Business Beat

NEW FACES:

Bob Hallock has joined Kootenai Electric as manager of engineering services. He was previously with Idaho Power where he had worked for 15 years. Hallock has a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Idaho.

Sierra Pacific Windows has added the following people to its staff:

Michael Desmond joined Sierra Pacific as the Pacific Northwest regional manager. Desmond has 20 years of experience in the window industry in both commercial and residential fields.

Bill Ayers was appointed operations manager for the Spokane Division, including Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Ayers has 20 years of experience in the window industry both in sales and service-related positions.

Joe Konzal joined the company as territory manager for the Spokane Division. Konzal, who has eight years of experience in the window industry with six years in window sales, will cover Eastern Washington.

Bernadine Wilson has joined Trinity Universal Insurance Companies as personal lines operations supervisor of the Spokane Branch. Wilson most recently was executive director of the Alzhiemer’s Association. Earlier she was the personal lines operations unit manager for Fireman’s Fund Insurance for eight years.

Dr. Jay Sciuchetti has joined the dental practice of Dr. Robert A. Mecham. Sciuchetti practices general and family dentistry. He graduated from the University of Washington Dental School and completed a general practice residency in Honolulu.

Walter Fite has joined the Bureau of Reclamation’s Upper Columbia Area office as manager. Fite was previously program manager for the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project. He will help to manage water resources to benefit both irrigation and fishery needs.

Gonzaga University has named Roxy Kasman as assistant controller. Kasman was a manager at Omlin, Gunning and Associates for 10 years. She graduated from Gonzaga University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Donna Grogan has joined Joan Lewis as a partner in Repeat Boutique, a women’s consignment clothing store in the Spokane Valley. Grogan has more that 12 years of experience in sales in the Spokane area.

MOVING UP:

Chris Barclay has been promoted to personal lines unit manager of Trinity Universal Insurance Companies Spokane Branch. Barclay joined Trinity from Safeco as a personal lines underwriter in 1996.

Washington Trust Bank has promoted Christopher Potter to vice president. Potter, who joined the bank in 1984, is the area manager for the five Columbia Basin branches and the Second and Wall branch in Spokane.

Bill Fetterhoff, plant manager for the Spokane Mail Processing and Distribution Center, has been appointed district manager of customer service and sales for Anchorage, Alaska. Fetterhoff, a 23-year postal employee, will manage more than 2,000 workers and 200 post offices.

Dave Byus has been named manager of the Norwest Financial office located at 408 W. Haycraft in Coeur d’Alene. An Eastern Washington University graduate, he joined Norwest in 1995 as a credit manager at the firm’s Kennewick, Wash., office. He was named assistant manager of the Spokane office last year.

STARTING UP:

Western Bank, the commercial banking division of Washington Mutual Bank, has opened a business banking office in the Washington Mutual Financial Center at 601 W. Main.

Kirk Quillin has been named vice president and team leader at Western’s Spokane Business Banking Center. Quillin has 13 years of banking experience and was most recently with U.S. Bank.

Cajer Neely was named vice president business banking. Neely has 21 years of experience in banking and was previously with Wells Fargo Bank.

Mike Palmer, who has 17 years of experience in banking, was named vice president business banking. He was previously vice president and district manager of commercial banking in Spokane for First Interstate Bank.

Kyle Hexom was named vice president business banking. Hexom has four years of banking experience and was previously with Northwest Farm Credit Services.

Danielle Reeber has become a consultant for Creative Memories, which offers classes and workshops on organizing photos into keepsake albums. For information on class schedules, call 327-0342.

ELECTED:

Jim Allen, vice president syndications and participations at Farm Credit Services, was elected chairman of Robert Morris Associates Spokane Group. Other officers include: Kent Schultz, vice president Sterling Savings, vice chairman; Jan Romerdahl, vice president U.S. Bank, secretary; and Mark Dresback, vice president Washington Trust Bank, treasurer.

KUDOS:

Spokane Railway Credit Union has received a first place Golden Mirror Award in the category of membership brochures and a Golden Mirror award of merit for its merchandising posters in the point of sale display category from the Credit Union Executives Society. The credit union also received a Diamond Award of merit in the category of point of sale displays from the Credit Union National Association.

Doreen Kelsey, vice president of marketing at Spokane Railway Credit Union, was named Marketing Professional of the Year by the Credit Union National Association Marketing Council. The award is given to individuals who “consistently excel for the benefit of their employer, the advancement of ideals of the credit union movement and the recognition of marketing as a management function.”

Mark Scholl was named Representative of the Year for Premier Marketing LLC. Scholl joined Premier last July and has taken a key role in the company’s quality assurance department.

Washington Small Business Development Centers has named Marcha Dillon “State Star Performer” for 1997. Dillon is the Community College of Spokane’s Small Business Development Center education program manager, and also operations manager for the colleges’ Training Education Coordinating Center. She was recognized for her work in developing and offering classes for small businesses in the Spokane area.

Dr. Deborah Harper has been named Spokane Physician/Citizen of the Year for 1996 by the Spokane County Medical Society. Harper has practiced as a pediatrician for 13 years. She has been a staff consultant at the Deaconess Regional Center for Child Abuse and Neglect from its inception in 1991 to the present, has served as a volunteer fundraiser for the Vanessa Behan Crisis Center, and was a board member for the Youth Help Association from 1985 to 1990. She also has served for many years on the medical advisory committee for Planned Parenthood and on the advisory board for Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN).

EVENTS:

Monday through Friday - The Service Corps of Retired Executives offers free 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.

Wednesday - The Service Corps of Retired Executives presents a workshop on “Preparing a Business Plan” 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.

Thursday - Spokane Chapter 143 of the National Association of Women in Construction will celebrate its 30th anniversary and honor its three remaining charter members during a meeting at 5:30 p.m. at Cavanaugh’s on Fourth Avenue. Cost: $13; for reservations, call Ardy Luttermoser at 747-0950 by noon Tuesday.

Thursday - Power Tipps, an organization for sharing business leads and networking, meets from 7-8 a.m. on the North Side. For more information, call 468-9695 or 891-2353.

Thursday - The Small Business Development Center presents an employer tax seminar from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $20; call 358-7890 for information or to register.

Thursday - Merrill Lynch presents a free class on the basics of financial planning and investing at 5:15 p.m. at Patsy Clark’s Mansion. For more information or to register, call Margot Hamstra at 458-4219.

Thursday - The Spokane office of the Department of Revenue presents a free New Business Outreach workshop from 8:30-11:30 a.m. and again from 1:30-4:30 p.m. in the eighth floor training room at 4407 N. Division. To register or for more information, call 482-3805.

Thursday - The Small Business Development Center presents a pre-business workshop from 6-9 p.m. at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $25, including a business resource kit; call 358-7890 for information or to register.

Friday - Jim Schriner, Industry Week editor and director of location strategy for Deloitte & Touche Fantus Consulting in New Jersey, will discuss “Progress and Prosperity Through Public-Private Partnerships” during a meeting of Inland Northwest Partners from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the University of Idaho Student Union Building in Moscow. Cost: $25 for members, $35 for non-members, including breakfast and lunch; for more information, call 482-4064.

Friday - Washington State University crop scientist Stephen Jones will introduce test varieties of wheat and barley during the Asotin County wheat/ barley field trials demonstration program starting at 2:30 p.m. at the Frank Johnson farm, located about five miles north of Anatone. The Asotin County Wheat Growers and Cattlemen’s Association will hold a dinner at 6:00 p.m. at Field’s Spring State Park, three miles south of Anatone. Cost of the dinner is $5.

June 22-28 - About 200 high school students from throughout Washington will gather at Gonzaga University for Business Week ‘97, sponsored by the Association of Washington Business. For more information, call Jane Hession at 328-4220, ext. 3425, or Steve Hyer at 1-800-686-6442.

June 23-26 - The Institute for Extended Learning presents an introduction to Windows 95 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. each day at the CCS District Administration Building, 2000 N. Greene. Cost: $110; call 533-3770 for information or to register.

June 25 - County Commissioner Phil Harris will speak on the Washington State Growth Management Act and its ramifications for the Spokane area during a luncheon sponsored by the Inland Northwest Electrical League at noon at the Shilo Inn. Cost: $10; for reservations, call Bonnie Ullman at 536-4177 by Friday.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 12 Photos

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