Business Beat

New faces:

Mountain West Bank has named Kathleen Esquibel as manager of its Post Falls branch. Besides managing the office, Esquibel will provide small business and commercial lending services. She has more than 20 years of retail and commercial banking experience.

Angela Wilkey has joined the law firm of Chase, Hayes & Kalamon. Wilkey, who is a registered nurse as well as an attorney, graduated from the University of Washington and Washington State University with degrees in English, communications and nursing. She is a 1998 graduate of Gonzaga University School of Law, where she was a Thomas More Scholar and associate editor of the Gonzaga Law Review.

First Security has hired Randall A. Gehlen as a mortgage loan officer at its Spokane Mortgage Production Center.

He previously worked as a financial planner at R.E. Wacker Associates in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Gehlen earned a degree in finance from California Polytechnic State University.

Debbie Scheel has joined the Personal Insurance Department at Sedgwick of Wash. Inc. as an account administrator. Scheel, a past president of Spokane Insurance Associates, was previously with Jones & Mitchell Insurance.

Coeur d’Alene-based Magnuson, McHugh & Co. P.A. has hired Marsha Cayko as a staff accountant. Cayko, who received an accounting degree from the University of Idaho in 1996, previously was an associate accountant with the Spokane office of BDO Seidman.

Deb Walter has rejoined the Monroe Street Branch of Norwest Mortgage as a mortgage banker. Walter, who earlier was with Norwest for three years, has more than 21 years of experience in the mortgage business.

The Panhandle Chapter of the American Red Cross has named Martin L. Nellor as health and safety coordinator. The position has been upgraded to full time to reflect chapter growth. Nellor, who has more than 20 years of experience in sales and marketing, was the broker owner of a large real estate office in the San Francisco Bay area before moving to the Northwest six years ago.

Lianrui Yang of Lin Yi Teacher’s College in Shandong Province, China, has joined Gonzaga University’s English Language Center and its master of arts degree in teaching English as a second language as a visiting scholar. Yang, who is known for his contributions to English language teaching methodology and second language acquisition, will work and study with Gonzaga’s TESL faculty until August 1999.

Moving up:

Larry Knust has been promoted to vice president of Kimball International’s Furniture Systems Group. Knust, general manager of Harper’s metal systems furniture manufacturing facility in Post Falls, will oversee Kimball’s manufacturing operations of office panel systems furniture. Knust joined Kimball three years ago after 10 years in the automotive industry.

Janice Long has earned a degree in paralegal studies and is now a certified legal assistant for the law firm of Sperling & Balch. She also has been named manager and administrator of Sperling Facilitator Services Inc., which processes tax-deferred exchanges.

Washington Trust Bank has promoted the following staffers:

Michelle Starry was named vice president. Starry, who is sales manager of branch banking, joined Washington Trust in 1994.

Sharon Ditzler was named vice president. A bank employee for more than 12 years, she is Washington Trust’s manager of profitability reporting and financial systems.

Dennis R. VanMeter has been appointed manager of automation services for Spokane Public Library. Van Meter succeeds Garvin Brakel, who was named the city’s new MIS director. VanMeter, who joined the library in 1996 as assistant manager of automation services, will be responsible for planning, directing, maintaining and evaluating the library’s computer center, automation system, local and wide area networks, file and print servers, PC networks, electronic dial-in service, Web catalog terminals and telephone network.

Transactions:

Obie Media Corp. has been awarded a five-year contract with Spokane Transit Authority to provide transit advertising services. The agreement gives Obie exclusive rights to sell interior and exterior transit advertising space on 133 vehicles in STA’s fleet.

Moving:

J. Paul Ramer & Associates Inc., a civil engineering and land surveying firm serving the Spokane and North Idaho area, has moved its business offices to 14 W. Graves Road.

Alicia Burgett, a board certified lactation consultant, has moved her office to 2918 N. Argonne to accommodate growth. Her telephone number remains 892-5311.

Events:

Monday and Nov. 23 - The Small Business Development Center presents a class on “Marketing a Business-to-Business Company” from 6-9 p.m. at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $45; call 358-7890 for information or to register.

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 - Olga Romanjuk, director of the state of Washington’s trade office in Vladovostok, Russia, will be the featured speaker at a business roundtable sponsored by the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development and the Spokane Regional International Trade Alliance from 2-4 p.m. at the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce, 801 W. Riverside, Room 4 West. For information, call Alison Krupnick at (206) 956-3183.

Tuesday - The Service Corps of Retired Executives presents a workshop on “Basics of Recordkeeping” from 8 a.m.-noon at Metropolitan Mortgage, 601 W. First. Cost: $35; for more information or to register, call 353-2820.

Tuesday - The Small Business Development Center presents a class on “Federal Tax Issues for the Construction Industry” 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.

Tuesday - U.S. Bank presents a free seminar on home financing for first-time home buyers from 6-7 p.m. at Consumer Credit Counseling, 1912 N. Division. For more information or to register, call 327-3777, ext. 204 or 205.

Tuesday - The Service Corps of Retired Executives offers free counseling to potential and existing small-business owners from 1-4 p.m. at Tri-County EDD, 347 W. Second, Suite A, in Colville. For appointments, call (509) 684-4571.

Wednesday - Ann Allen of Associated Industries will speak on “Garnishments” during a meeting of the Spokane Area Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Cavanaughs River Inn. Cost: $15, $7.50 for students; for information, call Scott Wilhelm at 921-8718.

Wednesday - The Gonzaga University School of Business Administration holds an informational meeting for prospective master of business administration and master of accountancy students from 7-8:30 a.m. in the Jepson Center on the GU campus. For information, call 323-3414 or e-mail wilson@jepson.gonzaga.edu.

Wednesday - The Spokane office of the Washington state 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. For more information or to register, call 482-3805.

Wednesday - The Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors presents its “Annual Construction Safety Seminar” from 7:30 a.m.-noon in the Phase I Building at the Spokane Higher Education Park, 668 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $15; for information or to register, call Carolyn Pierce at 535-0391 or (800) 572-4108.

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 - Purchasing agents from Potlatch, Bechtel, Micron Technology and other companies will discuss buying products and services during the 10th Annual Governor’s Business Opportunity Conference at The Coeur d’Alene Resort. For more information, call (208) 334-2470.

Thursday - Richard Hobbs, eastern regional state archivist, will be the guest speaker at a meeting of the Spokane Chapter of the Association of Records Managers and Administrators at 5:30 p.m. at Bayou Brewing Co. For reservations, call Ashley Salvage at 444-7267.

Thursday - Inland Northwest Chapter 4 of the American Society of Women Accountants will hold Student Night at 6:15 p.m. at Cavanaughs Templin’s Resort in Post Falls. For information, call Leslie Melby at (208) 773-8149 or e-mail lmelby@ibm.net.

Thursday - The Internal Revenue Service and the Spokane office of the Washington state Department of Revenue present a “Small Business Tax Workshop” from 8:45 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $20; for more information or to register, call 358-7890.

Thursday - Associated Industries of the Inland Northwest presents a seminar for trainers on “Powerful Presentations” from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at 920 N. Washington. Cost: $17; for more information, call 326-6885.

Thursday - The Idaho Small Business Development Center presents a class on “Developing Personnel Policies and an Employee Handbook” from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at the North Idaho College Workforce Training Center, 525 W. Clearwater Loop, Post Falls. Cost: $39; for more information or to register, call (208) 769-3333.

Thursday - The Small Business Development Center presents a class on “Determining the Feasibility of a Business Idea” from 6-9 p.m. at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $50; call 358-7890 for information or to register.

Thursday and Friday - “Farming with the Wind,” a review of the Columbia Plateau Wind Erosion/PM-10 research project, begins at 9 a.m. Thursday at Cavanaughs Ridpath Hotel. For information, call Keith Saxton or Kelly Newell at (509) 335-1232 or e-mail knewell@wsu.edu.

Friday - Gary Hansen, director of the Washington state Commission on Problem Gambling, will lead a free seminar on problem gambling presented by the Gonzaga University School of Law from 2-4 p.m. in Room C-4 at the law school. For information, call Alan McNeil at 323-3784.