Published November 2004

People Watching

CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE
Mike Echelbarger, president of Echelbarger Properties of Lynnwood, has been named the 2004 recipient of the South Snohomish County Chamber of Commerce’s John M. Fluke Sr. Community Service Award, which honors an individual who has made a significant contribution to the community. The award was presented Oct. 20 during ceremonies at the chamber’s annual dinner at the Mill Creek Country Club. Also, the chamber has named four community and business leaders to its board of directors. They are: Jerrilee Mosier, vice president for work-force development and training at Edmonds Community College; Layne Sapp, founder and chief executive of wholesale lender MILA Inc.; attorney Pat McKenzie of the Mill Creek law firm of Marsh, Mundorf, Pratt, Sullivan and McKenzie; and Betsie Mantei of Stargate Technologies Inc.

Jack McRae of Premera Blue Cross is the winner of the Association of Washington Business’ 2004 S. Fred Bruhn Award, one of AWB’s most prestigious honors. McRae, senior vice president of congressional and legislative affairs with Premera, has been active in the AWB, the state’s chamber of commerce, for a number of years. He has been most active as AWB’s 1st District chair, and as chair of AWB’s annual Policy Summit.

ENGINEERING & ENVIRONMENTAL
Engineer Randy Koetje of CDi Engineers of Lynnwood has successfully completed the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design accreditation examination and is now a LEED Accredited Professional. Koetje has been with CDi since 2000, providing project management and mechanical engineering services for projects at such facilities as the University of Washington Seattle campus, Valley Medical Center in Renton and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

FINANCIAL
Diane Colombi has joined the staff of Network Mortgage Services Inc. of Lynnwood as a wholesale account executive. Colombi has been in sales for more than 14 years and has been in the mortgage industry since 2002.

Lynn Eerkes and Joseph Vasen have joined Peoples Bank as vice presidents and will be located in the bank’s new Lynnwood Financial Center, at 19020 33rd Ave. W., Suite 215, which opened in October. Both Eerkes and Vasen, formerly with Washington Mutual, will focus their responsibilities on the lending and depository needs of businesses in Snohomish County.

Debbie Rice has joined Prime Pacific Bank as assistant vice president and commercial loan officer at Prime Pacific Bank’s Lynnwood branch. She has 26 years of banking experience and is a past recipient of lending recognition awards for her SBA lending activities. James O’Neill has been appointed vice president and commercial loan officer at Prime Pacific Bank’s Kenmore Branch. O’Neill has more than 28 years of banking experience in the Puget Sound marketplace.

Carol K. Nelson, president and chief executive officer of Everett-based Cascade Financial Corp., was ranked 21st among U.S. Banker Magazine’s list of “25 Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance” in its second annual ranking, which was published in the magazine’s October issue. Last year, Nelson was named to the “25 Women to Watch” list.

Patty Jacobson has been named manager of Cascade Bank’s downtown Marysville branch. Jacobson has 18 years of banking experience, including positions as branch manager and personal banker. Susan Green has joined Cascade Bank as a business banker. Green, who has nine years of commercial lending and leasing industry experience, will serve Monroe, Duvall, Maltby and Woodinville customers from Cascade’s newest branch in Snohomish. Patrick Novack has been named manager of Cascade Bank’s Evergreen Way branch in Everett. Novack has five years of banking experience, including most recently managing a bank branch in Missoula, Mont.

Coastal Community Bank has promoted Kaye Phinney and Kerry Hester to assistant vice president and Alice Baldwin to funds management officer. Phinney has been a community banking officer with Coastal since it opened nearly eight years ago. Phinney is an Everett native and has been in local banking for 20 years. Hester, an internal auditor and human resources generalist at Coastal since February, was previously manager of the Everett main office of Wells Fargo. Baldwin joined Coastal’s finance department in 2001, and prior to that was a financial controller for the American Red Cross for eight years.

Eric Cumley, an investment representative with Edward Jones, has achieved the designation of Certified Financial Planner after successfully completing extensive coursework and a series of examinations. Individuals with the CFP designation must meet continuing education requirements and uphold the Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibilities established by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. Cumley’s practice is located in south Everett. His column, “Financial Focus,” appears monthly in the Snohomish County Business Journal.

Financial consultant Shelly Mathis of accounting firm Terry W. Greer Inc. PS. has passed the NASD Series 7 General Securities Registered Representative Exam and the NASD Series 66 Registered Investment Adviser Exam, enabling her to provide expanded financial products to the firm’s clients.

Lorie Hulbert has been promoted to vice president and assistant manager of Frontier Bank’s Evergreen Way office in Everett. Hulbert has 28 years of banking experience and is a graduate of the Northwest Intermediate Lending School.

Jim Mathison has joined Frontier Bank as an executive vice president and chief information officer. Mathison, who has more than 30 years of experience in information technology, was formerly with RZ & Associates LLC of Seattle. He also has held information systems and technology positions with U.S. Bank of Washington and Washington Mutual.

Certified public accountants Kurt Lippmann and Tom Sanger have been admitted as partners in the Everett office of Moss Adams LLP. Lippmann, with more than 10 years of public accounting experience, leads the tax practice in the Everett office, and Sanger, with a decade of public accounting experience, is the firm’s chair of the Research Credit Group and is responsible for oversight of all research tax-credit projects throughout the firm.

Rick Shields has been named chief financial officer of both Washington Banking Co. and its bank subsidiary, Whidbey Island Bank, effective Nov. 1. Phyllis Hawkins will continue as a senior vice president and assume the position of controller of Whidbey Island Bank at that time. Shields has more than 20 years of experience in various accounting-related positions with Pacific Northwest-based banks.

GOVERNMENT
Kate Reardon, public information director for the city of Everett, has been named “Woman of the Year 2004” by the Greater Everett Business & Professional Women. She received the honor during the group’s award banquet dinner Oct. 25.

HEALTH CARE
Registered nurse Susan Johnson is the new manager of cardiac services for Providence Everett Medical Center and will be responsible for managing the interventional cardiac recovery unit, the progressive care department and the cardiovascular lab. Before joining Providence, Johnson worked as the nurse manager of the cardiovascular lab and cardiology department at USC University Hospital in Los Angeles.

Aaron Misiuk and Diana Lachman, nurse practitioners, have joined Allergy and Arthritis Specialists in Everett.

Scott Armstrong has been named the next president and chief executive officer of Group Health Cooperative. He will succeed Cheryl Scott, who has led the consumer-governed cooperative since 1997, when she retires at the end of 2004. Armstrong came to Group Health in 1986 to serve as assistant administrator for Group Health’s Central Hospital in Seattle. He has since served in a variety of capacities, including executive vice president and chief operating officer, a position he has held since June 2003.

Physical therapist Dawn Bostic has joined Arlington Physical Therapy, a member of Integrated Rehabilitation Group, as its clinic manager. Bostic has 14 years of experience and has been a part of the IRG team for more than three years as the manager of IRG’s Mill Creek Clinic, Murphy’s Corner Physical Therapy. Brian Tardif, a physical therapist with IRG’s Murphy’s Corner Physical Therapy, has completed his training in becoming a certified strength and conditioning specialist. The new qualification allows Tardif to offer a higher level of expertise and education to his patients and students, and further expands his existing capabilities in sports performance training. Also, physical therapists Christina Lee and Jessica Vitlar have joined IRG’s Murphy’s Corner Physical Therapy. Lee will lead the new Women’s Health Program that will offer specialized therapy for women experiencing urinary incontinence, back pain related to pre- and post-pregnancy, and pelvic pain. Vitlar will be providing traditional patient therapy, with a special focus on pediatric patients, helping them attain their gross motor skills and developmental milestones.

INSURANCE
Everett Allstate Insurance agents Melody Grondahl and LaVonne Rasmussen and Lynnwood agent Hi Sun Ko each recently received an Agency Hands in the Community award for their community volunteer efforts. Each award comes with a $500 grant from the Allstate Foundation that will go to:

• Junior Achievement, with whom Grondahl has volunteered for more than 10 years.
• Habitat for Humanity, with whom Rasmussen has donated time and labor for many years.
• The Seoul National University Alumni Association in USA, with whom Ko volunteers.

LAW
John Rodgers Blackburn of Bothell and Eugene Greenway of Edmonds recently were honored for 50 years of service with the Washington State Bar Association.

MARKETING/SALES
Sharon Grosse has been named director of sales and marketing for the Lynnwood Convention Center.

REAL ESTATE
Windermere Real Estate has added a number of sales associates to its Snohomish County offices, including Dave Blakeslee, Darlene Page, Barbara Burk and Brian Cole to its Mill Creek office and Mark Brewer to its Mukilteo office. Blakeslee previously was a sales associate with Sutton Real Estate in Lynnwood. Page, Burk, Cole and Brewer are new to real estate.

RETAIL/SERVICE
Catherine Kessel, owner and master quilter of American Quilt Works in Marysville, recently attended “Innovations — A Machine Quilting Conference” in Tacoma to increase her quilting and business expertise.

SPORTS
Erin Johns has joined the Everett AquaSox as director of media relations, and Teresa Sarsted is the ball club’s new front-office assistant. Johns, a Washington State University graduate with a degree in public relations and a double minor in sports management and marketing, interned with the team’s front-office staff during the 2004 season. Sarsted began her AquaSox career in 2000 as a gate host and spent the following seasons working various ballpark positions.

WOODWORKING
Kirsten Ingham, president of Pearson Millwork Inc. of Arlington, has been named president of the Architectural Woodwork Institute for 2004-2005. She is the first woman to serve in that post in the association’s 52-year history.

Back to the top/November 2004 Main Menu