Sep 05, 2003

Meridian Technology Group

Meridian Technology Group, an Oregon-based information technology consulting firm, named Kimberly Hawkins director of business development for the Seattle region. She will be based in the Renton office. Hawkins was interim vice president of sales for Visual Commerce and held positions with BEST Consulting, DataChannel and Siebel Systems. Meridian Technology is based in Lake Oswego, Ore., with branch offices in Renton, San Ramon, Calif., and Tempe, Ariz.

Kibble & Prentice

Mark Vaughn has joined Kibble & Prentice as vice president of operations for its property casualty division. Vaughn will oversee all operational aspects of the firm's commercial and personal insurance business. The firm provides property casualty insurance, employee benefits, retirement plan services, executive benefits and business continuation planning services from offices in Seattle and Bellevue.

WSU Alumni Association

Tim Pavish, managing partner of DDB Worldwide in Seattle has been named head of alumni relations for Washington State University and executive director of the WSU Alumni Association. Pavish is a 1980 graduate of WSU's Edward R. Murrow School of Communication and has been an active alumnus. Pavish will succeed Keith Lincoln, who is retiring.

Saint Martin's College

Belinda Hill was named president of Saint Martin's College's faculty senate for 2003-2004. Don Stout is president-elect. Hill, an associate professor of education, first came to Saint Martin's in 1985 as a graduate student in the education department. She will continue to teach part time as she leads the college's 72-member faculty.

Washington Insurance Services

Woodinville's Washington Insurance Services has been acquired by Program Management Services, a subsidiary of Brown & Brown. Washington Insurance Services provides underwriting and insurance brokerage services to governmental and quasi-governmental bodies, and commercial clients in Washington and other western states. Randy Storm, president of Washington Insurance Services, and his staff will continue to operate at the current location. Brown & Brown is headquartered in Florida.

Light Sciences

Light Sciences appointed Gerald Grinstein to its board of directors. Grinstein currently serves on the board of directors of Delta Air Lines and is a member of the Board of Regents at the University of Washington. Grinstein has served as chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee and as a partner with the Seattle law firm of Preston, Thorgrimson, Ellis & Holman. Light Sciences, located in Snoqualmie, develops light infusion technology to treat cancer and cardiovascular and eye diseases.

Sep 04, 2003

Bascom Group

Brian Wirtz, former vice president of acquisitions for Essex Property Trust and AvalonBay Communities, joined The Bascom Group LLC to form a new apartment redevelopment company, Bascom Northwest Ventures LLC. Wirtz will head San Francisco-based Bascom’s apartment push into the Bay Area, Portland and Seattle from a new office in San Francisco. Bascom plans to acquire $300 million worth of 100-plus-unit apartment complexes that need repositioning in these areas over the next three years. Wirtz met Bascom founders David Kim, Jerry Fink and Derek Chen through the University of Wisconsin’s Real Estate and Urban Land Economics program, which they all attended. After leaving Essex in January 2000, Wirtz founded Redevelopment Associates LLC, which bought and redeveloped apartment communities in California and Oregon. That firm's equity investors included Bay Area office developer William Wilson III, an Equity Office Properties Trust board member. Peter Wilson, formerly of Redevelopment Associates, joined Bascom with Wirtz. Fink said the Bay Area and Northwest apartment markets appear to be bottoming out.

ProLogis

Tom Grossi was named to oversee operations of ProLogis's 1.5 million square feet of Puget Sound-area distribution warehouses. His title is property representative. Grossi came from Pinnacle Realty Management and has 10 years of commercial real estate experience. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Washington State University. Denver-based, publicly traded ProLogis operates more than 1,700 properties in 70 markets in North America, Europe and Asia.

NAIOP topic: housing senior boomers

Bill Morton, president of Second Half Strategies LLC, will discuss housing senior baby boomers and "the three waves of the Avalanche of Aging" at the next NAIOP breakfast meeting. The gathering will be Wednesday, Sept. 17, starting at 7:30 a.m. at the Bellevue Club southeast of downtown Bellevue. The National Association of Industrial and Office Properties says Morton will paint the landscape for tomorrow’s housing future. The three waves of the avalanche are: skyrocketing longevity, plummeting fertility and the aging boomer onslaught. Morton will talk about how developers can determine what aged boomers' needs will be. For information, call Gina Buzzelle at (206) 382-9121 or register online at https://ssl2.adhost.com/melbycameronhull/registration_form_breakfast.htm.

Workshop looks at bad real estate deals

Law Seminars International will tackle what really happens when a real estate deal goes bad as the subject of a seminar scheduled for Sept. 18 at the Renaissance Hotel in Seattle. The event is one of the organization's Real Estate Remedies Workshops for continuing legal education. The workshop will cover rights when a deal sours and methods for surviving a default. Presenting lawyers include Ellen Conedera Dial, John Petrie, Evan Loeffler, Bill McInerny and John Gose. For information, call (206) 621-1938.

Graham Lundberg & Peschel

John A. Hoglund has joined the law firm of Graham Lundberg & Peschel. Hoglund will be of counsel for the firm and work with the firm's managing partner, Kenneth Golden, in the Tacoma and Olympia offices. Hoglund has been a trial attorney for over 30 years. Graham Lundberg & Peschel has offices in Seattle, Tacoma, Port Orchard, Gig Harbor, Lakewood, Olympia and Puyallup.

Parker, Smith & Feek

Mary Stien and Dave Nichols are new shareholders at Parker, Smith & Feek. Stien heads the firm's personal insurance lines department. Nichols provides risk management consulting and strategy. Parker, Smith & Feek is a full-service insurance brokerage firm with offices in Bellevue, Portland and Anchorage.

Election Oversight Committee

The King County Council has completed staffing the Citizen's Election Oversight Committee. Jim Morgan was named to fill the last seat for a citizen representative on the 13-member committee. Morgan is a former journalist and current business consultant. The committee monitors management and operation of the county's Records, Elections and Licensing Services Division.

Washington Restaurant Association

Anthony’s Restaurants and Mama Stortini’s won Restaurant Neighbor Awards from the Washington Restaurant Association. The awards honor restaurant operators who support their communities. Both restaurants will compete as regional winners for the National Restaurant Association's Cornerstone Humanitarian of the Year Award. The Washington Restaurant Association is a business association for the state's restaurant industry.

Radical Software

Seattle's Radical Software opened an office in San Diego. The company provides software engineering services for custom application. Teri Radichel is the founder and CEO. The firms clients include DevSelect, F5Networks, MyGatsby.com, Silicon Valley Bank and Staenberg Venture Partners.