Monday, May 17, 2010

Pool World's Valley store at 13524 East Sprague hosts the Restaurant Chef Grill Off this Saturday from 11-5 with three of the region's top restaurant owner chefs preparing their best barbecue recipes to win a new grill. Bob Hemphil from Chicken and More, Gary Swiss from Crazy G's and Jeremy Hansen from Sante will be cooking meat provided by Spencer's for Steaks and Chops on Weber grills and smoking on Traeger wood pellet smokers. Go to poolworld.biz for more information.

The Spokane Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors has named Jack Lucas, president of TicketsWest and WestCoast Entertainment, as the 2010 Extraordinary Leadership in Tourism Excellence (ELITE) Award winner. He was honored at the Inland Northwest Tourism Awards May 13 at Northern Quest Resort and Casino. Barb Beddor, of Star USA, was named Tourism Professional of the Year. Other winners were: Business Awards Festivals & Events Award: 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Attraction Award: Silverwood Theme Park. Near Nature. Near Perfect. Award: ROW Adventures. Spirit of the Inland Northwest Award: Spokane Transit Authority. In the Bag Award: Aveda. Top Table Award: Wild Sage American Bistro. Individual Award Winners: White Glove Award: Bo Bohannon, Northern Quest Resort & Casino. Silver Spoon Award: Wendale Ellis, Carl's Jr. Restaurant (on 3rd Avenue). First Impression Sales Award: Dana Divine, The Davenport Hotel and Tower and Hotel Lusso. First Impression Retail Sales Award: Colleen Yellin, The Davenport Hotel and Tower. First Impression Hotel Award: Nathan Gray, The Davenport Hotel and Tower. First Impression Transportation Award: Jules Dossou Azatassou, Daj Taxi Cab. Heart of the House Award: Ryan Wilson, Spokane Public Facilities District. Rising Star Award: Linda Yeomans, Historic Preservation Planning & Design. Hospitality Volunteer of the Year: Tracy Niles, Star U.S.A.

An independent study has named Moss Adams, the Seattle-based CPA firm with 21 offices in five Western states including one in Spokane, as one of the nation's best firms for women accountants. The study was sponsored by the American Society of Women Accountants and the American Women's Society of Certified Public Accountants, two leading professional organizations dedicated to advancing women in public accounting. Moss Adams was commended for its higher-than-average share of women partners - over 21 percent. Tom Stevenson heads up the Spokane office of Moss Adams, located in suite 1800 of the Bank of America Building at 601 West Riverside. The phone number is 509-747-2600 and the website is mossadams.com.

Dishman Dodge is now Dishman Dodge Chrysler. Marti Hollenback, Dealer Principal, reported that they have been in negotiations with the former Spokane Chrysler to purchase their assets and the Chrysler franchise since the beginning of this year. The purchase was final May 7. The new Dishman Dodge Chrysler will operate from their current location at 7614 and 7700 East Sprague Avenue in Spokane Valley. The website is dishmandodge.com.

Yak Research, a web-based wholesaler of high-performance wheels and bearings for scooters and skateboards is currently in the process of moving into their newly purchased, 1500 square foot warehouse at 1803 West 5th Avenue. The wholesale company, originally formed in Oakland, CA in 1990, has seen definite growth in recent years due to the growing world of trick scooter riding competition worldwide. The new warehouse is in addition to their current location at 2511 South Tekoa Street. Yak Research needed to expand as the company has experienced an average of ten percent growth annually.

School Employees Federal Credit Union (SECU) membership approved a plan to merge with Numerica Credit Union by an overwhelming majority, 87 percent of those voting. In March, SECU's board unanimously voted to adopt a resolution to merge SECU with Numerica. The vote was then put to the SECU membership and finalized at a special meeting on May 6. Regulatory approval was also obtained from the State of Washington and the National Credit Union Administration in March. Numerica became a part of the Tri-Cities community in 2004 when it opened a branch in Kennewick. It now has two branches in Kennewick and Pasco that SECU members can use. The merger is effective May 31, 2010, at which time the two credit unions will begin the process of consolidation of data systems and other records. Completion is expected in Aug. of 2010.

When Gary and Chris Swiss opened a burger, philly and hot dog restaurant a year ago May 6, people thought they were crazy, so they named the place Crazy G's. And business has been crazy good ever since. The business has been consistently growing, and while lunch business was the mainstay in the beginning, the evening and Saturday business has increased tremendously. For summer Crazy G's is introducing 2 new items; a Char Chicken Caesar Salad and the biggest BLT you have ever seen. Crazy G's Burgers, Phillys, Dogs & Beer is open Monday through Saturday from 10:30 am to 9 pm at 821 North Division. The phone number is 509-315-8943 and the website is www.crazygs.com.

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children's Hospital welcomes the experts of the Inland Northwest Genetics Clinic to its staff. The Genetics Clinic had formerly operated as a separate practice, supported by both Sacred Heart and Deaconess medical centers, for over 30 years. Effective April 1, Judith Martin, MD, the clinic's medical director, Lael Hinds, MS, and Shawnia Ryan, MS (genetic counselors), are full-time staff of Sacred Heart. Their offices are located in the Sacred Heart Doctors Building, suite 650E. Dr. Martin and the genetic counselors help patients find out if they are predisposed to conditions like breast and colon cancer, but they also identify disorders so unusual that only a lab or two in the world can process the required tests. Dr. Martin says the clinic has seen people have their blood drawn for testing and never come back to see the results, but many others desperately want to know what they're up against. For more information call 509-474-3810.

According the Greater Spokane, Inc., first quarter activity at Spokane International Airport was fairly flat, as the economy tried to regain its footing. The total number of passengers was down less than 1 percent and cargo fell 3.2 percent from a year ago. "I think most people would look at these numbers and say they're pretty consistent with what the rest of the economy is doing," said Todd Woodard, the airport's director of marketing and public relations. "We're not sliding backwards, we're maintaining." Airlines added two new flights to Denver and new service to Sacramento and San Jose during the quarter. "It takes a little while for the consumer to become aware of the newer connections, but as people see the convenience, activity will pick up," said Woodard. Summer travelers can look forward to a lot more options, with a record number of seats into both Minneapolis and Salt Lake City.

The Village at Regal Pond, the South Hill center known for housing retailers such as Twig's Bistro, Desert Sun Tanning and Laguna Cafe, is now home to Mai's Nails, a full-service nail salon run by Spokane residents Mai & Ho To. Previously occupied by Maggie Moo's Ice Cream, the 1,341 square foot space located at 4310 South Regal Street is located adjacent to a Verizon Wireless store and Laguna Café on the north-end of the center. After making the decision to branch off from another South Hill nail salon, Mai's Nails has been busy welcoming new customers since March 29. The salon offers a complete range of services including manicures and pedicures, acrylic nail application and waxing, and is open seven days a week. For more information, call 509-448-3088.

According to Greater Spokane, Inc., 16 Spokane-area companies have passed round one of the 2010 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility. The award recognizes businesses as leaders in workplace flexibility locally and across the country. Companies being considered for the award include: Associated Industries; BDO Seidman; Career Path Services; CH2M Hill - Spokane; Coffman Engineers, Inc.; Haskins Steel Co., Inc.; Humanix Staffing and Recruiting; Inland Imaging; Matrical Bioscience; Principal Financial Group; Red Lion Hotels Corporation; St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute; Spokane Teachers Credit Union (STCU); Sunshine Health Facilities, Inc.; Tate Technology, Inc.; and Veterans Medical Center.

Here's a way your company can help to fight diabetes. The American Diabetes Association is having a recruitment party for their "Step Out" walk to fight diabetes. Find out how your company can get involved. Spokane County Commissioner Todd Mielke invites companies to this fun evening, next Wednesday, May 26 from 5:30-6:30pm at the Rooftop of Isabella's Restaurant and Gin Joint, 21 W Main. So join the American Diabetes Association in the fight again diabetes. To RSVP or for more information, contact Ted Duncan, 509-624-7478 or tduncan@diabetes.org.

Sarah Guzman has joined Skyline Inland Northwest as office manager. Skyline Inland Northwest offers Skyline trade show and event exhibits to match any size and budget, ranging from tabletop displays and portable displays to modular inline exhibits and large-scale island exhibits. Skyline makes 19 different exhibit systems, including pop ups, banner stands, panel systems, fabric structures, truss and other structural, custom modular exhibit systems. The phone number is 509-892-5354.

The Washington State Department of Health announced its approval on May 14 of the Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children's Hospital Certificate of Need application to expand the hospital and increase the number of licensed beds. The agreement allows Providence Sacred Heart to add 75 additional adult acute care beds to its license, which will bring its total licensed capacity to 719 beds. The DOH previously approved a request for 21 level II nursery beds in the Children's Hospital. After the project is complete, Holy Family Hospital will reduce its number of licensed beds by 25, from 272 to 247, leaving adequate capacity for Holy Family to expand in the future.

The business thought of the week is from writer and philosopher Eric Hoffer: "A preoccupation with the future not only prevents us from seeing the present as it is but often prompts us to rearrange the past."

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