Business Beat

NEW FACES

Ted Vollmer has been hired as a senior mechanical engineer at Telect Inc. Vollmer worked in the company’s engineering department from 1998 until 2001 and recently returned.

Casne Engineering has hired Adam Snyder as an electrical engineer at the Spokane Wastewater Treatment Plant. He previously worked at Pantrol.

Craig Rinker has been hired at the Bank of Fairfield as vice president of commercial and real estate lending. He was previously vice president of residential construction at AmericanWest Bank and he specializes in construction financing.

OneEighty Networks has hired Terry Jett as vice president of network operations. He has worked in the telecom and IT industries for over 25 years, and previously helped to found OneEighty Communications in 1998 before he left to pursue other opportunities.

Theresa Hewitson has been hired as a consumer loan officer in the Hayden branch of Idaho Independent Bank. She has worked in the banking industry for 12 years.

Century 21 Beutler & Associates has hired Angie O’Steen as an agent. She has a background in public relations and client services.

Dr. Lissa Johnson is practicing dentistry in partnership with her father, Dr. David Petersen, at Petersen Family Dentistry. She is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Dentistry and most recently practiced in Ann Arbor, Mich.

HollisterStier has hired Ethan Scott as a project engineer. He holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Montana State University and previously worked in Albuquerque, N.M.

Nicole Cox has been hired at Washington Trust Bank as a mortgage loan representative. She has experience helping homebuyers in Spokane Valley.

Group Health Cooperative has hired Dr. Mathea Sonsteng as a physician at GHC’s Veradale Medical Center. She is a graduate of the University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kansas City, Mo., and completed her residency at Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley, Calif. She previously worked at GHC’s Gallup Indian Medical Center in New Mexico.

Chris Burge has been hired as endoscope repair service manager and senior technician at Parks Medical Corp. He has six years of endoscope repair experience and is a graduate of Lewis & Clark High School.

Parks Medical Corp. has hired Stacey Stephens as a sales consultant in Eastern Washington, Idaho, and Eastern Oregon.

PROMOTED

Tom Lynch has been promoted at Cyrus O’Leary’s Pies to production manager. He has been with the company for almost four years and previously worked as the director of training, quality assurance and safety.

The University of Phoenix has promoted David Barnes to enrollment manager of the Spokane campus. He previously worked as a corporate liaison specialist at the school’s Boise campus.

KUDOS

Stacey Gerry, a commercial customer service representative at Blaine and Co., Inc., has taken first place in the Communicating with Confidence Speak-Off at the Idaho State Conference of the National Association of Insurance Women. She will represent the state of Idaho at the NAIW Region IX Conference next year.

The National Association of State Workforce Agencies has awarded Idaho Commerce & Labor the 2005 William J. Harris Equal Opportunity Award for its efforts to provide better services to Idaho’s minority population.

Juliet Esguerra, membership manager of the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. She has worked at the chamber since 1999 and received this award for her membership sales achievements.

The Home Health Division of Panhandle Health District has received an award from Avatar for exceeding patient expectations.

The College and University Professional Association for Human Resources has recognized the University of Idaho Human Resource Development, Environmental Health and Safety and the UI Web and database developers for its development of Train Track. Train Track is the school’s training registration and tracking software.

ELECTED

The Spokane Advertising Federation has elected its 2005-2006 board of directors. The officers are: Dean Davis of Dean Davis Photography, president; Mike Dixon of The Spokesman-Review, president-elect; Robert Fitzner of Itron Inc., vice president; Shirlee Bonifield of Anderson Mraz Design, executive secretary/treasurer; Jason Johnston of Johnston Printing, past-president; Tina Swannack of Anderson Mraz Design, administrative assistant.

Board members are Marc Dahlstrom of North by Northwest Productions; Shawn Davis of ZipLine Communications; Carri DeWitt of Western United Life Assurance; Adam Graves of A Creative; Carl Heidle of Quisenberry Marketing and Design; Amy McKenzie of Red Lion Hotels; RJ Merritt of Belo Media Group; and Greg Stiles, an SFCC graphic design instructor.

GIFTS

The following Idaho lawyers have volunteered for the Lawyers in the Classroom: Partners in Education program: Anne Dwelle and Robert Wakefield of Moscow; Anna Eckhart, Fonda Jovick, Kelli Kast, and Charles Sheroke of Coeur d’Alene; Nancy McGee of Silverton, Idaho; and Christopher Wright of Spokane.