Ed Samp, Lawrence, has joined the Lawrence office of A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. as a financial consultant. Samp previously was community bank president at CornerBank for five years. He also worked 14 years for Commerce Bancshares.

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Matthew Janke has joined Allen and Purcell Insurance Agency in Lawrence. He is a licensed property and casualty insurance agent. He previously was employed at Kickapoo Ranch near Junction City. Janke received a bachelor’s degree in history in 2001 from Kansas University.

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Chris Armstrong, Anne Walters and Beth Spencer have returned from the Carlson Wagonlit Travel national meeting Oct. 28-30 in Houston. They learned how to take advantage of Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s technology, education and training programs. Armstrong, Walters and Spencer work at the company’s office in Lawrence.

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Dr. Sandra Lawrence has been named an adult outpatient therapist for the Bert Nash Mental Health Community Center in Lawrence. She provides psychological and neuropsychological evaluation, and individual and group psychotherapy. She previously worked as a staff psychologist for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Loma Linda, Calif.

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Tamara Wallace, Rebecca Schlesener, Gary Prather, Aleksey Polovin, Eugenia Miles, Beverly Craig, Teresa Lee and Teri Bandy completed massage therapy programs in October at Pinnacle Career Institute. Miles and Cristin Wasson were voted Students of the Quarter. Randy White was named Instructor of the Quarter.

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Marilyn Dobski, owner and operator of Lawrence-area McDonald’s restaurants, is president of the board of directors for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Kansas. The organization recently announced Dobski as leader for 2004-2005. Also on the board are Linda Hauschild, president-elect and vice president for public relations and fund development; Tony DeJesus, vice president for facilities and maintenance; Jennifer Johnson, vice president for house operations; Leta Collie, treasurer; and Marilyn Rees, secretary. Other members are Terry Agnew, Bruce Akin, Jane Clelland, Nancy Epoch, Jason Geier, Debbie Gehrt, Larry Haas, Dr. Karen Harter, Jan Hutt, Ann Petz, Audrey Quick, Larry Seidl, Gary Semjenow, Jeanne Slusher and Kerry Taylor.

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The Kansas Board of Accountancy announced that Erika Cundiff, Eudora, passed the certified public accountant examination. Cundiff was among the 18 of 113 candidates who passed the test in the July-August exam window.

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Tom Karasek, of CEK Insurance in Lawrence, recently was named a PaceSetter agent by State Auto Insurance Cos., based in Columbus, Ohio.

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Talitha Martin is a Lawrence consultant for Do Re Me & You. The company offers music and related books, toys and games for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and older children. The musical products are created by Kindermusik International. For more information, click on www.drmy.myvoffice.com/tmartin or e-mail Martin at tmartinmusic@yahoo.com.

Honors and awards

The Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau received two marketing awards at the Travel Industry Association of Kansas’ annual meeting Oct. 11-13 in Emporia.

The bureau’s Web site, www.visitlawrence.com, received first place in the professionally developed Web site category. The bureau’s “Stay the Night” campaign also received a first place award.

The awards were based on aesthetic appeal, conceptual merit and innovation.

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Topeka advertising and marketing company FryeAllen Inc. won three national finalist Telly Awards for television commercials entered in the 25th annual Telly Awards Competition.

The commercials were made for the Golden Eagle Casino and the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce. Chris Foree, Lawrence, was involved with the projects.

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Lawrence resident John H. Jones, of MSX International, on Wednesday received one of the first-annual Building Kansas City’s Best awards. The awards were presented and sponsored by Creative Courseware Inc. and the Kansas City chapter of the International Society for Performance Improvement.

Coming events

Christina Erland Culver, deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education, will be the keynote speaker at a luncheon sponsored by the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.

The luncheon will be from noon to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 16 at Hereford House in Lawrence. Culver is responsible for external relations on No Child Left Behind with state and local elected officials, education associations and community leaders. Her topic will be “No Child Left Behind: A Progress Report and Looking Toward the Future.” Culver will be joined by Mary Cohen, the U.S. Secretary’s regional representative.

Cost to attend is $15 and reservations are required. The deadline for registration is Nov. 15. To make reservations, contact Lyndi Knoll at by phone at 865-4411 or e-mail lknoll@lawrencechamber.com.

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The Topeka Chapter of the Kansas Society of Professional Engineers will meet from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Union Pacific Depot in Lawrence.

It will be the annual joint meeting with the KSPE Eastern chapter. Those who will be speaking are: Tim Austin, KSPE state president; Tom Mulinazzi, a Kansas University department chairman; and Ron Gaches, KSPE executive vice president. For more information, call Brian Armstrong at (785) 272-2252.