• Eleven local companies have been nominated for the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award. Companies are being evaluated on qualities including sound business practices, involvement in the community, job creation and employee relations.

The nominees are: CEK Insurance (Calvin, Eddy & Kappelman, Inc.); Crown Toyota, Scion, Volkswagen; Lawrence Memorial Hospital; Lawrence Landscape; Legends Drive Dental Center; Maceli’s; OrthoKansas; Pawsh Wash and Pet Health Market; Pennington & Company; Sunlite Science & Technology, Inc. and Treanor Architects.

The Business of the Year Award recipient will be announced at an event scheduled for 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., May 8 at the Cider Gallery, 810 Pennsylvania St. Reservations are required and can be made through the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.

• Five new members are joining the of the United Way of Douglas County board of directors. The new members are David Rivers, senior pastor for First Christian Church; Frank Male, co-owner of Lawrence Landscape; Rob Parrish, community banking credit manager for US Bank; Brian Iverson, senior commercial relationship manager for INTRUST Bank; and Rachel Volk, a student at Kansas University. Amy Kelly, attorney-adviser for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, is the new board chair.

Completing their terms on the board are Peter Luckey, senior pastor for Plymouth Congregational Church; Bev Billings, president and chairwoman of Alvamar Development Corp.; Diane Douglas, human resources assistant for KU Athletics; Kim Gouge, section manager for Hallmark Cards; and Sarah Morris, a KU student.

“Our incoming board members bring a broad community expertise to our current board,” said Erika Dvorske, president and CEO of United Way of Douglas County. “We are a community-based organization, and community leadership is critical to achieve our mission. We are always excited to bring on new people who are passionate about that mission.”

• Karen Hammond of Cotton-O’Neil Clinic-Nephrology was the highest scorer in the country on the Certified Nephrology Nurse Practitioner exam. She is one of only two nurses in Kansas and 67 nurses nationwide to be certified as nephrology nurse practitioners. Certification ensures that patients are getting a higher level of care that has been verified by the Nephrology Nursing Certification Commission (NNCC).

Hammond began working at Cotton-O’Neil Clinic-Nephrology in 2010. She is based in Topeka but also sees patients at an outreach clinic in Lawrence as well as dialysis units in Ottawa and Sabetha.

• TherapyWorks, P.A. of Lawrence is planning a Helping You Help Yourself Series Workshop about urinary incontinence titled “Bladder, Bladder, What’s the Matter?” The free seminar is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at TherapyWorks, 1311 Wakarusa Suite 1000. Featured speakers will be Dr. Jon Heeb, a local urologist, and Cindy Johnson, a physical therapist and owner of TherapyWorks. The purpose of the workshop is to educate the public and answer questions about the options available for preventing and treating incontinence.

• Shayne Kahle, Don Stowe, Jeff Kerns and Mike Hensley from Rueschhoff Locksmith and Security, 3727 W. Sixth St., recently attended the International Security Conference show in Las Vegas. The ISC show is an annual conference where the newest products and technologies for the security and locksmith industry are displayed. Products and technologies showcased were, CCTV, security systems, access control systems and other products related to residential, commercial and personal security.