Faces and places

Topeka-based Midland Hospice Care elected new board members during its annual meeting on April 28. They are Tom Palace, executive director of PMCA of Kansas; Mike Dunnaway, president of Bartlett & West Engineers; Ken Selvaggi, general manager of KSNT-TV; and Mark Marling, president of Ed Marling Stores.

Joan Wagnon, secretary of the Department of Revenue, was re-elected to the board.

The new officers are Mike Welch, chairman; Barbara Hesse, vice chairwoman; Ronnie Padilla, secretary; and Larry Brubaker, treasurer.

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Tami Keasling, Lawrence, and Sondra Cooper, Blue Springs, Mo., announce the opening of Cooper Keasling Consulting, LLC, a human resources consulting company. The company specializes in on-call human resource support. It also offers assessments, legal compliance, recruiting and retention, employee relations/investigations and training. Keasling, who will manage the Lawrence area, spent the past 15 years in human resources at Sprint Corp. Cooper will handle business in eastern Jackson County in Missouri.

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Denice Edison, a physical therapist at Therapy Works in Lawrence, recently attended a course, “Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia and Regional Pain.” The course, sponsored by the Institute for Natural Resources, focused on signs, symptoms and treatment options for each diagnosis.

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Paula Wagner, loan administrator at Emprise Bank in Lawrence, recently completed the 2004 School of Banking Fundamentals. The school, sponsored by the Kansas Bankers Assn. and Nebraska Bankers Assn., is designed to instruct students in core banking concepts as they relate to the overall functioning of a bank.

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John Kiefer, Robert Kiefer, Alison Kiefer and Greg Schroeder, of Kief’s Audio/Video in Lawrence, attended the Professional Audio Retailers Assn. conference April 21-24 in Phoenix. Participants discussed the future of home audio and video. Kief’s is a founding member of PARA, which merged this year with Consumer Electronics Assn.

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Lawrence resident Jennifer Turpin, a group consultant for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, has been selected by the directors of The Heritage Registry of Who’s Who for inclusion in the 2004 edition.

The Heritage Registry of Who’s Who, a New York-based biographical publication, selects and distinguishes individuals throughout the United States who have attained a recognizable degree of success in their field of endeavor and are thereby contributing to the growth of the nation.

Turpin, who works from the company’s district office in Lawrence, has been employed by BCBSKS for more than 11 years. She has served as a group consultant for the past three years, marketing BCBSKS products and services to existing and prospective businesses in Douglas, Franklin, Leavenworth and Miami counties. She earned a bachelor’s degree in human resource management from Wichita State University in 1992.

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Ted Upstill, Lawrence, of Independent Office Services — Telecommunications Support, recently completed training and certification on ESI’s IP Series VoIP. ESI is a recognized leader in state-of-the-art telephone communication systems for small- to medium-size businesses. Upstill is a certified reseller of ESI equipment and has more than 35 years experience in telephone communications as a Lucent trained systems engineer.

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The National Association of Retired Federal Employees elected officers during its convention April 27 in Topeka. The new officers are Don Cooper, Manhattan, president; John Surritte, Lawrence, first vice president; Gary Townson, Rose Hill, second vice president; Carol Ek, McPherson, secretary; and Jerry Ketter, Sabetha, treasurer. An auction during the convention raised $2,350 for Alzheimer’s research. The next convention will be April 24-26 in Kansas City, Kan.

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Brenda McFadden has been elected chairwoman of the Lawrence Junior Achievement board of directors.

Roger Scott and Jerry Magnuson were named vice chairmen and Dee Bisel secretary. Clint Bradley and Jamie Lowe will be in charge of the annual J.A. Bowlathon fund-raiser.

Other Junior Achievement board members are Dick Lind, Fred DeVictor, Randy Weseman, Greg DiVilbiss, Elois Allen, Seth Jones, Deborah Johnson, Annelee Marsh, Debra Black, Ed Samp, Clarence Reynolds, Peggy Leslie, Karen Schuyler, Todd Harris, Hank Booth, Chuck Woodling and Glynn Sheridan.

Junior Achievement seeks to inspire young people to value free enterprise, understand business and be work force ready. In Douglas County, volunteers teach Junior Achievement programs to more than 3,000 grade school and junior high students.

Coming events

The Kansas University Small Business Development Center announces two seminars in May.

“The Right Start” will be from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. May 19 at the center, 734 Vt. The cost is $20 in advance or $25 at the door. The seminar will cover topics such as registering a business, legal structures, taxes, insurance, accounting, financing and marketing.

“25 Stupid Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make” will be from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. May 27 at the center, 734 Vt. The cost is $40 in advance or $50 at the door. The interactive seminar is for existing or startup business owners. It will focus on the mistakes and how to avoid them.