Business Beat

New faces: Michael Terrell has joined the planning and landscape architectural staff of Ramm Associates Inc. Terrell has more than eight years of experience in landscape architecture and project management, ranging from community parks and recreation facilities to churches, fire stations and residential landscape design.

Cindy Baracco has joined U.S. Bank as vice president and district manager of the Spokane district. Baracco is a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School and the American Banking Association’s School of Retail Banking and previously worked for Sanwa Bank California and Security Pacific Bank.

Sedgwick James of Washington Inc. has added the following people to its staff:

Eddie Eugenio joined Sedgwick as a sales executive in the Personal Insurance Department. A Whitworth College graduate, Eugenio most recently owned his own insurance agency.

Dawn Waters was hired as an account administrator in the Personal Insurance Department. Waters was previously employed by Fidelity and Associates.

Craig Dolsby, formerly with Kaiser, has joined The F.O. Berg Co. as a partner. Dolsby will serve as operations manager and be responsible for industrial and awning manufacturing, scheduling and informations systems.

Kathy Bentley has joined the Deaconess Women’s Clinic at West Central Community Center as a midwife. Bentley received a master’s degree in nursing and midwifery training from Emory University in Atlanta.

Michael Kruckenberg has joined the management team of Moscow-based Woodland Enterprises. A recent University of Idaho graduate, Kruckenberg will help manage the company’s mail order business as well as develop and promote the Idaho Forest Fire Museum.

Moving up:

Sheri McGowan has been promoted to account administrator in the Personal Insurance Department for Sedgwick James of Washington Inc. McGowan has been with Sedgwick for three years.

Trinity Universal Insurance Companies has announced the following promotions.

Dale Walls has been promoted to the claims unit manager for the Spokane branch. He joined Trinity from Safeco as a senior claims adjuster in 1995.

Steve McDonald, who joined Trinity from Reliance Insurance as a claims adjuster in 1993, has been promoted to senior claims adjuster.

Trina Bergloff and Sabine Moss have been promoted to personal lines underwriters. Bergloff previously worked for The Guardian as a provider relations coordinator, while Moss was a financial consultant at Merrill Lynch.

PartyLite Gifts has promoted the following Spokane-area consultants to leadership positions: Connie Psomas, of Liberty Lake, district leader; Karen Van Pelt, Spokane, senior unit leader; Heidi Mindermann, Liberty Lake, unit leader; Jenny Manus, Spokane, unit leader; and Dee Dee Torgenson, Colfax, unit leader.

Starting up:

Jessie Wuerst formerly a vice president with Alliance Pacific Inc., has formed Vidcom Communications. The firm specializes in public relations, marketing communications, and special event management for small businesses, public sector and nonprofit organizations. Wuerst has 20 years of experience in the communications field.

Jerry Brown has opened an Eastern Washington division of Seattle Funding Group as an underwriter. Brown will serve the Spokane area from the Tri-Cities. He has 12 years of experience in the financial services industry.

Patricia De Smet has opened Options In Health in association with Dr. Mike Carraher at KMC Health Park in Post Falls. Options In Health integrates both conventional and alternative health care practices. De Smet, a board certified pediatric and family nurse practitioner, previously was a primary health care provider for Group Health Northwest in Coeur d’Alene.

Elected:

The Association of Professional Mortgage Women has elected the following officers for 1997-98:

Trish Nesti, Unicor Mortgage Lending, president; Pat Wise, Western Sunrise Mortgage, president-elect; Tana St. Marie, Pacific NW Title, treasurer; Lisa Verzani, recording secretary; Linda Wise, Mortgage Wise, corresponding secretary; Deb Walter, director/parliamentarian; Mindy Garber, Keybank Home Mortgage Lending, director; and Lisa Brockhoff, Ford Consumer Loan, director.

The Spokane Media Federal Credit Union has elected John Dolan and Dolores Fallis and re-elected Dennis Harnish to its board of directors. Re-elected as board chair was Larry Reisnouer; vice-chair, Mark Rathbun; secretary, Dennis Harnish; and treasurer, Michelle Imler. Re-appointed to the Supervisory Committee were chair, Jon Etherton, and members, Wendy Thompson, and Carolyn Krieger.

New officers of the Spokane Area Workers in Government (SAWIG) include: Lynne Brown, president; Marilyn Montgomery vice president; Bette Cole, secretary; and Anne Franks, treasurer.

Kudos:

Elizabeth Carroll, an account consultant for AT&T, was named to this years AT&T Leader’s Council. Less than 1 percent of AT&T’s sales force receive the award.

Charles Keturakat and Paul Viren, both of The Principal Financial Group, have qualified for the Premier Club, which honors leading agents in individual life and disability insurance and annuity sales who meet other quality standards. Keturakat also was named Associate of the Year for production and quality service to clients.

Scott Kine of The Principal Financial Group has qualified for the Management Achievement Round Table (MART). MART recognizes leading field management people based on office production and other quality factors.

Hulda and Ken Bridgman have been named Artists of the Year in the 1997 NICHE Award competition. The national competition recognizes excellence in American crafts. The award was presented for a one-of-a-kind wearable art, a coat made of hand-dyed silk.

Spokane Mental Health has received the Effective, Efficient Provider Organization (EEPO) Award from the National Community Mental Healthcare Council for overall excellence in behavioral health care services. The organization also received the 1997 Eli Lilly and Co.-National Managed Health Care Congress Managed Behavioral Healthcare Leadership Award, in the public sector, for leadership and innovation.

Zaks Designs has received the “President’s Award” from Warner Bros. The award is given to licensees for excellence over a period of time. This is the second time Zaks Designs has received the award.

Spokane’s Foothills Lincoln-Mercury automobile dealership has been awarded the 1996 North American Customer Excellence Award for Quality in Customer Satisfaction by the LincolnMercury Division of Ford Motor Co. The award recognizes the Foothills dealership for consistency in meeting and exceeding the needs and expectations of their customers.

Foothills-Mercury-Mazda also was chosen to receive an Agora award for small-business achievement by the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce. The award was presented for the dealership’s reputation for customer satisfaction and efforts to change public perception of automobile dealers.

Thomas Chapman received the 1997 Evergreen Award at the annual conference of the Washington Self-Insurers Association. The award recognizes outstanding service, achievement, and reputation as a state-level resource for worker’s compensation matters. Chapman is currently special counsel in worker’s compensation with the law firm of Paine, Hamblen, Coffin, Brooke and Miller LLP.

Friends of Riverpoint has been recognized by the Joint Center for Higher Education for its ongoing commitment to the development of the Riverpoint Higher Education Park. Friends provides information to and for the Riverpoint campus and will assist in the planning of future development by helping to identify academic programs needed to meet the needs of Spokane’s citizens and businesses.

Transactions:

Ponderosa Hill RV Park is converting to a Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort. The 18-acre facility, 10 minutes west of Spokane, is owned by Gary Wight and managed by Lynda Moore.

Rick Bemel, owner of Creative Arms Custom Gunsmithing, has been designated a service center for Thompson/Center Arms Co. Bemel, who also is trained as a Glock and Beretta armorer, maintains a shop at Sharp Shooting Indoor Range, 1200 N. Freya.

Certifications:

Consumer Credit Counseling of the Inland Northwest has received a Certificate of Accreditation from the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children. The accreditation provides assurance that the agency has met a set of nationally established requirements which help ensure quality service and safe and effective operation.

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. in the Business Information Center at the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce, 1020 W. Riverside. Counselors also are available on Tuesdays at the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, 8817 E. Mission. For appointments there, call 353-2820.

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 - Power Tips, an organization to share business leads and network, meets from 7-8 a.m. on the North Side. For more information, call 468-9695 or 891-2353.

July 8 - The state Department of Labor and Industries presents a free workshop on “Bloodborne Pathogens” from 9 a.m.-noon. For workshop locations and to register, call (360) 902-5590.

July 8 - The Washington State University Cooperative Extension Cereal Variety Nursery Tour will visit the Bruce Nelson and Evelyn Crowe farms in Farmington at 7 a.m. Steve Jones and Ed Donaldson will discuss winter wheat, spring wheat and spring barley. For more information, call the Cooperative Extension office in Colfax at 397-6290.

July 8 and July 15 - 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.

, 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.