• Carey Maynard-Moody, of Lawrence, recently received Amtrak’s Champion of the Rails Award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The Champion of the Rails Award is one of the top awards Amtrak gives to citizens who support the idea of rail travel. Maynard-Moody won the award for her role in founding Depot Redux, a group of Lawrence citizens that does everything from providing basic cleaning of the Santa Fe Depot to lobbying for the 1950s-era building to be preserved and restored.

• Woody Davis has joined Integrity Midwest Insurance LLC, Lawrence, as a sales executive. He will be responsible for new commercial sales production, developing business to business relationships and completing commercial insurance policy reviews.

• Ten lawyers from Stevens & Brand LLP recently were selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2013. The lawyers are: Peter K. Curran, Bradley R. Finkeldei, Webster L. Golden, Patricia E. Hamilton, Matthew H. Hoy, Evan H. Ice, Sherri E. Loveland, Wesley F. Smith, Rebecca J. Wempe and Molly M. Wood.

• The Kansas University Small Business Development Center will host a free seminar for startup entrepreneurs. Exploring Entrepreneurship will be presented 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the center office, 646 Vermont St., Suite 200. Preregister by calling 843-8844 or sign up for the event at www.facebook.com/kuksbdc. The seminar will focus on a number of topics, including permits and licenses, funding, taxes, marketing and writing a business plan.

• The Lawrence Chamber of Commerce has announced its 2013 board of directors and leadership team. Board members, whose terms begin Jan. 1, typically serve a three-year term.

These are members of the board’s leadership team: Doug Gaumer, INTRUST Bank, chairman; Mike McGrew, McGrew Real Estate, incoming chairman; Ken Hite, Mize, Houser & Company, P.A., secretary-treasurer; John Ross, Laser Logic, immediate past chairman.

These are the board members: Shannon Abrahamson, First Management Inc.; Allen Belot, Allen Belot Architect; Jane Blocher, American Red Cross; Bradley Burnside, U.S. Bank; Joe Caldwell, Bartlett & West Inc.; Susan Cantrell, Lawrence Journal-World; Kathy Clausing-Willis, Lawrence Memorial Hospital; Jason Edmonds, The Edmonds Duncan Group; Brad Finkeldei, Stevens & Brand; Ernesto Hodison, Douglas County Bank; David Johnson, Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center; Cal Karlin, Barber Emerson L.C.; Mark Kern, Kern Marketing Group; Richard Konzem, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America; Chad Luce, Westar Energy; Jean Milstead; Kevin O’Malley, O’Malley Beverage; Miles Schnaer, Crown Automotive; Ginger Wehner, KU Credit Union; Paul Werner, Paul Werner Architects; Constance Wolfe, The World Company; and Scott Zaremba, Zarco 66 Inc.

• Ranita Wilks of Independence Inc. has passed the Certified Employment Support Professional exam. This is a national certification recognizing her level of skill and knowledge for providing employment training to people with disabilities. Wilks started working at Independence Inc. in July 1999. Since 2001, she has coordinated Mentoring Day-Lawrence, a career development and mentoring program for high school youth with disabilities.

• A retirement reception is planned for 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Dec. 19 for Jeff Martin, who will leave Schendel Pest Services at the end of the year after 22 years of service. Martin has spent his career with Schendel as a service technician in Lawrence and Eudora. Customers are invited to the event at the Union Pacific Depot Visitors Center. Cards may be mailed to Martin at 2416 Ponderosa, Lawrence 66046.

— If you have a submission for our Business Briefs column, please send it to Caroline Trowbridge, community editor, at ctrowbridge@ljworld.com or P.O. Box 888, Lawrence, KS 66044.