Car dealer & 4th-generation business owner are Kennewick man, woman of the year
The owners of two prominent, family-owned businesses in Kennewick were honored at a sold-out banquet Monday night as the 2025 Kennewick Man and Woman of the Year.
Doug Overturf of Overturf Motors and Amy Mueller Coffman of Mueller’s Tri-Cities Funeral Homes were selected for the significant contributions they’ve made to Kennewick throughout their careers, both as business leaders and through community service.
Kennewick Man and Woman of the Year is given each February to recipients for the previous year.
Coffman was nominated for her dedication to her family, her business, her church and to the community, particularly children. Overturf was nominated for his quiet, behind-the-scenes support for youth and for downtown Kennewick.
Kennewick Man of the Year dates to 1946 and Kennewick Woman of the Year debuted in 1948 as Kennewick Woman of Achievement. Go to kmwoy.com.
Amy Mueller Coffman
Coffman, together with her husband, is part of the fourth generation of the Mueller family to own and operate Mueller’s Tri-Cities Funeral Homes, including Desert Lawn Memorial Park and Riverview Heights Cemetery.
Through her business, she has worked with the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and on the Wreaths Across America project, which provides wreaths on graves of veterans at thousands of cemeteries at the holidays.
She especially shines in her support of schools, according to the nomination by Vickie Bergum, whose family once operated Farmers Exchange in downtown Kennewick.
Coffman has been active in the Chinook Middle School PTO and served on parent committees at Southridge High School. She has supported service clubs at Kennewick High as well.
Coffman is credited with adopting Amistad Elementary as a personal project. Amistad serves one of the most economically disadvantaged communities in the Tri-Cities.
Her dedication to Amistad began when she was president of the Kiwanis Club of Kennewick and continued beyond her term. She has created or managed activities, channeling them through Amistad’s Orca Boosters Club.
She managed the Jog-A-Thon, which raised more than $7,000 for the booster club this year. She purchased supplies and organized volunteers to serve Italian sodas to staff during teacher appreciation day.
She arranged volunteers to help students during math night and secured more than 700 books for students, each selected to their reading skills.
During her 2023-24 tenure as president of the Kiwanis Club, the service organization returned more than $500,000 to the community, Bergum wrote.
Key support includes a $258,000 successful grant for a playground at the Boys & Girls Club in Kennewick, $120,000 to support the B5 Family Learning Center, and $75,000 raised to expand the Kiwanis Foundation’s scholarship program.
“She is such a strong leader and never places the spotlight on herself but on the contribution of others, even though it is through her strong and compelling leadership that much is accomplished,“ Bergum said.
Doug Overturf
James “Doug” Overturf literally grew up at Overturf Motors, the family’s car dealership.
He began working at the downtown Kennewick lot at 14, washing cars and keeping the lot and service department clean.
He returned to Overturf after college, rejoining the business as it celebrated its 60th year.
Overturf was nominated by a fellow business leader and past Kennewick Men of the Year, Craig Eerkes, 2006, and Rick Corson, 2019.
“Some volunteers made a big splash while others are more subtle,” Eerkes and Corson wrote. “Like a pebble gently entering the water, they create ripples that extend far and wide. Doug Overturf is the latter.”
Overturf was young when his father died, but he embraced his Dad’s legacy of commitment and support for the community.
Overturf joined Eerkes and other community leaders to back the $6 million campaign to build the Boys & Girls Club in East Kennewick, where the club is a safe and nurturing gathering spot for youth.
Together with his wife, he sponsors the Eerkes Memorial for Kids, an annual auction and golf tournament that raised $600,000 for youth programs last year.
He volunteers with Our Young Life, a faith organization that helps pregnant girls and helps teens develop skills to be parents.
He supports the Children’s Developmental Center, is a sponsor of the Kennewick National Baseball team and helped establish the influential Downtown Kennewick Business Association.
The 2025 Kennewick Man and Woman of the Year program was sponsored by Lampson International, Canyon Lakes Golf Course and Gravis Law.
Tri-Citian of the Year
Kennewick Man and Woman of the Year is distinct from Tri-Citian of the Year, given annually to an individual who demonstrates service above self.
The 2026 Tri-Citian of the Year banquet begins at 6 p.m., April 30, at the Three Rivers Convention Center. Retired Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller, the 2025 winner, will introduce the 2026 winner. Go to tricitianoftheyear.com