Business Beat

NEW FACES:

Karen O’Connell has been appointed North Idaho territory manager for Sierra Pacific Windows. O’Connell has served on the board of directors for the North Idaho Building Contractors Association and has worked with Habitat for Humanity.

Dave Salois, formerly with Salois and Associates in Post Falls, has joined Quality Steel Buildings Inc. as a project coordinator for its commercial division. His responsibilities include commercial estimating, project planning and assistance with offering full service for turn-key, design-build projects.

Arne Swanson has joined the staff of Heritage Funeral Home and Crematory. Swanson has 20 years of experience in the funeral home industry and has worked as a funeral director and embalmer. He also is a pre-need funeral planning and cemetery property specialist.

Re/Max of Spokane has added the following sales associates to its staff:

Kerri Jeanne Lunstroth is focusing on new construction and residential resale. Lunstroth has 19 years of experience in the real estate field, including stints with Prudential Crane Realty and Better Homes and Gardens Crowley Realty.

Patricia R. Bale holds associate broker and GRI designations. She previously worked for Re/Max West Plains for more than five years and has prior experience as an insurance agent.

Douglas Crafton has been appointed chief executive officer/administrator of the Inland Orthopedic Managed Services Organization. Crafton previously was president and owner of DBC Medical Inc. He has extensive experience in medical sales and marketing with an emphasis on orthopedics.

Dr. Paul Alder has joined North Spokane Chiropractic. Alder received his professional training at Life Chiropractic College West and is board certified by the National Board of Chiropractic examiners.

Murphey Favre Inc. has hired Richard Graham as a registered representative. Graham previously was a district representative for the Aid Association for Lutherans. He will split his time between Washington Mutual’s Sullivan Road Financial Center inside the Fred Meyer store at 15609 E. Sprague and Washington Mutual’s University City Financial Center inside the Rosauer’s store at 10920 E. Sprague.

MOVING UP:

Reg Vollmer has been promoted to quality manager at Output Technology Corp. Vollmer will oversee the company’s quality program and receiving department’s inspection process. He was previously material logistics supervisor at Output Technology.

Sterling Savings Association has promoted Michael Connolly to assistant vice president. Connolly joined Sterling as a financial analyst in 1996 and has more than 19 years of experience in broad-based management, including work as a small business owner and operator, director of administration and accounting and chief financial officer for Special Resource Management Inc. in Butte, Mont., and controller and human resources department manager at the Federal Reserve Bank in Helena.

Richard Hendershot and Robert Syron have been named vice presidents-credit at Farm Credit Services. Hendershot has been with Farm Credit since 1981 and previously served as assistant vice president-credit. Syron joined Farm Credit in 1978 and was named an assistant vice president-credit in 1989.

Jim Niday, a registered respiratory therapist at Kootenai County Medical Center, has been named head of the hospital’s public stop smoking program. Niday has been with KMC since 1988 and has worked as a respiratory technician and therapist in many clinical settings, including the intensive care unit.

Kimberly Peterson, formerly director of research at Jacklin Seed Co., has been promoted to technology coordinator. She joined Jacklin in 1992 and earlier was general manager for a Spokane mechanical contractor.

STARTING UP:

Gregor Klante and David Lageschulte have established Outdoor West Inc., an outdoor advertising company specializing in bulletin-size billboards.

The Co-Brand West Plains Conoco and Airway Heights Burger King at 11980 Sunset Highway, Airway Heights, have opened. Ed and Mike Hatter operate the full-service restaurant. The Conoco features espresso, baked goods, laundry, car wash, Money Tree finance service center, and six gas pumps.

ELECTED:

The Spokane Estate Planning Council has elected the following officers for 1997/1998: Gary Schroeder, LeMaster and Daniels, president; Craig Korthase, U.S. Bank, vice-president; financial planner James Howard, secretary/treasurer; James Bockemuehl, Northwestern Mutual Life, program chairman; and Paul Fitzpatrick, Fitzpatrick and Culbertson, membership chairman.

The Sacred Heart Medical Center Development Fund Board of Trustees officers for 1997 include: Joan Gagliardi, president; Dave Shea, vice president; Ethel Richardson, SP, secretary; and C.F. Legel, treasurer.

New members of the development fund’s Board of Trustees are: Nila Hagood, Dr. Jacob Meighan, Peggy Miller, Steve Storey, and Dr. Romeo Pavlic.

Four new ambassadors have joined the Sacred Heart Medical Center Development Fund as community liaisons for the organization: Scott Brockway, Mark D’Agostino, Scott McGann, and Tiffany Murphy. Officers for 1997 are: Jerry Tombari, chair; Larry Soehren, vice chair; and Jodie Brierly, special events chair.

KUDOS:

The Job Resource Center of Spokane has received the Washington State Governor’s Employer of the Year Award in the small private employer category. The governor’s awards program honors employers who value the skills of persons with disabilities by actively recruiting, hiring and promoting them within their work force.

Cindy Parker, assistant vice president-information systems for Sterling Savings Association, has received the 1997 Founders Award. The award is given to the person who best exemplifies Sterling’s ideals and commitment to excellence. Leadership Awards, reflecting high performance, commitment to Sterling’s values, quality leadership and community service, were given to Dan King, vice president/credit administration; Linda Katzenberger, assistant vice president, consumer loan servicing; Kent Schultz, vice president, business banking team leader East; Katherine Thompson, vice president, business banking team leader West; Shirley Wiltshire, assistant vice president, Hollywood branch manager; and April Caron, assistant vice president, Othello branch manager.

Daniel Mellor of the Glass Depot auto glass distribution center in Spokane was selected as the 1996 salesperson of the year among the 18 depots in the company’s Western region. Mellor was cited for his positive attitude, excellent customer service, initiative and integrity. Inside sales representative Michelle Quai received the employee of the year award for her outstanding work.

EVENTS:

Monday through Friday - The Service Corps of Retired Professionals offers free counseling to potential and existing small-business owners from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each day at the Business Information Center in the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce, 1020 W. Riverside. For appointments, call 353-2820. Counselors also are available Tuesdays at the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, 8817 E. Mission. For appointments there, call 924-4994.

Tuesday - The Small Business Development Center presents a workshop on “How to Buy or Sell a Business” from 6-9 p.m. at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Cost: $35; call 358-7890 for information or to register.

Wednesday - An open forum of Spokane consultants will consider handling “Consulting Dilemmas: Your Toughest Client Problems” at a meeting of the Inland Northwest Society of Consulting Professionals at 7:15 a.m. at the WestCoast Ridpath Hotel. For information, call William Olson at 455-8244.

Wednesday - The Inland Empire Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers presents a forum on “Spokane Regional Infrastructure: Adequate for Today & Tomorrow?” from 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. at the Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute Commons Building, 4000 W. Randolph Road.

Wednesday - Terry Chambers, business development specialist and manager of the Digital Technologies Center at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Training Institute, will speak on “Market Research Methods for the Startup” during a free Technology Business Forum from 4-5 p.m. at SIRTI, 665 N. Riverpoint Blvd. For information, call Mary Jane Hahn at 358-2007.

Wednesday - The American Sales College presents a workshop on the “Cycles of Self Esteem” from 6-8:30 p.m. Cost: $49; for information, call 536-6221.

Wednesday - The Service Corps of Retired Executives presents a workshop on “Cash Flow Strategies” from 8 a.m.-noon at the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce, 1020 W. Riverside. Cost: $35, including materials; for information or to register, call 353-2820.

Wednesday - The Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Inland Northwest presents free money management workshops from 6-7 p.m. in Hayden, Idaho, and Newport, Wash. For locations and registration information, call 327- 3777 or (800) 892-6854 and ask for the Education Department.

Thursday - Bob Batty of Batty Erlandsen & Associates will speak on “Will You Still Need Me When I’m 64?” during a talk sponsored by the Spokane Business and Industry Member Services Committee of the WSCPA and the Spokane Area Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at Gonzaga University’s Schoenberg Center. Cost: $40 for members, $45 for non-members; call Gordon Cudney at 922-7160 for information.

Thursday - Power Tipps, an organization for sharing business leads and networking, meets from 7-8 a.m. on the North Side. For information, call 468-9695 or 891-2353.

Thursday - Miguel Pardo De Zela, commercial counselor U.S.-Brazil, and Mike Liikala, commercial counselor U.S-Argentina, will discuss business opportunities in Argentina and Brazil at a meeting presented by the Spokane Regional International Trade Alliance from 8-10 a.m. at the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce. Cost: free for SRITA members, $10 for non-members; for information, call 459-4123.

Friday - Farm hazards will be discussed during a luncheon session sponsored by the Eastern Washington University Center for Farm Health and Safety at noon at the WestCoast Ridpath Hotel. For information, call C.J. Tyler-Watson at 359-6921.

Friday - The Hispanic Business and Professional Association will meet at 11:30 a.m. at Cavanaugh’s Fourth Avenue.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 12 Photos

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