Hayden Homes named among best places to work
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 11 months AGO
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | October 25, 2024 2:55 AM
REDMOND, Ore. — Hayden Homes recently received two of the nation’s top honors for construction and mid-sized workplaces from Fortune magazine and the website Great Place To Work, according to an announcement from Hayden Homes.
In the October 2024 issue of Fortune, Hayden Homes is included as a top 10 finalist on the 2024 Fortune Best Workplaces in Construction List, as well as a top 100 finalist on the 2024 Fortune Best Medium Workplaces List, according to the announcement.
Earning a spot on these lists means that Hayden Homes is one of the best companies to work for in the country.
“We are so grateful to our team members who have truly embraced our Give As You Go philosophy,” Patti Murphy, vice president of employee experience at Hayden Homes, wrote in the announcement. “Together we are building a strong community where we all lead fulfilled lives. We celebrate and thank our team members for all they do — we share these incredible honors with them.”
Hayden Homes has built 12 neighborhoods in Moses Lake since 1994. The most recent is Polo Ridge, located on Paxson Drive in the north side of Moses Lake.
Both lists are highly competitive, according to the announcement. Great Place To Work, the global authority on workplace culture, evaluates and certifies thousands of organizations in America’s largest ongoing annual workforce study, based more than 1.3 million survey responses and data from companies representing more than 8.2 million employees this year alone. Survey responses reflect a comprehensive picture of the workplace experience. Honorees were selected based on their ability to offer positive outcomes for employees regardless of job role, race, gender, sexual orientation, work status or other demographic identifier.
“Some of the strongest work cultures we measure every year come from companies with relatively small headcounts,” Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place To Work, wrote in the announcement. “Companies that make these highly competitive lists offer the care and support found at companies 10 times their size.”
Hayden Homes has received more than 25 top honors in the past five years for its leadership in employee experience and engagement, according to the announcement. The company is frequently rated as a top 10 Best Company to Work For by Oregon Business Magazine, Washington Business Magazine and Best Places to Work Idaho.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”