Eastside Baby Corner recently named Kathleen Huckabay as its newest board of directors member.

Huckabay, a Sammamish resident and former councilwoman for the city, is a financial advisor with US Bank.

Eastside Baby Corner helps children by providing basic necessities so that its partners — schools, social service agencies, food banks, hospitals — can help families become stable, safe, housed, fed and employed.

Brian Ruggles

Senior Brian Ruggles was named Issaquah High School Booster Club Red Robin Athlete of the Month.

Ruggles is swim team captain. His coach, Laura Halter, wrote in her nomination letter that Brian “has been an outstanding leader so far this season. He is hard working and very dedicated to his sport training in the off-season almost daily. He leads by example in and out of the pool, always demonstrating good sportsmanship and respect for all other athletes, coaches and volunteers.

“He appreciates everything that people do to make our program successful and he is a main ingredient in that success. The younger athletes look up to him and really enjoy his sense of humor and attitude.”

He has been a district qualifier for the past three years and a state qualifier last year, and is on pace to do so again this year. Ruggles has also been involved in many activities, such as the Issaquah Youth Advisory Board for the past three years. He is serving as the Outreach chairman and is in charge of publicity for all of the board’s events.

Ruggles has helped tutor the high school physics review session and also tutored other students in Spanish, math and general homework. He earned his lifeguard certification and worked last summer as a lifeguard and swim instructor, as well as helped coach some team practices. Ruggles has also won a contest for the design of his K’nex roller coaster model.

Sleep Country USA, with contributions from the Issaquah location at 730 N.W. Gilman Blvd., Suite C110, collected a record number of donations for foster children in the Northwest.

In the Sleep Country Foster Kids Program’s sixth year, the company obtained more than 101,000 items and $141,000 in cash donations to help area foster children and their families replace worn out clothes and shoes, attend summer camps, obtain tutoring and counseling, and participate in other extracurricular activities. The company also raised a record-breaking $125,000 in its annual spring fundraiser, The Pajama Bowl.

Sleep Country is currently collecting new pairs of pajamas for kids of all ages at Sleep Country stores throughout the Northwest in its annual Pajama Drive through Feb. 26. Learn more at www.sleepcountry.com.

William Gevers (front) and his staff at Gevers Wealth Management LLC

The current issue of Seattle Met magazine honored Issaquah-based Gevers Wealth Management LLC as one of the premier wealth advisors in the greater Seattle area.

William (Willy) Gevers, of Issaquah, founded the wealth management firm in 2005. Gevers was previously a principal for one of the region’s largest financial planning firms before moving his company to Issaquah.

The firm provides retirement and wealth planning and investment-management services focusing especially on the special needs of corporate executives. Gevers Wealth Management has also provided on-site classes and education for executives and managers at corporations and organizations.

Cheryl M. Wilson, of Issaquah, has been recognized by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association for eight years of safe, accident-free driving of a commercial tractor-trailer.

Wilson has been driving professionally for eight years and currently hauls general freight.

The OOIDA Safe Driving Award Program is sponsored by Shell Rotella and is designed to recognize and reward OOIDA members for their safe, accident-free years while operating a commercial vehicle. Safe driving awards are available to all eligible OOIDA members who qualify based upon the number of years for which the member has operated a commercial vehicle without being involved in a preventable accident.

ArtEAST receives $8,000 grant

ArtEAST recently received an $8,000 grant from 4Culture’s Arts Facilities Capital Program.

ArtEAST plans to use the funds to add to and improve its education space.

The program supports quality projects by organizations and local governments throughout King County, and has invested more than $35 million in the past two decades. The program is offered every 12 to 24 months, and awards have ranged from $8,000 to $100,000 in recent cycles.

Local dentist is selected for Pierre Fauchard Academy board

Dr. Barry A. Feder, of Issaquah, was recently recognized as the new board trustee for the Pierre Fauchard Academy Western USA Region, taking the oath of office Oct. 9 at the academy’s annual meeting in Las Vegas.

Feder received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Washington and his Doctor of dental surgery from the University of Detroit. He served in the United States Army Reserve and retired a lieutenant colonel.

Feder was inducted in 2000 as a Fellow of the Pierre Fauchard Academy and has served six years as the PFA Washington Section chairman. He is also a member of the American Dental Association, Washington State Dental Association, American College of Dentists, International College of Dentists, Academy of General Dentistry, Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity and the Kiwanis Club of Issaquah.

Dr. Kelley Fisher

Dr. Kelley Fisher, a dentist serving Issaquah and surrounding areas, has been voted Top Dentist by her peers in Seattle Metropolitan Magazine for the past three years.

Her Issaquah cosmetic dentistry practice offers restorative, cosmetic and implant dentistry to Issaquah-area patients, and her expertise in the field is recognized by her peers who awarded her the honor of Top Dentist in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

4H club raises more than $400 for food banks

Golden Horshoes 4-H Club

The Golden Horseshoes 4-H club charity gift-wrapping event Dec. 22 raised more than $400 for the Maple Valley and Issaquah food banks.

Those who gave donations got their picture with a popular Christmas horse and elf.

Issaquah area real estate brokers Matt Jensen, Bridget Franklin, Tonya Eliason, Jonathan Leslie and Shannon Woodcock earned the S.O.S. (Simply Outrageous Service) designation for Cascade Team Real Estate.

The S.O.S. designation is awarded to agents and brokers who ranked in the top 10 percent for sales companywide and who also demonstrated exceptional commitment to community.

They continually give back through community programs like Project Crayon Drive to benefit Seattle Children’s, during the free holiday sleigh ride events and within their local schools, charities and local youth team sports.

CASTUS Corporation signs deal with TCU

CASTUS Corporation, a local business owned and operated by two Eastlake High School graduates and Bellevue College alumni, recently completed a sale with Texas Christian University.

Texas Christian University is a private university in Fort Worth, Texas.

The CASTUS software scheduling program will be used for TCU campus broadcast and the School of Communications instruction.

CASTUS was developed by Nathan Bosseler and Jonathan Campbell and is currently in use by several Western Washington cities and businesses. Their affiliate company, Impact Studio Pro, was nominated for the Innovation in Issaquah program, and is a member of the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce.

Issaquah High School student Meaghan Victory, 15, was the top team and individual fundraiser for the second year in a row for the Arthritis Foundation’s Seattle Jingle Bell Run.

She gathered 101 team members to run the 5K race and raised $12,258.

Victory has been an advocate for arthritis since being diagnosed at age 11.

Mead & Hunt Inc. selects its new president

Mead & Hunt Inc., a leading national architectural and engineering firm, announced the selection of Andy Platz as president and the transition of Raj Sheth to the role of chief executive officer.

Mead & Hunt is an employee-owned architectural and engineering consulting firm with 22 offices coast to coast. The Issaquah office is at 1180 N.W. Maple St., Suite 105.

Kennan Mell wins Sammamish Pokémon City Championships

Kennan Mell, 15, of Sammamish, won first place at the 2011 Sammamish Pokémon City Championships Dec. 11, earning a top city ranking and championship points that count toward a potential invitation to the Pokémon U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis next summer.

“What makes an event like the Pokémon City Championships so special is the involvement and support it receives from the local community,” said J.C. Smith, director of Consumer Marketing for The Pokémon Co. International. “The Sammamish area has a strong group of Pokémon players who enjoyed a great weekend of competition.”

Learn more about tournaments at www.pokemon.com/us/organized-play.

Eric Thies

Eric Thies, of Sammamish Troop 571, received his Eagle Scout Award in a Court of Honor ceremony Dec. 11 at the Skyline High School Theater.

On the road to Eagle Scout, Thies earned 28 merit badges, hiked more than 350 miles, spent 75 nights camping and provided more than 160 hours of community service.

He also earned the Triple Crown of National High Adventure award after completing a 110 mile backpack trek at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, a 63-mile canoe trek out of the Northern Tier Canoe Base in Atikokan, Canada, and being a crew member aboard a 57-foot racing catamaran from the Bahamas Sea Base.

For his Eagle project, Thies led a crew of volunteers in the construction of stairway railing and installation of pathway lighting at Valley Camp in North Bend. The planning and completion of the project took almost 125 hours.

Thies is a senior at Skyline High School, where he is the co-community liaison for the Associated Student Body, and is a four-year team member of the state champion Skyline High School football program.

Benjamin Richardson, 13, of Issaquah, a member of the Northwest Boys Choir, is performing with Vocalpoint! Seattle for a combined, 90-person concert, “A Festival of Lessons & Carols,” at 7:30 p.m. from Dec. 9-21 at various locations. Learn more or purchase tickets by calling 206-524-3234 or go to www.nwchoirs.org.

Sammamish resident named to Northwest Kidney Centers board

Trustee Bob Lemon, of Sammamish, was recently named to the nonprofit Northwest Kidney Center’s board of trustees.

Lemon worked for 31 years with Accenture LLP, including 21 years as a partner, before retiring in 2003. He held numerous leadership positions and ended his career as a managing partner in the consulting firm’s health services practice.

Lemon is a member of the board of directors of the Virginia Mason Health System and is the board chair of the Benaroya Research Institute. He is also an advisory council member at the University of Notre Dame and is a past member of the board of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Puget Sound.

Lemon also recently completed a seven-year term as a trustee of Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish.

Northwest Kidney Centers provide dialysis therapy, educates the public about kidney health and collaborates with UW Medicine in the Kidney Research Institute.