McLeod Moves from Bank of America to Cascade

Debbie McLeod has been appointed executive vice president and retail banking executive at Cascade Bank.

McLeod, a resident of Burlington, and immediate past president of United Way of Skagit County, has 12 years of commercial banking experience with Rainier Bank and more recently Bank of America, where she served as vice president and regional sales manager. She is a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University.

Cascade, the principal subsidiary of Cascade Financial Corp., operates 14 full-service offices in Western Washington, including a branch at 1725 Continental Place, Mount Vernon.

 

Small Named Head of InterWest Online Services

Patty Small has been appointed to the position of vice president and manager of cash management and online banking services at Pacific Northwest Bank, née InterWest.

The Mount Vernon resident is responsible for leading the research, development, implementation and delivery of new products and services for Pacific Northwest Bank customers. She also will oversee management of the online-banking department.

Small has been in banking 25 years and has served as assistant manager of InterWest’s Lynden financial center and manager of Oak Harbor’s administrative office.

She has served as student instructor and board member for the American Institute of Banking and has attended community colleges in Western Washington. She and her husband of 21 years have two school-aged children.

InterWest recently merged with Pacific Northwest and took its name.

 

Peoples Promotes Repanich, Hires Marketing Director

Peoples Bank recently promoted Anthony Repanich to senior vice president of retail banking and announced the hiring of David Eldred as assistant vice president and marketing director. Both positions are held in the bank’s Lynden headquarters.

Repanich has been with the bank eight years, most recently as vice president of retail sales and marketing.

Eldred has 15 years of banking experience in Whatcom County.

Peoples Bank has branches in Mount Vernon, Sedro-Woolley and now Anacortes. It operates 13 full-service offices in the two counties and has grown to more than $350 million in assets.

 

Elliott New Financial Consultant at Salomon

Scott D. Elliott has joined Salomon Smith Barney in Mount Vernon as a financial consultant.

He previously worked for InterWest Bank and Sprint and holds a master’s degree in business administration from Seattle University.

Salomon Smith Barney is located at 301 Kincaid St., Mount Vernon. Call 336-9521.

 

Steffey New Face at Consolidated Cellular

Rex Steffey has joined Consolidated Cellular as the vice president of sales.

Steffey comes to Consolidated with a background in retail sales and spent most of his career in the specialty-stores apparel industry. He was most recently president and chief executive officer of Jay Jacobs, Inc. in Seattle.

Consolidated Cellular is the northwest corner’s leading cellular-phone dealer, headquartered in Sedro-Woolley. Call 856-6866.

 

Hieke Teaches German at Language Exchange

Nastasia Hieke, a native of Erfurt, Germany, has joined The Language Exchange as an instructor and office assistant.

Hieke apprenticed for three years with Zeitungsgruppe Thueringen, a newspaper conglomerate, and is a participant in the U.S.-German program Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals.

She joins interpreters and native speakers of German, French, Russian, Japanese, American sign language, Italian and Spanish in teaching beginning conversation-level, eight-week courses at The Language Exchange’s classrooms, 716 E. Fairhaven Ave., Burlington.

Call 755-9910 or visit the Web site at www.langex.com.

 

College Foundation Hires Events Coordinator

Caroline Norelius has joined the Skagit Valley College Foundation as director of events.

Norelius has 15 years of development experience, including alumni relations and capital-campaign coordination. She also taught and served as an administrator in student services at two community colleges in Missouri.

As events director, Norelius will coordinate the foundation’s two major golf tournaments that raise funds for scholarship and arrange other fundraisers. She replaces Cindy Laue, who served for more than two years.

 

Youngsman Adding on at Human Resources

Matthew Youngsman, owner of the Mount Vernon office of Human Resources Inc., is actively recruiting for administrative and clerical employees.

“Our market research has shown that there is a large need in Skagit County for this type of service,” Youngsman says.

“Employers tell me they are finding it increasingly difficult to find workers with specialized skills,” he says. “New companies are moving in, and current Skagit employers are growing and changing.”

To meet the demand, skilled workers are needed to help recruit the best, Youngsman adds. This is being done on the Internet and through contacts throughout the Puget Sound region.

For more information, call 419-3131.

 

Two Stylists Added at the Boardwalk

Two new stylists have joined the staff at Salon on the Boardwalk, 315-B Main St., Mount Vernon.

Tina West has been a stylist for 11 years and recently attended the advanced Aveda training in Seattle.

“I was interested in Aveda and wanted to work at an Aveda concept salon,” she explains.

Gopal (A K A John Andrews) is a hairstylist-colorist who returns to Skagit County after a year working in Seattle. He also received advanced training with Aveda, as well as Bumble and Bumble.

“I’m very excited to come back home, skills enhanced,” he enthused.

For appointments, call 336-2985.

 

Taylor a New Rep at WMA Securities, Burlington

Lea Taylor is a new registered representative with WMA Securities, Inc., an Oak Harbor company with a branch in Burlington.

Taylor is a life-long resident of Skagit Valley and says she looks forward to serving the local community.

WMA is one of the largest and fastest-growing broker-dealers in the nation and specializes in securities, mortgages, insurance and other aspects of the financial-service industry.

For more information, call Taylor at 757-4226.

 

Swensen Becomes Associate at Coldwell Banker Eaglemont

Lonnie Swenson has joined Coldwell Banker Eaglemont as an associate.

Swenson, who has an extensive business and communication-technology background, has been in real estate in the Bellevue area. He now partners with Trudy Armstrong-Swenson at the Eaglemont franchise.

Armstrong-Swenson has been a Realtor in Skagit County for seven years.

Vcall 424-3737.

 

Coldwell Eaglemont’s Hunter, Windsor Earn Honors

Elva Hunter and Sheri Windsor of Coldwell Banker Eaglemont Real Estate have earned membership into the company’s International Diamond Society, an honor bestowed on the top 20 percent of the more than 70,0000 Coldwell Banker sales associates worldwide.

In addition, Hunter recently was awarded the Accredited Buyer Representation (ABR) designation by the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council of the National Association of Realtors.

Coldwell Banker Eaglemont is located at 1300 Alpine View Drive in the Eaglemont golf course community of east Mount Vernon. Call 424-3737.

 

Iverson Honored as MV Citizen of the Year

Mark Iverson, owner of Mark’s On Pine Square floral and catering business, former mayoral candidate and long-time Mount Vernon volunteer, has been chosen that city’s 2000 Citizen of the Year.

Mayor Skye Richendrfer, who made the choice, calls Iverson a “tremendous artist” and says the city is lucky to have him.

The 46-year-old florist, who once ran against Richendrfer for mayor, has been involved in many local organizations and events. He has been on the Lincoln Theatre and Skagit Valley Symphony boards, assisted at Festival of Trees and Immaculate Conception School fundraisers, as well as participated in raising funds for the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner.

Once, Iverson called upon his former high school friend Cheryl Bentyne, member of the jazz group Manhattan Transfer, to perform to raise money to place lights on the Fourth Street viaduct.

He teaches cooking classes at Gretchen’s and cooks for guests at the Courtyard Café, 615 S. Second St., next to his florist shop. And he can be seen at numerous functions, dressed in white chef’s garb, catering the event.

 

Hagens Nominated EPS Franchisees of Year

Mark and Sandy Hagen, owners of Express Personnel Services offices in Mount Vernon and Bellingham, have been nominated for the 2000 Franchisee of the Year Award, offered by the Oklahoma City-based staffing firm.

The Hagens were to travel to Las Vegas this month to attend the EPS convention and accept their award.

EPS offers temporary staffing, full-time recruiting, interviewing, drug-screening and professional placement services. It is located at 117 N. First St.

 

County Commissioners Get National Appointments

County Commissioners Ken Dahlstedt and Don Munks have been appointed to National Association of Counties’ committees.

Munks joined the steering committee overseeing environmental, energy and land-use issues for the association.

Dahlstedt is on the committee involved with agriculture and rural affairs.

Each committee has from 60 to 100 county officials who meet occasionally to discuss important issues concerning local government.

 

Panel Chosen to Advise Commissioners on Salmon

Nine local scientists have been impaneled to advise county commissioners on salmon issues.

The Science Advisory Panel includes: Wilbur “Andy” Anderson, retired director of the Washington State University Extension Unit in Mount Vernon; Kurt Buchanan, fish biologist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, based in La Conner; Wayne Daley, fish biologist who has helped on local salmon restoration projects; Paul Kriegel, resource manager of Northwest Hardwoods of Sedro-Woolley; Kim Nelson, an environmental consultant; Steve Nissley, agricultural scientist with Natural Resource Conservation Service; Mike O’Connell, hydrogeologist with Skagit County Public Works; Larry Wasserman, environmental services director for Skagit System Cooperative; and Veronica Wisniewski, nursery owner who ran a riparian restoration project in Whatcom County.

The focus of the panel is to set scientific standards on salmon restoration decisions made at the county level.

 

Picketts Invited to Critique Napa Valley Drycleaners

Brad and Linda Pickett, owners of Modern Cleaners of Mount Vernon, recently attended a meeting of drycleaners in Napa, Calif.

While there, the couple was invited to critique the practices of Green’s Cleaners of Napa, where they reviewed plant procedures, assessed quality-control practices and observed customer-service operations.

Brad is a certified master drycleaner, certified professional drycleaner and past president of the Northwest Drycleaning Association.

Modern Cleaners has two locations: 714 W. Division St. and 2323 Section St. The Picketts also offer pickup service. Call 336-2322.

 

Landeweer, Queen of Primroses, Passes

Elizabeth Landeweer, who operated a primrose nursery with her husband, Harry, in south Mount Vernon for many years, has died. She was 95.

The Landeweers grew primroses at their home on Old Highway 99 for many years before they retired.

Prior to that, Elizabeth sold poetry to several major magazines— including The Saturday Evening Post and McCall’s — and served as editor of Wee Wisdom magazine.

She became a local celebrity of sorts in the early 1990s when her letters to the editor appeared frequently in local newspapers, offering tidbits of wisdom, a kind word or a positive spin on life. Because of her brief local fame, she was featured on the cover of Encore! magazine, a local publication that targeted seniors.

“I was born with the urge to put it down on paper,” she once told an interviewer. “I want to learn. I want to explore every avenue within myself. I go at knowledge like a philosopher would. That’s what has made me what I am.”

Eventually, Mrs. Landeweer moved to Missouri to be closer to her two sisters. She passed away Feb. 27.

Business Members Named for MV Downtown Board

New board members have been selected by the Downtown Business Community of Mount Vernon. They are:

Robert Desmarais, Robert’s Red Apple, president; Bonnie Anderson, Colonial Manor Bed and Breakfast, vice president; Becky Parker, Heritage Gallery, treasurer; Linda Kyle, Adventures Travel, secretary; Kathy Broman, Homeward Bound; Megan Scott, Scott’s Bookstore; and Vicki Young, Lincoln Theatre.