Published November 2000

People Watching

Lombardi’s Cucina owner
wins entrepreneur award
Diane Symms, owner of Lombardi’s Cucina restaurants — including one in Everett — won the Nellie Cashman Award last month. It was presented during a banquet Oct. 4 at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle.

Symms was one of five finalists up for the award, which recognizes a female entrepreneur in the Puget Sound region.

The other finalists were Fran Bigelow of Fran’s Chocolates, Tanya Fraioli of Reprographics Northwest Inc., Karen Mask of KJM & Associates and Janet Tupper of Seattle-based Fiddlehead Inc.

“I was totally shocked,” Symms said of winning the award, which is presented annually by Women Business Owners.

“I was very honored to be included in this group of women,” Symms said, noting that the competition included owners of substantial businesses, some of which have earned national recognition.

The finalists were evaluated on entrepreneurial spirit, integrity and community spirit, financial and management skills, and overcoming the difficulties and risks inherent in the candidate’s industry.

That risk factor may have given her an edge, Symms said.

“My business was very successful in a very risky, male-oriented business,” she said about her Italian restaurants in Ballard, Issaquah and Everett.

Now, the Mukilteo resident has another award to add to a growing collection of business honors, including being named Ballard Chamber of Commerce’s Retailer of the Year in 1989 and Washington State Restaurateur of the Year in 1998.

But Symms still has trouble believing she was chosen for the Nellie Cashman Award.

“This one was extremely special,” she said.

North County Bank hires new CEO
North County Bank has hired Jack Myles to replace the late Donald Laufenberg as President and Chief Executive Officer, the bank recently announced.

“We wanted someone who had a background in small community banking, and that’s a big part of his background,” said James Burkett, North County’s board chairman.

Myles, who joined Viking Community Bank in Ballard earlier this year as its Chief Credit Officer, said he “really didn’t anticipate getting a call to be a CEO. It was an opportunity I couldn’t say no to.”

Myles has been a banker and bank regulator for 27 years, since graduating from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. After a five-year stint with the federal Office of the Comptroller of Currency, he joined Fremont First National Bank in Seattle in 1994 as a senior loan officer, and was senior credit officer and acting president there before moving to Viking.

Myles succeeds Laufenberg, who died at his home Aug. 28. Laufenberg had helped launch the Arlington-based bank last year.

More People Watching
Rich Hallman of Lake Stevens has joined the staff of HomeStar Lending (formerly Qpoint Lakeside) as senior loan officer. Hallman, a 10-year veteran of the mortgage industry, comes to HomeStar from Washington Mutual, where he was a senior loan consultant. He will be responsible for originating loans for the company in Snohomish County. “I was looking for a company that had access to more loan programs, and HomeStar fit the bill,” Hallman said, “and with the automated underwriting systems and technology in place, I’ll be able to continue to provide top-level service to my customers and to my Realtors.”

The Everett Parks Foundation has hired Karri Matau as a project manager to support the Wiggums Hollow Park renewal project in north Everett. Matau has worked in public education for the past six years, the past four as the coordinator of communications and partnerships for Everett Public Schools. She serves on the board of directors for Snohomish County Communities in Schools and Pied Piper Entertainment.

Kiya Tafoya of Stanwood recently was honored as a 2000 national sales winner at the annual Longaberger Co. convention in Columbus, Ohio.

Gov. Gary Locke has appointed Sanford Kinzer, a civil litigation and trial attorney in Everett, to the Board of Trustees of Everett Community College. Kinzer’s term will end Sept. 30, 2005. He replaces Steve Parker, whose term with the Board of Trustees ended Sept. 30. Kinzer has long been involved in the local community as Director of the Everett YMCA, Director of the Snohomish County United Way, and Director and volunteer legal counsel for the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce, among others. He serves as a volunteer attorney for Snohomish County Legal Services.

Everett Community College President Charlie Earl has appointed Francis A. Hagen as Interim Vice President for Information Technology. Hagen replaces Sarah Marlowe, Vice President for Information Resources, who resigned Aug. 28. Hagen has been consulting in information-technology applications, networks and development projects for the past six years after having served as the Chief Information Officer for the Snohomish County PUD. Hagen came to the PUD from the banking industry, where he served as Chief Information Officer for the Accel Exchange Cash Machine Network.

Nancy J. Somers, Marketing Director for Lozier Homes, has been admitted to the Institute of Residential Marketing of the National Association of Home Builders, which recognizes and promotes professionalism, education and ethics in the new-construction sales and marketing field.

Reid Middleton Inc. has hired Carla Goroski as its project administration manager. In her new position, Goroski will be responsible for supervising project administrators and contract review, mentoring project managers, lending assistance in project management and handling the contractual and financial administration of projects for the company, which provides civil and structural engineering, planning and surveying services.

Margaret Musoke has been appointed manager of three Wells Fargo branches in the Lynnwood area. Musoke, also a vice president of the company, will manage the Wells Fargo sites at 3405 188th St. SW, 1232 164th St. SW and 4325 198th St. SW.

Raymond Lou, formerly the visiting vice president for university affairs at California State University-Long Beach, has been named vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Washington-Bothell. As vice chancellor, Lou will be the chief academic officer and will be responsible for academic planning, the development of academic policies and procedures, and ensuring proper administration of existing policies. He also will be the senior administrative liaison between faculty and the administration, reporting directly to Chancellor Warren Buck.

Michael Lapierre has joined the engineering department of HCI Steel Building Systems Inc. in Arlington, which designs and makes pre-engineered buildings.

Dave Roberts is the new director of ticket services for the Everett AquaSox baseball team. Roberts will be the contact for season-ticket holders and will operate the ballclub’s ticket system. He previously had interned with the club and worked on game days.

Rick Bond has joined Century 21 The Property Shop Inc. on Camano Island as a sales representative.

Jean Tank, associate broker at Everett’s ERA Metropolitan Realty, has been named Realtor of the Year by the state Association of Realtors.

Capt. Suzanna Darcy, a test pilot for the Boeing 777 assembled in Everett, recently received the Outstanding Leadership Award from the Women in Aerospace organization in Washington, D.C. Darcy, of Kirkland, was the first woman to join Boeing’s elite design and testing group.

Drusilla Meyer has joined Volunteers of America Western Washington’s Dispute Resolution Center as a community-relations coordinator. Meyer will be DRC’s liaison to communities, agencies, courts, businesses and area residents. She also will coordinate marketing and schedule presentations about mediation.

Mary Smith recently received the United Way Alexis de Tocqueville Award in recognition of her commitment to community service. Since moving to Everett in 1955, Smith has served the community alongside her husband, the late Bob Smith. She was President of the March of Dimes Everett chapter, served on the Civil Service Commission for the city of Everett, volunteered for the Civic Music Association and as a tutor at Everett Community College for Southeast Asian and Eastern European immigrants. Today, she is involved with the Everett Cosmopolitan Theater, the Assistance League and is the Everett Opera Guild secretary. “I get a lot of satisfaction knowing I am contributing. Everett has a lot of worthy, successful programs,” Smith said.

Ted Hiemstra, formerly with the Mukilteo School District, has joined The Richards Agency of MassMutual Financial Group in Seattle as a sales associate.

Garrik Foulk, Tony Olsen, Angie Walker and Steve Hartman have assumed new general manager positions with P.J. Sound Pizza LLC, an Everett-based franchise of Papa John’s International. Foulk is at the Everett outlet; Olsen is at Puget Park; Walker is at Harbour Pointe; and Hartman has been transferred to a newly opened Lynnwood location.

Geoffrey Nester and Mary Thompson have joined Phoenix Savings in Lynnwood, Nester as senior loan consultant and Thompson as loan consultant.

Craig Saddler and Paul Kinscherff have been named to new positions within the Boeing Co.’s treasury organization. Saddler has been appointed vice president-financial planning and analysis. Kinscherff will replace him as vice president-investor relations.

Compass Health, a community-based provider of behavioral health service, recently dedicated the former Bethany Building at 3322 Broadway in Everett in honor of Cliff Bailey, a former state senator from Snohomish and the outgoing chairman of the Compass Health Board of Directors.

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