Business Beat

New faces:

Ron Bower has been named executive vice president and chief credit officer of Inland Northwest Bank. Bower has more than 25 years of diverse commercial lending and loan supervision experience. Most recently, he was credit administrator overseeing $1.2 billion in outstanding and $1.9 billion in loan commitments for a large regional bank.

Habitat for Humanity-Spokane has added the following people to its staff:

Dawn Griffey was named volunteer coordinator. Griffey previously was assistant volunteer coordinator for the Spokane Food Bank through the AmeriCorps program.

Toni Nersesian was hired as development director. She formerly was executive director of the Safe-Senior Assistance Fund of Eastern Washington.

Obie Media Corp., a major out-of-home advertising provider, has hired Wendy Drake as an administrative assistant in the company’s Spokane office.

Moving up:

Jim Abrahamson has been promoted from vice president and commercial loan officer to senior vice president of Inland Northwest Bank. In addition to managing a large commercial loan portfolio for the bank, Abrahamson will also assume oversight of the bank’s factoring department.

Randy Fewel has been named executive officer and chief operating officer of Inland Northwest Bank. Meanwhile, Chris Jurey was named executive vice president and chief financial officer. Both have worked for the bank for several years.

Habitat for Humanity-Spokane has promoted Kristina Solum from volunteer coordinator to the newly created position of family services coordinator.

Starting up:

Habitat for Humanity-Spokane has opened a Builders Surplus Store at 850 E. Trent and named Kathy Brown as manager. The new store accepts donations of building materials for resale at thrift store prices. Proceeds from the operation will provide financial support for Habitat and reduce waste of building materials. The store, which will be open Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., will be staffed by volunteers and future Habitat homeowners. Brown, a graduate of the Air Force Academy, was on active duty for more than five years, then spent eight years with the National Guard. She owned and operated her own business for five years.

Elected:

Harvey A. Meier has been elected to a two-year term on the board of directors of the Institute of Management Consultants. IMC is the professional association for more than 3,000 management consultants in the U.S. Meier, who is a certified management consultant, has been in practice for more than 30 years. He is a past president of the Inland Northwest Society of Consulting Professionals.

The Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery has elected the following board officers for 2000: Chairman, Michelle Riggs, Ethan Allen Home Interiors; vice chairman, Craig Korthase, U.S. Bank Private Financial Services; secretary, Diane Ward, Deaconess Medical Center; treasurer, Denise Garceau, Integrus Architecture; and counsel, Teresa Sherman, Sherman Law Office. New board members include: Stephanie Nobles-Beans, Whitworth College; and Kathleen Magonigle, St. Luke’s Extended Care.

James Hail, co-owner and president of Hagadone Directories Inc., has been re-elected to the board of directors of the Chicago-based Association of Directory Publishers. He will serve a three-year term. Hail founded HDI in 1987. The company currently publishes six directories and serves nearly 40,000 businesses and 775,000 consumers in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

Spokane County Medical Society officers for 2000 include: President, Rodney L. Trytko; president-elect, Deborah J. Harper; vice president, Dr. Ryan F. Holbrook; secretary treasurer, Dr. L. Elizabeth Peterson; secretary treasurer-elect, Dr. Gary H. Matsumoto; and past president and chairman of the executive committee, Dr. Bryan E. Fuhs.

Kudos:

Berge A. Borrevik, an agent for New York Life, has been named Member of the Year by the Spokane Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. The award is presented annually to a member of the group who demonstrates outstanding achievements and personal qualities that reflect honorably on the individual, as well as the insurance industry.

Darin Steblaji has been declared the winner of a $500 Padgett Business Services Foundation Scholarship. Steblaji, a student at University High School, plans to attend the University of Portland. Gary Thunem, owner/operator of the local Padgett office, said Steblaji won the scholarship based on his “outstanding high school record, grade point average and excellent test scores.”