Nov 27, 1995

Oregon Shakespeare Festival

The board of directors of Ashland, Ore.-based the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) has named Libby Appel artistic director. Succeeding Henry Woronicz who resigned in June, Appel is the fourth artistic director in the Festival's 60-year history. Appel has been the artistic director of the Indiana Repertory Theatre, a professional resident theatre which features nine productions each year. Prior to that, Libby spent three years as a free lance director. She has directed more than 50 plays at more than 20 professional theatre companies including the Seattle Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, the Goodman Theatre, the Court Theatre of Chicago, Syracuse Stage, New Mexico Repertory, and the Oregon, Utah, Colorado and Kern Shakespeare Festival. Before becoming a freelance director, Appel served as dean and artistic director of the School of Theatre at the California Institute of the Arts for eight years and as head of the acting program at California State University in Long Beach for five years.

The Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers

Devon Walter, convention services manager for the Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers, has been awarded the Convention Services Manager of the Year Award. The award, sponsored by Successful Meetings magazine and the Association for Convention Operations Management (ACOM), recognizes outstanding customer service in the hotel, convention and tourism industries. A recipient of the 1995 Washington State Chapter of Meeting Professionals International's Supplier of the Year Award, Walter has worked for the Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers for more than 12 years and has been a convention services staff member since 1987.

Hurley, Atkins & Stewart

Hurley, Atkins & Stewart Inc., an independent insurance company with offices in Seattle and Everett, has hired Sandy Rich as manager of its new employee benefits department. Rich is a 20-year veteran of the insurance industry.

PRBIS

The Pacific Rim Business Information Service of Washington (PRBIS), a statewide service offered by the Seattle Public Library in cooperation with other libraries in Washington which provides business people with information on the Asia Pacific region without charge, has gained a new partner, the Washington state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED). CTED's Local Trade Assistance Network program, created in 1994, extends the state's trade resources to rural and timber-pact regions in Washington. Its export-oriented services provide on-site assistance to meet the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. The goal of CTED's alliance with PRBIS is to ensure better access to important information for those interested in or already doing business in Asia-Pacific markets. For more information, call the Pacific Rim Business Information Service at 1-800-348-5669.

Nov 24, 1995

McKnight & Company Inc.

McKnight & Company Inc., a Seattle-based public relations and marketing communications firm, has added Sue Hatch as account supervisor and Anne Foster as senior vice president. Hatch has more than ten years of experience in the food business and has expertise in retail grocery, wholesale, and commodity marketing. Prior to joining the agency, Hatch was director of marketing with the Washington Fryer Commission. Foster was most recently vice president with The Fearey Group public relations firm in Seattle. Before moving to the Northwest, she was publisher of Saint Louis magazine and served in several regional and national marketing positions for the May Department Stores Co. over a 15-year period.

First Choice Health Network

Gary R. Gannaway has been named president and chief executive officer of First Choice Health Network Inc., a network of 64 hospitals and nearly 6,400 health care providers offering health care benefits throughout Washington state and in parts of Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. Gannaway currently serves as president and chief executive officer of Premier HealthCare of Arizona, a statewide health maintenance organization based in Phoenix. He also serves as principal and president of Dauner, Gannaway and Associates, a managed care consulting and management company with offices in both Phoenix and Wichita, Kan. Previously, Gannaway was president of the Arizona Healthcare Alliance of Phoenix. Prior to that, he was vice president for western U.S. managed care operations for Aetna Health Plans. In the early 1980s, he was senior vice president and south central regional manager of Cigna Healthplan Inc. based in Texas.

Seattle's Lighthouse for the Blind

Seattle's Lighthouse for the Blind Inc., employing over 200 people, of which 75 percent are blind, deaf-blind, and blind with multiple disabilities, has been recognized as the "NIB Contractor of the Year" by the Defense Personnel Support Center, a Philadelphia-headquartered facility which buys food, clothing, textiles, medicines and medical supplies for the United States armed forces and its other non-Defense Department customers. The Lighthouse won the award for making canteens custom designed for safe use during chemical warfare using innovative business initiatives adopted by the Defense Department. In addition to making canteens, the Lighthouse makes traffic safety vests, plastic utensils, and sponge mops for the military. They also make aerospace parts, aluminium stepladders, and dry erase easels for sale to many branches of the federal government as well as private companies and retailers. The Seattle Lighthouse is governed by contracts made possible by the Javits-Wagner O'Day Act. An Open house and news conference is scheduled at the Lighthouse For the Blind Inc. on Tuesday, December 5 at 10 a.m. For more information, call Bea Wallace at (206) 322-4200.

Nov 22, 1995

The Reppond Company Inc.

Nora Hoisington has joined Bellevue-based insurance brokerage and consulting firm The Reppond Company as account executive. Hoisington has over 12 years of local experience in employee benefits.

Securicor Wireless Networks

Securicor Wireless Network of Redmond, a provider of real-time network information delivery systems for wireless carriers, has added Greg Kleven to its management team as vice president of worldwide sales. Previously, Kleven created Sequent Computer Systems' Telecommunications American Operation, which consists of major account teams selling to the Regional Bell Operating Companies, independent telephone providers such as GTE and MCI, and emerging cable companies. He also served as Sequent's global account manager to US West, and has held sales positions at NCR and Xerox Corp.

Lynnwood Mortgage Corporation

David Angrove, Debbie Steck and Rosita McCullough have joined the staff at Lynnwood Mortgage Corp. Angrove, hired as senior vice president, currently works in the Mountlake Terrace branch and will be establishing a new LMC branch at Northgate early in 1996. He has been in the mortgage business for over 10 years and previously worked at Phoenix Mortgage in Northgate. Steck has been named vice president/loan officer in the Lynnwood branch. Steck is an 18-year veteran of mortgage banking, and was a top producing loan officer at both Phoenix Mortgage & Investment and Lynnwood CTX Mortgage. And, McCullough has joined the Lynnwood branch as vice president and escrow officer, responsible for the new Lynnwood escrow office at Northgate. She has been in the mortgage business for over nine years and is a member of the Greater Seattle Escrow Association.

The Spear Company

Barbara Spear has announced the formation of The Spear Company, a marketing and copywriting firm. Spear, an eight-year veteran of the wine industry, most recently was director of marketing and public relations for Vintage Northwest Inc., a sales and marketing company representing premium beverages such as Covey Run Vintners, Mount Konocti Winery and Ramlosa Sparkling Mineral Water. She will continue to act as a consultant for Vintage Northwest and its clients. Spear also has worked as a free lance writer specializing in food, wine and hospitality for the past 15 years. With her new company, she will continue her association with the hospitality industry while expanding her reach to include other businesses. The Spear Co. already has completed copywriting and/or marketing projects. for the Sheraton Hotel & Towers, Sasquatch Publishing and Intiman Theatre Co.

EvansGroup

Salt Lake City-headquartered marketing communications firm EvansGroup has announced that it is integrating the operations of its Seattle and Portland office. The integration of the Portland operation with that of the Seattle office, the largest of the agency's nine full-service offices, is the latest in a series of steps taken to strengthen EvansGroup's position in the Northwest. The move follows the acquisition of Hartman Public Relations in the spring, and the recent acquisition of Seattle public relations firm Communication Northwest. Todd Mattson will continue to oversee the Portland office operation. The combined offices have aggregate annual capitalized billings of $121 million.