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Faces and places

Robert "Bob" Givens retired last month after 44 years of service with Hutchinson-based Dillon Stores Division. Givens retired Aug. 20 at Dillons, 1015 W. 23rd, where he worked in the produce department. He started his Dillons career in 1955 in the grocery department in Hutchinson. He later worked as produce manager in Hutchinson, and as store manager in Lyons, Sterling and Lawrence. Givens' retirement plans include traveling, golfing, fishing and gardening. In April, Mary Walker and Don Walker retired from Dillons. Mary Walker ended her 13 years with the company at the store at 3000 W. Sixth, where she worked as seafood manager. Don Walker worked 10 years, closing out as a night stock clerk at 1015 W. 23rd. The Walkers plan to spend time with their five grandchildren and travel.

• Judge Christel E. Marquardt of the Kansas Court of Appeals recently joined the American Bar Assn.'s Board of Governors during the organization's annual meeting in Atlanta. She will serve a three-year term on the 37-member board, which meets five times a year to oversee administration and management of the association. The district she represents covers Kansas, Arkansas, Iowa and New Mexico.

• The Peridian Group, a Lawrence-based land development company specializing in landscape architecture, civil engineering and surveying, announced the hiring of Agamani Kundu as an engineer, responsible for the design of streets, storm sewers, sanitary sewers and water lines. Kundu, who has a master's degree in civil engineering from Kansas University, recently worked for Taliaferro and Browne Engineering in Kansas City, Mo. Also announced: Lance M. Johnson, the company's president, recently received civil engineering licenses for Nebraska and Missouri. Johnson, already licensed in Kansas, has expertise in the engineering design and construction of streets, drainage, utilities and other municipal and environmental projects.

Awards and honors

Alice Roberts, vice president of Maupintour Inc., has been selected as among the travel industry's "Most Powerful Women" this year by Travel Agent Magazine. Nominated by the magazine's editors and writers, the magazine's "top achieving" women are recognized for their ability to influence and improve the travel industry through talent and dedication. Nominees came from all areas of the travel industry, including travel agencies, airlines, car rental firms, cruise lines, hotel companies, tour operators and others.

• Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., is one of nine senators to earn an "A+" rating from USA Engage, a national trade and economic coalition. Roberts earned the ranking this year based on his support for a number of pro-trade and sanctions-reform bills in the Senate.

• Larry Michels, pharmacist at Wal-Mart, 3300 Iowa, received two awards during the company's recent annual meeting: Outstanding Customer Service Award from the company's pharmacy division, and the Sam M. Walton Hero of Excellence Award, making him the 550th recipient of the hero award.

• Evelyn Senecal, a financial adviser for American Express Financial Advisors in Lawrence, recently received the President's Recognition Award from the company. The award recognizes advisers who focus on providing the "highest caliber advice," make "quality of guidance" a priority and document their written recommendations in a way that is clear, specific, thorough and objective.

• Kansas Public Accountant, a periodical published by the Public Accountants Assn. of Kansas, topped 23 other entries and won the Keith Billings Memorial Award from the National Society of Accountants. The award, named for the late editor of the Oregon State Society, is the Kansas association's second; the first was in 1990.

Coming events

The Kansas University Small Business Development Center will conduct a seminar, "How to Start and Manage Your Own Business," from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, 734 Vt. To register or get more information, call 843-8844. Other seminars in the works: 1999 Employer Institute, Oct. 12, Holiday Holidome, 200 McDonald; How to Get a Microloan, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 19, Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, 734 Vt. Training for QuickBooks Pro99 will be offered Thursday in Kansas City, Kan.; call 913-371-6007 for more information.

• Thursday's wine tasting seminar sponsored by the Professional Women of the Chamber has been canceled and will be rescheduled for sometime early next year, said Betty Markley, the group's coordinator.

• The Kansas Department of Human Resources will conduct Workers Compensation Seminars on Monday and Tuesday at the Marriott in Overland Park and Sept. 29-30 at the Wichita Airport Executive Conference Center in Wichita. Topics to be covered: psychological barriers in return to work, fraudulent medical claims, legal ethics, repetitive-use injuries, ergonomics, workplace trauma, HIV and post-hire medical training. For more information or to register call Julie Barber, registration coordinator, at 785-296-5005 or visit the department's Web site, www.hr.state.ks.us.

• Students are invited to attend next month's 50th Annual Midwest Roofing Contractors Assn. Convention and Trade Show, Oct. 28-29 at Bartle Hall in Kansas City, Mo. A valid student ID is all that is necessary to gain admittance, and sit in on educational programs and the trade show floor. For more information, call 800-708-6459 or visit the organization's Web site, www.mrca.org.

• The Kansas Society of CPAs is sponsoring two events next month. The 1999 Conference for Accounting Professionals in Commerce & Industry is Oct. 7 at the Airport Hilton in Wichita. The Accounting Department of the Future, a workshop conducted by Ed Costner of Virtual Consulting Inc., is set for Oct. 8. For more information, check out the organization's Web site at www.kscpa.org.

• The deadline for entries for the Governor's New Product Award, sponsored by the Kansas Society of Professional Engineers, is Nov. 3. Any new product, machine, process or material developed in Kansas is eligible, as long as it was introduced on the market between Sept. 1, 1994, and Sept. 1, 1998. Judging criteria: economic contribution to Kansas; ingenuity using engineering principles and materials; improved function, ease and savings in use; and percentage of research and development done in Kansas. Questions? Contact the society at 785-233-2121.

• The Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in conjunction with local chambers of commerce, will conduct a series of regional legislative briefings to acquaint business leaders about issues facing the Kansas Legislature next year. The closest to Lawrence: noon Wednesday at the Overland Park Mariott. To register, call 913-491-3600.

• Ribbon cuttings: Red Hot Grille, 913 N. Second, 11 a.m. Wednesday; One of a Kind Daycare, 4640 W. 27th, 11 a.m. Sept. 21; Peridian Group, 500 Rockledge, 11:30 a.m. Sept. 29.

• "Financial Planning: The State of the Art," a national video teleconference, will be broadcast live to more than 200 sites from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. The conference -- sponsored by the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the International Association of Financial Planning -- will focus on late-breaking news reports and other cutting-edge information affecting the financial service industry. It will be shown live at Fort Scott Community College, Fort Scott, and the Kansas Farm Bureau office in Manhattan. It will be rebroadcast from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Emporia State University, Emporia, and the new York Life office in Topeka. For more information, contact the Northeast Kansas Society of Financial Service Professionals office at 785-272-4524.

• The Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center (MAMTC) will present a seminar, How to Tighten Controls on Production Costs, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at MAMTC's Kansas City office, 1575 N. Universal Ave., Suite 130, Lakeside Plaza I. Participants will learn how to eliminate unnecessary expenses that do not add value or enhance customer satisfaction by keeping labor, inventory, overhead and other production costs under tight control. To register in advace, call 888-653-4333.

• Johnson County Community College is offering free informal sessions -- Understanding Options in the Computer Field -- intended for people with interested in computer jobs but mystified by the terminology and variety of options involved. The sessions are set for 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7, Nov. 4, Dec. 2 and Jan. 6 in room 309 of the college's Commons Building. To sign up for a session, call 913-469-8500, ext. 3232.

• Kansas University's School of Journalism is offering a series of marketing communications workshops at KU's Edwards Campus in Overland Park, to be taught by and for working professionals in marketing. The schedule: "Creativity in Branding," 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 23; "Full-time to Freelance: How to Make the Transition (While Still Making the Mortgage)," 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 30; "Strengthening Brands Through Strategic Public Relations," 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 5; "Writing for Online," 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 16; "Database Marketing for Decision Makers," 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 21; "Business-to-Business Marketing Over the Internet," 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 2; "Extending Image: Working with Graphics for the Internet," 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 6; "Unleashing Brand Power," 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 16. For more information, contact Wendy Mannen, program assistant, at 913-897-8416 or wlmannen@ukans.edu.

• The Internal Revenue Service, in cooperation with the Small Business Development Center at Washburn University in Topeka, will conduct a small business workshop from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday in room 118 of Henderson Learning Center at Washburn. The workshop is designed for new owners of small businesses or anyone considering opening such a business. Among the topics to be covered: starting a business, record keeping, business use of the home, depreciation and federal tax reporting requirements.

• The Internal Revenue Service and Kansas Department of Revenue will offer free electronic-filing seminars in October as part of the agencies' efforts to increase the number of e-filed federal and state income tax returns. The schedule:

Oct. 13, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park; Oct. 15, Washburn University, Topeka; Oct. 18, Friendship Center, Salina; Oct. 20, Garden City Zoo, Garden City; Oct. 22, Wichita State University, Wichita. For more information, contact Janice Lawrence at (314) 612-4530 or by e-mail at etaksmo@hotmail.com. Further information also may be obtained at the IRS Web site, www.irs.ustreas.gov.

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