People Watching

Amanda Simula joined the residential wholesale team as an account manager for Union Bank’s Consumer Lending group. Based in Everett, Simula is responsible for building and managing mortgage broker relationships in the Pacific Northwest and will report to regional sales manager John Fogliani. She has 10 years of industry experience and previously served as a quality assurance manager for wholesale lending at World Savings.

Christoper Louie of IAM/Boeing Joint Programs in Everett has received a gold-level President’s Volunteer Service Award, which is the top award given by President Barack Obama’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. The awards go to volunteers who give more than 500 hours of their time to community service in a year. This is the third year in a row that Louie has been honored by the President’s Council. He previously received bronze-level awards for having given more than 100 hours of community service in 2009 and 2010.

Loan officer Brenda Alfano of Lynnwood has joined Mason-McDuffie Mortgage in Lynnwood. Alfano has been in the mortgage business for 28 years and will be responsible for providing clients with mortgage products. Prior to joining Mason-McDuffie, she was a loan officer with Eagle Home Mortgage. Contact Alfano at balfano@mmcdcorp.com or 425-321-5338.

Arlington High School’s Distributive Education Clubs of America team competed with 3,500 high school students March 8-10 in 44 different events at a DECA conference. The Arlington team was competitive, having students place in several categories. Amanda Hayward and Coty Vandewerfhorst competed in the team event of Sports and Entertainment Marketing, finishing third overall. They will contend for a top-10 spot at the DECA International Career Development Conference in Salt Lake City, April 27 through May 2. The Chapter Awards Project team consisting of Allison Langley, Kaylee Aune and Carley Petersen also qualified for the Salt Lake City conference.

Real estate appraiser Braden Gustafson has received an MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute. He is the 13th appraiser to obtain this designation in Snohomish County. Gustafson has been appraising commercial properties for Gustafson &Associates in Everett for six years.

The Bank of Washington has announced the appointment of Tony Devery as vice president and branch manager. He will manage the day-to-day operations of the bank’s Everett branch at 33 SE Everett Mall Way. Before joining The Bank of Washington, Devery was vice president and assistant manager of the real estate department at Frontier Bank, which is now Union Bank.

Veteran mortgage banking executives Donn Costa and Debbie Steck have joined 1st Security Bank of Washington. Costa most recently held the position of executive vice president of Sterling Savings Bank and is past president of the Washington Mortgage Lenders and a board member of Seattle Mortgage Bankers. He has served on the advisory board of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Steck has more than 25 years of mortgage industry experience. She most recently held the position of senior vice president and operating officer of home lending at Sterling Savings Bank and was the chief operating officer and senior vice president of Golf Savings Bank.

Coastal Community Bank has announced that Russ Keithley joined the firm as vice president and senior relationship manager. Keithley is active in many Snohomish County organizations and has an extensive background in community lending. He graduated from Pacific Coast Banking School with honors and previously worked with InterWest Bank in Marysville and Whidbey Island Bank.

Thor McIlrath, certified financial planner and owner of McIlrath | Eck in Smokey Point, recently received the Five-Star Award in wealth management. This award is presented each year to outstanding service professionals. McIlrath will be recognized in the April issue of Seattle Magazine.

Brian Wyatt, portfolio manager for McIlrath | Eck, has transferred to the financial firm’s Smokey Point office. He has been with the firm for six years and has a degree in accounting.

The Lynnwood Convention Center has hired David Jones as a new sales manager specializing in the corporate market. The former sales manager for Courtyard by Marriott in Lynnwood has more than 28 years of hotel and event experience. He is an ambassador of Economic Alliance Snohomish County, a member of the Puget Sound Business Travel Association and an adviser to Edmonds School District’s Distributive Education Clubs of America and the Future Business Leaders of America.

Tim Gray, owner of Pacific Stone Co. in Everett, has been selected by his peers as the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association Member of the Year and Supplier of the Year. Gray helped to launch Treasure Island Marketplace at the Northwest Flower &Garden Show, has served on the WSNLA board of directors, and is a member of the WSNLA Resource Committee. In previous years, he has been honored with the WSNLA Involvement Award.

Mountain Pacific Bank has announced two promotions to its board of directors. Kirby Duncan was appointed senior vice president of loan administration. Sandra Waldo was promoted to senior vice president of operations. Mountain Pacific Bank is headquartered in Everett and operates branch offices in Everett and Lynnwood.

Paul Davenport has launched Molly Maid of Mill Creek and Woodinville. Before opening a Molly Maid franchise, Davenport worked at Microsoft for 15 years where he was a director-level manager and led a worldwide group of 100 people. Molly Maid offers homeowners a trained team of screened, bonded and insured home cleaning professionals. Molly Maid of Mill Creek and Woodinville will also give back to the community through the Ms. Molly Foundation that supports victims of domestic violence and their families.

The Back Pain Relief Center in Everett has announced that Christopher Keezer, DC, is now certified as a laser therapy technician through the Multi Radiance Laser Institute. He is said to be the first and only chiropractor to be laser certified in Snohomish County.

The Snohomish County Young Lawyers Division, led by past-president Luke Wickham, has been named recipient of the 2011 Outstanding Affiliate Award by the Washington State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. The award was presented on March 2 prior to the Everett Silvertips hockey game.

In honor of International Women’s Day, the Zonta Club of Everett honored six women March 8 for their work in the community. Honorees were Margaret Bruland, Kathy Duffy, Susan Mayer, Pat Lawrence, Carol Dreysse and Kathy Atwood. Each woman received a yellow rose.

United Way of Snohomish County has four new staff members. Ian Nelson will be responsible for coordinating the free tax preparation campaign. Sara Haner is the new communications and events manager. Chris Cote is the new senior manager of government relations. Toni Wishon is United Way of Snohomish County’s new administrative assistant.

Snohomish County Tomorrow, a cooperative forum to oversee the countywide planning policies, selected officers for 2012 during their February Steering Committee meeting. Mill Creek Councilman Terry Ryan and Snohomish County Councilman Brian Sullivan will co-chair. Jon Nehring, mayor of Marysville, and Stephanie Wright, vice chair of the Snohomish County Council, will share vice-chair responsibilities.

Edmonds Center for the Arts has welcomed Marla Miller to the Edmonds Public Facilities District board and David Jaffe and Tom Tomberg to the Edmonds Center for the Arts board. Miller has spent 32 years of her career in public education. Jaffe is the retired CEO of Harborview Medical Center. Tomberg served as Edmonds fire chief for 10 years. Edmonds Center for the Arts is partnered with the Edmonds Public Facilities District.

John McKeon, CEO of McKeon Financial, has earned a top-25 spot on the top producers list with his broker-dealer, Independent Financial Group. The rating was based on the highest levels of production. The majority of McKeon Financial’s new clients come from referrals. The company also offers free monthly seminars at its Marysville office.

Pratt Pest Management Northwest has appointed Jerry Murphy as the new operations manager. The one-time Woodinville resident recently returned to Washington state after a six-year stay in California. He is a longtime veteran of the pest control industry with experience in service, manufacturing and distribution. Murphy is considered an authority on fly control.

Washington Federal has named J. Patrick Doud assistant vice president and business banking loan officer of the Northern Washington region. Most recently, Doud served Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties as a private banking officer for Union Bank. He began his career in banking as a commercial loan officer with Frontier Bank before it was acquired in 2010. Doud also brings his experience as a business owner, having played an instrumental role in the startup of two Everett-area businesses.

The City of Mountlake Terrace has congratulated engineering technician Thad Newport for receiving professional certification in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012 software. He is the third individual in Washington state and one of only 71 nationally with this certification. Newport’s pursuit of this professional certification was by his own initiative and he earned the designation on his own time and at his own expense.

The Housing Consortium of Everett and Snohomish County has hired Mark Smith as the organization’s new executive director. A resident of Snohomish County for more than 30 years, Smith has served on the Lynnwood City Council since 2006, where he has been a strong advocate for protecting affordable housing, especially for families and seniors. He began work at the consortium on March 19.

The Financial Planning Division, an office of MetLife, has announced that John Thompson has joined the organization as agency director. He will manage the firm’s business performance, business practices and sales growth. The Edmonds native is a graduate of Woodway High School and Washington State University.