Jan 19, 1996

McCann-Erickson

McCann-Erickson's local broadcast division has made the following staff additions and promotions: Joining the firm are Chris Halas, Kathleen Cross and Michelle Birds. Halas joins McCann as a copywriter. Previously he worked at Sharp Hartwig/CF2GS. Cross comes to the company as a local broadcast buyer. Prior to McCann she worked for Seattle's Art Moore and The Media Team in Los Angeles. After finishing an internship with KCPQ, Birds has been hired as a local broadcast coordinator for McCann. Tonia Slocum, Megan Hill and Robert Mainar have all received promotions at McCann. Slocum has been promoted to local broadcast buyer. She previously served as an assistant buyer, and joined McCann as a local broadcast coordinator in 1993. Hill has been promoted to local broadcast assistant buyer. She joined the company in 1994 as a coordinated. Mainar has been promoted to local broadcast coordinator. He joined McCann as assistant coordinator last year.

Transpac Marinas, Inc.

Daniel J. Jankelson has been appointed vice president, chief operating officer, of Transpac Marinas, Inc. Jankelson had served as the company's operations manager since 1989. Tanspac, Inc. a leading designer and manufacturer of proprietary timber floating dock systems, also announces the relocation of its headquarters offices from Bellevue to Anacortes.

Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a young game company based in Seattle, has hired Richard Fukutaki as its new vice president and general manager for Magic: The Gathering. As general manager, he will oversee all aspects of the Magic product line, including marketing planning, licensing, and new product development and launch. Prior to joining Wizards of the Coast, Fukutaki guided marketing efforts for both Tyco and Mattel Toys. At Tyco, he was vice president of boys marketing, entertainment and licensing. At Mattel he served as senior product manager.

Jan 18, 1996

BEST Consulting

Kirkland-based Best Consulting has opened a Minneapolis branch serving the nation's Upper Midwest Region. The office is the 11th location for the technology consulting firm. Best Consulting provides technical expertise to a diverse client group including Microsoft, AT &T Wireless, Allied Signal and Washington Mutual. Other offices are located in Olympia, Portland, Boise, Las Vegas, Reno, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Sacramento.

Northwest Cable Advertising

Northwest Cable Advertising has established a new office in Bellevue to serve a rapidly growing base of Eastside advertisers. Located at 3626 156th Ave SE, the office will share space with the regional all-sports cable network, Prime Sports. Northwest Cable Advertising provides advertisers access to 14 popular cable networks. The office will be managed by Keri Pickel.

Port of Portland

The Port of Portland will add two new ocean container carriers and will expand its service to Japan through an existing carrier. On January 21, the Taiwan-based Yangming Marine Transport Corporation will enter the Portland market on a weekly-call basis under a space-chartering alliance with "K" Line. Also entering the market will be London-based P & O Container Ltd. The consortium of NYK Line, Neptune Orient Lines Ltd. (NOL) and Hapag-Lloyd AG announced that P & O will join its ranks this spring, allowing all four carriers to share container space on each other's ships. In addition to its vessel sharing agreement, the consortium will add three ports in Japan this spring to its Far East Express service, expanding its transpacific trade coverage area with Portland.

Washington Natural Gas

Kathryn O. Sharp and Nina M. Odell have been appointed as directors of their departments with the Washington Natural Gas Company. Kathryn Sharp has been promoted to director of employee and organizational development in the human resource department. Previously she served as the manager of employee relations. Sharp joined the company in 1990 as a public relations representative and also served as educational services representative and employee communications team leader. Nina Odell has been promoted to director of government and consumer affairs. Her responsibilities include working with local governments throughout the company's five-county area, as well as involvement in developing the company's consumer policies. Odell joined the company in 1985 and had been serving as manager of community and consumer affairs.

Jan 17, 1996

Holland America Line-Westours

Peter T. McHugh has been appointed to the new position of executive vice president for Seattle-based Holland America Line Westours Inc. His background includes more than 20 years of senior management experience in the travel industry. Most recently, he was chief executive officer of Pan American World Airways. He also held other senior marketing and sales positions with that company and has been chief operating officer. Before joining Pan Am, McHugh was with Trans World Airlines, where he held numerous management positions, including president of TWA marketing services.

Financial Security Group

Bellevue-headquartered financial advisory firm Financial Security Group has announced the opening of an additional office in downtown Seattle. The office, in the Plaza 600 Building, will be headed by Jay Bond, a senior partner.

Port of Grays Harbor

The Aberdeen-based Port of Grays Harbor has realigned its current board members and appointed new commissioner Mac McWhoter as secretary. Jack Thompson who has been on the commission for two years, was elected president; and Jack Root of Hoquiam will serve as vice president.

Totem Ocean Trailer Express

Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE) Inc. has added John Gepson and Patrick Kilgore, and promoted Mike Thrasher. Gepson comes to TOTE with 25 years of experience in the transportation industry. He has worked for Sears, Roebuck and Co. for 22 years in a variety of positions, most recently as manager of special projects for Sears Logistics Services. Kilgore has been with Crowley Services since 1983, most recently serving as a senior account executive in the company's petroleum division in Anchorage. Previously, he worked for Crowley's subsidiaries -- Pacific Alaska Fuel Services, Puget Sound Tug and Barge, and Kuskokwim Transportation Company -- in various operating and seagoing marine positions. Kilgore replaces Thrasher, who has been promoted to manager of TOTE's line-haul trucking operation and TOTE's rail service to Fairbanks, Seward and Whittier. In this newly created position, Thrasher will also oversee feeder service operations with Dojer Ltd., a joint-venture vessel service to Cordova. Thrasher has been with TOTE for two years. He previously worked for the Alaska Railroad in Fairbanks, and was manager for K&W Trucking for eight years.

Elgin DDB

Seattle-based communications company Elgin DDB has been awarded a multi-million dollar account by CompuServe/Spry of Seattle, an on-line services and content provider, to manage its advertising and media efforts in 1996. The account, previously handled in-house, was awarded to Elgin DDB after the agency's Emerging Technologies group completed a project with CompuServe/Spry in the later portion of 1995 to promote its "Internet in a Box for Kids" product.