Business Beat

NEW FACES:

Keith Schmidt has joined the certified public accounting firm of McDirmid, Mikkelsen & Secrest P.S. as a staff accountant. Schmidt is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.

Brad Marshall has joined Adams & Clark Inc. as a land planner. He will specialize in North Idaho land planning services and will provide consulting services to the Spokane area. Marshall, who holds a degree in planning and development and has more than five years of experience in land use planning, previously was with the Kootenai County Planning Department in Coeur d’Alene.

Action Mortgage Co., a subsidiary of Sterling Financial Corp., has added the following people to its staff:

Kay Cram has joined the North Spokane office as a loan officer. Cram has previous experience as a loan officer, processor and branch manager.

Joy Reis is a new loan officer in the Spokane Valley office. Reis has 16 years of experience as a residential real estate sales agent/broker in California.

Jim Hordemann has joined McCollum Ford as a fleet sales associate. Hordemann has been in the automotive industry for the past seven years and has received the 300/500 Masters Award from Ford Motor Co. for outstanding sales.

The Spokane Convention and Visitors Bureau has hired the following people as convention sales managers:

Jeri Jacobsen has experience in travel and air transportation sales. She spent five years with Delta Airlines as a sales representative in the downtown Spokane district sales office.

Beverly Corliss is a graduate of the University of Washington and has a background in the hospitality industry. She previously was the sales manager for Lake Coeur d’Alene Cruises.

Pam Lemon has joined Zak Designs as customer service coordinator for the gift division. She handles customer orders and provides sales support for gift and department store accounts. Lemon was previously with KKZX radio.

MOVING UP:

Ted Sprenger has been promoted to chief technician of head-end operations for VideoWave Television of Spokane. Sprenger’s responsibilities will include overseeing rebroadcasting, encryption, and general maintenance of wireless cable operations for V*TV.

Zak Designs has promoted the following staffers:

Kathy Cohen has been promoted to customer service manager. She was previously a sales coordinator. A University of Portland graduate, Cohen will oversee regional sales coordinators and manage all customer service activities.

Chris Earnest was named mass market division sales coordinator-East Coast. She is a 1994 graduate of Gonzaga University.

Trevor Werttemberger was named mass market division sales coordinator-West Coast. He also is a 1994 Gonzaga University graduate.

Jessica Hale has been promoted to general manager of G.B. Gifford & Associates. Hale was previously an account executive for GGAM, a division of Gifford & Associates.

STARTING UP:

Teresa Sherman formerly of Stamper, Sherman, Stocker & Smith P.S., has opened a new office for the practice of law at Rock Pointe, 1212 N. Washington, suite 210. Sherman’s practice will focus on business, administrative and regulatory law issues in the health care industry, as well as general business transactions, business litigation, real estate and estate planning.

Inland Automobile Association (AAA) has opened a service center in Coeur d’Alene at 296 W. Sunset. Kari Maskell will supervise the six-person staff. Maskell has eight years of experience in the travel and hospitality industry.

Franklin Park Mall has added two new tenants:

Water Color Photography plans to open Aug. 1. Dan Eakin, Jeannette Quashnick and Chris Mason are the owners and collectively bring more than 15 years of experience in photography. Their studio will specialize in family, high school senior, wedding and children’s portraiture.

The Hair Connection has opened a new salon at the shopping center. Owner Diana Poff moved her salon from Shadle Center to Franklin Park Mall and in the process expanded the salon. The Hair Connection specializes in precision hair cuts, hair coloring, permanent processing and sculptured nails, and tanning services.

KUDOS:

Inland Power & Light Co. has received a certificate of excellence from the Rural Electric Safety Accreditation Program for the cooperative’s employee safety education program. Inland Power conducts mandatory monthly safety meetings for both office and field personnel and features a safety page in its monthly publication “Inland Country.”

Charlie and Candy Taranto, owners of the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory store in Post Falls, have been named Franchisee of the Year by the Durango, Colo-based company. The Tarantos, who have run the store for three years, won the 1994-95 President’s Award.

Timeless Books of Spokane was honored as one of three finalists for excellence in book redesign in the 1995 PMA Benjamin Franklin Award Competition. Timeless received the award for the recent redesign of its book, “Mantras: Words of Power.” A division of the Association for the Development of Human Potential, Timeless Books publishes internationally distributed books, video tapes and audio tapes.

The three Harmon Glass stores in the greater Spokane area have received five 1994 “Awards of Excellence” from the Installation and Distribution Division (IDD) of Apogge Enterprises. The downtown store was named “Shop of the Year” for the top overall performance among 24 retail locations in IDD’s West Region. The stores on East Francis and East Sprague each received a “Winners Circle Award” for outstanding overall performance. In addition, David Kienbaum of the downtown store was name “Manager of the Year” for the region, and customer service representative Gina Roberts for the downtown location was named “CSR of the Year.”

The David M. Trail district agency, Moscow, led all Class AAA district agencies in the Western Region in 1994 sales for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., Milwaukee. Northwestern has 240 district agencies nationally.

CoBank of Spokane has awarded the Washington Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation a grant of $1,000. It will be used to partially fund a two-year Leadership Development Program.

Two Spokane Sir Speedy centers have earned national VIP (Volume Increase Percentage) recognition for outstanding monthly sales performance for the eighth straight month. Lyle and Laura Beaudoin operate the Sir Speedy in Sherwood Mall, and Rex and Barbara Reed operate the Sir Speedy at 617 N. Fancher.

Four of Anderson Mraz Design Inc.’s projects have been selected for inclusion in “American Corporate Identity/11” - a nationwide competition dedicated exclusively for corporate image design.

The Alta Group, a Pittsburgh, Pa.,-based subsidiary of Johnson Matthey’s Electronics Division, has earned ISO 9001/Q94 certification. The subsidiary develops and manufactures high-purity metals and alloys for use in the global semiconductor industry.

Johnson Matthey Electronics has been named “Employer of the Year” by Spokane County’s Commute Trip Reduction Program. Johnson Matthey received a second award as part of the 1995 Oil Smart Campaign. That award recognizes Johnson Matthey for having one of the best 12-month programs to reduce single-occupant vehicle trips.

KHQ Television has received a 1994 Regional Emmy Award for “Outstanding Sports Coverage” of the broadcast of the 1994 Coeur d’Alene Triathlon. Q6 Sports anchor Dan Kleckner, executive producer Tom Holmberg and producer Paula Salzano were honored for their work during the Emmy Awards Ceremony in Seattle.

Q6 Viewer Development producer Michael Jerome and photographer Kevin Egeland, have won two Telly Awards for their work in media promotion. The Telly’s are awarded annually by the National Association of Television Programming Executives for excellence within the television industry.

APPOINTED:

James W. Lehr, an independent fee appraiser of residential properties, was recently appointed to the seven-member Washington State Real Estate Appraiser Advisory Committee.

CERTIFICATIONS:

Alex G. Willey of North Coast Moving & Storage has completed the requirements necessary for certification by the National Institute of Certified Moving Consultants. The CMC designation indicates that Willey is a certified professional in the moving and storage industry, and that he has met the institute’s educational and ethical standards.

Nancy J. Howerton has been accepted as a candidate member of the National Association of Property Inspectors, according to William J. Palmer, executive director.

Resource Computing Inc. has been designated a GOLD authorized reseller by Novell Inc. of Orem, Utah. Resource Computing Inc. is a supplier of computers, point-of-sale systems and local area networks in the Inland Northwest.

EVENTS:

Wednesday - The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) offers business counseling to potential and existing small business owners/ operators: Panhandle Area Council, 11100 Airport Drive, Hayden, Idaho, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., call 208-772-0584.

Thursday - The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) offers business counseling to potential and existing small business owners/ operators: N. Idaho College Work Force, Training Center, 525 Clearwater Loop, Post Falls, Idaho, 9-noon, call 208-769-3296; Kennewick Chamber, 3180 W. Clearwater, 1-4 p.m., call 736-0510.

Thursday - The community colleges’ Small Business Development Center offers a workshop on business planning for start-up ventures from 1-4 p.m. at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $45. Call 358-2050 for more information or to register.

Aug. 8 - The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) offers business counseling to potential and existing small business owners/operators: Lewis-Clark State College, SBDC at L-CSC, Lewiston, Idaho, 9-noon, call 208-799-2465; TRIDEC SBDC, 901 N. Colorado, 1-4 p.m., call 735-1000.

Aug. 9 - The Northwest Inland Empire Chapter of the American Production and Inventory Control Society tours Worden’s Winery, 7217 W. 45th, at 5:30 p.m. Installation of new directors follows at 6 p.m. Cost: $5 per person. Reservations are required by noon on Aug. 7. Contact Debbie Moore at 921-6323 or Barb Woodall at 927-5585.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 12 Photos

MEMO: Do you want to submit an item for “Business Beat?” Send a brief press release to: Bill Sallquist, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane WA, 99210-1615. Photos will be used, space permitting, with new staff additions, promotions and new businesses. Put names on backs of photos. If you want a photo back, write “WILL CALL” on the back and pick it up at the newspaper reference library. Allow three weeks for publication.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by Spokesman-Review staff