• John R. Hooge, Attorney at Law, announces that Nick Steinwart has joined his law firm located at 2619 W. Sixth St., Suite D, as an associate attorney.

• The Kansas Board of Accountancy has announced 24 candidates who have successfully passed the computerized examination in the April/May exam window. Justin Whitney of Lawrence was among them.

• The Kansas Bar Foundation appointed officers and trustees for 2011-12 at its annual meeting on June 10 in Topeka:

Katherine L. Kirk, of Lawrence, has been appointed to serve as secretary/treasurer of the KBF for 2011-12. She has been active in bar association work since law school, when she became a member of the Kansas Bar Association, Kansas Trial Lawyers Association and the Kansas Women Attorneys Association.

Todd N. Thompson, of Lawrence, was appointed to serve a three-year term as District 2 trustee, ending June 2014. He is the senior attorney at Thompson Ramsdell & Qualseth P.A. and is admitted to practice in Kansas, Missouri, the U.S. District Court of Kansas, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Margaret A. Farley, of Lawrence, has been appointed to the KBF Board of Trustees as the Kansas Association for Justice representative. She is a solo practitioner, president of the KAJ (formerly the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association), president of the Kansas Advocates for Better Care and past president of the National Consumer Coalition for Nursing Home Reform (now The Consumer Voice).

• American Institute Of CPAs And Kansas Society Of CPAs announce 2011 “Women To Watch” award nominees. Awards are given in two categories, Experienced Leaders and Emerging Leaders. An experienced leader is defined as a KSCPA/AICPA member who is in a higher level or leadership position within her organization, such as partner, owner, member, executive, elected official or appointee, etc. An emerging leader is defined as a KSCPA/AICPA member who is not yet in her highest level of advancement; however, she makes contributions to the profession and her community. Michele C. Hammann, Lawrence, was nominated for the Experienced Leaders award.

• The Kansas Hospital Association Leadership Institute graduated its 10th class, of 31 students, on Aug. 19 at the Critical Issues Summit in Wichita. Students were nominated by their hospital’s CEO to be part of this select group. The KHA Leadership Institute Class of 2011 includes Elizabeth Ann Mowery, RN, Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

• Wireless Zone, a Verizon Wireless Premium Retailer located at 10096 Woodland Road in Lenexa, opened for business Aug. 22. The store is owned and operated by Christina Root, an alumna of Kansas University and Lawrence resident. Root managed the Verizon Wireless corporate store in Lawrence for more 10 years. The Lenexa store is the first one of its kind in the state of Kansas.

• Lena Rodriguez, Lawrence, co-hosted a discussion on teacher salaries in the latest episode of “IGI,” a community affairs talk show on KTWU, Topeka’s public broadcasting affiliate. Rodriguez is chief marketing and development officer at the Urban Entrepreneur Partnership Inc., a program of the Kauffman Foundation.

The new “IGI” episode, “Teacher Pay: Worth & Value,” aired Aug. 28 and Aug. 29 on KTWU and is already available on YouTube.

• As a result of coordinating city and university transit services, Lawrence has been recognized by the Federal Transit Administration for the largest increase in ridership among urban transit providers in Kansas. The award was presented at the annual meeting of the Kansas Public Transit Association last week in Manhattan. To get help planning a route or for more information, call 864-4644 or visit lawrencetransit.org.

• Sunflower Bank announces the hire of Larry Reiswig as vice president of commercial loans, primarily serving the regional community bank’s eastern Kansas markets. He is based in Sunflower Bank’s Topeka office, located at 2641 SW Wanamaker Road. Reiswig will concentrate on large commercial credits, opportunities and loan relationships within the $1.7- billion bank’s eastern Kansas footprint, including offices in Lawrence, Manhattan and Junction City.