Business beat

New faces

Craig Sayler and Tommie Hayes have been hired by Northwest MedStar as emergency medical technician drivers.

Spokane Pulmonary and Critical Care hired Dr. Joseph Swiggum in the practice of internal medicine. He previously worked as a pulmonary and critical care physician with IPC The Hospitalist Co. in San Antonio. He graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine and completed his residency at Huntington Memorial Hospital.

Jacqui Stewart has been hired as account director for Magner Sanborn. She previously worked for Ascentium and has 10 years of related experience.

Gonzaga University has hired Tracy Ellis-Ward as director of the Unity Multicultural Education Center. She previously held managerial responsibilities for Sports Leadership Ministries and NBC Camps. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri and a master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio University.

Promotions

RJ Merritt has been promoted from local sales manager to director of sales for KREM and KSKN-TV. He has more than 10 years of advertising sales experience.

Kudos

The National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts has presented Bill Thumstedter with its Accredited Valuation Analyst designation. Thumstedter currently works as a business valuation manager for LeMaster Daniels. Bill Main has earned the Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager designation from the Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers. He is a broker and owner of Re/Max of Spokane.

Woodward White Inc. has named Jeff Nave a Best Lawyer in America for its 2010 publication. Nave is a municipal law practice attorney for Foster Pepper. In addition, the publication ranked the law firm’s municipal law practice as No. 1 for the Spokane area and in Washington state overall.

Elected

Jared Serff has been elected to serve as chair of United Way’s 2009-2010 Board of Directors. He currently works as vice president of competitive resources for Itron. Other executive committee members include: Christy Burmeister-Smith of Avista; Bill Gardner of Enterprise Rent-A-Car; Colleen Striegel, retired, The Spokesman-Review; Teri VanNoy, community volunteer; and Diana Wilhite of Safeguard Business Systems.