Volume 31 • Issue 09 • September 2006

Back to content page


Lyter selected for Admiralty Head project
Barbara Lyter, owner of Lyter Photography/Design in Oak Harbor, was selected to do a total redesign of the interpretative displays at the Admiralty Head Lighthouse located in Fort Casey State Park.
Working with Gloria Wahlin of the Admiralty Head Lighthouse and the Washington State Department of Parks, the goal is to make the lighthouse exhibits interactive. Historic research is being conducted by the Keepers of the Lighthouse and will include newly designed signage, restored photos and new photography.
Lyter is both a photographer and graphic designer and brings the knowledge of 15 years working in publications and exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to the project.

Oak Harbor writer publishes eighth book
Alesa Lightbourne, Ph.D., has joined with her Latino business partner, Rafael Colon, in writing an inspirational parable with a Hispanic twist, “The SALSA Solution.”
The story follows two buddies, Juan and Al, who have burned out in dead-end jobs. Their marriages aren’t doing too hot either. To put the “picante” back in their lives, they revive a boyhood dream – starting a Mexican restaurant.
Lightbourne is co-author of eight books ranging from inspiration to corporate history. Her work has appeared in hundreds of magazines and newspapers. She is named in “Who’s Who of American Women,” and teaches writing and communications at Chapman University College and Columbia College. She and her husband live in Oak Harbor.
The two writers previously collaborated on “Journey to Success,” which won Best Latino Business Book of the year in 2000.

Physical therapist accepts faculty position
Physical therapist Elizabeth Hampton, BCIA-PMDB, of Bellingham’s Core Therapeutics PT, has accepted a faculty position at the Herman and Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute in Seattle.
The institute offers a series of five continuing education courses in Pelvic Floor Dysfunction for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants across the country.
Hampton earned a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy in 1987 from Marquette University and a post-baccalaureate certificate in women’s health physical therapy in 2002.
She has been practicing in Whatcom County since 1996 and is owner of Core Therapeutics Physical Therapy and Pilates Studio in Fairhaven. Hampton is a trained childbirth educator and doula as well as a published author.

Aipperspach named Associate of the Year
Jennifer Aipperspach of Artistic Glass by SGO in Anacortes was chosen as the 2005 Skagit Island County Builders Association (SICBA) Associate of the Year.

Bankers, lenders join Business Bank
Five bankers and lenders have left their former positions with competing banks to join the Bellingham branch of Business Bank of Whatcom County.
Kirby Duncan is the vice president, commercial loan officer and manager of the Bellingham Branch. He is a 16-year banking veteran, having worked as a commercial loan officer and manager in the Seattle area and in Whatcom County. Duncan recently headed the commercial real estate loan department for Whidbey Island Bank. The Whatcom County native serves on the Bellingham/Whatcom EDC board and as treasurer of WWU Alumni Association. He lives in Ferndale with his wife and daughter.
Pennie Whitish is the assistant vice president/real estate loan officer and has more than 14 years of experience as a real estate loan officer. The Outstanding Sales Achievement award was presented to her while at Whidbey Island Bank, and the Whatcom County Association of Realtors honored her with Affiliate of the Quarter. She teaches the financing segment of the Homebuyer’s Program at Whatcom Community College geared towards first-time homebuyers. She is married with three children.
Steve Bendtsen is a loan officer with more than eight years of experience in real estate lending. He opened Bellingham Mortgage in 2002 and sold it prior to joining Business Bank of Whatcom County. He is married and has three children.
Malinda Wilson is a loan processor for both commercial and real estate lending at Business Bank of Whatcom County. She is a 19-year banking veteran having worked as a teller, new account representative, loan-servicing specialist and loan processor. Wilson is a lifelong resident of Bellingham and lives with her husband, son and daughter.
Chelsea Johnson is customer service representative. With six years of experience, she is responsible for assisting individuals and business owners with new accounts, transactions, merchant services and online banking. Johnson has worked previously as a teller.

Lewis establishes HR contracting business
Kelly Lewis established the sole proprietorship human resource agency Kelly Lewis, SPHR, CCP, as the premier source of human resources strategies in Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties to assist businesses with human resource needs.
Lewis, a Sehome High School and Western Washington University graduate, obtained her master’s degree in human resource development from Seattle Pacific University and has the designations of Certified Compensation Professional and Senior Professional in Human Resources.
She has 16 years of human resources experience in the areas of compensation, benefits, employee/labor relations, recruitment, employee satisfaction and training and development. She has worked with both profit and nonprofit private and public employers.
Prior to moving back to the Bellingham area in September 2005, she worked the past four years at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue where she managed the compensation programs and benefits for 2,300 union and non-union employees, and was active in her local Society of Human Resources chapter in their mentor program.

James named to Topper Club
Richard T. James and his Bellingham-based Farmers Insurance agency were named to Farmers’ Topper Club for the 19th year. The Topper Club honors the highest achieving agents for sales and quality service standards.

Haveman of Management Services honored
Lisa Haveman, operations manager of Management Services Northwest, Inc. in Ferndale, has been awarded the designation of Registered Building Service Manager (RBSM) by the Building Service Contractors Association International. The RBSM program aids the public by designating those in the building service contracting industry who have applied for and met BSCAI’s high standards of competence and qualifications. Currently the Association has 440 RBSMs.

Jamison retires from Bellingham PD
Lt. Dascomb Jamison retired from the Bellingham Police Department on Aug. 1 with more than 30 years of service.
Jamison served in the U.S Army from 1967 to 1970 and spent time in Vietnam.
Jamison started his career with the Bellingham Police as a jailer in 1975. In February 1976 he was hired as a police officer. Jamison was promoted to sergeant in 1984 and then to lieutenant in 1989.
Jamison has worked in most of the divisions of the police department. He spent time in a special unit as the “Officer Friendly” in schools, conducted block watches and also worked undercover enforcing drug laws.
Jamison was on the dive team for several years. He also spent many years as a SWAT team member, leader and commander.
As a lieutenant, Jamison supervised the divisions of Patrol Operations, Investigations, What-Comm and Special Investigations, which includes the Intelligence Unit and Traffic.
Future plans for Jamison and his wife Kelly include gardening, traveling, spending time with family and being involved with community affairs.

Petree joins Envy Salon
Jana Petree has joined Envy Salon on Commercial Street in Bellingham. Jana has more than 10 years of experience as a stylist, including training at Gene Juarez and completion of an apprenticeship in precision cutting and color techniques at a high-end salon in the Seattle area.

Red Cross announces new board members
The Mt. Baker chapter of the American Red Cross has chosen the 2006/2007 FY board of directors. These members will serve three-year terms, and all have a varied range of experience with nonprofit organizations, businesses and the Red Cross.
The new Mt. Baker chapter board chair is Larry Goodrich, president of Goodrich and Associates, Inc., a Bellingham-based Wealth Creation & Management firm.
Ross Clawson of Homax Products will serve as the vice chair. Dan Kier of ConocoPhillips will represent the service as delivery chair. Barbara Krigbaum, vice president with North Coast Credit Union, will sit as secretary and audit committee chair. Lou Weltzer, maintenance and reliability manager for the BP Cherry Point Refinery, is the human resource chair. George Mundell III of the Morgan Stanley investment bank is the past board chair.
John Moles of Moles Family Funeral Homes; Bruce Haley, retired law enforcement; Alan Perkes of Alan Perkes Construction, Inc.; Matthew Rose, COO of Mt. Baker Imaging; and Kevin Williamson, managing partner of Parker Remick will lend strong direction in their board positions.

Bellingham surgeon shifts focus
Bayside Vein & Laser Center is the new office of Dr. Roy Taylor, offering state-of-the-art outpatient treatment for all levels of vein disorders. Taylor’s fully equipped procedure room and diagnostic imaging equipment provide comprehensive services under one roof, reducing the number of trips a patient makes to get a procedure done. Taylor has 24 years experience as a vascular surgeon practice.

Three join Moss Adams
Sandra Bryant, Kyle Lodder and Mark Siadal were hired on at Moss Adams LLP Bellingham in July.
Bryant received her degree in accounting from Central Washington University and is a senior accountant in the tax department. She has spent the last five years working for a local nonprofit.
Lodder graduated from Western Washington University (WWU) in June with a degree in accounting and finance.
Siadal received his bachelor’s degree from Eastern Washington University and his master of business from WWU. Mark is a staff accountant in the audit department.

Boos participates in War College seminar
Bellingham immigration attorney Greg Boos participated in the U.S. Army War College’s first Annual Strategy Implementation Seminar July 24-27 at the Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Penn.
The three-day seminar was the final event of an intense two-year program of study for senior military personnel focused on strategic aspects of national security.
Chosen to participate in the event because of professional background, personal experience and knowledge of key national and international issues, Boos joined a select group of non-military seminar participants who influence policies affecting national strategy.
Boos is a partner at the Bellingham office of Chang & Boos, an immigration law firm with offices in Bellingham and Toronto. Specializing in U.S. immigration law with an emphasis on border security and business immigration, he is recognized nationally and internationally for his expertise. Boos was recently nominated as one of the world’s leading practitioners of immigration law and is listed in The International Who’s Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers 2006.

Information Bureau hires intern
Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism hired Kelli Akre as a marketing and public relations intern. Akre, a Whatcom County resident since 1992, is a senior at Western Washington University (WWU) working toward a double major in recreation and marketing. She also currently works two part-time jobs in addition to attending WWU full-time.

Blue Sea Systems names sales manager for Southeast
Blue Sea Systems named Kevin Lacy, long-term Blue Sea Systems’ product design engineer, as the marine aftermarket sales manager in the Southeast.
Lacy will have the responsibility for Blue Sea Systems’ distribution customers. He also will offer engineering support where needed. A long-term member of Blue Sea Systems engineering department, Lacy has designed many of the products the company sells today.
Before joining Blue Sea Systems, Lacy worked for 10 years at Comptec International, a plastic manufacturer for the telecom industry with facilities in the United States and Canada. He held positions of product design engineer, customer service representative and application engineer.

Milestone hires new consultant
Milestone Information Solutions hired Mark Smith as a new consultant. Smith, a graduate of Western Washington University, brings with him significant knowledge and experience. In addition to his degree, he received his certified management accountant designation while working five years as a management accountant for a Bellingham manufacturer, and went on to work eight years as an applications programmer implementing and supporting enterprise resource planning software systems.

Realtor becomes ordained minister
Whatcom County Realtor Meredith Murray received her masters in divinity in June 2006 after completing a two-year program with the Beloved Community in Ashland, Ore. The non-denominational seminary educates students in spiritual peacemaking.
As an ordained minister, Murray is available to perform wedding ceremonies, memorial services and other rites of passage or celebrations.

Pacific Chef promotes manager
Western Washington University graduate Amelia Flores was promoted to store manager of Pacific Chef at in Fairhaven.
Flores was promoted from a sales position to manager because of her consistent customer-oriented service and merchandising skills. In addition, Flores will assist in reordering merchandise and scheduling staff.

Peoples Bank hires Quanz
Peoples Bank has hired Patty Quanz as assistant vice president and branch manager of its Cordata branch in Bellingham. Quanz has more than 22 years of banking experience. As branch manager, she will be responsible for branch operations and business development out of the Cordata branch. She is the current Ferndale Chamber of Commerce president and is an active member of the Whatcom Adult Soccer Association. In addition, she is a lifetime resident of Whatcom County.

Mondau appointed as sales agent for MetLife
MetLife Auto & Home appointed Rebekah Mondau as a fully licensed property and casualty agent at its Bellingham sales office. She is authorized to sell and service insurance products to consumers, including auto, home, boat and personal excess liability coverage.
Prior to joining MetLife Auto & Home, Mondau worked as an administrative assistant at the Muljat Group. She graduated in 2005 from Western Washington University and lives in Ferndale with her husband, Kevin.

SSC manager speaks at national conference
Rodd Pemble, recycling manager for Sanitary Service Company, Inc. (SSC), spoke at the 60th Annual School Nutrition Association’s (SNA) National Conference, held in Los Angeles, Calif. SNA represents more than 55,000 members nation-wide involved in the school food services industry.
Pemble spoke as part of a panel of experts on school composting. SSC’s award-winning Food to Flowers! composting program began earlier this year in 11 Bellingham School District schools.

Madrona adds two physicians
Madrona Medical Group hired Dr. James Beieler and Dr. Brent Whitehead to its team of family practice physicians.
Born and raised in Wenatchee, Beieler attended the University of Washington in Seattle, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in music. Beieler attended medical school at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downers Grove, Ill. Upon graduation Beieler performed his residency at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill. Married and a new father, Beieler is still interested in music, cycling, travel and the Spanish language.
A native of Canada, Whitehead first attended college in his home province of Alberta before transferring to Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, Calif., to complete his undergraduate studies in biology and chemistry. Having graduated with the academic distinction of Cum Laude, Whitehead advanced to the Loma Linda University School of Medicine, where he received his medical degree. Whitehead completed his family practice internship in 2004 at Eastern Maine Medical Center and his residency program at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, Calif. Married and the father of three children, Whitehead plays and watches hockey, and enjoys tennis, golf, hiking, travel, photography and a variety of family-related activities.

RE/MAX adds agent, two gain certifications
A real estate agent joined RE/MAX Whatcom County and two others earned certifications after completing continuing-education programs.
Patrick Starr is starting his real estate career with RE/MAX Whatcom County after operating a product development company for 12 years. Starr, who is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, assists buyers and sellers of both residential and commercial properties.
Lizabeth Calenberg, a RE/MAX agent since 2003, completed requirements to become an Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR). Awarded by a division of the National Association of Realtors, the ABR designation recognizes agents who have completed continuing education in the field of buyer representation.
Shenandoah Myrick achieved the Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) designation, attained by only 4 percent of Realtors nationwide. CRS agents must document a high volume of sales and transactions while completing coursework in real-estate investing, marketing and technology.
Starr and Calenberg work in RE/MAX’s Lakeway office in Bellingham while Myrick is based at the Sudden Valley office.

Business Bank of Skagit County promotes two
Theresa Brown and Karen Pitt have been promoted to new positions at the corporate office of Business Bank of Skagit County.
Brown has been in the banking industry for more than 13 years. She joined Business Bank of Skagit County during its formation and has been an integral part of the loan department and its programs. Brown has been promoted to vice president of loan operations.
Pitt is a seasoned banker with years of banking experience. She joined Business Bank of Skagit County during formation as branch manager in Burlington. Pitt has been promoted to vice president of operations.


Back to content page