Business Beat

NEW FACES Ernie Erickson has been hired as a real estate agent at Century 21 Beutler and Associates’ Coeur d’Alene office.

Hennessey Funeral Homes has hired Mike Sanborn as a funeral director at the company’s Spokane Valley location.

Pam Lund has been hired as chief executive officer for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and North Idaho. She previously was associate director of the Workforce Training Education and Coordinating Board in Olympia.

Mary Christen has been hired as a real estate agent at Keller Williams Realty in Coeur d’Alene.

Becky Blair has been hired to the sales team at Vivo Publications Group. She previously was an account executive at Fox 28.

Ty Windhorst has been hired to the sales team at Countrywide Home Loans in Liberty Lake. He previously worked for Market Street Mortgage.

Greg Wilson has been hired as an associate civil engineer in CH2M Hill’s Water Business Group. He has more than 18 years of experience in infrastructure design and construction engineering. He holds a degree in agricultural engineering from Washington State University.

Kim Silva has been hired as a sales associate at Tomlinson Black Valley.

Telect has hired Greg McFadden as a mechanical engineer. He previously worked for Isothermal Systems Research.

Amy Ballard has been hired as a CAD technician at USKH Inc.’s Spokane office. She previously worked for Taylor Engineering.

PROMOTIONS Linda Seghetti-Moholt has been promoted to vice president at Sterling Savings Bank. She has been with the company since 2002.

Robert Harris has been promoted to executive vice president and director of Idaho and Washington commercial banking at AmericanWest Bank. He has more than 22 years of experience.

Chris Gill has been promoted to chief information officer and head of Information Technology Services at Gonzaga University. He has been with the university for 17 years.

KUDOS Robert Thompson has been named the 2006 production leader at Beneficial Financial Group’s Inland Northwest Agency. He is the associate manager of the Inland Northwest Agency in Spokane. He has been with the company for 17 years.

Dr. Anne Montgomery recently received the MaryAnn O’Hara M.D. Commitment to Health Award. The award is given to health professionals who support and advocate breastfeeding. She is a staff physician at Sacred Heart Medical Center and Deaconess Medical Center and is a faculty physician and the OB fellowship director at Family Medicine Spokane.

Brian Nate and Brian McNaughton, owners of McNaughton and Nate Insurance Group, have been named charter members of the National Society of Agents for Consumer Education for their insurance education efforts.

Peggy Bryan, business manager of the Whitman County Library, was recently given the Washington Library Association Merit Award for Outstanding Performance in a Special Area. The award was given in recognition for her work on a marketing grant for the library’s virtual reference service. She has worked for the library for more than 12 years.

The Spokane company Kauffman and Associates Inc. was recently named America’s 30th fastest growing inner-city business by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City and Inc. Magazine. The company was founded by Jo Ann Kauffman in 1990.

Eastern Washington University recently received four awards from the Spokane Regional Marketing Communications Association. Excellence awards were won in the community relations division for the Eastern Edge luncheon services, in the communication process/research division for the EWU image survey and in the student entry division for the EWU image survey promotion. The university also won a merit award in the marketing communications division for the EWU image ad campaign.

Contractor Kelly Moore has received the Sustainable Building Award from the city of Moscow in recognition of his building projects that use environmentally friendly materials.

ELECTED The Arc of Spokane recently elected several new members to its board of directors. Newly elected officers include president Sally Stultz of Avista, vice president Clayton Wright of Spokane Falls Community College and treasurer/secretary Lynn Holmes of Community Colleges of Spokane. Newly elected board members include Patricia Chantrill, Sidney Bennett, Amy Lindh, William Olson, Jodi Ward, Molly Toohey, Stacey Johnson, Larry Maddux, Katherine Titus and Patricia Weil.

The Avista Corp. board of directors recently elected officers to two new positions. Ann Wilson was elected vice president and treasurer and Christy Burmeister-Smith was elected vice president and controller.

GIFTS The Bank of America Charitable Foundation recently gave a grant for $5,000 to the Idaho Youth Ranch. The grant will support the Alex Morris Memorial Lending Library for Foster and Adoptive Parents.