Business Beat

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Finance

• Randi Kooyman has been promoted to branch manager of Banner Bank in Cheney. She previously served as a personal banker for the Third and Stevens branch in Spokane and has been with the company since 2005.

• Phil Bruni has been hired by HomeStreet Bank as a loan officer at the Rock Pointe Corporate Center. He teaches First Time Homebuyer classes, sponsored by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, and has extensive mortgage industry experience.

• Northwestern Mutual presented Mark Lupton, John Packard Jr. and Bret Wheeler with membership into the company’s 2011 Forum group. Lupton, Packard and Wheeler serve as financial representatives for The Hubbell Financial Group in Spokane.

Healthcare

• InCyte Pathology has hired Lou Graham and Shannon Marti as pre-billing specialists for the company’s Spokane Valley lab location.

• Everett Lally has been hired as a cytology prep aid for InCyte Pathology’s Spokane Valley lab. Lally holds a bachelor’s degree in genetics and cell biology from Washington State University.

• Laura Lawton-Forsyth has been elected chair of the Board of Printing Industries of America for 2011-12. Lawton-Forsyth is president of Lawton Printing Inc. and File-Ez Folder Inc.

• Windermere North Spokane LLC has hired John Markley as a broker for the company’s North Spokane office. He previously owned a RE/MAX office in Orcas Island, Wash., and has 27 years of real estate experience.

• Ryan Douglas has been hired as a broker for Coldwell Banker Tomlinson North. He has been working in the finance industry in Boise since 2003.

• Keller Williams Realty has hired David Melville and Mike Apele as agents.

Utilities

• Don Crawford has been hired as an energy services program administrator for Kootenai Electric Cooperative. He previously was self-employed as a residential general contractor and energy consultant. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Idaho and energy audit certification from the Building Performance Institute.

Education

• Jeff Halstead’s book, “Navigating the New Pedagogy: Six Principles that Transform Teaching,” has been published internationally by Rowman and Littlefield Education. Halstead is an English/language arts instructor for Spokane Public Schools.

• The Association of Fire Ecology presented Stephen Bunting with its Harold Biswell Award during the Great Basin Fire Ecology Conference, held this past November in Snowbird, Utah. Bunting is a professor of fire and rangeland ecology and management for the University of Idaho’s College of Natural Resources and has been with the university for 33 years.

Communications

• Joelle Magner has been rehired as a senior account executive for KAYU FOX 28. She previously managed her own advertising agency, Medio Advertising Inc., and worked as a sales executive for FOX 28 from 1995-2004. She holds a degree from Washington State University.

Miscellaneous

• Tim Trudnowski has been named vice chairman of the Automotive Warehouse Distributors Association. He is president of Automotive Jobbers Supply in Spokane.

Nonprofit

• Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and North Idaho has hired Susan Nielsen as vice president of communications. She has extensive communications and public relations experience and is accredited in public relations through the Public Relations Society of America. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from Washington State University and a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Eastern Washington University.

Government

• Sandy Crusch of Spokane received a Secretary’s Honor Award from the U. S. Department of Agriculture for aiding in the development of the USDA’s nationwide Business Management Leaders Program. Crusch serves as the state budget officer for the USDA Natural Resources Conversation Service.

• The Coeur d’Alene Tribe has named Heather Keen public relations director. She previously worked for the Human Rights Education Institute, the University of Idaho’s College of Business and for Gallatin Public Affairs. She holds a bachelor’s from Colorado State University and a master’s degree in business from the University of Idaho.