit HDKP at historickennewick.org.
If you would like more information about this topic, please call Stephanie Button, Executive Director at 509-582-7221, or email email.
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