Business Beat

NEW FACES Katherine Rowden has been hired as a staff engineer at CH2M Hill. She holds a degree in civil engineering from Gonzaga University and previously worked as a transportation engineer for the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Karin Bruhn has been hired by Payne Financial Group as an account executive in the Select Business Division. She previously worked for Unitrin.

Tracy Windhorst has been hired as a manager at the Countrywide Home Loans Liberty Lake office. He previously worked as a manager for Market Street Mortgage.

The Inland Northwest Community Foundation has hired Shelly O’Quinn as a program officer. She previously worked for Habitat for Humanity.

Tim Fennessy has been hired by Dunn & Black. He has practiced law for more than 20 years.

Vivo Publications Group has hired Dezi Nagyfy as circulation director. He was previously circulation director at Inland Publications.

Jessica Granger has been hired by Keller Williams as a real estate agent.

Morgan Phillips-Hass has been hired as a graphic designer at BLUE541 in Coeur d’Alene. She holds an associate’s degree from the Art Institute of Seattle.

Stephen Grimley has been hired as a senior buyer and planner at Telect. He has more than 20 years of experience.

Greg Seibly has been hired by Sterling Savings Bank as a chief production executive. He was previously the president of U.S. Bank California.

Patricia Weil has been hired by Prudential Financial as a sales professional.

Eric Johnson has been hired as a Realtor at Tomlinson Black Valley.

Ashish Kumar has been hired as a transportation planner is USKH Inc.’s Spokane office. Kumar holds a master’s degree in transportation engineering from the University of Toledo.

Barb Haugen has been hired as a global logistics manager at Telect. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from Gonzaga University. She previously worked for KeyTronic.

PROMOTIONS Jennifer Pearson Stapleton has been promoted to director of grants and marketing at Inland Northwest Community Foundation. She was previously the director of marketing and communications/program officer.

Matthew Borders has been promoted to associate manager at Beneficial Financial Group’s Inland Northwest Agency.

Kristine Meyer has been promoted to executive director of the Avista Foundation. She has been with Avista since 2000 and Avista Foundation since 2006. She is a graduate of Gonzaga University and the Gonzaga University School of Law.

Deborah Meekins has been promoted to retail banking director at Sterling Savings Bank. She has more than 30 years experience in retail banking.

KUDOS Ronald Richardson of Coeur d’Alene has been awarded a 2006 Special Achievement Award from Roche. The award is given to the top performing 5 percent of the company’s sales representatives.

Garry Borders, of Beneficial Financial Group’s Inland Northwest Agency, recently received a 2007 First in Class Award from the General Agents and Managers Association International. The award is given every year to managers who have shown distinguished leadership in the life insurance and financial services industry.

Don Barbieri, of WestCoast Entertainment, recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau during the Inland Northwest Tourism Awards ceremony. He founded WestCoast Entertainment and was president and CEO of Goodale and Barbieri from 1978 to 2003.

Dave Christenson, of Circling Raven golf course, has been named one of the 20 “Most Admired Course Operators in the Nation” by Golf Inc. magazine. The standings were based on a national poll. Circling Raven is one of the amenities at the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel and owned by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. Christenson has been Circling Raven’s director of golf since the course opened in 2003.

Sandra Teal, of Spokane Community College, and James Paxton, of Spokane Falls Community College, recently took second place in the Delta Epsilon Chi 2007 Entrepreneurship Challenge. The two qualified for the competition by becoming first place holders in the Washington state competition; Paxton in human resource management and Teal in sales manager meeting.

The Washington State Restaurant Association’s Spokane Chapter recently handed out several awards based on service, food quality, cleanliness and overall appearance. Vin Rouge won Full Service Dining Restaurant of the Year; the Elk Public House won Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year; and Arby’s won Quick Service Restaurant of the Year.

Also recognized were Sysco Food Services of Spokane as Supplier Company of the Year and Tami Kennedy of Bargreen-Ellingson as Supplier Representative of the Year.

ELECTED The Camp Fire USA Inland Northwest Council has elected Katy Bruya of Washington Trust Bank as president of the board of directors. Newly elected board members include Debbie Burkhart, of Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals; Vicky Dalton, Spokane County auditor; Burke Jackowich, of Washington Trust Bank; Jane Ronnfeldt, of Numerica Credit Union; and Heather Watson, of Wells Fargo Bank.

NEW BUSINESS Prudential Financial has opened a new office in Spokane Valley. The office will serve consumer and business clients in Eastern Washington and North Idaho. The office can be reached at (509) 891-7244.