Four with GH ties make magazine’s 40 under 40 list of top young business leaders

By Dan Hammock The Daily World • October 10, 2018 1:30 am

Alissa Shay, business development manager at the Satsop Business Park, was one of four people with Grays Harbor ties to make the 2018 South Sound Business Magazine’s “40 under 40” list of innovative, dynamic young business leaders in the region.

Shay grew up in Hoquiam and currently resides in Montesano with her husband, Brian, who serves as the city administrator of Hoquiam, and three children.

The magazine’s write-up began: “Growing up in Hoquiam as the area’s timber industry was collapsing, Alissa Shay learned a lot about community development. After college, she used her degree to give back to her hometown through city planning. Now, she works on development through an economic lens, by creating job opportunities and helping customers at Satsop Business Park in Grays Harbor.”

Also listed among the 40 are:

• Desiree Burgess Alford, who lists her hometown as Hoquiam and is the owner of Harts and Pearls, a handmade accessory line specializing in headbands.

• Kendra Fournier, originally from Montesano, is the chief operations officer at Fournier Insurance Solutions. “In an industry typically driven by older men, Kendra Fournier has certainly broken a glass ceiling or two on her way to becoming an executive at Fournier Insurance Solutions,” the magazine article reads.

• Mindie Reule, another Montesano native, is the philanthropic services and program director for the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound. The foundation manages charitable gifts from individuals and businesses, the proceeds from which benefit charitable organizations in the South Sound region. “Reule has raised $162,000 through a successful crowdfunding campaign, streamlined the foundation’s grant-making process and launched a new leadership program in Mason County,” according to her write-up in the magazine.

A celebration in honor of all 40 people on the publication’s 19th annual list was held Oct. 2 at Foss Waterway Seaport in Tacoma. Presenting the awards was South Sound Business Magazine’s editor in chief Jeff Burlingame, himself originally from Aberdeen. He is an award-winning author and founder of the Kurt Cobain Memorial Foundation.

COURTESY OF SOUTH SOUND BUSINESS MAGAZINE Alissa Shay, Satsop Business Park business development manager.

COURTESY OF SOUTH SOUND BUSINESS MAGAZINE Kendra Fournier, chief operations officer at Fournier Insurance Solutions.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOUTH SOUND BUSINESS MAGAZINE Mindie Reule, philanthropic services and program director for the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound.