Tina Rubio (Director)
Current Director Kettle Falls Community Chest. Before becoming Director Tina was a regular volunteer in different aspects for over 10 years. Tina worked for the Kettle Falls School District as a substitute Para for over 10 Years. Tina has lived In the area for over 25 years and is committed to serving the community. She is a mother and wife and plans on spending the rest of her life in Stevens County.
David Keeley (President)
David is a semi-retired City and Economic Development Planner. After 35 years of civil service which also included being Chairman of the Kettle Falls Chamber of Commerce, the Treasurer of the Kettle Falls Rotary Club and Vice-President of the Northeast Washington Hunger Coalition David brings to the team extensive experience in grant writing, leadership and strategic planning.
David currently builds and repairs musical stringed instruments part-time out of his shop.
Kathy Ballew (Vice President)
Kathy is a retired teacher/coach of 26 years, the former vice chair of Colville Food Bank, and volunteers at Kettle Falls Food Bank at least one day a week. She is a member of both Stevens & Ferry County Search and Rescue Teams and serves as the secretary of Washington State SAR Volunteer Advisory Council. She is also an advisory/committee member of Happy Tails Dog Park and played a key role in establishing the first and only dog park in Colville. Kathy is a member of the Plum Crazy Ladies; a Kettle Falls group of Red Hats.
She enjoys reading, sunny days playing & fishing on Lake Roosevelt, spoiling her dog, playing pickleball and outdoor activities.
Mary Hendricks (Secretary)
Mary Hendricks was raised in western Washington in a family where growing, gathering, catching and preserving the family’s food was a focal point. She and her husband have lived in northern Stevens County about 35 years. She grows a large organic garden and tends a small fruit orchard, sharing the bounty with friends and the Kettle Falls Food Bank. Mary believes that everyone deserves to have access to healthy and nutritious food. She is retired from a 32 year career with the Forest Service and now volunteers at the Food Bank on a regular basis. She served as Secretary for the Kettle Falls Community Chest Board of Directors.
Patricia Reneman (Treasurer)
While a native Washingtonian born in Seattle, Pat lived in many states and several foreign countries. Her father was an Army officer as was her first husband. Pat came to Kettle Falls with Clyde Reneman in July 2009. Her sister lived here for 14 years at that time and Pat visited her yearly, so moving here from Washington DC area was not a complete culture shock.
Pat graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelors of Administration and a Masters in General Administration. She owned her own accounting and tax firm until 2009 when she sold to her three children. She continues to work at PMR Associates on a part time
basis.
Pat was Secretary for Kettle Falls Horizons from 2010 until it disbanded in 2016. She joined the Kettle Falls Food Bank as Treasurer in 2015 and continues in this position. Pat is also the Treasurer for two other nonprofits: the Community Partnership for Mental Health and Treasurer for the Northeast Washington Hunger Coalition.
Margot Mask (Alternate Treasurer)
Margot was born and raised in Western Washington state. She worked for Puget Sound National Bank for three years in Seattle and then was hired by a Seattle-based airline. For the next 23 years she worked as Secretary to the Asst VP, Maintenance and Engineering; Executive Secretary to the Vice President, Flight Operations and lastly as Contract Coordinator where she worked directly with hotels that housed the airlines’ pilots and flight attendants on layovers between flights.
Margot and her husband retired in 1998 and moved to the Phoenix, AZ area where they enjoyed the winters in AZ and RV’ing over the summers in Washington and Oregon. Margot volunteered at the Sun Lakes Sheriff’s Posse office answering phones and loaning out medical equipment to seniors.
They moved to Kettle Falls, WA in 2007 where Margot volunteered at the Kettle Falls Food Bank working mostly in the thrift store side. But after the two “worst winters in 100 years” they went back to the warm weather of Arizona.
This past summer (2021) they again sold their home in Arizona and moved back to Kettle Falls where they finally settled into their home in December. Back at the food bank, Margot enjoys helping where ever she is needed and hopes to possibly help out in the thrift store again when and if that reopens.
Susan Kerns Durnell
Susan grew up mostly in Stevens County and has been back here for about 45 years, during which time she raised her family in the rural beauty of the area. Her family lives in Daisy with two dogs and four cats, all rescues, and lots of trees and flowers.
After graduating from Arizona State University she taught all-day kindergarten in Arizona for five years before moving back to Washington where she earned a Masters from Gonzaga. She then worked at Evergreen School, where she taught grades K-3 for 30 years, in some cases two generations of the same family. In her years of teaching low-income primary students she saw the effects that food insecurity and inadequate nutrition can have on children and their families. This made the food bank a good fit for her in retirement.
She has been involved for many years in the 4-H program, mostly in companion animal projects. Another passion is Colville Valley Animal Sanctuary, an organization that takes in 800 unwanted cats and dogs each year. She and her daughter socialize kittens, walk dogs, and transport animals to our partner shelters around the state. Susan also works in post op for Stevens County Cat Care, which provides low-cost spays and neuters for over a thousand cats each year monthly clinics. And she loves to garden and read.
Becky Esvelt
Becky Esvelt is a retired Registered Dietitian that has worked for many nonprofit organizations in the
NE TriCounty area including WIC, Head Start, Senior Meals, Ferry County Public Hospital and
Providence Mt Carmel Hospital. She moved to the area in 1979 and joined the Food Bank Board
in 2007. In her role as a dietitian, Becky has learned that a healthy diet starts with access to
food at all ages and is committed to helping the hungry. She has served on the Governor’s
Council on Food Assistance and the NEW Hunger Coalition. Becky won the President’s Award
from the Washington Academy of Dietetics in 2018 and in her earlier years was named
Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year from the American Academy of Dietetics. She lives on a
farm in Daisy and in her free time she enjoys travel and sailing on Lake Roosevelt.
Leanne Pomrankey
Community service is vital to Leanne, and she feels grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Kettle Falls Food Bank Board. Being able to volunteer with the Food Bank and other organizations during the work week is one of the things she appreciates about her employer, Banner Bank. The Client Service Manager at Banner’s Kettle Falls Branch, Leanne has worked for the Bank since 2000, and has been in banking since 1996. In 2018, she received the bank’s prestigious Banner’s Best award.
She was named Town Grouch in 2009, a tongue-in-cheek honor bestowed by the Kettle Falls Chamber. Leanne is also an active member of the Kettle Falls Rotary Club. A Northwest native, Leanne is active in her two kids’ sports programs, enjoys outdoor recreation and likes to travel.