Kennewick Kiwanian Cathy Merrill Holle honored as Kennewick Woman of the Year
The following is an excerpt from the Tri-City Herald editorial on March 1st the night Cathy was to be honored, at the Three River’s Convention Center. She is the latest in a long list of Kennewick Kiwanians to be honored with either the woman or man of the year. Cathy is the sixth Kennewick Kiwanian woman to be given Kennewick’s highest award for helping the community. In addition to this recent award she is scheduled to be installed as 2011 president of our club. It was only a couple of years ago that the agency she heads, the Volunteer Center, was abruptly dropped from funding by United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties. There ensued a scramble to keep alive an agency on which thousands of Tri-Citians depend for all kinds of help. (And which many energetic volunteers look to for guidance in where to direct their talents and skills.) Cathy thanks a lot of people in the community for the survival of the Volunteer Center, but most of them credit her for pulling it off.
Certainly, 2009 was the toughest year ever for her. Her husband, Doug Holle, suffered an abrupt illness followed closely by his death. Interestingly, two things that Holle says she is most proud of were not mentioned in her nomination letter: Serving on the fundraising committee for the Tri-Cities Cancer Center and putting forth the idea to provide all newborns at Kennewick General Hospital with books and gift bags, a program that continues to this day. (Cathy was at one time director of the KGH Foundation.) She was honored for her service to a wide variety of civic groups, including the Downtown Kennewick & Columbia Drive Association (now Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership), Kiwanis Club of Kennewick, the Kiwanis Foundation, East Benton County Historical Society and Our Babies Can’t Wait Initiative. She volunteers in various programs to benefit Kennewick students and their families, including New Year’s Tri-Cities and as master of ceremonies at numerous local community events. She is past president of the state organization for hospital volunteer directors and was the key organizer for the first community Volunteer Jam with Steve Haberman.
