Business Beat

New faces:

WindStar Group has hired Tony Cook as an account executive, providing interface and customer relationship management to the firm’s strategic clients. Cook previously worked for PCN in Spokane and CenturyTel in Cheney.

Brandon Gates has joined Precision Cutting Technologies as a partner. Gates, who was previously with Precision H2O, will be responsible for laser and waterjet cutting sales and services in North America. He has extensive product, production and customer knowledge.

Diane Murray has been named special events coordinator for the Kootenai Medical Center Foundation. She will succeed Kristen Enders in December. Murray most recently worked at Ironwood Drive Physical Therapy. She attended Lewis and Clark State College, Kinman Business University and the University of Idaho and has a degree in accounting.

Chuck Fuller has joined Tomlinson Black North as an agent. Fuller has 11 years of real estate and marketing experience and specializes in residential homes and homes on acreage. He previously worked for Prudential Crane Real Estate.

Moving up:

Anna M. Eckhart has joined Dodson & Raeon Law Offices in Coeur d’Alene as an attorney. She will practice in the area of bankruptcy law, as well as other areas of civil law, including real estate, wills and probates, business and family law. Eckhart earned a bachelor’s degree from Lewis-Clark State College and a law degree from Gonzaga University School of Law. She has worked at Dodson & Raeon since the firm’s inception in 1985, starting as a receptionist. As she pursued her legal studies, she was promoted to legal secretary and legal assistant.

Washington Trust Bank has promoted Kim Kasey to manager of the bank’s Second and Wall branch in Spokane. Kasey previously was the service manager at that branch. She is a retail banking officer and has worked at Washington Trust since 1991.

Kudos:

Coeur d’Alene-based Advanced Input Devices has received its first UL recognition for a product under the Medical Products Electrical Safety Standard UL2601-1. The product is an operator/control panel for medical diagnostic equipment, such as MRI and CT scan devices. Until now, AID products were approved to Information Technology Equipment (ITE) safety standards, which cover computers and peripherals. The medical standard involves a higher degree of scrutiny and special attention to patient safety, which is above and beyond the ITE standard.

Windermere Real Estate’s Colfax-Pullman office and the Windermere Foundation have donated $500 each to the Colfax Fire Department and the Community Action Center. The fire department donation will help support a toy drive, while the contribution to the Community Action Center will be used to provide school supplies, socks and various other necessities for needy families.

Inland Northwest Chapter No. 4 of the American Society of Women Accountants has awarded scholarships to the following people: Suzanne Sutton of Coeur d’Alene, $1,000; and Jamie Schrack of Fruitland and Joe Vessey of Spokane, both $500.

Moving on:

Dr. Robert B. Sims has been appointed medical director of Cytran, a a Kirkland, Wash.-based biotechnology company developing anti-cancer therapies. Sims, who has had a clinical oncology practice for the past 11 years, most recently was medical director of the North Idaho Cancer Center/Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene. Sims received his medical degree from the Oregon Health Sciences University and was an attending physician at the Valley Medical Center in Renton before joining the North Idaho Cancer Center.

Elected:

Susan Villelli has been elected FY2001 chairman of the American Red Cross of Greater Idaho, Panhandle Branch. She earned a degree in communications/public relations at the University of Idaho and subsequently worked at the Coeur d’Alene Press, Spokane Journal of Business and KHQ-TV. Villelli currently is the regional accounts manager for Northwest Cable News, covering a territory that includes Spokane, Boise and the Tri-Cities from her Coeur d’Alene office. Others elected to Executive Committee positions at the Red Cross affiliate include: Brenda McKinnon, first vice chair; Tara Carney, second vice chair; and Sheri Knobloch, secretary.

Certifications:

Dr. Keith Morehouse, a south Spokane chiropractor, has earned a CCEP designation after completing the Certified Chiropractic Extremity Practitioner course. The course gives chiropractors additional skills in assessing and treating strain and sprain injuries, including conditions such as tennis elbow and carpal tunnel.