Business Beat

New faces:

Janet A. Briseno has joined the Coeur d’Alene law office of Glen Walker & Associates as a new member of the firm. She is a graduate of the University of Idaho College of Law, where she was executive editor of the Idaho Law Review. Briseno, who recently moved back to Idaho from Fresno, Calif., will be specializing in family law.

Pam Almeida has been named executive director of Spokane Valley Meals. She succeeds Ruth Fearn, who left to become Benton-Franklin senior nutrition services director. Almeida will oversee all aspects of the organization. She has an extensive background with social service agencies, including 19 years as case manager, treatment coordinator and resource specialist in the mental health field and as an administrator of group homes for people with developmental disabilities. Almeida earned a bachelor’s degree from George Fox College in Newberg, Ore.

Duncan Highsmith of Fort Atkinson, Wis., has been elected to the board of directors of Coldwater Creek Inc.

Highsmith has been the president and chief executive officer of Highsmith Inc. since 1987. His company offers more than 25,000 products through U.S. and international direct-marketing efforts to public and academic organizations, as well as libraries and schools.

Gonzaga University has named the Rev. William M. Watson S.J. as Gonzaga’s first vice president for mission, effective July 1. He will be responsible for developing a retreat and ministry program that makes spiritual development an integral part of the university experience for students and faculty. Watson, who founded the Retreat Programs Office at Georgetown University and served as its director for 12 years, received a bachelor’s degree from Gonzaga in 1979. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1973 and was ordained a priest in 1985.

Moving up:

Action Mortgage Co. has promoted the following employees:

Lynne M. Young was named vice president. Young, who is the senior credit officer and underwriting manager for Action, has more than 20 years of experience in mortgage banking and loan underwriting. She joined Action in 1995 as an underwriter/trainer and was promoted to her current position in 1998. Young earned a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Washington University.

Beth Ziegler was promoted to corporate residential officer. She is coordinator and manager of the Action Loan-by-Phone Department. Ziegler joined the company in 1995 as a loan officer trainee and was promoted to mortgage loan representative in April 1996 and to retail loan production center manager earlier this year. She worked for Washington Trust Bank for nine years before joining Action Mortgage.

Antoinette `Toni’ Mantese was named secondary marketing officer. She joined Action in 1989 and held various positions before moving into secondary marketing. She previously was an appraisal processor for several Spokane real estate appraisers and also worked for Aetna Life and Casualty.

Starting up:

The Academy of Dance plans to open a downtown studio in July at 820 W. Sprague. The school will be under the direction of Janet Wilder, who has been teaching in the Spokane area since 1987. Wilder opened the Academy of Dance in the Spokane Valley in 1994. The 3,500-square-foot downtown facility will be in addition to the Valley facility. The school offers classical ballet, jazz and tap year round, and hosts workshops in Irish step dance, African, musical theater and yoga. Training is offered for ages three through adult professional.

Barbara Little has established TLC Assessments and joined Jennifer Leake of Leake & Associates as an authorized Profiles International dealer for Eastern Washington and North Idaho. TLC Assessments is a full-service testing, training and consulting firm which offers assessment technologies to help companies make hiring decisions, develop effective leaders, build strong teams and address various business challenges. The company will emphasize career planning and job matching. Little has more than 10 years of experience in television and public relations for businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Kudos:

Cort L. Wilcox, an employee of D.A. Davidson & Co.’s Coeur d’Alene office, has been elected to membership in the Nuveen Advisory Council. The council consists of a select group of investment professionals who have demonstrated continuing excellence in the field of financial counseling, particularly in the principles of conservative investing for mature investors.

Events:

Today through Friday - Washington State Grange members holding their 110th annual convention will hear U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton deliver the keynote address via a live video link at 7:30 p.m. Monday at East Valley Middle School, 4920 N. Progress. For information, call (360) 943-9911.

Today through Saturday - The Association of Washington Business presents Business Week ‘99 for high school sophomores, juniors and seniors from throughout Washington at Gonzaga University. For more information, call Jane Hession at 323-3425 or Steve Hyer at (800) 686-6442.

Monday through Friday - The Service Corps of Retired Executives offers free counseling to potential and existing small-business owners from 9 a.m. to 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 - Power Networking meets at 7 a.m. to exchange business leads and other business information. For information on location and topics, call 468-9695 or 467-2081.

Tuesday - The Valley Chapter of Leads Club meets at 12:15 p.m. at the Spokane Valley DoubleTree Hotel, Sullivan at Mission. For more information, call Beth Ann at 921-9581.

Tuesday and June 29 - The Small Business Development Center presents a class on “Beginning Recordkeeping” 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 Service Corps of Retired Executives presents a workshop on “Small Business Money Management” from 8 a.m.-noon on the second floor of the Spokane Regional Business Center, 801 W. Riverside. Cost: $35; for more information or to register, call 353-2820.

Wednesday - The Spokane Chapter of the International Association for Administrative Professionals meets at 5:30 p.m. at Gonzaga University’s Cataldo Hall. Cost for dinner: $13; for information, call 536-8918.

Wednesday - Associated Industries of the Inland Northwest presents an annual update on “Wage and Hour Law.” For more information, call 326-6885.

Wednesday - Leake & Associates and TLC Assessments present a free executive briefing on “Building Teams: Enhancing Performance” from 9-11 a.m. at the Hutton Building, 9 S. Washington. For reservations, call 458-5521 or 443-6122.

Wednesday - The Inland Northwest Chapter of the American Society of Women Accountants presents its annual Mary M. Fraijo Scholarship Golf Scramble at 11 a.m. at Hangman Valley Golf Course. Cost: $50; for more information and to mail fee, write to ASWA Inland Northwest Chapter 4, P.O. Box 2903, Spokane, WA 99220-2903.

Thursday - The Service Corps of Retired Executives offers free business counseling from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce, 324 S. Pioneer Way in Moses Lake. For appointments, call (509) 765-7888.

Thursday - 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.

Thursday - The Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce presents “Business After Hours” from 5:15-7 p.m. at Lon Gibby Productions Inc., 113 E. Magnesium. Cost: $5; for reservations, call 459-4111.

Thursday and July 1 - Learn to make your voice work for you, avoid abusing or misusing your voice and to speak powerfully, effectively and authentically at a workshop on “Making Your Voice a Working Asset” from 9 a.m.-noon at the WSU/EWU University Programs in Communication Disorders Clinic, 601 W. First, sixth floor. For more information, call 358-7580.

Conventions:

Monday through Friday Washington Rural Letter Carriers Association, Cavanaughs Ridpath Hotel.

Thursday through Saturday - Native American Employment Assistance Professionals, DoubleTree Hotel City Center.

Friday through June 29 Association of Washington School Principals, DoubleTree Hotel City Center.