Oct 11, 2000

Berger/ABAM

Berger/ABAM, a civil and structural engineering firm has promoted several employees in its Federal Way office.

Michelle Tragesser was recently promoted to grade IV senior engineer. Since joining the firm five years ago, she has primarily supported the public works department with various bridge facilities projects. Her most recent assignments include engineering services for ground access and seismic improvement projects at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Mithendra "Mickey" Dutt has been promoted to CAD III operator. He has been a member of the company's multidiscipline drafting department for three years. Dutt has over 17 years of manual and computer-aided drafting and design experience, and has worked with various Department of Defense agencies.

Lana Do has been promoted to senior accounting clerk. She has been with the company's accounting department for over two years and has 10 years of accounting and data processing experience.

KPFF Consulting Engineers

Carol Pennie has been named associate at KPFF Consulting Engineers, a structural and civil engineering firm based in Seattle. Pennie, a civil engineer with the firm since 1990, is working on the Pacific Highway park-and-ride in Federal Way, the redevelopment of Northgate Mall, and on-call civil engineering for the Washington State Department of Transportation. She is also providing railroad coordination on the proposed Immunex research and technology center site at Terminal 88. Pennie recently completed the Weller Street Pedestrian Bridge, located in downtown Seattle, which received the 1999 Civic Design Award from the Washington State American Institute of Architects.

Walker and Associates

Walker and Associates, an aerial photography firm in Tukwila, has added two new staff members.

Gary Gao, has 20 years experience in photogrammetry, including seven years in China. He is working on floodplain mapping along the Salmon River.

Tina Finley, graphics editor, has 17 years of photogrammetry experience in Alaska and Washington. She is working on landfill mapping projects in Oregon and Arizona, and mapping in Shenandoah County, Virginia.

Integrus Architecture

Tom Hille has been named a principal of Integrus Architecture, a firm with offices in Seattle and Spokane. The design manager for the Seattle office, Hille is working on the Terrace Park K-8 School for the Edmonds School District, and White River High School for the White River School District. His background encompasses a wide range of project types including institutional, commercial and housing projects, and extensive research regarding educational architecture. Previously, he worked for firms in Boston and Denver. He was an assistant professor at the University of Michigan and a visiting assistant professor at both the Danish Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and The School of Architecture at the Catholic University of Chile.

Symonds Consulting Engineers

Kevin Brown has joined the structural group at Symonds Consulting Engineers, a civil and structural engineering and surveying firm with offices in Seattle and Portland. Brown comes to Symonds from Bill Jenkins Associates in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., where he designed residential structures. Prior to that, he provided bridge design at Harding Lawson Associates in Bellevue. He is currently working on tenant improvements in Key Tower and on retaining walls at Cedar Mountain Bridge.

Virginia Harris has been added to the firm's civil group. With 13 years experience, primarily in the public sector, she is providing civil design on South Spokane Street Viaduct widening.

A graduate of Colorado State University, Katharine Wright has been hired as receptionist and administrative assistant.

Oct 10, 2000

Washington State University

Washington State University is one of six institutions receiving National Science Foundation funds to help improve Internet services to low-income, rural and inner-city Americans. The National Science Foundation is funding a three-year grant of more than $4 million for the Advanced Internet Satellite Extension Project. The project is being coordinated through the American Distance Education Consortium, a distance education consortium based at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Scott Fedale, chair of the information department for the College of Agriculture and Home Economics, and Tony Wright, the department's computer resource coordinator, are heading up WSU's participation.

The Seattle Times

Becky Bisbee has been named business editor at The Seattle Times. Bisbee comes to the Times from Austin, Texas, where she was business editor for The Austin-American Statesman.

ELF

ELF, a Seattle-based company providing a wide range of services for legal professionals, announced the hiring of Donald Evans as its new chief operating officer. Evans is responsible for leading internal operations and contributing to increasing client satisfaction with Serengeti, ELF's online community for the legal industry.

University of Washington

The University of Washington is one of five universities selected to participate in a Federal Emergency Management Agency pilot program designed to help colleges and universities mitigate property loss and economic damage from natural disasters. The University of Washington will match the $100,000 FEMA grant to develop and implement a sustainable, long-term mitigation project.

Horizon Broadcasting Group

Horizon Broadcasting Group, a Bainbridge Island-based operator of small and middle market radio stations, is acquiring five radio stations in southern Idaho from FM Idaho Co. Horizon will immediately begin operating all five stations. Once the acquisition is complete, Horizon will own 11 radio stations in Oregon and Idaho.

Paul G. Allen Foundation

The Paul G. Allen Foundation, one of six foundations created to manage the charitable giving of the Allen family, announced that Peter Berliner has joined the organization as program officer. Berliner was formerly executive director at Children's Alliance in Seattle. He will be responsible for building, monitoring and evaluating grantmaking programs.

Stirrett Johnsen

Sean Sullivan will be joining Stirrett Johnsen next week as a vice president. The 20-year industry veteran will be partnering with Steve Stirrett to run the company's administrative and project management functions. He holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Seattle University and a master's degree in business administration from City University.

Centex Homes

Kevin Hardin has been named division sales manager for Centex Homes. Hardin's new role includes strategic sales planning for Washington state and overseeing a sales staff of 15. His other duties include assisting with marketing communications and product development. Prior to his current position, Hardin was an area sales manager and sales representative for Centex in Illinois. He holds a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Illinois.

S.D. Deacon

S.D. Deacon Corp. of Washington has made several personnel changes due to an increase in projects under construction. Melinda Britt DeWalt has joined as a project manager, Bill Classon was promoted from superintendent to project manager, Jeff Hughes was promoted to project manager, Peter Schroeder has been hired as a project engineer, and Charles Poggemann has been promoted from project engineer to project manager. DeWalt is currently managing the McLeod waterfront project in Kirkland and will also manage Deacon’s Special Projects Division. She has a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Washington. Classon is working on a new Wal-Mart store in Marysville. Hughes holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Virginia. He is currently managing construction of a new Everett Safeway. Schroeder, a recent graduate of the U.W.'s construction management program, ranked in the top 5 percent of his class. He is currently working on two renovations for Target in Everett and Tacoma. Poggemann holds a bachelor's degree in construction management from California Polytechnic State University. His latest projects include Cooper Point Pavilion in Olympia and Redmond Town Square.

Strand Hunt

Strand Hunt Construction has received an "outstanding" commendation from the Army's Contracting Division for its C-17 Corrosion Control Hangar project at McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma. The rating was based on issues such as safety, client service, professionalism, quality, timeliness and budgets.

Fluor Corp.

Fluor Corp., parent company of Richland-based Fluor Federal Services and Fluor Hanford, has been ranked No. 1 in the engineering and construction category of Fortune magazine's annual listing of "The World's Most Admired Companies." The magazine cited Fluor's management, its creative solutions to industry challenges, its quality of products and services, its long-term investment value and overall financial soundness, and its community involvement.