Faces and places

Bryan Hedges, president of Realty Executives – Hedges Real Estate Inc., reported that 2002 was a record sales year for the Lawrence real estate agency. Sales for the company were 15 percent higher in 2002 than in 2001.

At their annual awards meeting, Realty Executives – Hedges Real Estate Inc. also announced its 100 Percent Club award recipients, which include agents who generated more than $100,000 in gross commissions. The 100 Percent Club recipients for 2002 include: Charles Gruber, Glen Sohl, Larry Northrop, Chris Morris, Lisa Ramler, Kathy Bailey, John Olmstead and Sean Williams.

Realty Executives has more than 30 employees working from its Lawrence office.

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Fran Hopkins, of CEK Insurance in Lawrence, completed a comprehensive course on priority senior issues on Dec. 23. The course is conducted by the Society of Certified Senior Advisors. Hopkins completed an exam to earn the certified senior advisor designation. As an advisor, Hopkins will participate annually in continuing education provided by the society. The CSA membership will ensure that she remains an informed professional for senior citizens.

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Rozi Foreman, of Lawrence Realty Associates, earned the nationally-recognized real estate designation of GRI or Graduate Realtor Institute. To achieve the title, a real estate professional must be a member of the national, state and local board/association of Realtors and complete 90 hours of advanced coursework.

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The Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, Lawrence, announces that W. Francis Elling has joined the center in child and family services. Elling will work with children and families in the Multisystemic Therapy program. He previously worked at Franklin County Mental Health Clinic. He has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Illinois.

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Scott Kimzey has joined Lawrence-based Harris Construction Co. Inc. as senior project manager. Kimzey will be managing an expansion project for NCS Pearson in Lawrence and also will focus on operations management for Harris Construction.

Previously, Kimzey worked for Saylor Consulting Group in San Francisco, a construction consulting company that is primarily engaged in estimating and cost control of large public projects. Kimzey was an intern in Harris Construction’s estimating department for four years while earning a degree in construction science and management from Kansas State University. He worked full-time for the company as a project manager for nearly three years.

Michael Bell has joined Harris Construction as a senior project manager. Bell will assist Kimzey with the NCS Pearson project. Previously, Bell worked for Turner Construction as a project engineer on the Sheraton Hotel in Overland Park. Bell earned a bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering from Kansas University and has seven years of construction experience. Bell will be working out of Harris Construction’s Kansas City office.

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The National Builder Division of Countrywide Home Loans Inc. announced that Jon Reed has joined the company as divisional builder manager for the company’s central division, which includes Kansas. Reed will work with Countrywide’s regional managers to increase market share and loan volume among home builders. Reed has been in mortgage banking sales management for nearly 20 years. He previously owned his own mortgage brokerage company which focused primarily on serving home builders. He most recently worked for Wells Fargo.

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The Lawrence Home Builders Assn. membership has elected three new board members to replace outgoing board members Bob Santee, Doug Stephens and Glynn Sheridan. The new members are Heath Seitz, Heath Seitz Construction; Frank Male, Lawrence Landscape; and Dale Smith, Bud Jennings Carpet One.

During the association’s January board meeting, the following officers were elected: Bud Hunt, president, Hunt Inc.; Dee Perry, president-elect, Perry Construction; Heath Seitz, secretary, Heath Seitz Construction; and George Grieb, treasurer, Lynn Electric.

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Farmers who suffered crop losses because of natural disasters may apply for Farm Service Agency emergency loans if they live in Anderson, Douglas, Franklin, Johnson, Linn, Miami, Osage or Shawnee counties.

To be eligible for a loan, an applicant must be operating a family size farm or ranch, must be unable to get credit elsewhere and must have suffered a qualifying physical or production loss from the disaster.

Farmers should make their applications at the FSA county office in Ottawa. Applications will be accepted until June 25.

For more information, contact Eric Guenther, FSA farm loan manager, at (785) 242-3527.

Honors and award

Gerry Meyer, Lawrence, AFLAC sales associate, earned a spot at the company’s annual convention. Meyer finished the qualification period among the top eight performers in Kansas. AFLAC district sales coordinator Mary Ann Mosier, Lawrence, this month was awarded the Triple Crown, a sales achievement reached by three percent of first-year field force members. She will attend a special seminar in Columbus, Ga., for award winners.

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Brandon Woods Retirement Community, Lawrence, announces that Dr. Mary Vernon has been granted the title of certified medical director in long-term care. Vernon is one of 32 physicians who have completed the CMD requirements nationally, and was certified by the American Medical Board of Directors. Only 1,723 physicians nationwide have received the CMD designation.

Coming events

Teach for America, Peace Corps and AmeriCorps is sponsoring an Alternative Career Paths panel at 7 p.m. Jan. 28 in the Big 12 Room of the Kansas Union. Members of the organizations will share stories of their service, including its rewards and challenges.

For more information, call Aline Hoey at 864-7679 or e-mail peacecorps@ku.edu.

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The Lawrence Express Network will meet at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the Hereford House, Sixth Street and Wakarusa Drive. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m. with lunch served at noon. The guest speaker will be Mayor Sue Hack, who will discuss the Lawrence outlook for 2003. Guests are welcome.

For more information or to make a reservation, contact Rhonda Scherff at 749-5011.