Business Beat
New faces:
Laura Wood has joined Spokane Teachers Credit Union as director of human resources. Wood has nine years of experience in the human resources field.
Spokane Teachers Credit Union has named Leah Taylor-Palmer as manager of its North Spokane office. Taylor-Palmer, a 25-year veteran of the financial industry, previously was an assistant vice president and branch manager at another financial institution.
Judy Morris and Mike Armstrong have been elected to the board of directors of Spokane Teachers Credit Union. Morris is president of Wunderlund Enterprises and a past executive director of the Spokane Advertising Federation. Armstrong is senior vice president and chief financial officer of Northwest Farm Credit Services.
Jacklin Seed has hired Travis Meacham as a grower field representative for Jacklin’s Ritzville, Wash., operation. His responsibilities include placing and contracting Kentucky bluegrass proprietary varieties for Jacklin Seed and Medalist America. He also will do field consulting with growers. Meacham, who received a bachelor’s degree from Washington State University in 1997, previously conducted treatment seed trials, managed inventories and kept records of milling operations for Cenex Supply and Marketing.
The Shriners Hospitals for ChildrenSpokane has added the following people to its staff:
Tom Moerschel was named quality outcomes coordinator. Moerschel spent 20 years with the Air Force.
Karen Blakeley was appointed manager of rehabilitation. She has 10 years of physical therapy experience.
Patsy Hall joined the hospital as education coordinator. She previously was education coordinator for Mercy Hospital and taught clinical nursing at California State University in Bakersfield.
Jenny Liu has joined Tomlinson Black Valley as a sales associate.
Gonzaga University has added Steve Denny to its admissions staff as a counselor in charge of the Student Visitation Program. Denny, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Gonzaga in 1971 and a master’s from the University of Portland, spent 20 years teaching high school in the Vancouver, Wash., area. He started a micro-brewery in 1992, and sold it in 1994.
Moving up:
Linda L. Russell, vice president and trust officer for Davidson Trust Co., has transferred from corporate headquarters in Great Falls, Mont., to the company’s Washington and Idaho offices in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. Russell, who joined Davidson Trust in 1996, has been named office manager and is responsible for personal trust administration for the two offices. A graduate of Lewis & Clark State College, she previously was manager of the Personal Trust Department of First Interstate Bank in Great Falls and earlier spent 10 years with the Trust Division of West One Bank in Coeur d’Alene.
LaDonna Beaumont, a sales associate in D.A. Davidson & Co.’s Coeur d’Alene office, has become a registered associate. Beaumont, who joined the company in 1995, is a graduate of St. Mary’s College in Indiana.
Mountain Gear has promoted two staff members into newly created positions:
Jim Ledford was named community outreach coordinator. A former teacher, Ledford has been a Mountain Gear employee for 3 years. He will be responsible for developing all outdoor education classes supported by Mountain Gear, offering more classes and making them more accessible.
Tom Bell was promoted from inventory control manager to warehouse manager. Bell, who joined Mountain Gear seven months ago, has extensive inventory management experience from military service. He will oversee all receiving and product inventory management and manage shipping of all orders for Mountain Gear’s mail order business.
Starting up:
Mike DeCoria and Jeff Maichel have merged their separate accounting practices to form DeCoria & Maichel PS, with offices at 5503 E. Broadway. An Eastern Washington University graduate, DeCoria has public accounting experience from stints with Coopers & Lybrand, Ernst & Young and his own firm, plus executive management experience in the banking, software, retail and services industries. Besides six years of public accounting experience, Maichel has held financial management positions with Inland Resources and Clack and Co. He also formed JRM Property and Investments and developed Park View Estates with his partner N.A. Degerstrom Inc.
Judith and Robin Greenland have opened Precious Pets Sitting and Services. Besides pet sitting, the business can transport pets to and from groomers and veterinarians, change lights and curtains and bring in newspapers and mail for vacationers, pick up and dispose of animal waste and provide grief counseling. Call 483-3207.
Pizzeria Uno Chicago Bar and Grill plans to open a restaurant this fall at NorthTown Mall. The restaurant will be located next to the mall’s west entrance in a 6,000-square-foot space. Pizzeria Uno will be open for lunch and dinner, offering pasta dishes, salads, soups, and Chicago deep dish-style pizzas. The Roxbury, Mass.-based company has more than 150 franchises nationwide.
Moving:
TaSIE Inc. has moved its Spokane headquarters from the Valley to the Fernwell Building at 505 W. Riverside. The telecommunications and systems integration engineering company will hold an open house at the new facility from 3-7 p.m. Wednesday.
Siebe Environmental Controls has moved to a new office/warehouse complex at 7222 E. Nora. The new location features an expanded/dedicated engineering area, quicker access to I-90 to reduce response time for service technicians, plus a customer service area, conference center and computer dial-up center. Call 892-1121.
Aerostar Aircraft Corp. has relocated to 10555 Airport Drive at the Coeur d’Alene Airport. Phone (208) 762-0338.
Appointed:
Roy J. Koegen, a partner at Perkins Coie and chair of the firm’s Public Finance Group, has been named chair of the Public Finance Committee of the American Bar Association. Koegen, who graduated from Hastings College of Law at the University of California in 1974, joined Perkins Coie in 1990.
Evelyn Meany, president and chairman of the board of directors of Pend Oreille Bank, has been appointed to the Independent Bankers Association of America National Tax Committee. The committee, which consists of 26 independent bank presidents from around the nation, monitors taxation developments that affect community banks, their customers and communities.
Kudos:
Member service representative Michelle Gregerson has received the Outstanding Member Service Award from Spokane Federal Credit Union. The award recognizes service excellence to credit union members that exceeds normal expectations.
Glenna Carson, a loan officer for Spokane Federal Credit Union, has received the Outstanding Co-Worker Service Award. The award recognizes service excellence to co-workers above and beyond normal expectations.
Two members of the Inland Northwest Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners are among the top 500 women-owned businesses in the United States, according to “Working Woman” magazine. Judi Williams founder and vice chair of Telect, ranked No. 112, and Julie Prafke of Humanix is No. 481.
Kootenai Electric Cooperative of Hayden was recently selected to receive the 1998 Spotlight on Excellence Award from the Council of Rural Electric Communicators. KEC received the award for best total communications program, best newsletter category, best advertising campaign, and best desktop publishing design. Catherine Ward, KEC communications specialist, produced and coordinated the award-winning programs.
Hanna and Associates Inc. received 28 creative awards at the 1998 Idaho Advertising Federation Rocky Awards, including Best of Show for a Washington State University regional television campaign that promoted enrollment at the school’s branch campuses. Their other awards included: a gold, 18 silvers and nine citations of excellence for the following clients: Hecla Mining, Idaho Tribal Gaming, Junior League, North Country Trading Co., The Spokesman-Review, Sterling Savings, Telect, The Big Mountain Resort and Tidyman’s. In a second competition, the 1998 Inland Northwest Advertising Awards, Hanna took Best of Show for a print campaign on the positive effects Idaho Tribal Gaming has had on local communities. Their other awards included: 11 Addy’s, two Best of Divisions and 13 citations of excellence for the following clients: The Big Mountain, Washington State University, Washington State University Athletics, Junior League, Telect, The Spokesman-Review, Sterling Savings and Tidyman’s.
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 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.
Wednesday - Mary Brandt of the Children’s Museum of Spokane will be the featured speaker at a meeting of the Spokane Building Owners & Managers Association from noon-1:15 p.m. at Cavanaughs Inn at the Park, 303 W. North River Drive. Luncheon cost: $10; call 466-4905 for reservations.
Thursday - WSU Spokane Engineering holds an open house from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the fourth floor boardroom of the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Activities include a lecture by Hal Rumsey, WSU Spokane associate professor of engineering management, on “Cost Engineering: Dilbert Is Alive and Well;” an interactive discussion; and a tour of electrical engineering labs. For more information, call 358-7527.
Thursday - Associated Industries of the Inland Northwest presents part 4 of a four-part series for trainers on “Leadworker Training” from 8:30 a.m.-noon at 920 N. Washington. Cost: $199 for members, $299 for nonmembers; call 326-6885 for more information.
Aug. 3 - Smith Barney presents a free lunch seminar on estate planning, “Keeping Your Assets Away From Your Least Favorite Uncle” at noon at the Spokane Club, 1002 W. Riverside. Call (800) 521-0509 by Thursday for reservations.
Aug. 3 - The Small Business Development Center presents a class on “Payroll Recordkeeping” 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.