Business Beat

New faces:

Tracey Carlson has joined Klundt Hosmer Design as an interactive programmer. He provides the firm with additional capabilities in Web site programming, CD-ROM development and 3D digital graphics and animation. Carlson previously worked for Presentation Graphics as a Web master/Internet media developer. A graduate of the University of Advanced Computer Technology, he developed CD-ROM projects while working for Interactive Computer Solutions of Phoenix.

Farm Credit Services has added the following people to its Spokane staff:

Ben Showalter joined Farm Credit as team leader-customer service contact center. He will oversee development, staffing and management of the contact center component of Farm Credit’s new Customer Service Center. Showalter previously worked for Seafirst Bankcard Services in various contact center roles. He received a bachelor’s degree in administrative business from Eastern Washington University.

Cindy Lyden was hired as a senior credit officer-corporate accounts. As a member of an account management team, she will work with agribusiness customers throughout the Northwest. Lyden, who is a 1985 graduate of Washington State University, previously was a credit analyst for CoBank-Western Division in Spokane.

Beth Augustine was named manager-management information. Her responsibilities include financial reporting and projections, capital management, performance measurements and portfolio and specialized product pricing. She previously was a credit analyst for Avista Energy Inc., vice president of finance at the Spokane Postal Credit Union and an asset/liability management specialist for AgAmerica, Farm Credit Bank. She received a master’s degree in business administration from Eastern Washington University.

Dr. Mirna I. Ramos-Diaz has joined Valley Young Peoples Clinic in the practice of pediatrics. She graduated from the University of Miami, where she also completed an internship and residency. She has been accepted for membership in the Spokane County Medical Society.

Ben Cabildo has joined Bilingual Publishing Co. as the regional marketing and advertising manager for La Prensa Bilengue, The Northwest Tribune and Diversity magazine. Cabildo also is an independent financial adviser with C&L Financial and Insurance Services.

Two attorneys have joined the Spokane law firm of Workland & Witherspoon P.L.L.C.:

Douglas A. Saar will focus on commercial transactions, commercial litigation and debtor and creditor law.

Robert R. Rowley, formerly with Casey, Gore & Grewe P.S., will continue to emphasize commercial litigation, personal injury and a general trial practice.

Peggy Peterson has been named an account executive in the KHQ Television sales staff. Peterson has extensive experience in television sales, including stints as an account executive, a local sales manager and a regional sales manager. She began her career in 1974 at KREM TV.

David Minerath, president of Post Falls-based Quest Integration, has been nominated to serve on the Advisory Committee for the Drafting Technology Program at North Idaho College. The advisory committee reviews course offerings and offers recommendations based on current practices and developments in industry. Minerath earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin.

Armance Kay has been appointed supervisor of the Inland Automobile Association’s Coeur d’Alene service center. She will oversee the travel agency, motor travel, insurance and membership operation. Kay, who has 15 years of experience as a travel agent, has worked in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. She has worked for Coeur d’Alene Travel and Ace Travel for the past four years.

Washington State University has named Hugh Imhof, a longtime Spokane journalist and communications professional, senior associate director of news and information services. He succeeds Al Ruddy, who retired Jan. 31 after 26 years at WSU. Imhof, a 1975 communications graduate from WSU, was a reporter for KHQ-TV for 12 years and earlier held several posts at KSPS-TV. He currently is the producer and moderator of Spokane This Week on KSPS and since 1993 has owned a communications and public affairs consulting firm.

Moving up:

Sandy Taylor-Spring has been named chief operating officer of Dakotah Direct Inc. Taylor-Spring, who had been Dakotah’s vice president of finance and administration, previously was chief financial officer for Oxyfresh World Wide for eight years.

Events:

Tuesday - The University of Washington holds an information session for prospective applicants to its Executive MBA Program from 5:30-7 p.m. For information and location, call 1 (888) 622-3932.

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

Tuesday - The Small Business Development Center presents a class on “Basic Legal Structures” from 6-9 p.m. at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $35; for information, call 358-7890.

Tuesday - Northside Power Tipps meets at 7 a.m. For information about location and topics, call 468-9695.

Tuesday and Wednesday Washington State University Cooperative Extension presents an advanced marketing workshop for wheat growers from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday at 222 N. Havana and from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday at Big Wally’s restaurant, 9444 Highway 2 East, in Coulee City. Cost: $10; call Traci Schloesser at (509) 659-3215 for information.

Tuesday through April 27 - The Idaho Small Business Development Center presents a 10-session NXLEVEL-Entrepreneurial Training Program/ Business Start Up from 6-9 p.m. Tuesday nights at the North Idaho College Workforce Training Center, 525 W. Clearwater Loop in Post Falls. Cost: $189; for information, call(208) 769-7863.

Wednesday - Executive Women’s Network will meet from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hotel at Sullivan and I-90 in the Spokane Valley. Cost: $10.

Wednesday - The Institute for Extended Learning presents a free community career fair from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in the Lair-Student Center at Spokane Community College. The fair includes six workshops and interaction with more than 30 area employers. For more information, call Denise Osei at 533-3032.

Wednesday - The Training and Education Coordinating Center presents a Zenger Miller Frontline Leadership class on “Confronting Issues with Your Managers and Peers” from 6-9 p.m. at the Business Training and Applied Technology Center, 3939 N. Freya. Cost: $70; call 533-4700 for information or to register.

Wednesday - The Spokane office of the 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. To register or for more information, call 482-3805.

Wednesday - The Service Corps of Retired Executives presents a workshop on “Basics of Recordkeeping” from 8 a.m.-noon at the Business Information Center in Room 240 of the Spokane Regional Business Center, 801 W. Riverside. Cost: $35; for information, call 353-2820.

Wednesday and Feb. 24 - 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.

Wednesday - The Spokane Building Owners and Managers Association presents a Vendor Day program 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.

Wednesday - Former Spokane Mayor Jack Geraghty will speak on “Community Service” 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; call Scott Wilhelm at 921-8718 for information.

Wednesday - The Idaho Small Business Development Center presents a class on “Commitment to the Customer and Strands of Excellence” from 6-9 p.m. at the North Idaho College Workforce Training Center, 525 W. Clearwater Loop in Post Falls. Cost: $18; for information or to register, call (208) 769-7863.

Thursday - Myrlie Evers-Williams, widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers and a member of the board of directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, will speak on “The Business Case for Diversity” from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Ag Trade Center, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. Cost: $15; for tickets, call 325-7328.

Thursday - The Small Business Development Center presents a class on “How to Deliver Excellent Customer Service” from 5:30-9:30 p.m. at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $40; call 358-7890 for information or to register.

Thursday - the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce presents “Business After Hours” from 5:15-7 p.m. at the Spokane Regional Business Center, 801 W. Riverside. Cost: $5; for reservations, call 459-4111.

Thursday - The Idaho Small Business Development Center presents a “Small Business Tax Workshop” from 6-9 p.m. at the North Idaho College Workforce Training Center, 525 W. Clearwater Loop in Post Falls. Cost: $39; call (208) 769-7863 for information.

Friday - “When Training Makes a kBuck” is the topic of the monthly luncheon program of the American Society for Training and Development from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at tbe OXARC Inc. training center, 4003 E. Broadway. Call 625-3843 for information or to register.

Feb. 22 - The Diversity Recruitment Committee of Spokane presents a diverse job fair from noon-6 p.m. in the Student Lair at Spokane Community College. For information, call Susie Maher at 353-3533.

Feb. 23 - Administrative secretarial students at Spokane Community College present a workshop on “Charting the Course of Your Future” from 8:30-11:30 a.m. in the SCC Lair-Student Center Auditorium, Building 6, 1810 N. Greene. Cost: $10 per session or $20 for all three sessions; for information, call MaryO Fury at 533-7372.

Feb. 24 - The Spokane Chapter of the International Association for Administrative Professionals holds a new-member information meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the Gonzaga University COG. Dinner cost, $13; for information or reservations, call 536-8918.

Feb. 24 - Associated Industries of the Inland Northwest presents a class on “Writing, Grammar and Punctuation” from 8:30 a.m.-noon at 920 N. Washington. Cost: $54 for members, $84 for nonmembers; to register, call 326-6885 by Wednesday.