Business Beat

New Faces:

Martha Wiley joined the Spokane office of David Evans and Associates Inc., as senior environmental planner and project manager. Wiley has more than 17 years experience with environmental review, analysis and documentation for public and private development projects.

The Moscow-Latah County Economic Development Council and the University of Idaho announced Robb Parish as the council’s executive director and manager of the North Central Idaho Business Technology Incubator. Parish, a Moscow native, is a graduate from the University of Idaho, has an MBA from Pacific Lutheran University and is a Certified Government Financial Manager. He has 25 years experience in the public sector in finance and management.

Steve McKenna was selected as program manager of the new Self-Reliance Program in Region I of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. McKenna will be responsible for management of the region’s transitions brought about by welfare reform to include greater community involvement, increased emphasis on child support payments and the shift in emphasis on work over welfare.

First Security Bank hired Richard Divens as a loan officer in its mortgage department in Spokane. Divens has 13 years experience in real estate and mortgage lending. He is a Spokane Falls Community College graduate.

Denise Peabody was named reviewer in the Internal Audit Department at Farm Credit Services. Peabody, formerly a financial planner for AgAmerica FCB, will be responsible for evaluating controls and activity in all divisions within the association, with an emphasis in credit related areas.

Chase, Hayes & Kalamon, Attorneys at Law have hired John Grasso as an associate attorney. Grasso was previously with the Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and will practice in the area of insurance defense and general litigation.

The downtown law firm of Layman & Layman has hired Kathryn McKinley as an associate attorney. McKinley, is licensed to practice law in Washington and Idaho and is a licensed CPA with an MBA from Gonzaga University. Christopher Stiles, a Gonzaga University School of Law graduate, joined the firm as an associate attorney. Stiles is a Mead High School and Santa Clara University graduate.

Ed Allen has been appointed a private banking officer and team leader at Sterling Savings Association’s Kennewick branch. Allen has over 25 years’ experience in the financial service industry and has held a number of executive positions at other financial institutions.

Randy L. Bischoff has joined the law firm of Paine, Hamblen, Coffin, Brook & Miller LLP as principal administrator. Bischoff is a CPA and most recently worked in the Spokane County Treasurer’s office as accounting manager. He was previously vice president and corporate controller for Graebel Companies in Denver.

Moving Up:

John Schram was designated a registered principal and branch manager of the Linsco/Private Ledger office.

Maxey Law Office announced Dennis Cronin has become a partner with the firm. Cronin has been with Maxey Law Office since 1988.

Judy Wesselman was promoted to office and human resource manager in the Spokane office of Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P. Wesselman is a graduate of Washington State University.

Trinity Universal Insurance’s Northwest office has joined forces with Milwaukee Insurance Group, which was recently purchased and restructured into a larger regional operation. Employees promoted in this change include:

Dennis Halsey, regional vice president of the Milwaukee Region of Trinity Universal Insurance, was promoted to president of the same region. The Milwaukee region will encompass 17 northern states including the seven states handled out of the Spokane office Trinity Universal Insurance. Halsey started the Northwest Region of Trinity in 1992 and has 30 years of insurance industry experience.

Jack Lubner, regional personal lines manager, was promoted to assistant vice president of personal lines of the Milwaukee Region. Lubner has been with Trinity since 1992.

Keith Taylor, regional commercial lines manager, was promoted to vice president of the Spokane branch. Taylor has been with Trinity since 1992.

John Mielock has been promoted to assistant vice president at Sterling Savings Association. Mielock joined Sterling as facilities manager in 1993. Prior to joining Sterling, he was manager of building and engineering for Security Pacific Bank of Washington in Seattle.

Kudos:

Johnson Matthey Electronics Inc., a world-leading manufacturer of hightechnology materials to the semiconductor and microelectronics industries received the Certified Supplier Award from SVG Thermco Systems in Orange, Calif. Johnson Matthey supplies SVG Thermco with thermocouples manufactured in San Jose, Calif., and is the first supplier to receive this award.

William “Bill” Eldridge, CFP, a personal financial advisor with the Spokane office of American Express Financial Advisors Inc., was appointed to the company’s prestigious Advanced Planner Group - Senior Financial Advisors. The Advanced Planner Group is comprised of select members of the company’s field organization. Members are selected based on their experience, professional designations and commitment to financial planning and client service.

The Simpson Fund of Shelton, Wash., and Land O’Lakes, Inc., of Arden Hills, Minn., both recently awarded the Washington Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation grants to be used to fund a position in the two-year Leadership Program. The Simpson Fund grant was $10,000; the Land O’Lakes grant was $5,000.

Eastern Washington University’s chapter of the national accounting honors fraternity Beta Alpha Psi has been honored as a “Superior Chapter” by the national office of Beta Alpha Psi. The recognition means the chapter will be able to award two of its members $500 scholarships funded by the KPMG Peat Marwick Foundation.

Global Federal Credit Union was presented with the Best in the Air Force award and was noted for accomplishments in excellent service to members, expansion of services and facilities on base, extensive community involvement and professional attitude and financial leadership. Of Global’s 10 branches, four serve military bases, one in Spokane and three in Italy. Spokane’s Fairchild branch and Italy’s Aviano branch were named specifically in the award certificate.

George Ahrend, of the law firm Layman & Layman, recently passed the Idaho State Bar exam. Ahrend is a member of the Washington and Idaho State Bar Associations and the Washington and Idaho State Trial Lawyers Associations.

Joni Riojas Hubbard, a personal financial advisor with American Express Financial Advisors Inc., received national recognition for earning the company’s Mercury Award for selling $500,000 in financial services in the fourth quarter of 1996. Hubbard worked out of the Spokane area office and specializes in working with non-profit organizations and communities of color and women.

Pro-Mar Select Wheat of Idaho, Inc. was awarded the exclusive license to produce and market ID0377S, a new hard white spring wheat, by the University of Idaho. The new wheat was developed by Dr. Ed Souza of the University of Idaho Aberdeen station.

Certifications:

Tracy Lucas, associate broker at Kiemle & Hagood Co., was awarded the certificate commercial investment member (CCIM) designation by the Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute. Lucas is a member of the Washington State Commercial Association of REALTORS and the National Association of REALTORS.

Starting Up:

David Sharp, a 1987 graduate of Eastern Washington University, has formed Sharp Real Estate Appraisal Corp., located in the U.S. Bank Building in downtown Spokane. Sharp was previously a partner with Premier Appraisal Services.

Appointed:

The managing director of Spokane Capital Management, Thomas Simpson, was named to the board of directors for Packet Engines, a hightech Gigabit Ethernet company with corporate headquarters in Spokane. Simpson formed Spokane Capital Management’s second venture capital fund, Inland Northwest Investors, L.P., in 1995.

Elected:

The stockholders of CoBank, a part of the Farm Credit System, have elected 21 directors to serve on its newly restructured board. Harold Printz, of Nampa, Idaho, who is the incumbent district director, will serve the Spokane district. Printz is the general manager of Producers Supply Co-Op Inc., district director of Land O’Lakes and director of AgAmerica Farm Credit Council. Arthur Christiasen, Aumsville, Ore., is the incumbent regional director for the Sacramento/Spokane region and is the former CEO/president of Norpac Foods Inc.

Garry Montague of Garry Montague Auctioneers in Spokane, was elected second vice president of the Washington Auctioneers Association. The association represents the 250 licensed auctioneers in Washington.

Ray Colbert of Oroville, Wash., is one of two Tree Top Board of Directors members reelected to represent the northern membership.

The members of the Spokane Building Owners and Managers Association elected the following people to its 1997 board of directors:

Officers - Gordon Hester, president; Dave Tomson, president-elect; David Wright, vice president.

Board members - David Foster, Toni Habets, Kevin Kragt, Eric Mewhinney, John Mielock and Kenneth Schug.

Executive director - Frank Schoonover.

Steve Tveti, chief region forester, Boise Cascade Corp., Kettle Falls, was elected to the executive committee members-at-large for the Washington Forest Protection Association.

Events:

Wednesday - The Spokane office of the Department of Revenue will offer a free workshop designed to help new and small businesses understand how to report their state taxes. The workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and again from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Department of Revenue’s Spokane office, N4407 Division, in the 8th floor training room.

Friday - The Ag Bureau of the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Christmas party at the Playfair Race Course from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The cost is $10 per person. RSVPs are mandatory, and must be made by calling 459-4114 no later than noon Thursday. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 12 photos

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