Quincy may be a small town, but the people making a difference here are earning attention well beyond our city limits. At this year’s NCW Tech Alliance Innovator Awards, two members of our community stood among the region’s top innovators, recognized for their work helping students, businesses, and communities embrace new technology and opportunities.
More than 350 business leaders, educators, entrepreneurs, students, and community partners gathered at the Wenatchee Convention Center on Tuesday, November 3, for the 2026 Innovator Awards Luncheon. The event also celebrated 25 years of recognizing the people and organizations helping shape the future of North Central Washington.
Having attended the luncheon, I can tell you it was an impressive gathering. The range of innovation happening across our region, from students developing new technologies to organizations improving essential services, was a reminder that some remarkable work is taking place right here in Central Washington.
For Quincy, however, the afternoon carried a little extra hometown pride.
Two Quincy Names Among the Region’s Best
Brooklyn Averill, a junior at Quincy High School, was selected as one of three finalists for the K–12 Future Technology Leader of the Year Award.
Through NCW Tech Alliance’s AI Youth Corps program, Brooklyn developed a bilingual, AI-powered booking assistant for iClean, a local cleaning business. Working directly with the business owner, she created a tool designed to answer customer questions, provide service and pricing information, and help schedule appointments in both English and Spanish.
Her project demonstrates how students can take emerging technology beyond the classroom and put it to work solving everyday challenges for businesses in their own community.
Brooklyn has also been involved in computer science activities, mentoring younger students, and encouraging others to explore technology through opportunities such as the Bows and Bots Tech Expo.
Cari Horning, another member of our Quincy community, was selected as one of three finalists for STEM Champion of the Year.
Through her previous work with the Apple STEM Network, Cari helped connect schools, educators, employers, and community organizations to expand STEM education and career exploration opportunities throughout North Central Washington.
Her work focused on helping students understand the career opportunities available close to home while encouraging local industries and professionals to become more involved in education.
Cari also launched the NCW MVP podcast, highlighting the people, careers, and industries that make our region unique. Both nominations recognize more than individual accomplishments. They highlight the importance of connecting education, technology, and opportunity in communities like ours.
Quincy has a history of earning recognition at the Innovator Awards. In 2023, longtime Quincy educator Mark Kondo received the STEM Champion of the Year Award, recognizing his contributions to STEM education and the opportunities he helped create for local students. Kondo is a familiar name in our community, with accomplishments extending beyond the classroom and into athletics. With Brooklyn and Cari joining the ranks of regional finalists this year, Quincy continues to demonstrate that innovation and educational leadership are alive and well in our small town.
About NCW Tech Alliance
NCW Tech Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing people and technology together throughout North Central Washington. Founded in 1999 and formerly known as the Greater Wenatchee Area Technology Alliance (GWATA), the organization works to strengthen regional communities through technology education, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and helping businesses adopt new technologies.
Its programs connect students with career opportunities, help businesses embrace emerging technology, and support entrepreneurs working to build and grow companies throughout the region. A particular focus is ensuring that rural communities have access to the tools, training, and opportunities needed to participate in an increasingly technology-driven economy.
Over the past 25 years, the organization’s Innovator Awards have recognized more than 120 individuals and organizations for their contributions to technology, education, business, and innovation across North Central Washington.
NCW Tech Alliance’s Connection to Quincy
While the Innovator Awards celebrate accomplishments across North Central Washington, NCW Tech Alliance’s impact can also be seen right here in Quincy.
The organization helped develop the pipeline curriculum at Quincy High School, designed to prepare students for career opportunities in our growing data center industry. That connection between education and local employers is especially important in a community where technology has become a major part of the local economy. They are also working on a new curriculum the Future Ready Energy & Industrial Technology Pathways Project, or FREIT, a proposed four-year regional effort that would connect K-12 education, colleges, employers and industry training programs. Which I wrote about in the article Quincy Looks to Build the Next Workforce Pipeline Before the Jobs Arrive
NCW Tech Alliance also supports projects that improve access to technology and information in rural communities.
That includes our work here at 98848 News. Through a digital access micro-grant, the organization helped fund the Spanish-language edition of our weekday morning newscast, Noticiero Buenos Días Quincy Washington, allowing us to better serve Spanish-speaking residents throughout the 98848.
These are practical examples of what the organization has spent more than 25 years working toward: connecting people, education, businesses, and technology to create opportunities throughout North Central Washington.
A Reason for Quincy to Celebrate
This year’s K–12 Future Technology Leader Award went to Cascade High School senior Elliot Tiegel, while Dr. Ryan Christoph of the Omak School District received the STEM Champion of the Year Award.
Although Brooklyn and Cari did not take home their respective awards, being selected among the final three nominees in their categories is a significant accomplishment. For a community the size of Quincy, having two local innovators recognized at this level in the same years is something worth celebrating.
Their work represents two important sides of our community’s future: a young student already putting technology to work for a local business and a community advocate helping build the connections that make those opportunities possible.
Building Quincy’s Future, One Opportunity at a Time
Programs like those offered by NCW Tech Alliance help connect the growth happening across North Central Washington with the people who call these communities home. For Quincy, where the technology industry has become a major part of our local economy, those connections can mean new career opportunities for students, valuable resources for small businesses, and a stronger local workforce.
Brooklyn Averill and Cari Horning represent two sides of that effort. Brooklyn is demonstrating how young people can use emerging technology to solve real problems for local businesses, while Cari has spent years helping students discover career opportunities and connecting educators with the industries that need their skills. Their recognition shows that Quincy isn’t simply a community benefiting from the technology industry’s presence. We have people right here helping shape its future.
Being selected among the top three finalists in their respective categories is a significant accomplishment, and one our community should be proud of. We look forward to sharing more about Brooklyn and Cari in future interviews, but for now, congratulations to both on representing Quincy among North Central Washington’s leading innovators.