Business Beat

NEW FACES:

Don Schelling, a business development specialist with more than 15 years of experience, has joined Baker Construction. Schelling, who was previously a vice president and director of business development at Washington Trust Bank, has also worked at LeMaster and Daniels where he was responsible for marketing and business development in Eastern Washington and Idaho.

The Coeur d’Alene accounting firm of Clark, Anderson, McNelis and Co. has added Cathyanne Lavins to its staff. Lavins, who is a certified public accountant, earned a bachelor’s degree in business and music from Lewis-Clark State College. She has experience in public accounting, audit and taxation. Lavins also is the founding executive director of the Coeur d’Alene Youth Symphony and Coeur d’Alene Music Festival and a professional violinist.

Idaho Independent Bank has hired Michael Pugsley as its investment program manager. Pugsley, who was previously a financial consultant with a securities firm, will oversee customer investments from the bank’s Coeur d’Alene office. He has eight years of experience working with insurance and investments and received bachelor’s degrees in finance and accounting from the University of Idaho.

The Spokane office of Smith Barney Inc. has added the following people to its staff:

David Martin joined the firm as a financial consultant and second vice president. Martin, who was previously with PaineWebber, graduated from Gonzaga University with a degree in accounting. He has been in the industry for four years.

Travis Thams was named a financial consultant. Thams, a former employee of PaineWebber, graduated from Washington State University with a degree in business finance. He has seven years of experience in the industry.

Jason Johnson has been named a personal financial adviser with the Spokane office of American Express Financial Advisors Inc. Johnson received a bachelor’s degree in marketing and finance from Eastern Washington University, where he was a varsity football player.

The City of Spokane has named Nick Dragisich as assistant city manager for operations. Dragisich most recently was a consulting engineer in Chisholm, Minn., and formerly was the city administrator for Virginia, Minn.

McFarland & Alton PS has added the following people to its staff:

Andrea Zacher was hired as a senior accountant in the firm’s audit department. A graduate of Eastern Washington University and certified public accountant, Zacher is assigned to the construction and health care industry services groups.

Scot Haug joined the firm as a computer systems specialist in the Business Advisory Services Group. Haug, who previously was with another accounting firm, specializes in computer systems consulting and applications support.

Michelle Scroggin joined McFarland & Alton’s Retirement Plan Design and Administration Group. A graduate of California State University, she formerly worked for Pension Dynamics Corp. in Lafayette, Calif.

Patrick Bucknum was named an assistant staff auditor in the Health Care Industry Services Group. He is a recent graduate of Portland State University.

Spokane School District 81 has hired Carole Lionberger as a coordinator for professional technical education. She previously was director of vocational technical education for Shelton School District. Earlier she was a vocational administrative intern, strategic plan coordinator and teacher with the Elma School District.

MOVING UP:

Alex Cameron, professor of accounting at Eastern Washington University, has been named interim vice president for business and finance. Cameron replaces Michael Stewart, who retired this summer. Cameron has been a faculty member at EWU since 1981. He received a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Utah, and an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Eastern.

Spokane School District 81 has promoted two large school facilitators to principals:

Lorna Spear has been the large school facilitator at Bemiss Elementary for the last two years. She also served as the Title 1 intermediate instructional facilitator. Spear, who has been a teacher with Spokane Public Schools since 1987, has served at Finch, Browne and Bemiss schools as a kindergarten teacher, librarian and teacher of 5th and 6th grades.

Rick Haffner, who was named principal of Lincoln Heights Elementary, previously was the large school facilitator at Audubon and Roosevelt. Haffner has been with Spokane Public Schools since 1987 as a 3rd, 5th and 6th grade teacher at Stevens Elementary School. In 1995 he completed his administrative internship at Stevens and in 1996 was named a large school facilitator at Roosevelt and Stevens.

David Himebaugh has been promoted to vice-president of investments at Smith Barney in Coeur d’Alene. Himebaugh has been in the financial services industry for 13 years, most recently for Smith Barney as a financial consultant.

STARTING UP:

Aurora Development Group Inc. has opened an office at 24 W. Third., Suite 200. The business, which was formed more than a year ago, specializes in in dynamic Web development, business Internet-Intranet solutions, electronic commerce and online database solutions. Aurora Development is a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider with expertise in a variety of Microsoft Web solutions, as well as with other platforms and tools. The company’s CEO, Beth Davey Britt, received a Ph.D. in computer science from Washington State University. She also is a tenured professor at Eastern Washington University.

Mark Lenz and Steve Wuerst have opened Digital Imaging Solutions at 810 E. Second. The company, a dealer for Sharp office equipment, offers sales, supplies, and service to workplaces throughout Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Lenz has more than eight years of experience in sales and service of Sharp fax and copier machines, while Wuerst has owned retail and wholesale companies for more than 15 years.

KUDOS:

Mary Walker Simmons and Ann Kennedy, both with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Pullman, have won national awards for their scientific achievements. Simmons, a plant physiologist, received the Arthur S. Flemming award for discovering new plant genes that help wheat and other plants survive drought and cold temperatures. Kennedy, a soil microbiologist, received a Scientific Achievement Award from Women in Science and Engineering for developing unique soil conservation practices and actively encouraging young women to pursue careers in science.

Donita Skinner of D.A. Davidson & Co. in Spokane has been named to the Kemper Executive Council, an exclusive organization for financial representatives that sell Kemper financial products. Less than one percent of all financial representatives selling Kemper products achieve that status. Skinner, who is a 10-year veteran of the financial services industry, is serving a sixth term on the council.

Jason Chen, associate professor of management information systems at Gonzaga University, has been selected by Boeing as a Business Faculty Fellow and is working this summer at a project for the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group in Auburn, Wash. Chen’s project involves the development of an enterprise computing asset management process and metrics.

Jewelers of America has awarded Marlin Pihl, owner of Heritage Jewelers in Spokane, the JA Certified Master Bench Jeweler designation. Pihl is the first bench jeweler in Washington to receive this distinction. The program tests a broad range of professional knowledge and traditional bench skills, and to be certified, the candidate must demonstrate proficiency in each skill to an acceptable national standard.

Larry Soehren, a partner and director of commercial management for the Kiemle and Hagood Co. in Spokane and a 15-year member of the Building Owners and Managers Association International, was awarded the 1998 President’s Award from BOMA International for his contributions to guiding the organization’s future.

The General Agents and Managers Association has presented Thomas Koelewyn, managing partner of New York Life Insurance Co.’s Spokane office, the 1998 GAMA International Management Award. The award recognizes management excellence in the insurance and financial services industry. Koelewyn has been a managing partner for the Spokane general office since 1990 and a member of GAMA International since 1981.

CORRECTION

Dr. Jordan R. Leach has joined First Care Med Center. Leach graduated from the University of Washington Medical School and completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at Internal Medicine Spokane. An item in last week’s Business Beat column gave an incorrect affiliation.

EVENTS:

Monday - Merrill Lynch presents a program on “Heritage Planning: The Process to Assess How Well You’re Positioned to Take Care of Yourself and the Ones You Love” at 6:30 p.m. at Hotel Lusso. For reservations, call 458-4232.

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 Room 240 of the Spokane Regional Business Center, 801 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 - The Small Business Development Center presents a prebusiness workshop from 6-9 p.m. at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $25; call 358-7890 for information or to register.

Aug 31. - The Small Business Development Center presents a free information reception for the class “NxLevel II for Entrepreneurs” from 6-7 p.m. at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. For information, call 358-7890.

Sept. 9 - Tom Cox, second vice president of the Georgia Chapter of the National Association of Purchasing Management, will discuss “Customer/Supplier Relationships” during a meeting of Northwest Inland Empire APICS at 5:15 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel in the Spokane Valley. Cost: $17; for information, call Debra Benson at 459-5202.