142 | BusinessWorld | August-September 2014
I
t's a time of transition in Yakima,
Wash., and few people are more in on
it thanDebbieCook.
She's been the city's director of utilities and
engineering since arriving from New
Mexico in January 2013, and since taking
over the position she's had a front-row seat
to the sorts of changes that tangible boosts
in both population and tourism can
necessitate for all aspects of infrastructure.
Agriculture and its related processing
operations have been the significant
economic drivers for many years in Yakima
and the surrounding region, though a
burgeoning wine industry and the arrival of
some micro-brewed beer operations have
contributed to an uptick in visitors from
outside the area.
Vineyards based in and around Yakima had
long been important suppliers to wineries
operating closer to Walla Walla along the
state's southeastern border with Oregon,
but those wineries have been inching closer
and closer to Yakima in recent years as the
industry has gatheredmomentum.
