Faces and places

Combined Insurance Company of America announces that Mark Chaney has joined the company’s Worksite Solutions division as account executive in the Lawrence office. Worksite Solutions partners with businesses to provide voluntary employee benefit products and services to employer groups. Chaney previously was a lending specialist for Liberty Mortgage Inc., Overland Park. He also has six years of insurance experience as an agent and sales producer for Allstate Insurance in Lawrence.

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Lawrence Realty Associates Inc. announced the promotions of three employees to the position of assistant vice president. Teresa Lassiter, Julie Persons, and Nicole Fraker received their promotions March 13. Lassiter is the marketing director at Lawrence Realty, Persons leads the processing department, and Fraker is in charge of accounting.

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The National Republican Congressional Committee announced Joe Jones, of Lawrence’s Northwest Mutual Financial Network, has been appointed to serve on the Business Advisory Council in recognition of valuable contributions and dedication to the Republican Party. Jones will serve Kansas and is expected to play a crucial role in the party’s efforts to involve top business people in the process of government reform.

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Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger named Sabrina Wells, Topeka, director of financial services. Wells, who has served as the agency’s controller and auditor since 1999, is responsible for monitoring the department’s financial transactions. Before joining the Insurance Department, Wells was a principal budget analyst for the Division of the Budget. Wells received a master’s degree in public administration from Kansas University.

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Bill Fuller, state executive director of the Kansas Farm Service Agency, announced that the deadline for farmers to make base and yield selections will not be extended past the April 1 deadline. Fuller encourages landowners who have not made their base and yield selections to contact their FSA county office by April 1. As of March 22, the base and yield selections have been made on 65.89 percent of Kansas farms.

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Galen Weber has been appointed to the National Retailer’s Council for Champion Enterprises, Auburn Hills, Mich. Champion Enterprises is the largest manufactured home builder. Weber is the owner and president of Websters Inc., which is a locally-owned manufactured housing retail business.

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Realty Executives had its Kansas-Missouri regional convention March 7 in Kansas City, Mo. Realty Executives announced that its sales for the Kansas-Missouri Region exceeded $1.5 billion in sales volume from nearly 12,000 sales made by Realty Executives agents in 2002.

Realty Executives has about 700 agents and 30 offices in the Kansas-Missouri region. Realty Executives — Hedges Real Estate Inc. has 30 real estate agents and two offices in Lawrence. Bryan Hedges is president of Realty Executives — Hedges Real Estate in Lawrence.

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Kansas Farm Bureau leaders recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress on agriculture-related issues. The Farm Bureau representatives urged Congress to seek new international markets for Kansas commodities and enact a renewable fuels standard to boost crop-based fuel production. Steve Baccus, Kansas Farm Bureau president, and Ron Rice, Douglas County Farm Bureau president, were among those who traveled to Washington, D.C.

Honors and awards

John Dicus, Capitol Federal president, announced Barbara Carswell, first vice president, is the 2002 recipient of the Henry A. Bubb Distinguished Service Award, the bank’s highest recognition. The award is presented annually to an employee who demonstrates leadership qualities with an emphasis on community volunteerism. Carswell has served as the United Way of Douglas County campaign chairwoman and board president, and board member and vice president of Tenant to Homeowners Inc.

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Doug Vickers, Lawrence, a distributor for Chester Fried Chicken, was awarded the top salesperson for 2002. He is the Northwest regional manager for Hays Food Systems, St. Peters, Mo. The award recognizes the person who sells the most total programs for Hays Food Systems/Chester Fried Chicken, which includes equipment.

Coming events

The Lawrence Apple User’s Group 2.0 will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Room 102 in Pearson Hall on Kansas University’s campus. The meeting will be a hands-on seminar on video editing with iMovie and a discussion of the iLife suite. For more information or to be notified of upcoming meetings, contact Dave at dsg@mac.com.

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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. and lunch will be served at noon. The meeting will adjourn at 1 p.m. Cost is $15. The program will be “Understanding Women as Consumers” presented by Helen Thompson of Prerogative. Lawrence Express Network offers local businesswomen the opportunity to network and grow as professionals. For more information or to make a reservation, visit www.geocities.com/lawexpnet.

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National Flood Insurance Program officials will sponsor three area workshops to help insurance producers, lenders and community officials better understand the flood insurance program.

The workshops will run from 8 a.m. to noon with registration beginning at 7:30 a.m. The workshops are scheduled for: Tuesday, Johnson County Community College, Classroom CC211, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park; Wednesday, Kansas Association of Insurance Agents, Conference Room, 815 Topeka Blvd., Topeka; and Thursday, Atchison City Hall, Council Chambers, 515 Kansas Ave., Atchison.

There is a $30 registration fee per person and pre-registration is advised. To register or for more information, call Sonja Wood or Dean Ownby at (913) 780-4238 or by e-mail at nfipvii@hotmail.com.

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ITKC and the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute are sponsoring a networking event April 8 at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. The event will feature a panel comprised of the greater Kansas City bi-state region’s leading life sciences and technology experts. The panel will discuss a range of issues surrounding the convergence of information technology and the life sciences in the greater Kansas City bi-state region.

The panelists include: Mary Lou Hines, vice provost for Strategic Partnerships at the University of Missouri-Kansas City; Garreth Hippe, president and CEO of IS Discovery Inc.; Mark Hoffman, research and development architect at Cerner Medical Informatics Institute; Victor Frost, director of the Information and Telecommunications Technology Center at Kansas University; Arcady Mushegian, director of bioinformatics at Stowers Institute for Medical Research; and Keith Gary, director of Program Development at Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute.

The cost is $25, which includes a continental breakfast. To register for the event, call 816-235-6176.