Apr 18, 2003

Seattle's Convention & Visitors Bureau

Seattle's Convention & Visitors Bureau named Don Welsh sales and marketing manager, and Tim Quigley and Audrey Fan convention sales managers. Welsh was most recently executive vice president for business development at HelmsBriscoe. Quigley worked previously as director of sales for the Denver Convention and Visitors Bureau in its Washington D.C. office. Fan was senior sales manager for the Grand Hyatt in Seattle.

Regence Group

Mark B. Ganz has been named president and chief operating officer at The Regence Group. Ganz will work closely with Mary O. McWilliams, president of Seattle's Regence BlueShield, an affiliate of The Regence Group. Ganz has been part of Regence since its creation in 1995. He most recently served as president of Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon in Portland. Ganz succeeds Jed H. Pitcher who will retire at the end of this year.

Who’s Calling

Robin L. Krueger has joined Who’s Calling as chief financial officer and Ynette Gibbs has joined the Kirkland firm as vice president of products and development. Krueger was chief financial officer for ImageX and served as vice president of finance for Alaska Airlines. Gibbs’ background includes senior management positions with Portland General Electric, FileNET Software, Avaya and the Frank Russell Co. Who's Calling is a provider of customer capture solutions using call measurement and monitoring services.

Puget Sound Blood Center

The Food and Drug Administration appointed Mike Strong, Puget Sound Blood Center executive vice president, to its Blood Products Advisory Committee. The committee is responsible for ensuring the safe and appropriate use of new products, technologies and medical devices in treatment and prevention of blood-based diseases. Strong will serve as a blood services expert on the committee. He established the Northwest Tissue Center at Puget Sound Blood Center and helped implement the nucleic acid test, now being used to screen half the nation's blood supply.

Northwest Prosthetic and Orthotic Clinic

Hanger Orthopedic Group of Bethesda, Md., has acquired Northwest Prosthetic and Orthotic Clinic. Northwest Prosthetic has five facilities in Tacoma, Bremerton, Lakewood, Federal Way and Olympia. Hanger is a national public company specializing in patient-care services for orthotics and prosthetics, with 583 patient-care centers located in 44 states.

Apr 17, 2003

Monorail Technical Advisory Panel

Eight members of the Monorail Technical Advisory Panel were approved by the city council. The panel will review and discuss monorail proposals and be available as individual expert resources to the council and its staff. The panel members are: Linda Amato, transportation planner with The Resource Group Consultants; Judy Andrews, municipal finance attorney with Gottlieb Fisher & Andrews; John Bonow, managing director of Public Financial Management; Robert Collier, construction consultant and civil engineer, former vice-president of Vulcan; Andrew W. Maron, lead municipal attorney with Short Cressman & Burgess and former mayor of Bainbridge Island; Jim Nelson, senior municipal underwriter for the investment-banking firm of Martin Nelson & Co.; Donald L. Russell, civil engineer and Northwest manager for RCT Engineering; and Richard Yarmuth, contractual law and municipal projects attorney with Yarmuth Wilsdon Calfo.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo has created a new construction financing program for Puget Sound-area individuals and developers building custom homes. Keith Dingfield will oversee the initiative and be based in Seattle. Custom home financing is designed for individuals and developers building primary residences, second homes, guest houses, vacation homes and four-plexes valued at a half-million dollars or more.

Turner Construction

Arthur K. Langlie has been named to the President's Advisory Committee on the Arts at the John F. Kenney Center for the Performing Arts. Langlie is manager of business development at Turner Construction. He also serves the boards of the Salvation Army Northwest, City Club of Seattle and is chair of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Gala. Langlie also served on the steering and finance committees for President George W. Bush's campaign and is grandson of former Washington Governor Arthur B. Langlie.

Columbia Bank

Columbia Bank promoted Nigel English from assistant vice president to vice president in its commercial loan department and Kai Neizman from special credits officer to assistant vice president in its special credits department. English has been with the bank for five years and was previously with Bank of America. Neizman has been with Columbia Bank for two years and was previously with First American and Bank of America. Columbia Bank operates 36 branches in Pierce, King, Cowlitz, Kitsap and Thurston counties.

Olympic Panel Products

Olympic Panel Products purchased Simpson Timber Co.’s specialty, overlay plywood business. Olympic will continue to operate Simpson's Shelton plant, which produces specialty plywood panels for industry, including transportation, commercial construction and sign markets. Olympic is owned by Atlas Holdings of Connecticut.