Business Beat

New faces:

Telect has hired Marie Hartis as its director of marketing. Hartis, who has more than 15 years of experience in marketing and sales, will focus on results analysis to determine return on investment. She previously was director of international sales and marketing for Output Technology Corp. in Spokane.

Premera, a holding company for Medical Service Corp. of Eastern Washington, has named Dr. Norman Charney regional medical director for Premera in Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Charney has more than 25 years of experience in managed care and clinical medicine. He joined MSC from MetLife HealthCare Network of California where he served as medical director.

Donald Pratt has been appointed sales engineer for the upper Midwest, Northeast and Canada territories for ASC Machine Tools Inc. Pratt is a registered professional engineer with 14 years of experience in the metal building industry and was most recently with BHP as its facilities planning engineer.

Daniel L. Pavelich has joined the board of directors of Composite Group of Funds. Pavelich is chairman and chief executive officer of BDO Seidman, and has worked in Seidman’s Spokane office for 27 years. He succeeds Edwin J. McWilliams on Composite’s board. McWilliams retired after 21 years of service.

Tom Kneeshaw, assistant director of the Palouse Economic Development Council in Pullman, has been named to the Community Colleges of Spokane Board of Trustees. Kneeshaw, a leader in using telecommunications for collaborative economic development, will serve a term that expires in 2001.

Roger H. Underwood, an attorney with Lukins & Annis P.S., has been appointed to the board of governors of the Spokane Unit of Shriners Hospitals for Children. Underwood was formerly a potentate of El Katif Temple in Spokane. He has practiced law in Eastern Washington for 35 years.

VNA Home Health Care Services, also known as Spokane Visiting Nurse Association, has added the following members to its board of directors: Gary King, Systems Transport chief financial officer; Carol Sheridan, Sacred Heart Medical Center, vice president of nursing; and Ray Soltero, Eastern Washington University, Dean-College of Science, Mathematics and Technology.

Officers of the VNA board include: chairperson, Sue Devaney, controller Central Pre-Mix Concrete Co.; vice-chair Rick Fike, owner of K.K.&R. Pharmacies Inc.; treasurer, Tom LaLone, owner of Lloyd’s Appliance and TV Center, all serving second terms; and Bill Poppy, CEO of Rockwood Clinic, serving his first term as secretary.

The certified public accounting firm of McDirmid, Mikkelsen & Secrest P.S. has added the following people to its staff as Staff B accountants: Patrick M. McDonald, a Gonzaga University graduate; Lori L. Largent, an Eastern Washington University graduate; Brent J. Oenning, a Washington State University graduate; and Cassandra L. Moore, an Eastern Washington University graduate.

Michael J. Ekins has joined the commercial loan division of the Spokane office of Clark Jennings & Associates Inc. as a commercial real estate broker. Ekins was previously vice president of commercial real estate with First Interstate Bank.

Momb Steel Buildings has hired Rod Coelho and Vivian Latham as personal project coordinators. Coelho was formerly with Hewlett Packard and owned a construction company for six years. Latham was previously with the City of Spokane building permit department.

Moving up:

Carol Bonino has been promoted to director of foundation relations at Gonzaga University. Bonino will be responsible for seeking funding from private foundations for various institutional priorities, including scholarships and capital projects. She will also assume responsibility for the scholarship donor program. Bonino has been with Gonzaga University since 1988.

The accounting firm of McDirmid, Mikkelsen & Secrest has promoted the following people: Shelley Merrill and Cherie Foss were promoted to managers; Todd Carlson was promoted to supervisor; and Jessi Webb and Jeff Hale were promoted to Staff A accountants.

Momb Steel Buildings has promoted the following employees:

Dan Ryan was promoted to operations manager. Ryan was previously Momb’s sales manager.

Kevin Ross was promoted to personal project coordinator. Ross previously worked as a designer for Momb.

Starting up:

Beth Fifield has established Spring Environmental Inc. in Spokane. Spring Environmental provides consulting and training in the areas of air quality, waste management, water quality and employee right-to-know programs for Pacific Northwest manufacturing and service companies.

tekmar Control Systems of Vernon, British Columbia, will open its first U.S. facility in Spokane this year. Tekmar, a developer and manufacturer of electronic controls for operating boilers, pumps and valves in hot water heating systems, plans to establish a warehouse facility at Liberty Lake.

Moving on:

Ginger Goble has resigned as Spokane AIDS Network’s executive director. Goble joined the organization as a master of social work student intern and was hired as executive director in November 1992. She was instrumental in developing SAN’s education and prevention programs as well as expanding direct services, the volunteer program and the peoples’ AIDS project.

Elected:

Executive officers and trustees of the Spokane-Kootenai Real Estate Research Committee are: chairman, Dirk Scott, Pioneer Title, Coeur d’Alene; vice chairman, Alison Bantz, Kiemle & Hagood; treasurer, Glenn Crellin, Washington Center for Real Estate Research; administrative officer, Dale Strom, Spokane City Community Development.

Trustees include: Randy Barcus, Washington Water Power; Connie Bischoff, Washington Trust Bank; Laurie Grimes, Spokane County Building and Planning; Andy Hoye, Data Trend Services; Bill McEnany, First American Title of Kootenai County and Brian Reid, Paragon Realty Services.

Fred Colver of Lewistown, Mont., has been elected chairman of the board of AgAmerica Farm Credit Bank. Myron Edleman of Watertown, S.D., was elected vice chairman. Both will serve one-year terms expiring in January 1998.

Certifications:

Donna Preston has met the requirements to be certified by the Council for Qualification of Residential Interior Designers as a residential interior designer. Preston is employed at Ethan Allen Home Interiors in Spokane.

Opportunities:

March 10-13 - Washington State University’s 12th Annual Cheese Making Short Course will be held on the Pullman campus and at the Pullman Quality Inn. Basic cheese making will be taught by faculty from WSU, the University of Idaho, Oregon State University and cheese industry representatives. Cost: $450 for registrations postmarked by Feb. 18, $475 after that; call Jill Whelchel at (509)335-5066 for registration details. For more information on course content, call Marc Bates at (509) 335-7516, or contact either by fax at (509) 335-7525.

Events:

Monday through Thursday - The Service Corps of Retired Executives offers free business counseling to potential and existing small-business owners from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Business Information Center in the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce, 1020 W. Riverside. For appointments, call 353-2820. Counselors also are available on Tuesdays at the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, 8817 E. Mission. For appointments there, call 924-4994.

Tuesday - Merrill Lynch presents a free class on the basics of financial planning and investing from 7-8 p.m. at Patsy Clark’s Mansion. For more information or to register, call Margot Hamstra at 458-4219.

Tuesday and Thursday - The Small Business Development Center presents a workshop on “Cash Flow Management” from 6-9 p.m. both days at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $45; call 358-7890 for information or to register.

Tuesdays and Thursdays through March 7 - The Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors presents a course for construction supervisors on “Using Contract Documents” from 6-8:30 p.m. at the AGC training center, 4935 E. Trent. Cost: $175 for AGC members, $275 for non-members and $150 for registered apprentices; call Carolyn Pierce at 535-0391 for information or to register.

Wednesday - Bill Olson, president, Effective Management Systems, will speak at “The Liberal Arts,” a new general studies course being offered winter quarter at Spokane Falls Community College. The lecture is open to all students, faculty and the public and will be from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in Room 122, SFCC Social Science Building (Building 14).

Wednesday - The Small Business Development Center presents a workshop on “How to Evaluate the Feasibility of a Business Idea” from 6-9 p.m. at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $35; call 358-7890 for information or to register. The class also will be offered from 6-9 p.m. March 5 at SIRTI.

Wednesday - The Service Corps of Retired Executives presents a workshop on the “Basics of Recordkeeping” from 8 a.m.-noon at the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce, 1020 W. Riverside. Cost: $35, including materials; for information or to register, call 353-2820.

Wednesday - The Small Business Development Center presents a class on “Introduction to Construction Bidding” from 6-9 p.m. at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $35; call 358-7890 for information or to register.

Thursday - Gina Lillie of Supercuts will speak on “How Do You Feel, See or Hear Yourself: Communicating with Others?” at a meeting of the Inland Northwest Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners at 6 p.m. at the Shilo Inn, 923 E. Third. Cost: $15 for members, $25 for non-members; call Cathy Doerr at 838-8755 for information.

Thursday - The Small Business Development Center presents a class on “How to Successfully Manage Customer Accounts” from 6-9 p.m. at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $35; call 358-7890 for information or to register.

Thursday - The Gonzaga University Health Center presents “Health Yourself,” an annual health fair, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Crosby Student Center on the GU campus. The event is free and open to the public; for information, call Mary Jo Leveque or Barbara Giem at 328-4220, ext. 4252.

Feb. 18 - Ken Blanchard, co-author of the “One Minute Manager” series of books, will speak from 9 a.m.-noon and 1:30-3 p.m. at the Red Lion City Center, 322 N. Spokane Falls Court, as part of the “Lessons in Leadership” program sponsored by Eastern Washington University’s College of Business and Public Education. His program will be “Mission Possible: Creating World-Class Organizations.” Cost: ranges from $269 each for one or two team members to $219 each for 30 or more team members, including lunch, coffee breaks, a workbook and Blanchard’s new book “Mission Possible: Becoming a World-Class Organization While There’s Still Time;” call 800-873-3451 for information on group discounts and to register.

Feb. 18 and 25 - The Small Business Development Center presents a class on “Beginning Recordkeeping” from 6-9 p.m. both days at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $45; call 358-7890 for information or to register.

Correction:

Dr. Steven Fitts, who has established a solo medical practice in Spokane, specializes in pediatric gastroenterology. An item in last Sunday’s Business Beat column gave an incorrect specialty.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 6 photos

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