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Biz Buzz for Sept. 19, 2011 [Duluth News Tribune, Minn.](Duluth News-Tribune (MN) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 19--HIRES AND PROMOTIONS --Involta announced Lisa Bodine was hired as regional sales director for Minnesota. Her responsibilities include management of sales activities and business development in the Upper Midwest. Bodine previously was manager of health and transportation policy at the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and director of business development at the Area Partnership for Economic Expansions. --The Arrowhead Builders Association announced Robin Ongaro was appointed its new executive officer. Ongaro has more than 15 years of nonprofit and executive leadership, most recently serving as the executive director of the Grand Avenue Business Association in St. Paul. Previous positions include vice president of business development and marketing for northern Minnesota's largest credit union and president of the Cloquet Area Chamber of Commerce. She graduated summa cum laude from the College of St. Scholastica with a bachelor's degree in management, is a graduate of Blandin Leadership and has served on several area boards and civic associations. --The city of Duluth promoted David Lull, David Ouse and Renee Zurn to library supervisors. All three have served the library in a number of capacities and have a combined total of more than 70 years of experience with the Duluth Public Library. Lull now supervises technical and integrated library system services, which include the business office; acquisition, cataloging and processing materials; and maintenance and supervision of the online system. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin- Superior and a master's degree from Rosary College. He has worked at the Duluth Public Library since 1990. Ouse now supervises reference, youth services, fiction and media. He received a bachelor's degree and master's degree in English, both from the University of Minnesota Duluth, as well as a master's degree in library science from the University of Minnesota Minneapolis. He has been with the Duluth Public Library since 1979 and is the author of "Forgotten Duluthians." Zurn now supervises digital and outreach services. She received a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota Minneapolis and a master's degree from the University of Iowa in library and information science. She began working at the Duluth Public Library in 1993. --Compudyne hired Ryan Asleson and Breann Pelto for its operations team in Hibbing. Asleson, of Embarrass, was hired as an accounting specialist. He will be responsible for accounts payable, invoice entry, collections, month-end journal entries and general accounting support. Asleson holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Pelto, of Hibbing, was hired as benefits administrator/accounting specialist. She previously worked as a head bank teller at American Bank in Hibbing. Pelto graduated from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a bachelor's degree in business administration. Compudyne also announced the following recent hires to its technical services team. Elisabeth Herrington of Duluth was hired as a senior service technician. She has more than seven years of information technology experience. Hired as service technicians were Kyle Skomars of Duluth, Jon Lille of Saginaw and Keegan Jacobson of Duluth. Skomars, Lille and Jacobson each hold associate degrees in network administration from Lake Superior College in Duluth and each previously worked for the computer information systems department at Lake Superior College. Skomars held internships at the Duluth YMCA and Arrowhead Regional Development Commission. Lille recently worked part-time at SISU Medical Solutions. Jacobson graduated with a 4.0 grade-point average from Lake Superior College. Devin Bourgeault of Culver was hired as a network services help desk technician. He recently worked as a service technician for Falk's Pharmacies and is certified in Cisco IT Essentials 1 & 2. David Humes II of Duluth was hired as a service technician. He previously worked for Essentia Health and Best Buy's Geek Squad and is pursuing a degree in management information systems at the University of Minnesota Duluth. AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS --Northland College in Ashland was named one of the nation's best liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report. This category includes 252 schools that emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the arts and sciences, including English, the biological sciences, physics, chemistry and political sciences. Northland College did well using several criteria, including average freshmen retention rate (73 percent), small class size (71 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students) and percent of full-time faculty (86 percent). The college climbed seven positions from the previous year's ranking. --Deb Smith of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa was presented with the Jim Parker Leadership Award during the 2011 Community Health Conference. The awards were presented by Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dr. Ed Ehlinger in recognition of significant accomplishments in public health in Minnesota. Smith is the human services division's public health nursing coordinator for the Fond du Lac Band and is instrumental in collaborating across tribes and with surrounding counties on measures to improve the health of tribe members of all ages. She works on multiple advisory boards and in associations and is the first American Indian nurse to serve as a reviewer for the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care. Smith was joined by the family of Jim Parker while accepting the award, as 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of Parker's death. --Adolphson Real Estate in Duluth and Cloquet announced the September agents of the month were Melissa Wiita of Duluth and Michelle Kuklinski of Cloquet. --The College of St. Scholastica was named one of the nation's top "military friendly" schools for 2012 by G.I. Jobs, a monthly magazine and website that caters to military job-seekers. This was the third consecutive year St. Scholastica received the designation. Institutions on the list provide such benefits to student veterans as on-campus veterans programs, credit for service, military spouse programs and more. The list was compiled through research in which G.I. Jobs polled more than 8,000 schools nationwide. Four years ago St. Scholastica opened its Veterans Resources Center on campus, which serves as a one-stop location for individual advisement and information about programs and services that benefit veterans, Guard members, reservists and current military members. The center is in Room 2143 in Tower Hall on campus. --Tom Grogan of Superior was recognized by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association for 23 years of safe, accident-free driving of a commercial tractor-trailer. Grogan has been driving professionally for 23 years and currently hauls paper products. The OOIDA Safe Driving Award Program is sponsored by Shell Rotella and is designed to recognize and reward OOIDA members for their safe, accident-free years while operating a commercial vehicle. Safe-driving awards are available to all eligible OOIDA members who qualify based upon the number of years in which the member has operated a commercial vehicle without being involved in a preventable accident. --Re/Max 1 announced Tracey Tellor was named sales leader for the month of August, and Lynn Nephew was named listing leader. CERTIFICATIONS AND ACCREDITATIONS --Citon Computer Corp. announced Matt Caya achieved Cisco Certified Design Associate professional certification, which adds to the bench strength of Citon's secured data network design team and has immediate customer benefits. With a CCDA certification, a network professional demonstrates the skills required to design routed and switched network infrastructures and services involving LAN, WAN and broadband access for businesses and organizations. The CCDA curriculum includes designing campus, data center, security, voice and wireless networks. Citon also announced the company was recognized by Cisco Systems for its commitment to technical and customer service excellence and was awarded a Cisco Premier Certified Partner status for the fifth time. With the Premier status, Citon is able to provide unmatched Cisco products, design and support. As the only Premier Certified Partner in the Duluth/Superior area, Citon has access to additional Cisco tools, resources and pricing that bring a variety of benefits to its customers. Citon achieved the Premier status by certifying both engineering staff and sales representatives. Citon also was required to undergo independently audited customer satisfaction surveys to ensure that it had the capabilities and proven success to meet its customers' needs. Citon exceeded the high benchmarks set by Cisco by achieving near-perfect scores. --Trillium Services Inc., a Duluth agency supporting individuals with disabilities, was accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities for three years for its Community Services: Community Housing, Community Integration, Family Service and Supported Living programs. The accreditation represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organization's substantial conformance to the CARF standards. It should also be noted that CARF made no recommendations, which signifies that it did not identify any areas of nonconformance to the standards. Only 3 percent of CARF surveys result in no recommendations BOARD ELECTIONS --Darla Benoit, a certified public accountant and principal at Eikill & Schilling Ltd., was elected president of the National Association of Nonprofit Accountants & Consultants during its recent conference in Chicago. The NPAC is a national network of CPA firms selected for their experience in, and commitment to, serving the not-for-profit community. NEW BUSINESS --Rhonda Grussendorf Tomlin is the new owner/operator of Body By Vi in the Miller Hill Mall. ViSalus Sciences' management team consists of executives from some of the leading companies in direct sales, wellness and technology. It is backed by a strategic partner, Blyth Inc., a global billion-dollar publicly traded company with nearly 30 years of experience. --Gary Heskin opened a new Cost Cutters Family Hair Salon inside the Hermantown Wal-Mart Super Center in Hermantown. Heskin owns and operates 10 Cost Cutters locations throughout the Northland, five of which are in Wal-Mart Super Centers. The salon is staffed with six to eight stylists and is managed by Tammy Schmidt. --Holly Tanner opened Tanner PT LLC, a physical therapy practice focusing on care for patients with pelvic muscle dysfunction and chronic myofascial pain. The business is in Suite 502 of the Hunter Building at 31 W. Superior St. in Duluth. Holly Tanner graduated from the College of St. Scholastica, and she teaches nationally on the topic of pelvic floor rehabilitation. This includes bladder issues such as leakage, constipation, pelvic pain and sexual dysfunction. The telephone number is (218) 730-7920, and the website is www.tannerpt.com. GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY --Involta will hold a groundbreaking ceremony at 4 p.m. Thursday at 207 Technology Drive. The ceremony will mark the beginning of construction of its $10.5 million Tier III facility scheduled to open in 2012. The site will be a stable, predictable, high- performance data center complete with environmental systems and controls, redundant back-up power, specialized fire suppression and reinforced concrete building construction. The 24,000-square-foot facility will feature 10,000 square feet of conditioned data center space that will use the naturally cooler climate of Duluth to increase efficiency. The building is being designed to be LEED-certified. NOMINATIONS --Dave McMillan was nominated by President Obama to serve on the advisory board of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. McMillan is vice president for marketing, regulatory and public affairs at Allete. McMillan was one of four people whose nominations for foundations and commissions were announced by the White House. His nomination to the Seaway Development Corp. must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. In addition to his responsibilities at Allete, McMillan is an executive vice president of Minnesota Power and will continue in both roles. The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. meets five times a year, often through teleconferences. FORMER DULUTHIANS --Jane (Elder) Naughtin received a Top Women in Finance award by Finance and Commerce Inc. The award honors outstanding efforts of women who are making notable contributions to their professions, their communities and society at large throughout Minnesota. Naughtin, a Duluth native and a 1978 graduate of the University of Minnesota Duluth, is senior vice president in business banking at Bremer Bank. She has more than 30 years of banking experience. ETC. --LHB Corp. in Duluth announced Rick Carter was chosen for the LEED Fellow Program by the Green Building Certification Institute. The inaugural class of LEED Fellows includes 34 of the world's most distinguished green building professionals. Carter was selected as one of the green building leaders who have made significant contributions to the field of green building and sustainability at a regional and national level. Carter, an accredited professional since 2002, has been a supporter of USGBC for more 14 years, and LHB has been a member since 1997. He is a current member and past president of the USGBC's Minnesota Chapter and has been instrumental in broadening the mission of USGBC throughout Minnesota by speaking to promote greener building practices, providing tours of LEED buildings and representing USGBC at advocacy meetings with legislators. On the national level, Rick has served on LEED for Homes, technical advisory group. He has contributed his expertise to help create guidelines in the state that support the principles of sustainable design such as the Hennepin County Sustainable Guidelines, the state of Minnesota's B3 Guidelines and the state's benchmarking and Sustainable Building 2030 guidelines. Carter also contributes to the advancement of green building through the creation and teaching in the Master of Science in Sustainable Design program at the University of Minnesota. --Security State Bank in Iron River was presented with a plaque from the Wisconsin Bankers Association commemorating the bank's 100th anniversary in 2011. The bank opened for business in June 6, 1911, as First State Bank of Port Wing and officially moved into its own building in 1918. In 1928, deposits reached the $100,000 mark. Then came October 1929 and the stock market crash, and the country was headed for the worst economic condition in its history. The next three years saw bank after bank fail and close their doors, including the Iron River Bank. In 1933, the Commissioner of Banking allowed the First State Bank of Port Wing to operate a Receiving and Disbursing Station in Iron River. On May 3, 1961, the name of the bank was changed from First State Bank of Port Wing to Security State Bank. In December 1972, a third office was opened in Brule. Today, the bank's assets total more than $90 million and capital is more than 17 percent. Biz Buzz is a collection of business news tidbits from around the region. Send your business openings or closings, personnel changes or other news of interest in the business community to Biz Buzz, Duluth News Tribune, 424 W. First St., Duluth, MN 55802, e-mail [email protected], or fax (218) 720-4120. ___ (c)2011 the Duluth News Tribune (Duluth, Minn.) Visit the Duluth News Tribune (Duluth, Minn.) at www.duluthnewstribune.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |