Business Beat

NEW FACES:

Action Mortgage, a subsidiary of Sterling Savings Association, has added the following people to its staff:

Fara Snyder has been hired at the South Spokane office as a loan officer. Snyder, who received bachelor’s degrees in business administration from Eastern Washington University and music education from the University of Puget Sound, was previously a loan originator.

John Weingart is a new loan officer at Action’s North Spokane office. He has three years of real estate experience in Spokane County, most recently with Tomlinson Black.

Beth Ziegler has joined the South Spokane office as an associate loan representative. She previously worked for Washington Trust Bank for six years, including four years in its consumer lending department.

Jeffrey L. Hale has been hired as a staff accountant for McDirmid, Mikkelsen and Secrest P.S. He graduated from the University of Washington.

The Spokane general office of New York Life Insurance Co. has appointed Dennis Harvey as an agent in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. He will specialize in business planning and personal insurance planning.

Donna Bartlett has been named a personal financial advisor with the Spokane office of American Express Financial Advisors Inc. She graduated from Eastern Washington University with degrees in finance, accounting and management.

Terry Edwards has joined Interface Computer School as its corporate sales manager. His focus will be practical one-day courses for computers users.

Dr. Robert Harrison has joined Dr. Edwin Baker’s dental practice as an associate. Harrison, who has 14 years of experience in private and public dentistry, received his dental degree from the University of Michigan. He recently returned from a clinical position with Northwest Armed Forces Hospital in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Roxanne Buege has been hired as the executive assistant to the Spokane Transit Authority director of support services. Buege, a 1994 Eastern Washington University graduate, has more than 20 years of experience in office management, administration, and marketing.

Natalie Klemme is the new personnel specialist for the support services division at Spokane Transit Authority. Klemme graduated from Golden Gate University with a degree in human relations and human resource management, and has more than 12 years of experience in her field.

Ann Payne has been hired as an information specialist at Gonzaga University’s Regional Information Services. She received a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Washington. Payne previously worked as an information specialist at Microsoft, and at the University of the South Pacific Institute for Research, Extension and Training in Agriculture.

Schweitzer Mountain Resort has hired the following people:

Bob Hamilton joins Schweitzer as its new marketing director. Hamilton, a University of Nevada graduate who has more than 20 years in the ski industry, previously owned his own business, “Mountain Sign Design.”

Leanne Cesario is the new human resources manager at Schweitzer. A University of Colorado business administration graduate, she was previously a manager with Decotiis Erhard Strategic Consulting Group.

Donna Halvorson has joined Adams and Associates Consulting Inc. as an associate. Halvorson, most recently the project coordinator for Community Colleges of Spokane Foundation, will manage several Adams and Associates projects.

Valley Young People’s Clinic P.S., has hired two new employees:

Vinetta MacPherson has been hired as a nurse practitioner. MacPherson, a Gonzaga University graduate with a master’s degree in nursing, received her family nurse practitioner certificate this year.

Steve Van Patten joins the staff as a physician assistant. He completed the primary care associate program at Stanford University and has extensive experience in respiratory therapy.

Girl Scouts Inland Empire Council has made the following appointments:

Dave Thorn, Spokane County Superior Court; Sharon Stern, Spokane County Assessor’s Office; and Mark Newbold, Corkery and Jones, have been appointed to the board of directors. Newbold also was named chair of the council endowment fund on the Fund Development Committee. M.B. Hunt, Windermere Manito, was appointed chair of “Friends of Camp Four Echoes” on the Fund Development Committee.

MOVING UP:

Eva-Maria Lusk has been promoted to youth services coordinator for Spokane County Library District. Lusk was previously a youth services librarian at the North Spokane Library.

STARTING UP:

Windermere Real Estate has opened a commercial real estate division in Spokane. It operates under the name WRE/Commercial-Spokane. Steve Peterson manages the new venture, which recently added a second agent, Donald Teigen. Both Peterson and Teigen come to Windermere from Tomlinson Commercial Inc. Teigen was a commercial agent for 9 years and Peterson was an associate broker.

Netlink Inc., a local Internet provider, has opened at 610 W. Hubbard in Coeur d’Alene. The company will offer Internet access and a range of other services.

ELECTED:

Dennis Halsey, vice president of Trinity Universal Insurance Cos. Northwest Region, has been elected president of The Idaho Surveying and Rating Bureau Inc.

Idaho Bankers Association elected Parker Woodall, president of Northern State Bank, as second vice president. Woodall also will serve as secretary/ treasurer. Greg Charlton, president of Seaport Citizens Bank, was elected treasurer of the association.

The Washington State Good Roads and Transportation Association has elected Ed Sharman chairman of its executive committee, and Dale Stedman, Eastern Region vice president.

Richard Smith and Roy Tiarks have each been elected to three-year terms on AgAmerica’s board of directors. Smith, a Bonanza, Ore., farmer/rancher and Farm Credit member for more than 45 years, has served on the board of directors of Northwest Farm Credit Services. Tiarks, a Council Bluffs, Iowa, corn, soybean and cattle producer, is a former director of Farm Credit Services.

John Baker of The Spokesman-Review has been elected chairman of the Wishing Star Foundation Board of Trustees for 1996. Other officers include: Susan Prince, Appleway Automotive, vice chair; Lynn Winkler, Ponderosa Elementary, secretary; and Tarri Bye, Columbia Lighting, treasurer. 1996 board members are: John Mellick, United Security Bank; Dan Nagy, Wendy’s; Bob Tomlinson, Tomlinson Black; Ted Rusnak, B&B Distributors; Mike Williams, Winston and Cashatt; and John Goedde, Panhandle Insurance.

John Young of Coeur d’Alene’s Polin Construction has been elected 1996 president of the Inland Pacific Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. Other officers include: attorney Steve Drummond, president-elect; Charlie Mauk, Firepower Inc., secretary; Gene Harder, McFarland & Alton, treasurer; Sue Miller, DIVCON Inc., past-president. Board of directors include: Jeff Bast, Rainbow Electric; Dave Bertsch, Champion Concrete Pumping; Diane Schwehr, API Drywall & Stucco; and Rich Ward, Modern Glass.

Maureen Quinn, owner of Tracy Jewelers, has been named to the board of directors of the Pacific Northwest Jewelers Association.

Nancy Grub, Medical Lake, and Dave Billingsley, Palisades, have been elected 1996 representatives of the Washington Cattleman’s Association.

APPOINTED:

Sandra Dehle, manager of Dodson’s NorthTown Mall store, has been named to the board of directors of the Pacific Northwest Jeweler’s Association.

Lori Blau, vice chairman of Ponderay Newsprint in Usk, has been named to a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the Association of Washington Business (AWB).

KUDOS:

Camp World of Cars service department has donated a 1995 Chevrolet Cavalier to Spokane Community College for use as an instructional tool. The program enables automotive students to learn about the new technologies in late-model automobiles.

Spokane Teachers Credit Union received a first place award at the National Bridge Awards for Excellence in Member Education Communications, sponsored by the Washington Credit Union League and CUNA & Affiliates. Also judged were design, text and production.

Two Spokane organizations will receive grants as part of $2.4 million being distributed by Piper Jaffray Companies Foundation to non-profit organizations. Our Place Community Outreach will get $10,000; and Children’s Home Society will receive $8,000, including $5,000 in matching funds.

CERTIFICATIONS:

Terry Chambers, a business development specialist with Washington State University’s Small Business Development Center, recently received certification as an economic development finance professional from the National Development Council. Chambers has been with SBDC for 3 years and has more than 20 years experience in operating, managing, and consulting with more than 500 companies.

Kenneth Heydon, LUTCF, of Post Falls, recently earned the Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow designation. Heydon is a Lutheran Brotherhood district representative associated with the Peter Mauritsen Agency.

EVENTS:

Monday - Gonzaga University will present a free session on “Educating Leaders for the 21st Century” at 7 p.m. in the Washington/California Room of the COG. For more information, call Joseph Albert at 328-4220, ext. 3564.

The Service Corps of Retired Executives will provide free business counseling to prospective and existing business owners/operators at the following times and locations:

Tuesday - Richland Chamber, 1 to 5 p.m., call 946-1651.

Wednesday - Panhandle Area Council, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., call (208) 772-0584; Yakima Chamber, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., call 248-2021.

Wednesday - Associated Industries presents a seminar for managers and supervisors on creative interviewing and hiring from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at 920 N. Washington. Cost: $60 for members, $100 for non-members.

, 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.