Jan 09, 1998

Regence Blue Shield

Regence Blue Shield recently promoted Matt Sikes from controller to vice president of finance and chief financial officer. Sikes formerly worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida. Regence Blue Shield was created in 1997 through the merger of King County Medical Blue Shield and Pierce County Medical.

Fishermen's Memorial Committee

The Seattle Fisherman's Memorial Committee has accepted a $32,000 donation of unclaimed funds received in the settlement of class action lawsuits filed on behalf of area fishermen. The class action lawsuits date back to 1993. Helsell Fetterman, the Seattle law firm that represented the plaintiffs in four of the cases, obtained court orders to have the funds donated.

International Telecom

International Telecom, a Seattle-based discount telecommunications company, has expanded its European network by implementing a high-capacity digital switch in London. The London switch is the first step in International Telecom's move to provide more economical services throughout the region. International Telecom serves 160,000 customers in 225 countries. Primary services include Kallback, a call re-origination service, and Faxaway, an email-to-fax broadcast fax service.

Nth Dimension

Paul Kowalski has joined Nth Dimension Corp., a Bellevue-based online publisher of customer information services, as vice president of finance. Kowalski formerly served as chief financial officer for Orca Medical Systems, a developer of emergency room information systems. Nth Dimension publishes SharpShopper.com.

Children's Hospital

Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle and Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia announced a new partnership designed to increase the availability of pediatric health care services in Southwest Washington. In February, a pediatric specialty services outpatient clinic called Children's Olympia will open on the St. Peter campus. Children's Olympia will be staffed by Children's Hospital physicians and nurses.

Wosca Transportation Services

Margo Morrison has been appointed vice president, sales and marketing, and Patty Killeen has been appointed vice president of the Eastern region for Seattle-based Wosca Transportation Services Inc. Morrison formerly served as Pacific Northwest customer service manager for the Union Pacific Railroad. Killeen will be responsible for all of Wosca's terminals in Jersey City, Charlotte, Memphis and Chicago. Wosca serves over 2,000 small and large shippers.

CB Commercial

Rick Barr has been promoted to vice president in the Seattle office of CB Commercial. He is a 14-year veteran of the firm, with a specialty in retail properties. Barr has leased, sold and helped develop more than 5 million square feet of shopping centers. Also at CB, Zach Vall-Spinoza has been promoted to sales assistant after one year with the company. He is a graduate of the University of Washington with a bachelor's degree in economics.

Genstar

Genstar Land Company Northwest, of Spokane, has hired Kim H. Whitman to manage Eagle Ridge, a master-planned community in southwest Spokane. Whitman previously managed marketing and home sales for a home builder at Woodhaven, a Genstar master-planned community near Portland. He has 20 years of residential real estate experience.

Seattle Mortgage

Cyndi Babbitt has joined the Mercer Island branch of Seattle Mortgage as a loan officer. She will both originate residential mortgages and process loans developed by other Seattle Mortgage employees. She has one year of experience as a loan officer.

Windermere

Windermere Real Estate has added sales staff in three Seattle-area offices. Shane Ristine has joined the Lakeview office after working seven years as an airport planner. Susan Stern is the new hire in the Magnolia office. She previously owned a real estate development and sales company in Reno, Nevada, for eight years. Shahla Tipton has joined Windermere's Woodinville office. Prior to that she worked one year with John L. Scott and four years at Microsoft.

CREW Northwest

On Jan. 14, Commercial Real Estate Women-Northwest will present "Beyond Harbor Steps: What's New at Harbor Properties?" at a luncheon in the Rainier Club, 820 Fourth Ave. in Seattle. The speaker will be Denny Onslow, vice president of development for Harbor Steps, who will discuss partnerships with R.D. Merrill Co. in the Methow Valley Arrowleaf resort, with McCaw Investment Group on the Stevens Pass and Mission Ridge ski areas, and with Seattle Carpenters Local 131 on redevelopment of its union hall. Registration begins at 11:45 a.m. with lunch at noon. The cost is $22.50 for members, $30 for others. For information or reservations, call (206) 441-3966.

North Seattle Community College

Real estate classes are being offered winter quarter at North Seattle Community College. They are Current Trends in Real Estate Analysis, Feb. 28 and March 14; Real Estate Investments, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m., Jan. 6 through Feb. 5.; and Real Estate Fundamentals, offered days, evenings and in a self-paced method. Pre-licensing courses also are available at more convenient times, including day, evening, Saturday, 10-week and shorter programs. For more information or a course schedule, call (206) 528-4533. Registration is open now.