Business Beat

NEW FACES:

Spokane Airports, which operates Spokane International Airport, the Airport Business Park and Felts Field, has added the following people to its staff:

Kevin Morgans was hired as manager of the Airport Business Park. His responsibilities include overall coordination and administration of the business park, property management and leases. Morgans previously was the office manager for Complete Heating & Sheetmetal Inc. of Spokane. He also has worked for New York Life selling annuities.

Bruce Millsap has been named chief of the Spokane International Airport Fire Department. He is responsible for planning, organizing and directing the operation of the fire department, as well as for the technical and mechanical efficiency of the apparatus, equipment and personnel assigned to the department. Millsap has more than 22 years of experience with the Birmingham, Ala., Fire and Rescue Service Department, including a stint as chief at Birmingham International Airport.

James Patterson joined Spokane Airports as director of facilities for Spokane International and Felts Field airports. His duties include overall coordination of facility management, including construction projects and maintenance. He also oversees employees in the Terminal and Field Maintenance, Consolidated Fuel Facility and Engineering departments. Patterson, who has more than 30 years of experience in the plastics, aluminum, nuclear and electronics industries, most recently was the supplier program manager at Johnson Matthey Electronics in Cheney.

Windermere Real Estate has added Paul Murray to the sales staff at its Spokane-East Sprague office. Murray previously worked for three years at the Janek Co. in Spokane.

Arlin Jordin has joined the Spokane office of the Guardian Life Insurance Co. of New York. Jordin has 30 years of experience in the industry and has been a chartered life underwriter for 15 years.

MOVING UP:

Spokane Airports has promoted Judy Gifford to manager of properties and contracts for Spokane International and Felts Field airports. She is responsible for the overall coordination and administration of property management, leases and contracts. Gifford joined the Airport Business Park in 1986 and was promoted to manager in 1994. During her tenure, the Airport Business Park’s annual operating revenue increased from $600,000 to more than $1 million.

ELECTED:

Chris Wigginton, president of Spokane Chapter 143 of the National Association of Women in Construction, has been elected to a two-year term as the association’s region 9 director. She will represent the district, which includes four states and the province of British Columbia, with a seat on the National Board of Directors.

Terry Fitzpatrick, an electrical engineering instructor and department chair at Spokane Community College, has been elected president of the Washington Education Association’s Eastern Washington Council. The WEA consists of 22 regional councils that serve some 65,000 members statewide.

New officers of the Kootenai Medical Center Auxiliary include: President, Nikki Lockman; and vice president, Doryne Rogstad. Dorothy Wiegele continues to serve as treasurer, Marilyn McCoskey, recording secretary, and Elinor Diltz, corresponding secretary.

KUDOS:

A device manufactured by a Spokane-area company received a silver medal in the safety/security category from an international jury panel at INPEX, a trade show showcasing inventions and new products. The “EZ Track/EZ Tag” made by Knouff & Knouff Inc. of Airway Heights manages and identifies distribution and return of keys and tools. The company began marketing the product this month.

Larry A. Esvelt, a longtime Spokane environmental engineer, has received the Alumni Achievement Award from Washington State University. Esvelt is a 1961 WSU civil engineering graduate. He is a principal of Esvelt Environmental Engineering, which consults for water quality, wastewater treatment, industrial waste management and other reuse and reclamation water issues. Esvelt, who is a registered professional engineer in seven states, was recognized by Spokane and Kootenai counties in 1984 for his engineering work on the Rathdrum-Spokane aquifer. More recent community projects include those for Yelm, Medical Lake and Pullman.

The Inland Northwest Orthopaedic Chapter has been named the “Outstanding Chapter of the Year” by the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses. The local chapter, which formed in March 1998, has offered continuing education opportunities, doubled its membership, provided community service and awarded scholarships to delegates representing the chapter at the association’s annual conference. Current board members are: Past President, LaRaine Froehlich, Deaconess Medical Center; president, Joan Petow, Northwest Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic; president-elect, Michelle Egan, Sacred Heart Medical Center; vice president, Diane Davisson, Deaconess Medical Center; secretary, Patsy Hall, Shriners Hospital for Children; and treasurer, Thea Nerud, Deaconess Medical Center.