Faces and places

Dr. Donald Hatton has been elected governor-elect of the Kansas Chapter of the American College of Physicians. Hatton, a board-certified internal medicine practitioner and fellow of the American College of Physicians, has practiced medicine with the Reed Medical Group of Lawrence since 1974.

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Scott Sjoberg has joined FOX 4 as the local sales manager. He had worked for KDFW/KDFI-TV in Dallas as an account executive since 1998. Sjoberg is a Kansas University graduate.

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Scott Shmalberg, president of Scotch Fabric Care Services, has been elected to the board of directors of the Southwest Drycleaners Assn. The association represents more than 750 dry cleaning companies in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and New Mexico. The association works to promote professionalism in the cleaning industry by providing technical and educational services. Scotch Fabric operates 22 locations in Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas City.

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Four state agencies have joined forces to give Kansas business owners a new tool for interacting with state government. The KSBusinessCenter provides a one-stop resource for business registration, information and business maintenance with many agencies on the Web. The KSBusinessCenter is a new feature of the state Web portal, www.accessKansas.org.

The agencies participating are the Kansas Department of Human Resources, Kansas Department of Revenue, Kansas Secretary of State and the Information Network of Kansas.

Honors and awards

Caryn Scott was named Employee of the Year by the Douglas County Visiting Nurses Assn. at its Country Holiday Celebration on Dec. 7. Scott is the rehabilitation patient care coordinator and has been with the association for more than 27 years.

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For the fourth consecutive year, the Kansas Award for Excellence Foundation has recognized Lawrence Memorial Hospital for its commitment to quality. LMH received the Level 2 Performance in Quality Award which is given to organizations that demonstrate significant progress in building sound, systematic processes and management practices.

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Coldwell Banker McGrew Real Estate had its annual awards event on Dec. 13. Among the award winners were: Russ Lang, Salesperson of the Year; Linda Trotter, Outstanding Achievement Award winner; and Steve LaRue, Rookie of the Year.

One Million Dollar producers were Wendy Flory, Kay Johnson, Sheila Santee, Ernie Eck, Beth Young, Susan Copeland, Linda Swain, Steve LaRue, John Payne, Nancy Bjorge, Jonathan Schwarz, Barbara Trouslot, Deborah McMullen, Amy LeMert, Linn Wiley, Greg Hickam, Mickey Stremel, Amy Harris, Linda Randall, Patty McGrew, Doug Brown, Barbara Hodgson, Janet Scott, John Novotny and Mary Ellen Comeau.

Linda Trotter, Casey Vangemeren, Toni McCalla, Beverly Roelofs and Mary Jones were $2 million producers. Marcy McGrew, Connie Friesen and Scott Grosdidier were $3 million producers. Caren Rowland was a $4 million producer, and Russ Lang was a $5 million producer.

Coming events

The Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center will present a seminar “How to Better Control Production Costs” from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 16 in Lenexa. The seminar will help manufacturers learn how to clamp down on waste and keep labor inventory, overhead and other production costs under control. Some of the topics covered include: how to eliminate the most severe production wastes, how to cut overhead costs without affecting quality and service, and steps to slash raw material costs.

Walter Lacey, a leading manufacturing authority, will teach the seminar. The seminar will be at the Enterprise Center of Johnson County, 8527 Bluejacket. The fee is $195 for a single registration and $176 each for groups of three or more. Lunch will be provided. To register, call (888) 649-4333.

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Consumer Credit Counseling will present “Discover More Dollars” from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 6 at the United Way Building, 2518 Ridge Court.

The workshop will cover financial goal setting, developing a realistic budget, cutting costs, evaluating spending habits and starting a savings plan.

The workshop is free, but reservations are requested. To reserve a space, call 749-4224, extension 369 or (800) 383-0217, extension 369. The class is sponsored by Capitol Federal Savings and the United Way of Douglas County.

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Douglas County Extension Service is sponsoring three “2002 Farm Bill Update” meetings in January to help farmers understand the United States Department of Agriculture 2002 Farm Bill program.

The identical meetings will be from 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 13, 15 and 17. The Jan. 13 and Jan. 17 meetings will be in Building 2 on the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds. The Jan. 15 meeting will be at the Stull United Methodist Church.

USDA Farm Service Agency County executive director Johnathon Alley will share the most current information concerning sign-up for the 2002 USDA Farm Program. Alley also will demonstrate the Farm Service Agency computer spreadsheet that can help landowners determine which farm program option is best for their farm.

Clyde Mermis, district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, will talk about conservation programs in the 2002 Farm Bill.

Bill Wood, Douglas County extension agriculture agent, will demonstrate a computer spreadsheet that can help farmers determine which option is best for their farms.

For more information about the free meetings, contact the Douglas County extension office at 843-7058 or e-mail Wood at bdwood@oznet.ksu.edu.

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The annual breeders and owners llama auction, sponsored by the Golden Llama Assn., will begin at 5 p.m. Jan. 8 in the Livestock Annex at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka. About 40 premium quality llamas will parade through the auction during the 2002 Topeka Farm Show. The auctioneer will be Col. Stanley Stout, Linwood.

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Heather Krause-Minnick, director of the Citizen’s Review Board and Child In Need of Care, will discuss juveniles in the court system during a paralegal/legal assistant breakfast and forum at 9:30 a.m. Saturday in the Lawrence Public Library’s gallery, 707 Vt. The cost will be $6. For more information or to register, contact Rosina Houle at 843-6682 or Becky Resau at 843-6195.

The registration deadline is noon Friday. Legal professionals and students studying in the legal field and the legal community are encouraged to attend.