Biz Bits: People and businesses in the news

People

Western Washington Medical Group Whitehorse Family Medicine in Arlington has announced the addition of Dr. Karen S. Myren to its practice. Myren will be seeing patients at 875 Wesley St., Suite 250, Arlington. She enjoys caring for patients of all ages and genders and has a special interest in women’s health, especially obstetrics.

Snohomish County PUD Chief Information Officer Benjamin Beberness has been named CIO of the Year for Small Utilities by Energy Central and the Knowledge Summit Program. The award goes to an IT executive who has demonstrated innovative leadership through effective use of technology in support of the strategic initiatives of his or her organization.

Jane Lester and Dr. Perry Soriano were selected by patients for The Everett Clinic’s annual Patient’s Choice Awards. Everett Clinic patients were asked to nominate a provider who made a significant difference in their life. Lester is a pediatrician with 23 years of experience. Soriano is a surgical oncologist with specialty training in cancer surgery.

Housing Hope held its annual volunteer recognition event on Nov. 7 at the Everett Transit Center to name volunteers of the year. This year, six individuals and one company were presented with the Volunteer of the Year award for their outstanding service to the agency. Those recognized included Twyla Bryant, Dianne Easley, Debbie Grimes, Angela Miller and Erik Ronning.

Kudos

Valley General Hospital in Monroe has been recognized by the Washington State Hospital Association with its Safe Care in Action award. To earn the award, hospitals must achieve either a 40 percent reduction in harm, or have placed in the top 10 percentile for six or more key safety measures or for 80 percent of eligible measures.

The Hungry Pelican Collectibles and Delectables shop has won second place in the King 5 Best of Western Washington’s Best New Restaurant category. The shop, located at 113 Ave. C in Snohomish, is owned by Jason and Terra Kelly has been open since Sept. 28, 2012. It offers both shopping and dining.

Good deeds

Sterling Gurney, a local Edward Jones financial adviser, is supporting Snohomish County Toys for Tots by using his office as a drop-off location for this year’s toy drive. Local residents may bring in new, unwrapped toys to the office located at 602 2nd St., Suite C, in Snohomish during regular business hours through Dec. 13.

A fish named Hoover helped raise more than $3,600 to support the Marysville Community Food Bank. The funds came from a fish food vending machine — dubbed the “Hoover Fund” — at The Plant Farm at Smokey Point. The gift is scheduled to be presented Nov. 19.

Western Washington Medical Group’s Family Medicine will be collecting new unwrapped toys for the U.S. Marine Corp’s Toys for Tots campaign at two Everett clinics through Dec. 18. The Silver Lake Medical Center is at 12728 19th Ave. SE in Suite 300. The downtown Everett clinic is at 4301 Hoyt Ave. The clinics are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays only.

McKesson Health Care’s 7th Annual Food Drive on Nov. 2 in Mill Creek collected 2,256 pounds of food for the Volunteers of America Food Bank. This equals over 1,700 meals for families in need. McKesson Health Care thanked volunteers, their families, Thomas Lake Albertsons and the community for help and generous donations.

Boeing has announced four grants totaling $625,000, to support military members, veterans and their families throughout Puget Sound. The grants were awarded to Military and Veterans Action Summit, Tacoma Goodwill’s Operation GoodJobs, RallyPoint/6 and United Way of King County Veteran’s Employment Project.

Through Nov. 30, the OneMain Financial branches at 221 SE Everett Mall Way in Everett and 19230 Alderwood Mall Parkway in Lynnwood will provide and mail holiday cards for those who would like to participate in the American Red Cross’s annual Holiday Mail for Heroes program. The cards are sent to troops, veterans and military families during the holiday season.

Events

The Economic Alliance Snohomish County and Workforce Snohomish holiday open house from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Dec. 18. The event will show off the organizations’ new co-located offices at 808 134th St. SW, Suite 101 and 105, Everett. Light refreshments will be offered. It is free to attend but registration is requested. Registration and more information is at www.economicalliancesc.org.

Global Spectrum is hiring guest services staff for Comcast Arena. There will be a hiring event from noon to 6 p.m. on Tuesday at the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center on the mezzanine level. Enthusiastic and courteous professionals are asked to bring their resume and be prepared for an interview. More information is at www.comcastarenaeverett.com.

Ray Smalling, installation energy manager for Naval Station Everett, will speak about the base’s resource efficiency and waste management at a free program from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday upstairs in the Snohomish County PUD building at 2320 California St., Everett. Brown bag lunches are welcome. More information is at http://snoleaf.org/

The next Just Between Friends consignment event of new and gently-used children’s items is 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 22 and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 23 at Gold Creek Church, 4326 148th St. SE, Mill Creek. Admission is $2 or a canned food donation.

Classes, workshops and webinars

Free Information sessions about four certificate programs offered by Everett Community College’s Corporate &Continuing Education Center — Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, project management, human resources management and high performance management — are scheduled for December. All sessions are at EvCC’s Corporate &Continuing Education Center, 2333 Seaway Blvd. in Everett. Details and registration are at www.everettcc.edu/ccec or by call 425-267-0150.

A free class, “Ready, Set, Start Your Own Business,” will be at the Mukilteo Library from 10:30 a.m. to noon Nov. 23. Learn how to turn your passion into a profitable enterprise. Registration is online at www.sno-isle.org or by phone at 425-493-8202. The Mukilteo Library is located at 4675 Harbour Pointe Blvd.

Announcements

The IRS has reminded federal tax return preparers that they must renew their Preparer Tax Identification Numbers (PTINs) for 2014. All current PTINs expire on Dec. 31. Anyone who, for compensation, prepares or helps prepare any federal return or claim for refund must have a valid PTIN from the IRS. For more information, go to www.irs.gov/for-Tax-Pros.

The Workforce Snohomish Serve Center had its grand opening on Nov. 13. Located at WorkSource Everett at the Everett Station, the Serve Center is designed to meet the needs of the 60,000 veterans, military members, and their families in Snohomish County. It is provided through Workforce Snohomish’s partnership with the City of Everett.

Comcast is celebrating Native American Heritage Month this month with a collection of free movies, TV specials and music produced by and about Native Americans. It is available to digital Xfinity TV customers. All programming will be available on Xfinity On Demand, and select content will also be on Xfinity.com/TV and Xfinity TV Go.