May 15, 1996

ABKJ

Craig Freas has joined Andersen Bjornstad Kane Jacobs (ABKJ), Inc. as vice president in charge if Alaska operations. Freas has bene in charge of design for buildings, marine facilities, sanitary engineering structures and industrial complexes. Ken Andersen joins the firm as senior project manager, responsible for co-managing the Anchorage office and directing marketing. Previously with Tryck Nyman & Hayes, he has been responsible for engineering projects throughout Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and the Pacific Rim. ABKJ has also promoted three staff members. Adam R. Koczarski has been advanced to senior project engineer. With 14 years of structural engineering experience, recent projects include St. Barbara's Church in Black Diamond, Mt Baker Elementary in Mt. Vernon, the Aviation Technology Building in Anchorage, and the Kodiak Credit Union in Kodiak. Alan C. Johnson has also been named senior project engineer. He is currently project engineer for the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac. Other projects include the ARCO Bayview seismic study in Anchorage, the Federal Reserve Bank in Seattle, and the little Mountain Elementary School in Mt. Vernon. Michael A. Bramhall has been promoted to the level of project engineer, with seven years of experience in structural engineering. He has played a role in the design of six office buildings for Microsoft World Headquarters in Redmond and is currently project managers for Microsoft's Augusta Building #28. Gary F. Conner has also been named project engineer. He has been with ABKJ for six years, and his project experience includes the seismic assessment and retrofit design of the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge, the Fountleroy Expressway, the Spokane Viaduct widening, and the stossel Bridge.

Otak

Paul Wilhelm has joined Otak as network administrator, responsible for managing the office's information system. He has over ten years of computer consulting and network management experience in the architecture and engineering industry. Wilhelm was previously employed by W&H Pacific.

Metropolitan King County Council

Twelve community organizations received King County Youth Computing project grants ranging from $17,492 to $50,000. The grants will be used to pay for state-of-the-art, multimedia computers, Internet access and instructors who will teach students office computing skills and video editing as well as help with homework assignments. The centers will be open after school hours and during the summer. All the centers are expected to begin operating by the end of the school year. The computer centers are the result of a joint effort by Councilmembers Pete von Reichbauer and Ron Sims who were looking for ways to help disadvantaged students master computer skills. The grants were awarded to the following: Federal Way Boys and Girls Club, King County Libraries, Kent Youth and Family Services, Center for Human Services, Kirkland/Redmond Boys and Girls Club, Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club, Rainier Community Center Advisory Council, Central Area Motivation Program, Rotary Boys and Girls Club, Seattle Indian Center, Chinese Information Services, and Lambert House/AGLYA.

Metropolitan Travel

Metropolitan Travel, a Seattle-based agency, launched the first interactive travel web site today that allows corporate clients to book real time flights and access travel management reports directly off the Internet. Metropolitan Travel's web site features Metropolitan Information Source (MIS) and Real Time Reservations and Information. MIS is a service that allows customers to access past and present travel itineraries. Customers can pull up records of their flights, hotel reservations, car rentals and frequent flier information, making it easier to reconcile and track past travel expenses. Real Time Reservations allows clients to book flights 24-hours a day without having to know travel jargon such as city and airport codes. A demo of Metropolitan Travel's web site is available at http://www.mettravel.com. To run the demo, insert the company name, "daveco," and the password, "premier."

May 13, 1996

Caffe Appassionato

Cafe Appassionato Specialty Coffee Roasting Co. has announced three appointments. Carl Jeffers is vice president and chief operating officer of the franchise division. He has 14 years of experience in the franchise industry and was the founder and president of Intel Marketing Systems, a franchise consulting firm based in Los Angeles. Said Jeffers: "I am here to help Caffe Appassionato reach its goal of 350 national franchised stores in the next five years, with additional expansion internationally." Stephen McHugh has been named wholesale account manager. Prior to joining Caffe Appassionato, McHugh spent 13 years with Magnolia Hi-Fi in various sales and management positions. John Nelson is the company's new grocery store sales director. Previously Nelson was a sales support representative with Active Voice Corp. Founded in 1991 by president Phil Sancken and executive vice president Tucker McHugh, Seattle-based Caffe Appassionato is a coffee retailer, franchiser and distributor of over 30 different roasts of coffee. The company has five Seattle area coffee stores and three stores in the Boston area. It also provides coffee to full-service restaurants, private clubs, offices and specialty food stores throughout the U.S.

ProVideo Productions

ProVideo Productions has expanded its facilities to include five edit suites, in-house non-linar editing, concept design and graphic development, CD-ROM production and upgraded computer graphics and animation. Founded in 1979, ProVideo produces video programs ranging from one-camera documentation to major training and sales videos and broadcast-level productions. The company recently moved to 80 S. Washington St. in Seattle.

May 10, 1996

Thriftway Stores

Thriftway Stores of Washington has launched a Web site for its 35 independently owned and operated supermarkets in the state. Thriftway's home page is the first major Web-based site developed by a major supermarket group in the Puget Sound region.

May 09, 1996

Firstlight Productions, Inc.

Firstlight Productions, Inc. will display two of its latest educational CD-ROM titles at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Sparky's Spelling with Phonics for ages 3-6 and Word Quest for ages 7-adult will be up and running at the HomePC booth May 16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Released for the Windows platform, both titles will be available in retail stores by the end of May.