Peggy Johnson, a certified financial adviser with American Express Financial Advisors, has earned membership in the company’s Circle of Success program. She will be honored during a conference Thursday through April 10 in Boca Raton, Fla. To earn the honor, Johnson was a top producer and met financial planning and client service requirements. Johnson works in the Lawrence office, 3200 Mesa Way.

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James Colahan, Lawrence, is the new tax manager for Topeka-based SS&C Business & Tax Services Inc.

Colahan schedules and supervises the firm’s tax staffers and provides tax compliance, tax planning and financial planning services for individuals, trusts, partnerships and small corporations. He also prepares and reviews individual and business financial statements and income tax documentation.

Colahan, a Kansas University graduate, served as vice president and managing director of a national bank in Lawrence.

SS&C Business & Tax Services has offices in Topeka, Lawrence, Overland Park and Meriden.

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Carrie Forster has joined Body Boutique, 2330 Yale Road, as its club manager and children fitness program director. Forster has experience working with children and is responsible for managing the current youth fitness program at the gym as well as expanding it to include summer programs for older children.

The goal of Body Boutique’s FitKids program is to enable children to experience exercise in a fun environment.

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David Parkinson, a 2002 graduate of Lawrence High School, will work a 12-week summer internship at Microsoft Corp. in Redmond, Wash. Parkinson, a junior at the University of California in San Diego, is studying computer engineering.

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Sharon Sturgeon and Leah Watts, both of Topeka, have joined the staff of Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging Inc.

Sturgeon is a fiscal assistant, and Watts is a data entry specialist.

The agency advocates on aging issues, builds community partnerships and implements programs within Douglas, Shawnee, and Jefferson counties to help seniors live independent and dignified lives.

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Private nonprofit organizations in Douglas and area counties have until April 11 to apply to the U.S. Small Business Administration for disaster assistance. The SBA is providing low-interest rate disaster loans to organizations suffering damages caused by severe storms Jan. 4-6.

For more information, contact the Kansas Division of Emergency Management by calling (620) 343-4110 or click on www.sba.gov/disaster.

Honors and awards

Home Automation Inc. has named Atronic Alarms Inc. as a Five-Star Dealer for 2005, and remains the only security and home automation company in Kansas to receive the designation.

Winners were selected based on the number of years the dealer has been installing HAI products, number of systems installed in 2004, and unique marketing or programming solutions that involved an HAI product.

Coming events

The Lawrence Apple User’s Group 2.0 will discuss “Why You Need a Blog” at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the community room at Signs of Life, 722 Mass.

Mike Silverman will explain blogs and why they are so popular, show examples of a wide range of blogs, and how to create a blog for self-expression on a Mac. Group members are encouraged to show off their blog and how they created it.

For more information, click on www.laugks.org or contact Dave Greenbaum by e-mail at dsg@mac.com.

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The Lawrence Chamber of Commerce announces a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Cartridge World. It will be at 11:30 a.m. April 14 at 2540 Iowa St., Suite K.

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First Southern Baptist Church, 4300 W. Sixth St., will play host to a leadership seminar, “The Maximum Impact Simulcast: The Influential Leader,” to be simulcast from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 29.

The seminar, to be broadcast from Atlanta, will include more than 70,000 business professionals participating via satellite downlink in 500 cities across North America. The seminar will feature Dr. John C. Maxwell, a best-selling author. He is the author of “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” and “The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork.”

For more information, click on www.maximumimpact.com/mis or call the church at 843-8167. Tickets are $79.

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Lawrence Professionals in Aging, a networking group for professionals who work with seniors, will meet from 11:30 to 1 p.m. Thursday at Jade Mongolian Barbeque, 1511 W. 23rd St. The cost of lunch is $11.50.

The speaker will be Deborah Burns, chaplain of Southern Care Hospice, who will discuss, “Grief for Healthcare Providers.”

For more information, e-mail lawrenceprofessionalsinaging@hotmail.com or call Kim Hoffman or Laura Bennetts at 842-0656 or Seth Movsovitz at 856-5555.