Gina Bianco, currently the executive director of Rogue Valley Vintners in Southern Oregon, has confirmed that she accepted the Oregon Wine Board’s offer to become its next executive director.

“It is an honor,” Bianco said in a telephone call.

Bianco replaces outgoing director Tom Danowski, who served as the wine board’s executive director for 12 years.

In an official statement released on Friday, the wine board said, “The Board is confident that her combination of senior leadership and management experience in the wine industry as well as her vision, service orientation and results-driven performance best align with the needs of the Board and the Oregon wine industry.”

The opening for the executive director position attracted nearly 100 candidates from the United States and other countries. The official wine board statement described the search and selection process as “long and intense.”

The Oregon Wine Board is a semi-independent state agency established by the state of Oregon by statute in 1983. It manages marketing, research and education initiatives supporting and advancing Oregon’s statewide wine and wine grape industry in the United States and abroad.

Powell’s Books and the union that represents most of the bookstore’s workers have reached a four-year contract that ends a contentious bargaining period.

Contract negotiations started in February and included a one-day strike on Labor Day. In the end, management and workers represented by International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 5 agreed on a contract that includes wage and benefit increases.

“We are happy to have reached an agreement with ILWU Local 5 on a contract that meets our shared interests of boosting pay and benefits for our well-deserving employees and supporting Powell’s Books as one of the last and largest remaining independent booksellers to serve the community we love,” said Emily Powell, president and owner of Powell’s Books, in a press release.

The contract includes an average wage increase of 10% in the first year and a new starting wage of $17 an hour for entry-level jobs, among other wage and benefit increases, according to the bookstore. The two sides previously agreed on proposals for health insurance deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums for health care.

Wages will increase $5.20 an hour over the four years of the contract for every union worker, which amounts to a 28% increase for the average Powell’s worker, according to the union.

“Following a historic first contract rejection in October, we’re thrilled both parties were still able to come to the table and negotiate in November, reaching an agreement that our members could support,” said Michelle Carroll, bargaining unit representative for remote workers and Myka Dubay, a union representative, in a press release.