ENTERTAINMENT

Honorable Devon J Mathis from the 26th Assembly District of California presented the Tule River Tribal Council with a Resolution, honoring the celebration of 25 years in the community, the groundbreaking of the new casino property in the City of Porterville, and their unwavering support in Tulare and Kern counties.

The proclamation went on to honor the “People’s Casino” for their continued support of non-profits and charities throughout the Valley, their contribution to the economic development in the region, and for the leadership and culture they are instilling throughout their organization.

The new casino, for guests 21 and over, will be located just off of Highway 65 in Porterville and feature over 100,000 square feet of casino space, many restaurants including a Sports Bar and Grill, Food Court, Steakhouse, and Coffee House, a 2,000-seat event center, and state of the art sound, lighting, and features throughout. The casino is slated to open in the fall of 2022 and as of now, the building is on or ahead of schedule.

MEDIA

Ashley Webster-Rudolph, associate publisher of The Business Journal, was recently selected as a part of the 2021 40 Under 40 class by businessstreetonline.com. A reception is planned Nov. 18 from 6-8:30 p.m. at Chukchansi Park in Fresno.

RECYCLING

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is recognizing John Shegerian, chairman and CEO of ERI, the nation’s largest fully integrated IT and electronics asset disposition provider, as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of 2021 at its Builders + Innovators Summit in Healdsburg, California this week. Goldman Sachs selected Shegerian as one of 100 entrepreneurs from multiple industries to be honored at the two-day event. A serial entrepreneur, Shegerian is being recognized for his innovative work leading ERI, the largest cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction and electronic waste recycling company in the United States. Thanks to its industry-pioneering proprietary technology solutions and systems, ERI has the capacity to responsibly process more than a billion pounds of electronic waste annually at its eight certified locations, serving every zip code in the United States.

ENGINEERING

Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group is proud to announce that one of the firm’s planning professionals has reached a career milestone by passing the American Planning Association’s exam for certification. Jared Olsen is now officially certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).   AICP Certification is the only nationwide, independent verification of a planner’s qualifications.

Based out of Provost & Pritchard’s Visalia office, Olsen has five years of planning experience, with areas of expertise including environmental compliance, planning entitlements and zoning regulations.  Since joining the Provost & Pritchard team in 2019, he has been involved in providing on-call planning services to the City of Fowler and preparation of environmental compliance documents.  Olsen holds a bachelor’s degree in urban studies and planning from San Francisco State University.

Provost & Pritchard specializes in civil, agricultural, environmental, and structural engineering; environmental and land use planning; hydrogeology and geology; surveying; and construction management services in the areas of water resources, municipal infrastructure, agriculture, site development, and environmental compliance.

For more information, as well as information on career opportunities with the firm, visit www.provostandpritchard.com or email info@ppeng.com.

TETER, LLP the largest Architectural and Engineering firm headquartered in the San Joaquin Valley, welcomes the following new staff.

Mark Bennett, an alumnus of University of California Davis with a double major in Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Science Engineering, is the newest addition to TETER’s Mechanical Engineering Division. As a licensed Mechanical Engineer, Mark plays a pivotal role in developing solutions to the challenges of heating and cooling buildings in the greater San Joaquin Valley.

Nilo Tapia, a graduate of NewSchool of Architecture + Design, joins as a Design Professional on TETER’s South Valley Public Sector Team. Having spent five years in San Diego working for globally renowned Architectural firms, Nilo applies his creativity, innovation, and practicality to our client’s projects.

Genell O’Connor brings 13 years of A/E industry experience to her role as Project

Administrator on TETER’s Public Sector Team. Genell oversees the Team’s project delivery process and is responsible for its contract administration. She received a Master of Business Administration from University of Phoenix and Bachelor of Science in Psychology from South Carolina State University.

BANKING

Karla Contreras has seen first-hand the power of financial health and education when it comes to achieving your goals. As the first-generation college graduate of her family, Contreras started out as a bank teller and overcame obstacles to eventually work her way up to a local community leader ready to help make a difference. 

As the newly created Community Manager in Fresno for JPMorgan Chase, Contreras’ mission is to provide community residents with access to tools and resources available to help achieve their financial goals.

“Because my parents didn’t have legal immigration status, they had to return back to Mexico, and at 19 I took over legal guardianship of my brother,” said Contreras. “Putting my schooling on hold to support him and stepping up to help my family navigate this new world gave me a whole new perspective on where there are gaps in financial health and wellness.”

Through Contreras’ experience as a personal banker earlier on in her career, she saw an opportunity to improve the financial well being of underserved communities. After going back to school to study social work, she worked her way up to a Community and Financial Education Specialist for Golden 1 Credit Union.

As part of JPMorgan Chase’s recent $30 billion commitment to address racial equity, the firm is hiring 150 new community managers across the U.S. to oversee and build relationships with important community leaders, non-profit partners and small businesses with the goal of promoting and improving financial health among the local community. The firm is also refreshing 150 branches in traditionally underserved communities, designed with extra space to be a focus for the community, as well as building 100 additional branches in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods across the country.

Doors are now open to the refreshed branch in Fresno, located at 796 E Shaw Ave., featuring Chase’s latest digital banking technology, including deposit-friendly ATMs that dispense cash in multiple denominations, tablets and telepresence, and offers an open and collaborative environment for customers. The branch will be open Mondays through Fridays from 9-5 and Saturdays from 9-4 and can be reached at 559-225-2995.

Based in Madera, Contreras received her Bachelor’s degree in social work from Fresno Pacific University, is a Certified Financial Education Instructor and has a certification in Money Management Essentials through the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education.