Steve Vradenburg, Assistant Credit Administrator and Assistant Vice President at Cashmere Valley Bank, attended the 2012 National Interagency Community Reinvestment Conference March 25-28 in Seattle. The conference was sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Topics included Community Reinvestment Act compliance, national community development lending and community development in practice.

Senior Wildlife Biologist Suzanne Tomassi of The Watershed Co. of Wenatchee and Kirkland was recently accredited as a “Certified Wildlife Biologist” by the Wildlife Society. Tomassi, who has 20 years of experience in wildlife research and management, habitat assessment and wetland/aquatic area migration, is also a Professional Wetland Scientist.

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) honored four Chelan County traffic safety professionals for their outstanding contributions April 18 at the Lacey Community Center. Trooper Mike Dufour of the Washington State Patrol’s District 6 in Wenatchee was recognized for his contributions in the Impaired Driving category. Officer Steve Evitt of the Wenatchee Police Dept. was recognized for his contributions in the Young Drivers category. Susan Epoch of the Chelan/Douglas County Child Passenger Safety Team was recognized for her contributions in the Unrestrained Occupants category. And Evaline Roy, the Chelan/Douglas County Target Zero Manager, was also recognized for her contributions in the Unrestrained Occupants category.

Karen McKellar, former senior administrator of the Lake Chelan Clinic, has been appointed chair of the board of the Accreditation Association of Ambulatory Health Care Board of Trustees (AAAHC). AAAHC is a national organization that accredits a variety of health care organizations and signifies dedication to quality patient care.

The Historic Downtown Chelan Association (HDCA) recently announced its newly-elected officers for the 2012-2013 Board of Directors. The are: President, Nick Pascoe of Bear Foods; Vice President, Larry Day of Coldwell Banker Lake Chelan Properties; Secretary, Lynda Kennedy of Yogachelan; and Treasurer, Eric Campbell of Campbell’s Resort. In addition to the officers, the HDCA Board of Directors is comprised of Janice Cooney of The Vogue, Ray Dobbs of North Cascades National Bank, Teresa Farrell of Bear Foods, Skip Morehouse, City of Chelan, Robyn Skaar of Willow and Linda Van Lunsen of Chelan Painting & Custom Signs.

Katrina Borth-Skalisky, national marketing director for Agentra LLC Insurance of Wenatchee, has announced the addition of Gary Michaels as sales agent for life insurance and Medicare supplemental insurance. Michaels has eight years of insurance experience and is a veteran of Korea and Germany. Agentra LLC is a veteran-owned company.

Karie Rolen, Designated Broker/Owner of John L. Scott Wenatchee and Carol Kavanaugh, Managing Broker, attended the Washington Realtors Board of Directors Spring Conference April 11-13. Regional roundtable discussions were held on the topics of water, energy codes, shorelines, housing transactions and impact fees. It was noted that housing market activity is increasing in all regions. State-level committee meetings were held by Business Practices, Education and Legislative steering committees.

Allstate Insurance welcomes Darleen Burts to the Jason Ellard Agency in Wenatchee. Burts has been serving the insurance needs of the Wenatchee Valley since 2003. You can contact her at allstateagencies.com/JasonEllard

Margene Barr, Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), of the Gellatly Agency, recently attended a two-day seminar in San Francisco on Cyber Risk Liability. The seminar included topics on security breaches and identity theft, including a review of applicable federal and state statutes, the impacts of cyber crime, as well as loss control solutions and risk financing options for protection of intangible assets. The seminar was sponsored by the National Alliance of Insurance Education & Research.

Dr. Steven Koch, optometrist with Vision Source of Wenatchee and Leavenworth, attended a meeting of the Orthokeratology Academy of America in Phoenix last month. Topic discussed were the prescribing of specialized contact lenses for the treatment of corneal eye diseases and new treatments to slow down the progression of nearsightedness in children.

Danielle R. Marchant, a shareholder at the firm of Johnson, Gaukroger, Smith & Marchant, P.S., in Wenatchee recently attended training regarding medical malpractice sponsored by the National Business Institute.

Dr. Katy Schneider of Countryside Small Animal Veterinary Clinic recently attended the annual Western State Veterinary Conference. The week-long event offered a multitude of courses to advance the education of the small animal veterinarian. Classes included ophthalmology, practice management, progressive methods of pain control in arthritic and cancer patients, as well as emerging treatment options for diabetic animals.

Thom Vetter of ecoPlan and Design in Wenatchee recently returned from two days at Washington State University where he was one of two statewide landscape architects selected to sit on a jury to judge awards for final projects for sophomore, junior and senior landscape architect students. Vetter also conducted the awards ceremony and provided student critiques.

Eric West, marketing and communications coordinator for Link Transit, recently attended “Likes, Tweets and Shares: Managing a Social Organization” at the Evans School of Public Affairs in Seattle. The two-day course covered incorporating common social media tools in organization strategy, identifying and understanding core components of a successful media policy, articulating the opportunities and risks of social media, managing people and projects in an increasingly social environment, building a culture of transparency and leveraging social media for crisis communications.

Dr. William Pratt, a Cashmere doctor of chiropractic, was honored by the Washington State Chiropractic Assn. (WSCA) with the Pioneer Award at the WSCA Spring Conference April 14 at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum. The award recognized Dr. Pratt for his longstanding support of the advancement of chiropractic in Washington State. He serves on the WSCA Board of Directors, is a past president of WSCA, Washington delegate to the Congress of State Chiropractic Associations, co-chair of the Industrial Insurance Chiropractic Advisory Committee and serves on the board of the Washington State Chiropractic Trust.

Michael Thresher of River Street Photography in Cashmere received his Fellow of Photography degree from the Professional Photographers of Washington at their recent awards ceremony in Olympia. The Fellowship degree is awarded after accumulating both merits of service to the photographic industry and print merits from portrait competition. Thresher is the first North Central Washington photographer to qualify for this degree in over 25 years.

Vickie Edwards has joined Holtzinger Fruit Company as a sales manager. She has 32 years of fresh fruit produce experience working with industry leaders such as Del Monte Fresh and Sunkist Growers Inc. Edwards is well respected throughout the fresh fruit industry and is best known for her integrity and high level of customer service. She brings a wealth of fruit sales and marketing knowledge, with a particular love for the apple industry.

Colin Bonett, MS, DVM has joined the staff of Cascade Veterinary Clinic in Wenatchee. Dr. Bonnett holds a masters of science degree in microbiology from Montana State University and is a 2005 graduate of Veterinary Medicine from Washington State University. In addition to enjoying the diverse clinic caseload and client interation of general practice, his professional interests include minimally invasive surgical procedures and dentistry.

Jeff Burton of Cashmere Valley Bank has been promoted to Administrative Retail Operations Asst. He has served in various positions with the bank over the past eight years, including teller, new accounts, Asst. Retail Operations supervisor and Saturday Banking supervisor. Burton is a graduate of Davis High School in Yakima and has lived in Wenatchee since 1998.

Elizabeth Mejia of Cashmere Valley Bank has been promoted to Branch Retail Operations Officer at the Cashmere office. She has held various positions during her nine years with the bank, including teller, Asst. Retail Operations Supervisor and Administration Retail Operations Asst. Mejia is a graduate of Cascade High School in Leavenworth.

Wenatchee attorney Russell J. Speidel served as one of the program faculty for the Annual Senior Lawyers Conference presented by the Washington State Bar Association Senior Lawyers Section May 11 in Seattle. Speidel spoke on the topic of “Estate and Gift Planning in the Current Environment.”

Wenatchee Sons of the American Squadron #10 elected officers for the 2012-2013 term. They are Commander Mark Bash, Adjutant Dennis Combs, 1st V.P. Beau Hubert, 2nd V.P. Harold Lathrop, Sergeant-at-Arms Steve Deshazo, Chaplain Mel Duvaul and Historian Bill Dorn.

André Peters, a licensed Realtor-Broker with Coldwell Banker LaVigne in Wenatchee, was recognized for her outstanding contributions with the North Central Washington Association of Realtors’ “Realtor of the First Quarter 2012” award.

The team at Elements Salon & Spa of Wenatchee attended an in-depth training on Davines Natural Tech product information May 1-2. Natural Tech is a line of intensive, therapeutic treatments that counteract and correct common hair and scalp ailments. In the creation of Natural Tech, Davines remained tru to the concept of sustainable development, using new technologies with proven increased safety for both man and environment. Master Stylist Trish Heinold said, “The team at Elements is excited for the changes to this system and can’t wait to prescribe and use the products on clients that may see benefit.”

Scott Blaesing, CPA, owner of Cascade Wealth Advisors and a Fee-Only Independent Registered Investment Advisor, attended a Dimensional Fund Advisors conference April 19-20 in Santa Monica, Calif.

Beth Bratton, attorney with Woods & Brangwin, PLLC, attended the Young Lawyers American Bar Association Conference in Nashville, Tenn. May 3-5. She is President-Elect for the Washington Young Lawyers Division. Bratton practices criminal defense, personal injury, workers compensation and family law.

Brett Jorgenson, Senior Vice President of Lending at Gesa Credit Union, was recently honored with a Trailblazer Award, Lending Officer of the Year, by the Credit Union Times, a leading nationwide industry publication. The award was presented at a reception held during the recent Credit Union National Association (CUNA) 2012 Government Affairs Conference in Washington D.C. Jorgenson was honored for developing Gesa’s full-service lending department.

AAA Washington has hired Theresa Terry as an insurance agent at its Wenatchee Office located at 221 N. Mission. Terry will specialize in personal-lines insurance including auto, home and life, customizing programs so that clients receive the best value for their dollar. She can be reached at 665-6287.

Mary Anderson of the Wenatchee River Ranger District, has received the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest’s prestigious Mary Orndorf Award. The annual award is the highest honor given to non-fire personnel in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, and recognizes dedication to, and long term support of, the Forest’s Wildfire Suppression Mission. Anderson was nominated for her logistical support during the Tumwater Canyon Fire.