Business Beat

NEW FACES:

Tim Putnam has joined the staff of Birchell Hall Agency LLC as copy chief. His duties include generating copy and concepts, as well as overseeing all copy within the creative department. Putnam has been a copywriter for Spokane advertising agencies since 1992, including stints at Wendt Advertising, WhiteRunkle Associates and Quinn Lipe Advertising. Earlier, he worked in the film and video production industry. He earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising from Eastern Washington University and a bachelor’s in visual communications from Western Washington University.

Idaho Independent Bank has hired Janet Tweedt as a personal banking officer at its Hayden Lake branch. Tweedt, who has 12 years of banking experience, has held various positions, including personal banker, operations supervisor and branch manager. She also was licensed to sell mutual funds and various annuity products. Tweedt attended the University of Idaho.

Associated Electric & Gas Insurance Services Limited - AEGIS - has chosen Donald G. Stone for its Electric Litigation Service Team. The team assists in advising AEGIS energy clients on litigation issues involving electric utilities. Stone is one of only six attorneys selected nationwide to provide such assistance. Stone has been in practice for more than 26 years and has been lead counsel in more than 100 cases involving electric contacts, gas explosions and fires for a number of utilities.

MOVING UP:

Bank of America has promoted the following employees:

Kurt Walsdorf was named senior vice president and senior client manager for commercial banking in the bank’s eastern division. Walsdorf has been with Bank of America for 16 years.

Mike Sullivan was named senior vice president and credit products manager for commercial banking in the eastern division. He joined Bank of America 26 years ago.

Birchell Hall Agency has promoted Debbie Lenartz to senior media buyer. Lenartz, who previously was assistant media buyer, is responsible for purchasing media, writing media orders, sending traffic instructions, setting media budgets, negotiating rates and developing media campaigns for the firm’s clients. Before joining Birchell Hall in 1998, she spent more than four years working as a media buyer and account executive for Selective Media in Post Falls. Earlier, she was a sales assistant at KHQ-TV for nearly five years. A graduate of Spokane Falls Community College, she studied management and business at Eastern Washington University.

ELECTED:

Lonnie Cargile, president of Cargile Construction Group since 1991, has been elected president of the Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors. Cargile has previous experience as a certified public accountant and also worked at other construction firms before forming his own company. Other officers include: First vice president, Steve Robinson, Acme Materials & Construction; second vice president, Tom Stewart, Frank Gurney Inc.; treasurer, Bob Haney, Max J. Kuney Co. Directors are: Jim Paras, Paras General Contractors Inc.; Max Kuney, Max J. Kuney Co.; Mark Poe, Poe Asphalt Paving Inc.; Tim Sweet, Summit Landscape Construction Inc.; Bill Davis, May-Davis Inc.; Hollis Barnett, Garco Construction; Nick Tommer, Tommer Construction Co.; Ken Schwartz, Lydig Construction Inc.; Jim Cameron, Cameron Contracting Inc.; and Jerry Tombari, Tombari Structural Products Inc. Past presidents serving on the board include: Eric Brown, Brown Contracting & Development; Tom Clark, T.W. Clark Construction LLC; Joe Levernier, LevernierConstruction Inc.; Jerry Cox, Steelman-Duff Inc.; and Dick Richter, George A. Grant Co. David Shea, Shea Construction Inc., is also on the board as a national elected director. Ken Dunham continues to manage the association as executive director.

KUDOS:

State Farm agents Ernie Hobbs, Tom Clark and Linda Sasseen of Wenatchee have been honored by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors with the National Quality Award and the National Multiline Sales Award. The National Quality Award promotes high quality life insurance production, while the National Multiline Sales Award recognizes agents who have demonstrated excellence in multiple lines of insurance.

Todd Claypool, a financial representative with Securities America Inc., has been awarded membership in Allmerica Select’s Inner Circle. The honor recognizes exemplary client service.

Knoles Logging of Priest River, Idaho, has been recognized by Stimson Lumber Co. for achieving the top quality for logs produced from Stimson timberlands in 1999. Knoles posted an average 98.5 percent acceptable rate for more than 22,000 logs delivered to Stimson’s Arden sawmill and Libby plywood mill. That was the highest annual rating ever among the major contractors logging on Stimson timberlands. Knoles has been contract logging and road building for Stimson and its predecessors in the area for more than 19 years.