Feb 21, 2006

Bellevue Chamber

Betty Nokes, president and CEO of the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, was named 2005 Chamber of Commerce Executive of the Year during the Western Association of Chamber Executives' annual management conference in Los Angeles. Nokes was appointed to the board of directors for WACE in 2005.

Laird Norton

Laird Norton Tyee, a Seattle-based wealth management firm, named Lynne Langseth chief operating officer. She will manage daily operations and execute the strategic vision. Langseth joined the firm in 2000 and most recently served as executive director in charge of overseeing technology, operations, reporting, compliance, human resources and marketing. Laird Norton Tyee has more than $3.5 billion in assets under advisement.

Rusty George Design

Rusty George Design has hired two new people. Denette Cowan is an account manager and Dana Kagey is studio manager. The design firm specializes in corporate identification programs, marketing communications and digital solutions.

Feb 17, 2006

Davis Wright Tremaine

The Seattle law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine named nine attorneys from four of its nine offices to partnership. New partners in the Seattle office are Barry L. Davison, intellectual property and life sciences, and Lisa Rediger Hayward, health care.

Labor Ready

Labor Ready named Steve Cooper chief executive officer, effective in May. Cooper, currently president, will succeed Joe Sambataro as CEO as part of a planned succession. Cooper was promoted to president in 2005 after serving as executive vice president and chief financial officer since January 2001. The Tacoma-based firm provides temporary employees for manual labor, light industrial and skilled construction jobs.

Alexis Hotel

Andrew A. Wright has been named general manager for the Alexis Hotel, at 1007 First Ave. The Alexis is managed by San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. He was formerly manager for the Hotel Allegro in Chicago, another Kimpton-managed property, and has 17 years of experience in the industry.

Feb 16, 2006

Sperry Van Ness

Olsen

Irvine, Calif.-based Sperry Van Ness, a national commercial real estate investment brokerage firm, honored one of its Bellevue advisors for his performance in 2005. Norm Olsen won the Achiever Award for securing transactions valued at $17 million. The award was presented during the company's national conference in Laguna Beach, Calif.

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo provided $33.3 million for a fixed-rate, 10-year refinancing of loans secured by Stone Gate Apartments in Lakewood, University Common Apartments in University Place and Canyon Park Apartments in Puyallup. The majority owner of the borrowing entity is Dobler Limited Partnership, managed by Dobler Management Co. of Tacoma. Dobler is Pierce County's largest apartment management firm.

Real Estate Association of Puget Sound

The next monthly seminar hosted by the Real Estate Association of Puget Sound will be on Thursday, Feb. 23, with a panel of law enforcement officials on the topic of "Real Estate Crooks." The panel will include Anna Bosch, King County prosecutor; David Cassidy, Office of the Attorney General; Rebecca Jacobsen, assistant attorney general; and Ned Jursek, Washington Department of Financial Institutions. Guest speaker Bruce Mack will discuss ways to use credit restoration as an alternative to cash with pre-foreclosure clients. The event is from 7 to 10 p.m. in Kane Hall on the University of Washington campus. For reservations see http://www.reapsweb.com. Cost is $15 for non-members. It's free for REAPS members. REAPS provides education and information for real estate investors.

Quadrant

Quadrant Homes introduced several new Internet-based tools intended to simplify homebuying. Homebuyers can electronically sign purchase and sale agreements, allowing sales to be approved faster. Homebuyers also can virtually design homes online. The online signing technology is from Seattle-based DocuSign. Documents are presented for signing on a computer screen or e-mailed to homebuyers for their electronic signature. Roomplanner allows homebuyers to better visualize a new home, even down to placing furniture into rooms.

Wells Fargo

Bronstein

Greg Bronstein has been named senior regional manager for Wells Fargo Private Client Services in Washington. Bronstein will lead 240 PCS team members in Private Banking, Investment Management, Trust, Wealth Management and Brokerage. The brokerage team encompasses both the Wells Fargo Investments and Ragen MacKenzie brands. Bronstein was managing director of Wells Fargo's Cross Business Partnerships.

Brandhammer

Seattle advertising agency Brandhammer has acquired Eastham, Hinton & Simpson, another Northwest advertising, marketing and branding firm. EH&S was founded in Seattle in 1994 by John and Nancy Eastham. Nancy Eastham will become a vice president of Brandhammer. Vivian Egashira, EH&S account manager, Dan Japhet, media director, and Dianne Reischman, accounting and office manager, also will join Brandhammer. Denny Hinton will serve as a consultant.

Evader

Bellevue-based Evader, maker of electric high-performance vehicles, has named Ken Kelley CEO. Kelley has been serving as a consultant to Evader, setting up the engineering and manufacturing systems. He has worked for McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, and had his own company, Kelley Morrow Industries, which designed and made interior components for aircraft.