AI learners win prizes, gain skills in NCW Tech Alliance contest
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 months, 3 weeks AGO
NCW Tech Alliance STEM Program manager David Estrada, left, presents a check for $1,000 to Francisco Godoy-Cortes and his mother Sandra Cortes Medina of Royal City. The mother-son team earned 35 certificates in the AI Skill-a-thon.
COURTESY PHOTO/NCW TECH ALLIANCE
Abinadi Millligan of Moses Lake took first place in the NCW Tech Alliance AI Skill-a-Thon, with 290 points and 76 certificates earned.
Robert Stoe of Moses Lake won the wild card prize for Cybersecurity in the 2025 AI Skill-a-Thonn, hosted by NCW Tech Alliance and sponsored by Microsoft.
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 17, 2025 3:15 AM
MOSES LAKE — The North Central Washington Tech Alliance Skill-a-Thon has ended, and four Grant County residents are among the winners.
“The winners walked away … with some knowledge of cybersecurity and different kinds of AI technology,” said David Estrada, NCW Tech Alliance STEM Program manager for Moses Lake.
More than 200 learners from across North Central Washington joined the 2025 AI Skill-a-Thon, a six-week regional competition designed to help participants gain in-demand digital skills, earn certificates, and compete for cash prizes, according to the NCW Tech Alliance announcement. Sponsored by Microsoft as part of the Community Skills Initiative, the AI Skill-a-Thon offered a self-paced opportunity to explore career-boosting topics like AI, cybersecurity, IT, and data analytics. Participants learned through watching online videos in either English or Spanish, and then took tests on ChatGPT, Copilot and other artificial intelligence, or AI, programs. Each course completed gave the learner a certain number of points as well as a certificate to put on their LinkedIn account. The learners who earned the most points and certificates won cash prizes as well. In addition, competitors who completed a course in cybersecurity or AI were entered into a wild card drawing for cash prizes.
The winners were:
• Top Individual: Abinadi Milligan of Moses Lake, with 290 points and 76 certificates
• Top Team: Sandra Cortes Medina and Francisco Godoy-Cortes of Royal City, with 288 points and 35 certificates
• AI Pathway Wildcard: Janelle Schmutzler of Wenatchee
• Cybersecurity Pathway Wildcard: Robert Stoe of Moses Lake
“This really helped both of us learn a lot, and it was something we got to do together as a family,” Cortes Medina wrote in the announcement.
This was the fourth year NCW Tech Alliance has held the competition, and Estrada’s first time coordinating it, he said.
The AI Skill-a-Thon drew 205 participants and 12 teams from across Washington state, collectively earning 239 certificates and 968 points, according to the announcement. The contest was open to residents of Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Okanogan, Adams and Ferry counties.
This year’s Skill-a-Thon competition has ended, Estrada said, but the courses are still online and available free to NCW Libraries patrons.
“If you have a library card, you’re going to be able to get these videos throughout your life,” he said.
The Skill-a-Thon reflects NCW Tech Alliance's mission to help people and organizations harness technology and AI to solve real challenges and spark innovation, according to the announcement.
“AI is advancing faster than most people realize, and every certificate earned in this competition represents a step toward staying ahead of that curve," Estrada wrote in the announcement. “The impact goes beyond prizes. It's about building confidence, strengthening career pathways, and empowering our communities to adapt and lead in a digital future.”
Abinadi Millligan of Moses Lake took first place in the NCW Tech Alliance AI Skill-a-Thon, with 290 points and 76 certificates earned.
Robert Stoe of Moses Lake won the wild card prize for Cybersecurity in the 2025 AI Skill-a-Thonn, hosted by NCW Tech Alliance and sponsored by Microsoft.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.