People Watching

YMCA honors outstanding volunteers

EVERETT — YMCA of Snohomish County honored its outstanding policy, program and youth volunteers at a special recognition breakfast May 11 at the Everett Golf & Country Club.

This community event honored the contribution of volunteers who

support the YMCA of Snohomish County.

More than 80 members of the community, board members, friends of the Y and staff members were on hand to celebrate the volunteer accomplishments achieved during 2010 and 2011.

The honorees, as identified by each YMCA of Snohomish County family branch and the board of trustees, represent the best of more than 2,473 volunteers who donated a total of 48,168 hours of assistance with policies, programs and activities. Policy volunteers lead various boards and committees, while program and youth volunteers serve in activities such as youth sports, teen programs, mentoring activities, child care and special events.

“The volunteers celebrated today represent champions in our community of volunteers who support the YMCA of Snohomish County with their time, talents and treasures,” said YMCA President and Chief Executive Scott Washburn.

Earnheart achieves top Zonta service award

EVERETT — Cheryle Earnheart was honored by the Zonta Club of Everett as the recipient of its 2011 Virginia Gullikson Award, which is named for a Zontian and well-known Snohomish County resident who spent her life helping others.

Candidates come from within Snohomish County and are volunteers who have worked to improve the legal, political, economic, educational, health and professional status of local women.

Earnheart is best known for her involvement with Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. She joined the board of General Hospital in 1993 and was a member of the team that helped lead the merger with Providence. As president of the Providence General Children’s Association, she helped raise money for the center, Camp Prov and the medical center’s Level III Newborn Intensive Care Unit. She has been involved with the Festival of Trees for many years and is a former co-chair of the event.

Zonta International is a global organization of executives and professionals working to advance the status of women worldwide. To learn more about the Zonta Club of Everett, go to www.zontaeverett.org, email info@zontaeverett.org or call 425-348-3501.

Swedish/Edmonds chief promoted

SEATTLE — Swedish announced that Mike Carter, the lead administrator of Swedish/Edmonds (formerly Stevens Hospital in Edmonds), has been appointed to serve as chief administrative officer of Swedish’s First Hill campus, which is the largest facility in Swedish’s five-hospital network.

Carter became CEO of Stevens Hospital in 2006 and was responsible for a dramatic turnaround that resulted in significant improvements in clinical quality, financial performance and patient, physician and employee satisfaction.

The chief administrator role at Swedish/Edmonds will be filled on an interim basis by David Jaffe, who retired as CEO of Harborview after 16 years. Jaffe has been engaged with Swedish on a contract basis since last year, supporting Swedish’s efforts to bring more health-care services to Issaquah, Mill Creek and Redmond.

New staffer joins county’s United Way

EVERETT — United Way of Snohomish County welcomes Amy Franklin as its first Youth United coordinator. Prior to United Way, Franklin worked as a high school career counselor and teen mentor.

She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Washington and will complete work on her master’s this summer at Seattle University.

A native of Snohomish County, Franklin lives in Lynnwood.

HomeStreet Bank opens Lynnwood office

LYNNWOOD — HomeStreet Bank’s new home loan center in Lynnwood at 19405 44th Ave. W. is now open for business.

Veteran loan officer Frank Borg, who is new to HomeStreet, will manage the center. Mike Derr has joined HomeStreet as a residential loan officer in the Lynnwood location. Gayle Woodruff, senior markets specialist, also has joined HomeStreet and will work out of the Lynnwood location to offer reverse mortgages to senior homeowners.

Business banking leader for Cascade

EVERETT — Cascade Bank has hired Jim Lonneker as a vice president and Snohomish County business banking team leader.

Lonneker has worked in banking for the past 39 years and has previous experience as a senior vice president in commercial lending. He works out of the bank’s corporate office in Everett.

Outside of work, Lonneker has served as a president of Everett YMCA and as a board member of Everett Community College Foundation. He was president of the Arlington-Smokey Point Chamber of Commerce and served on the City of Arlington Development Committee.

Commercial specialist joins 1st Security Bank

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Robert Bryce has joined 1st Security Bank as vice president of commercial lending, with a focus on lending to small businesses and minority groups.

Bryce has been active in the Snohomish County banking industry for more than 30 years. He has extensive experience in SBA government-guaranteed lending, as well as loans to the Native American community.

EdCC hires new info technology director

LYNNWOOD — Eva Smith of Bothell has been hired as the director of information technology, to manage IT projects and technology innovations at Edmonds Community College. She has worked at EdCC since 2001.

Smith was selected for her extensive experience in IT-related project management. Before joining the college, she worked for more than 10 years in business and information systems as an analyst, systems engineer and manager.

At EdCC, she has been an instructor in the Computer Information Systems Department and helped develop and teach the college’s database information technologies curriculum.

Banner Bank hires loan officer in Bellevue

BELLEVUE — Banner Bank has hired Andrew Nguyen as a real estate loan officer in the Bellevue branch. In this new position, he will originate purchase and refinance mortgages in Snohomish and King counties.

“Andrew is a great addition to our team,” said Banner Bank residential loan production manager Jim Logghe.

Nguyen has more than eight years of home loan experience. He spent the last four years as a home loan consultant for Washington State Employees Credit Union.

Providence Physician Group expands

EVERETT — Providence Physician Group announces the addition of two new service centers and welcomes the affiliation of five recognized and highly skilled vascular surgeons.

Radia vascular surgeons James Cook MD, RVT, FACS; Robert DeFrang, MD; W. Burley McIntyre, MD, FACS; and Mark Papenhausen, MD, FACS, will offer their services through an affiliation agreement with Providence Physician Group and began providing office and hospital vascular surgery services through Providence Physician Group’s support systems in May. Joining them is Ellen Farrokhi, MD, FACS, who currently practices vascular surgery and consultation in the Seattle area.

Providence Physician Group Vein Center in the Mill Creek Town Center, 15224 Main St., Suite 303, will provide consultations and laser treatment for sclerotherapy and endovenous laser ablation.

Providence Physician Group Vascular Surgery in the Norton Medical Building at 3216 Norton Ave., Suite 201, will accommodate exam and consultations rooms for vascular surgeons to meet with patients.

Community Transit names top driver

Al Mehau has helped people get around for most of his adult life. He worked for small airlines for about 20 years, eventually becoming a pilot. As the airline industry consolidated and shrank, that career ended.

In 2002, Mehau joined Community Transit as a coach operator, doing roughly the same thing — getting people safely from place to place. Mehau enjoys his work, and it shows. He was selected as Community Transit’s Coach Operator of the Year.

“I like the freedom. I like being outside and meeting the characters on Highway 99,” he says.

A Mill Creek resident, Mehau has been driving Swift, the state’s first bus rapid transit system, since service began in late 2009. With off-board fare collection, Swift allows him to concentrate on driving.

“It’s a different beast; it’s our highest ridership route and people really like that it comes every 10 minutes,” he said.

Mehau landed at Community Transit in 2002 and has earned a string of commendations, including regular Reliability Awards.

Earning Coach Operator of the Year has encouraged Mehau to continue to work on improving his skills.

“When you get an award like this, you want to do better,” he said. “People are watching you now; you have to be even better now.”

EdCC honors VP of student services

LYNNWOOD — George Smith, Edmonds Community College’s vice president of student services, has received the 2011 Excellence in Education Award from the college’s trustees. The award honors individuals who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to education and the college’s mission.

Smith has been with the college since 1979. As vice president of student services, he leads the college’s efforts in student access, retention and success. He is responsible for student discipline on campus and has been recognized for his commitment to academic freedom, due process and fairness.

On campus, Smith has been noted for his support of student leadership and his ability to guide students in positive directions while advising them of college policies. He attends many events on campus and welcomes the community to college orientations, open houses, graduation ceremonies and athletic events.

Banner Bank hires new director of marketing

WALLA WALLA — Banner Bank has hired Jim Brady as its new senior vice president-director of marketing. Brady will be responsible for all bank marketing functions including all communication, marketing information systems and research, budgeting and strategic planning.

Brady holds an MBA in finance from the University of Washington. He is a frequent conference speaker, including the American Banking Association, e-Finance Resources Conference, United Association of Equipment Lessors, Gartner Group Internet and Electronic Business Conferences. He is also an adjunct faculty member with City University of Seattle MBA program, teaching marketing management, strategic business planning and finance.

From SCBJ staff reports

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