Sharon Miller has joined Color Studio, 2330 Yale Road, as a certified massage therapist. Miller, who has been a massage therapist since 1995, specializes in chair, hot stone, deep tissue, peri-natal, Swedish and men’s massages. Miller is preparing to advance to Level II in cranial sacral therapy.

¢

Lawrence resident Tena Santaularia, an industry educator and consultant for Wichita-based Pioneer Balloon Co., recently was a featured speaker for the annual International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions convention in Orlando, Fla. More than 30,000 business owners and representatives looking for the newest innovations in the amusement park industry attended the convention.

Santaularia, also a freelance special events decorator and former owner of It’s Your Party and Balloons and More, taught two workshops at the Orlando Convention Center.

¢

Mar Lan Construction of Lawrence has been selected as the general contractor for the construction of two Frontier Farm Credit office buildings.

Gale Lantis, president of Mar Lan Construction, said construction was scheduled to start this spring on an 8,100-square-foot office building in southern Douglas County. The building will replace current offices in Lawrence and Ottawa.

The second office building will be located three miles east of Manhattan on Highway 24. Construction on the 6,400-square-foot building is scheduled to begin immediately.

¢

J.R. Demby recently rejoined Stephens Real Estate Inc. as an associate broker. Demby started his real estate career in 1980 with Stephens and was among the agency’s top agents for 15 years. In 1995, Demby started his own brokerage and served on the board of directors for the National Association of Exclusive Buyers Agents. For the past three years he has worked as a mortgage lender in Lawrence and Overland Park.

¢

Sue Glatz has joined the salon at J.C. Penney in Lawrence.

Glatz, who handles hair design and nails, formerly worked at Rejuvene Salon & Day Spa. She has had her cosmetology license for 20 years.

¢

Wint Winter Jr., Lawrence, is among 11 board members for the new Kansas Center for Entrepreneurship, expected to be operational by March.

The center, as a priority of the Kansas Economic Growth Act passed by the Kansas Legislature last spring, will advise and educate aspiring entrepreneurs throughout the state and help connect them to startup money and support services. It will feature a call center with an 800 number where entrepreneurs can get advice and contacts, and a Web site providing financing sources and lists of business development agencies that can help entrepreneurs. Training and educational workshops also will be offered. In addition, a Kansas Community Entrepreneurship Fund will be established, giving individuals and corporations access to tax credits for their contributions to the fund.

Members of the 11-member board: Winter, CEO and general counsel of Peoples Bank; Suzan Barnes, Cottonwood Falls, owner and manager of Grand Central Hotel; Charles Comeau, Plainville, president of Dessin Fournir Cos.; Kenneth Daniel, Topeka, chairman and CEO of Midway Sales and Distributing Inc.; Ted Dankert, El Dorado, CEO and chairman of Dustrol Inc.; Anthony Dellasega, Pittsburg, president of Community National Bank; Sonia Greteman, Wichita, president and CEO of the Greteman Group; Kate Pope Hodel, Overland Park, director of the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Initiative for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; Galen Swenson, Salina, owner and operator of Swenson Farms; Tracy Taylor, Topeka, president and CEO of Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp.; and Ned Webb, Topeka, consultant on enterprise facilitation for the Sirolli Institute.

¢

Nell Mathews has been promoted to serve as general manager of Atronic Alarms Inc., based in Overland Park.

Mathews, who has worked for the company for the past 14 years, remains actively involved in installations and will continue to oversee all customer service areas, said Perry Atha, president and developer of the company, which specializes in customized security, fire and home automation systems for Kansas City-area residents.

¢

Lawrence resident Stephen Markley, a public service executive with the Kansas Department of Labor, is retiring Jan. 1 after 33 years of state service.

Markley joined the agency in 1971 as an employment security field representative and was promoted to employment security manager in 1973 and employment security consultant and regional manager in 1974. Two years later he became an employment security consultant field coordinator. He was promoted to management systems analyst II in 1994 and public service executive II in 1998. Markley became a public service executive III in 2000.

Coming events

The Commodity Classic will be Feb. 24-25 in Austin, Texas., for corn and soybean farmers.

In addition to the seminars and trade show, the Commodity Classic will feature a panel of experts in a discussion titled, “Growing America’s Future.” Vince Poscente, an Olympic skier and motivational speaker, will give a presentation. The conference will end with an evening of entertainment featuring the country music group Restless Heart.

To register or for more information, click on www.commodityclassic.com or call (636) 928-3700.