Cinda Garrison, owner of Prairie Patches in Lawrence, recently completed a class, “Contemporary Weddings and Corsages,” in Oklahoma City. Garrison participated in four days of hands-on design sessions to learn about trends in colors and techniques involving flowers for brides, attendants, ceremonies and receptions. She received a certificate of completion from the Teleflora Education Center.

¢ Peoples Bank-Lawrence has hired Chelsea Chandler as marketing assistant. Her duties include research, advertising, marketing, promotional and other guest service activities. She previously worked in the media relations office of Kansas Athletics Inc., and handled post-season special projects for the Big 12 Conference.

¢ Dee Bisel, owner of Minuteman Press, announces the promotions of Bobette Puderbaugh and Andy Holzmeister.

Puderbaugh, an employee with the company for five years, is business manager, having moved from part-time to full-time status. She is responsible for customer service, estimating, bulk mailing services, marketing and accounting. She received a Master of Business Administration degree from Kansas University in 1994.

Holzmeister was promoted to supervisor for bindery and bulk-mailing operations. He has moved from part-time to full-time status. His department is responsible for final quality inspection. He has been with Minuteman for four years and formerly worked for Sprint.

¢ Geri Vossen has been promoted to customer service manager and personal banker at Emprise Bank, Lawrence. Vossen oversees tellers, customer service operations and building issues at the 1121 Wakarusa Drive branch. She has been with the bank since March.

¢ Lavonna McAlister, of Color Hair, Spa & Retail Studio, and Brenda Peterson-Smith, of Hair Experts Salon & Spa, participated in a seminar presented by Peel’s Salon Services in Overland Park.

The seminar covered physical, financial, emotional and spiritual aspects of business. The salon owners learned about and practiced the latest techniques from around the world. Guest speakers included Dr. Lew Lasoncy, psychologist; Douglas Cox, inspirational trainer; Sharon Norman, staff and marketing trainer; Dr. Chris Hutcheson, chiropractor; and Eric Fisher, an award-winning salon owner from Wichita.

¢ Trinity Respite Care has changed its name to Trinity In-Home Care, a change intended to more clearly describe the organizations services. The business provides in-home services such as housekeeping, meal preparation, transportation, and companionship to older adults and individuals of all ages with disabilities in Douglas County. For more information regarding services or employment opportunities, contact Trinity In-Home Care at 842-3159.

¢ Lawrence resident Mark Craig, teacher for students with visual impairments in the Shawnee Mission public schools, has been certified by the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation & Education Professionals as an orientation and mobility specialist. Orientation and mobility specialists teach children and adults who have visual impairments the specific orientation skills used to find one’s way in the environment and the mobility skills needed to travel safely and efficiently at home, school, work and in the community. He completed his coursework through Texas Tech University.

¢ Strategic Communications of Kansas LLC is a new public and media relations firm based in Topeka. The firm handles public and media relations, grassroots coalition building and lobbying.

Developed by Kathy Damron and Lawrence resident Azure Miller, Strategic Communications of Kansas works with clients interested in a public relations effort to support legislative actions, as well as businesses and organizations seeking traditional press and public relations services. Their experience includes more than 20 years of lobbying and press relations in Washington D.C. and Kansas.

For more information, visit www.strategiccommunicationsofkansas.com or contact Kathy Damron or Azure Miller at (785) 235-2572.

¢ Trisha Kmiec has joined TherapyWorks in Lawrence. Kmiec received her Associates of Science degree and Bachelor of Arts degree from Washburn University. She has been practicing for four years in private practices and long-term care centers and home health care settings. She focuses her work on aquatic therapy, cervical injuries and headache treatment.

¢ Lawrence chiropractor Dr. Mark Howarter has renamed his practice The Chiropractic Experience: A Creating Wellness Center. Formerly known as The Chiropractic Experience, Howarter has expanded his office at 2449 Iowa, Suite Q, to accommodate the practice’s new direction of improving health through proactive and preventive means.

The Creating Wellness Center aims to slow the adult aging process and limit injuries, aches and pains before they would need to be adjusted by chiropractors. The center computes a “wellness quotient” for each patient, then creates a program that focuses on exercise, diet and emotional stress.

Roni Bregman has joined the Creating Wellness Center as a full-time wellness coach. She assesses patients, determines their wellness needs and program, and serves as an “accountability coach” to help patients follow through with their program to achieve the next level of wellness.

Also joining the practice is Sabrina Channel, a certified massage therapist, formerly with Muscles in Motion.

The center will celebrate Wellness Opportunity Week this week to highlight its grand opening. A Lawrence Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting will be at 11:30 a.m. Friday. A 5K Wellness Walk is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday, starting at the Creating Wellness Center’s parking lot. Proceeds will go to the American Red Cross and hurricane victims.

After the walk, tours of the expanded center will be given along with blood pressure checks, body fat screenings and table massages. For more information call 838-3333.

¢ Hy-Vee Food Store announces that Pat Hubbell is the new pharmacy manager at its 3504 Clinton Parkway location, where Abby Mackie is a new staff pharmacist.

¢ Kristen Walker has joined the staffing specialist team at Adecco’s Lawrence office.

She previously worked for Peoples Bank as a marketing assistant. Walker received a degree in communication studies, with a focus on human resources and marketing, from Kansas University.

¢ Harold Pearce, branch manager and financial adviser at the west Lawrence office of Raymond James Financial Services Inc., has been named to the firm’s 2006 Executive Council in recognition of client service and professional growth.

Pearce, who joined Raymond James in 1986, has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. He offers a range of investment and financial planning alternatives for individuals and businesses.

Honors and awards

The Lawrence Public Schools and Achievement Partner KU Credit Union presented its September “Class Act” Award to Pam Christian, food services manager at Lawrence High School. Christian has worked for the Lawrence school district for 15 years. She leads the food services staff at LHS and ensures that teachers, staff, and about 1,200 students receive nutritious breakfast and lunch choices each day.

Coming events

The Topeka Chapter of the Kansas Society of Professional Engineers will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday for a plant tour at Menu Foods, 1400 E. Logan Ave. in Emporia. A dinner meeting after the tour will be at Bruffs Bar & Grill, 2640 W. 18th Ave. For more information, contact Stacey Lamer at (785) 272-2252.

¢ The fourth annual TherapyWorks’ Great Pumpkin Pursuit will be at 8 a.m. Oct. 23 at the Clinton Lake Softball Complex near the South Lawrence Trafficway path. The event includes a 5K run, a one-mile fun run/walk and a Great Pumpkin Exchange Relay.

All proceeds will be used to support scholarships for students entering a health-related profession such as physical or occupational therapy school, medical school, medical assistant training, massage therapy school or other health-related fields. The scholarship funds will be established through the Lawrence Schools Foundation.

For more information, contact Kaci Brutto by telephone at 749-1300 or by e-mail at kacibrutto@therapyworks.org.

¢ Molly Wood, a partner with Stevens & Brand, will lead a workshop on special needs trusts for parents with disabled adult children.

“Special Needs Estate Planning: Looking Past the Horizon” will be at 2:15 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Holiday Inn & Convention Center in Hays. The presentation is part of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Kansas annual conference. A preliminary program is available at www.namikansas.org/registration.htm.

¢ Downtown Lawrence Inc. has partnered with Lawrence Memorial Hospital and the Community Health Improvement Project to bring Walktober to the community.

Walktober is a new national walking campaign designed to boost walking in just 31 days from the national average of 4,000 steps a day to 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day. The campaign also inspires individuals to make walking a priority, in October and beyond.

At 6:30 p.m. each Thursday in October, local “celebrities” will lead a walk in the downtown area. They are:

¢ Oct. 13, city commissioners, meet in front of City Hall.

¢ Oct. 20, Maria Martin, director of Downtown Lawrence Inc., meet in front of US Bank, Ninth and Massachusetts streets.

¢ Oct. 27, Don Fambrough, former Kansas University football coach, meet in front of Eldridge Hotel, Seventh and Massachusetts streets.

¢ The Lawrence Chamber of Commerce will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 21 at the Lawrence Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 800 Comet Lane.

¢ The Lawrence Technology Assn. Fall Mixer will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 19 in the Big 6 Room at the Eldridge Hotel. Perry Alexander, president of Cadstone, will present an overview of his new software company that develops tools for the electronics design and automation industry. To register, call Kerri Johnson at 832-2824 by Tuesday.