Since retiring as publisher of the newspaper in 2018, it has been gratifying to have the opportunity to continue writing a column for the newspaper and also pitching in to help out with Wenatchee Valley Business World with their annual event honoring young leaders who are making a difference in the community.
Last week, the 11th class of 30 leaders under 35 years of age was honored at an event held at the Wenatchee Convention Center, with more than 150 family members and business colleagues attending. The event was sponsored by Chelan County PUD.
As the emcee for the event, I am afforded the privilege of reading through the nomination forms for each candidate and also the answers that the honorees wrote asking them about those who were influential in their journey, how they define success and their most meaningful contributions.
The depth of these young leaders’ commitment to the community, their families and their profession never fails to impress me. All of these folks I would classify as servant leaders — individuals who are leading not by lording power over others because of their position, but instead leaders who are seeking to help others grow, evolve and contribute. Leading by serving others is a far more enlightened approach.
Rufus Woods
Publisher emeritus, The Wenatchee World
Every class of 30 Under 35 leaders has individuals who have overcome long odds to become outstanding leaders. One of the individuals who stood out this year was Kayla Murphy, a talented young attorney at the Hankins Tibbits Law Firm, who somehow scraped by in high school with an unimpressive 1.7 grade point average, but who caught fire academically while attending Central Washington University, where she was the top student in the law and justice program before getting her law degree at the University of Oregon.
Murphy is inspired by the countless women in our country who realize their dreams despite obstacles and unequal opportunities.
A fellow attorney at that law firm, Allison Drescher, was also honored for her leadership. Drescher, who grew up on an apple and cherry orchard, was second in her class at Gonzaga Law School, then served as a clerk for the U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington before returning to the valley.
Another leader that caught my eye was Apolinar Blanco, who is an account specialist at Chelan Fresh. He was the state president of Future Farmers of America in 2014-15 and was a national officer candidate in 2016 and serves as the FFA adviser at Chelan High School.
Mike Marboe earned accolades playing football at Wenatchee High School and the University of Idaho, but these days he’s helping Starr Ranch Growers work with Costco to reduce the environmental impact by reducing plastic use.
Kayla Hodges, the administrative services specialist at RiverCom, is applying lessons she learned from her parents that hard work and believing in yourself are keys to success to her work and also is passing those values to her three children.
Luke Dilly, the owner of Columbia Electrical, showed that you don’t have to go to college to be a success. He chose to become an electrician and owns his own electrical contracting business. He’s proud of paying his employees a living wage to support their families.
Peter Siderius got a degree in mechanical engineering but ultimately chose a different career path — as the head brewer and tap room manager at Wenatchee Valley Brewing, where he has grown to love the craft beer industry and helped the brewery win multiple statewide awards.
I wish I had the space to write about each one of these leaders. What they have accomplished is inspiring and laudable. They are going to help the Wenatchee Valley and North Central Washington meet the challenges ahead of us.
For a full list of the leaders and their accomplishments, please pick up a copy of the most recent issue of Wenatchee Valley Business World.
We need to find ways to open doors for great young leaders to use their prodigious talents. They’ll make us proud.
Rufus Woods is the publisher emeritus of The Wenatchee World. He may be reached at rwoods@wenatcheeworld.com or (509) 665-1162.
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