Northwest MedStar Relocates to the Richland Airport

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1 Fall 2006 Published Biannually by the Port of Benton TENANT STORIES Airfield Estates Winery Alexandria Nicole FruitSmart NW MedStar Sundance Aviation Thompson Aircraft INSIDE FEATURES Calendar of Events Economic Impact Your Window of Opportunity FruitSmart Jim Early with grape waste mixed with straw. This biowaste will be turned into pellets used to heat and dry FruitSmart products. Jim Early and Jim Gauley started down divergent paths that eventually converged into FruitSmart. Early started with BRB Seeds, a value-added food processing company. Gauley started FruitSmart in 2000, selling fruit concentrates, and joined forces with Early in This combination resulted in one company providing a full line of fruit juices, concentrates, purees and blends to food processors and other industries worldwide. Other products include fruit seeds, fruit seed oils, fruit fibers and powders, fruit extracts and fruit essences. The Port of Benton is constructing an 8,100 square foot building at the Prosser Airport to Continued on page 5 Northwest MedStar Relocates to the Richland Airport Northwest MedStar transports critically ill or injured patients to health care facilities throughout the Pacific Northwest, the United States and Canada. Northwest MedStar was created in 1994 when the leaders of Empire Health Services and Sacred Heart Medical Center - the two competing health care providers in Spokane, WA - recognized that by teaming together to share the high cost of duplicate services, each could provide a higher level of care to their own patients. Continued on page 3

2 Airfield Estates Winery North Prosser Business Park Principles Mike Miller shown at center and Marcus Miller, third from left, are building Airfield Estates Winery. The groundbreaking ceremony was held August 22nd. M i k e & M a r c u s M i l l e r o f A i r p o r t R a n c h e s i n Sunnyside are constructing an 11,000 square foot winery in the Port of Benton s North Prosser Business Park. The facility will resemble plane h a n g a r s t h a t s t o o d o n Miller s farm during WWII. The entrance will be painted w i t h r u n w a y l i n e s a n d a replica of Airport Ranches h i s t o r i c w a t e r t o w e r w i l l become the focal point of t h i s n e w w i n e r y. A i r fi e l d Estates Winery will sit on 1.4 acres of land and will include a t a s t i n g a r e a, c a t e r i n g kitchen, meeting room/office space, laboratory, multiple barrel rooms, case goods facility and fermentation area. An elaborate wine library will be constructed inside the 30-foot tall water tower. Exterior grounds will include a patio area and spacious, grassy area for picnics. Airport Ranches grows over 25 grape varieties on 750 acres of land northeast of Sunnyside. Current grape production is distributed to local wineries, including Chateau Ste. Michelle, Hogue Cellars and boutique wineries from across the state. Airfield Estates Winery will produce both white and red wines with a focus on creating complex, high quality blends of multiple grape varieties. All wines will be crafted from their grapes. Sundance Aviation is now at the Richland Airport Private, fixed base operator (FBO) Sundance Aviation has moved to the Richland Airport next to Almost Gourmet. Clif and Sue Dyer offer aircraft rentals, scenic flights, flight instruction, aircraft maintenance parts and supplies, aerial advertising, pilot supplies and a courtesy car. Sundance Aviation currently has five aircraft for rent: Cessna 182 RG (retractable gear), Cessna 182Q Skylane, two Cessna 172 Skyhawks and a Cessna 152. Flight instruction is available from Clif Dyer, Dave Watson and Mark Duchsherer. To feel the wind beneath your wings, call Sundance Aviation for an introductory flight. Richland Airport Clif & Sue Dyer performing a compression test on a customer s plane. For more information about Sundance Aviation call: (509)

3 Northwest MedStar Relocates to Richland Continued from page 1 MedStar has had a presence in the Tri-Cities for about three years and chose to relocate from the Pasco Airport to the Richland Airport. Their open house was held September 10th. Northwest MedStar s main office is located in Spokane. Their bases have a range of about 200 miles and cover Eastern Washington and parts of Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Canada. A Eurocopter EC-135 helicopter and Beechcraft King Air F-90 plane are stationed at Richland, with other helicopters and planes available as back-up. Their flight crew includes a pilot and, depending on the emergency, a doctor, nurse and/or a respiratory therapist. Photo at top right shows the Northwest MedStar Eurocopter with media, staff and open house crowd. Ribbon cutting participants include Scott D. Keller, Eveline Saltmarsh, Rob Welch, Tom Fritz, Nancy Vorhees and Barbara Lisk. Port of Benton CALENDAR OF EVENTS Commission Meeting Port of Benton October 25, 2006 TRIDEC Small Business 3 Rivers Convention Center October 27, 2006 Vendor Symposium TC Visitor & Convention 3 Rivers Convention Center November 2, 2006 Bureau Annual Meeting Commission meetings are open to the public and held the second Wednesday of each month at 8:30 a.m. in the Port of Benton Conference Room, 3100 George Washington Way. March and September Commission meetings are held in Prosser at the Fire Department Conference Room, 1200 Grant Avenue, Prosser, Washington. 3

4 Alexandria Nicole FEATURED BUSINESS Editor s note: I interviewed Ali & Jarrod Boyle at Destiny Ridge Vineyards on September 7th. They were just beginning to harvest their grapes and I was curious about how they started Alexandria Nicole Cellars. Editor: When did you start making wine? Jarrod: It all started when I worked for Hogue Cellars as a viticulturist in growers relations. We were raising cattle at the time and they kept getting out. We decided to get into a business where our product didn t move! We started planting grapes at Destiny Ridge in 1998 and we built our production facility in the fall of Editor: How many cases of wine do you produce? Jarrod: We make about 5000 cases of wine each year. We have 243 acres of vineyards, which can produce up to 60,000 cases, but we only keep about 10% of the grapes for our needs and sell the rest to other wine makers. Editor: Is your wine all estate wine? Jarrod: Yes, we grow the grapes and produce all of our wine right here. Editor: Who are your customers? Ali: Most of our wine goes to boutique wine shops and fine restaurants. If a restaurant has a wine steward, we try to place our wine there. We are currently selling about 60% of our wine at our tasting room. We also have a distributor in Seattle and in Oregon. Editor: I know you do a lot of tastings during the year. Ali: We don t want to just sell wine, we want to build relationships. Last year we did 290 events where we show up and pour our wines. We have many customers in Seattle and along the I-5 corridor, we also have a lot of customers in the Tri- Cities region and lots of local support. Editor: Do you have a lot of repeat customers? Jarrod: Absolutely, and that comes from not only making consistently good wine, but also from building those relationships. Editor: What s the best way to find your wine? Ali: Come to our tasting room at the Port of Benton s Wine & Food Park in Prosser. We harvest eighteen varieties of grapes, so we have something for every palette. We also have a second tasting room at our vineyard where we taste wine (sometimes straight from the barrel) and can tour the winery. Editor: What sets your wine apart from the rest? Jarrod: As you can see (we re standing at the edge of their vineyard with a panoramic view of the Columbia Gorge) we re right on the Columbia River. We get a lot of wind, which stresses the vines and concentrates the juice into more intense flavors. We only have between fifteen and thirty inches of soil setting on top of a basalt base. The vines spread out in search of water and bring back the alkalinity from our soil, giving the wines soft smooth tannins instead of an acidic taste. The hot days and cool nights are also perfect for the grapes. We feel Destiny Ridge is a great place to grow grapes. Editor: With all of the wineries springing up, do you think we re about saturated? Ali & Jarrod Boyle are standing in their Destiny Ridge Vineyard with samples of their outstanding wines. Jarrod: It s just the beginning. As long as we re producing the highest grade wine, there will be a market for us to sell product. Editor: When should I come to your tasting room in Prosser? Ali: We re open daily from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with small plates served in our cafe Thursday through Sunday. Editor: You have a cafe? Ali: Our cafe is there to enhance our wine. It allows us to have wine-maker dinners, special events and holiday parties. Members of our wine club will also be invited to our special events, which include great food, wine and music! For more information about Alexandria Nicole Cellars call (509)

5 Prosser Airport FruitSmart Thompson Aircraft Conceptual illustration of the new 8,100 square foot FruitSmart building being constructed at the Prosser Airport. Continued from page 1 house the FruitSmart expansion. We ve also teamed with FruitSmart to study the benefits of using agriculture by-products for biofuel and biomass gasification products. The port received a grant from the State of Washington s Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) to study the feasibility of this process. Other partners include Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, The Center for Strategic Alliance and REL Associates. The biomass process will take agricultural by-products from the FruitSmart sorting, drying and seedseparation activities, blend these waste streams and pelletize them. The pellets will be used to heat water for steam. The steam can be used to either dry other FruitSmart products or turn a turbine and generate electricity for the plant. Candidate fuels include: grape, grain, mint, hops, straw and wood. Biowaste currently costs millions of dollars in annual disposal expenditures. This renewable energy source will Yakima Chief employee Jose Morales is at the control panel in the pelletizing mill. eliminate waste from landfills, create jobs and reduce energy dependence from fossil fuels; it s the wave of the future, right here at home. For more information about FruitSmart call (509) The Thompson family includes Cormac Thompson Jr. and wife Linda, Cormac Thompson III (Cory), Alicia and her daughter Belle. In recognition of the Thompson family s hard work and commitment to the Prosser Airport, the Port of Benton placed a commemorative basalt column and plaque at the airport. The Thompson family has been instrumental to the success of the Prosser Airport for three generations starting with Cormac Thompson in He purchased a 1917 Standard J-1 and flew around Prosser, landing in farm fields. Cormac was the first to build a hangar at the Prosser Airport in the 1930 s and started the first flying service in Business ebbed and flowed for several years and in 1975 he built another building with son, Cormac Jr. The Thompsons gave flying lessons and maintained the growing fleet of aircraft at the Prosser Airport. Cory grew up at the airport and learned to fly at an early age. He took over operations of Thompson Aircraft until the spring of 2000, when the cost of insurance was too great to continue. This monument is a fitting tribute to the fifty-five year legacy of the Thompson family.

6 Economic Impact The North Prosser Business Park was purchased by the Port of Benton in 2000 for a proposed bonded warehouse. The bonded warehouse deal fell through and the property sat in transition while the Port developed plans for future use. In 2004, the Port recruited the first tenant, Yellow Rose Nursery. Yellow Rose moved from Mabton, expanded its operations and added a four acre private park to host garden and community events. This sparked overall interest in the area and attracted the following wineries: Willow Crest, Thurston Wolfe Winery, Olsen Brothers, Winemaker s Loft, Airfield Estates, Milbrant Vineyards and RiverAerie Cellars. Expansion plans are already in place for the Winemaker's Loft. The 32 acre site adjacent to I-82 has one 2 acre lot remaining. The Port of Benton invested approximately $1 million for infrastructure costs, partnering with Benton County, Community Economic Revitalization Board, and the City of Prosser. The Port of Benton Management Team Commissioners North Prosser Business Park result was Yellow Rose and seven wineries either built or under construction. Private investment has been over $10 million, with a new tax base for the community, increased tourism and over 60 jobs. The City of Prosser had $8 million dollars in commercial investment in 2005, with estimates in 2006 projected to be over $20 million. Port of Benton projects at the North Prosser Business Park are estimated to be $10 of the $20 million. This significant investment in Prosser has resulted in a vibrant community that is spurring the future for the wine industry and economic development. The Port is now partnering with the private sector to install meandering walking paths to further create this site into a wine tourism destination. The Port s willingness to provide leadership and front infrastructure costs was paramount to the success of the project. This effort has been in alignment with the communities (Prosser Economic Development Association) and Port s strategic plan along with the State s desire to grow and develop the wine industry within the region. Jane F. Hagarty Commission President Robert D. Larson Commission Vice-President Harold B. Lindberg Commission Secretary Scott D. Keller Executive Director Marvin J. Kinney Assistant Director/ Airport Director John D. Haakenson Director of Operations and Maintenance Diahann C. Howard Director of Economic Development and Governmental Affairs Stuart B. Dezember, CPA, Director of Finance/Auditor This newsletter was produced by the staff of the Port of Benton, Jan Jackson editor. For information about property acquisition, please call the Port of Benton at George Washington Way Richland, WA