CAREER

Dale Carnegie Training is proud to announce that Steve Garland of S.J. Gant and Associates, Inc. has received a Trainer Quality Index (TQI) score that places him in the top 15 of approximately 2,500 trainers across the nation. Garland has been with S.J. Gant and Associates for 10 years.

On February 7th, the Heart of Illinois Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development will host a 2008 kick-off event at the Hotel Pere Marquette. Doors open at 4:45pm, and the presentation begins at 5pm. For more information, visit www.astdhoi.org.

On February 8th, CareerTrack will offer a seminar on “Dealing with Difficult People: How to Communicate with Tact and Skill.” This one-day seminar will teach how to recognize these types of people and specifically instruct how to respond to them. The event will take place at the Holiday Inn City Centre. For more information call 1-800-556-3009 or go to www.careertrack.com.

On February 14th and 15th, Dale Carnegie Training will offer a two-day seminar called “High Impact Presentations” from 8:30 to 4:30pm. This class focuses on structuring a presentation, building credibility and selling the idea. The cost is $1,650. For more information, call 691-6808.

On February 26th, Lorman Education Services will offer a seminar on “Employment Law from A to Z in Illinois.” This seminar will bring you up to date on important areas of employment law, including statutory laws. The event will take place at the Holiday Inn City Centre. For more information, call 674-2500 or go to www.lorman.com.

Dale Carnegie Training presents the “Sales Advantage” starting February 28th from 5 to 8:30pm for eight consecutive Thursday evenings. The training will examine the strategic answers to today’s make-or-break selling issues. Cost is $1,650. For more information, call 691-6808.

Employers’ Association Workplace Learning Solutions offers the following programs in February: “Orienting New Employees” with presenter Pamela Creager on February 5th from 9am to noon and “Developing Your Emotional Intelligence” with presenter Liz Pollack from 8:30am to noon. All programs are at the Jameson Inn. For reservations or information, call 800-948-5700 or email mkruse@eaconnect.com.

CONSTRUCTION

Mid-Illinois Companies is pleased to announce three employees who received awards from Tri-County Construction Labor-Management Council (TRICON). Jason Bolen of Pekin and Scott Leach of Peoria received the 2007 TRICON Safety Award. Jed Antonini of Pekin was a recipient of the 2007 Craftsmanship Award. The TRICON awards are presented once a year, with nominations submitted by contractors, safety directors, business agents and co-workers.

EDUCATION

Eureka College named Sarah Melton as coordinator of student programs. She is a graduate of the College and is finishing a master’s degree in college student personnel administration at Illinois State University.

February 25th is Ronald Reagan Day at Eureka College, with activities to benefit and celebrate the Reagan Leadership Program and Reagan Museum. It will include a reception at 5pm, dinner at 6pm and a presentation by The Reagan Diaries editor Douglas Brinkley at 7:30pm. Cost for the dinner is $75, which includes a reception with Brinkley, an autographed copy of his book and admission to his presentation. Cost to attend the presentation only is $10. For tickets, call 467-6317.

Midstate College announced Benita Fields and Ritchie Higdon, both of Peoria, were the first two students in Illinois who graduated using the College Illinois! Capstone Loan program. This program is designed to help college seniors reach graduation when they have exhausted other financial options. Midstate College is one of seven schools participating in the program.

Robin L.T. Ballard of Morton received the Ian T. Sturrock Outstanding Fundraising Executive Award by the Central Illinois Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals at its annual luncheon in November at the Par-A-Dice Hotel. Ballard serves as executive director and chief development officer of the Illinois Central College Education Foundation.

Bradley University announced Jeff Baldwin as the director of the Bradley Braves Club. The Braves Club supplements the operating budgets of all 14 team sports and sponsors numerous social functions surrounding Bradley athletic events.

ENGINEERING

Farnsworth Group announced that Dave Burnison, Mike Sparks, Alex Webber, Julie Sass and Ed Lind are LEED® Accredited Professionals.

Farnsworth Group announced the addition of Bruce Brown to their group as a senior project landscape architect.

Farnsworth Group recognized Paige Hefner and John Leesman for passing their structural engineering exams. Farnsworth Group now has six licensed structural engineers in Illinois.

FINANCE

South Side Trust & Savings Bank promoted Rich Firebaugh, Greg Rice and Kathy Schindler to senior vice president and Todd Lawson to vice president at its December board meeting.

The Hometown Community Banks announced that Shirlee E. Firebaugh has joined Peoria Community Bank as an assistant vice-president, director of private banking.

Clifton Gunderson, LLP welcomes four new hires to its Peoria office: Nick Helmold, assurance associate; Susan Jasinski, seasonal/casual tax; Ryan Schmidgall, assurance associate; and Joanna Schmidt, assurance associate. Clifton Gunderson Technology Solutions welcomes Scott Williams as senior consultant, IT securities.

Busey Bank names Amy Harris as the regional marketing coordinator for the Bloomington/Normal and Peoria markets covering Busey Banking Centers in the communities of Peoria, Pekin, East Peoria, Bloomington/Normal, LeRoy and Fairbury.

RSM McGladrey announced two new hires in their Peoria Physician Services office. Alison Bogaerts and Brenda Clark accepted positions as client service representatives.

The Wyman Group announced a strategic partnership with Aubrey & Eustice, LLC of Bloomington. Mark Aubrey will offer financial services for The Wyman Group clients. The Wyman Group also announced the addition of Ann Barth as claims coordinator for the agency.

Soy Capital Bank and Trust Company announced the promotion of Kerrick L. Vandeveer to community senior vice president at the December board meeting.

HEALTH

Methodist Medical Center announced Karen Herriford, RN, of Chillicothe, as the 2007 Nurse of the Year at its annual dinner meeting on December 10th. Herriford has been employed at Methodist Medical Center since 1986.

Andrea Jackson, RN, at Pekin Hospital, has been named director of the medical unit. Jackson has more than 10 years of experience in critical care and trauma nursing and is certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, Trauma Nurse Core Course, Emergency Nurse Pediatric Course and CPR. She has been employed at Pekin Hospital since 1996.

Children’s Hospital of Illinois at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center is the first facility in the United States to purchase InformMed’s pac2™, a handheld support device that helps nurses administer medication doses that require quick mathematical calculations and drug information recall.

DLA Creative, Inc. has introduced a new website for Illinois Plastic Surgery—www.illinoisplasticsurgery.org. The IPS site features several interactive animations, which make it easier for patients to understand the various cosmetic and reconstructive procedures and treatments offered by the IPS physicians. IPS is located in the Center for Health.

OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Illinois have granted staff privileges to four physicians and four mid-level providers. The physicians are James J. Klemens, M.D.; Ellen L. Pratt, M.D.; Robert R. Riech, M.D.; and David H. Savage, M.D. The four mid-level providers are Lisa Flier, ANP, CNP; Beth F. Hirsch, APN, CNP; Tammy Sarmiento, ANP, CNP; and Aimee Terhark, ANP, CNP.

The Methodist Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine has received full accreditation from the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS), indicating the highest industry standards and best practices in hyperbaric treatment. It is the 85th center in the nation to participate in the organization’s rigorous accreditation process.

Pekin Hospital announced that it has raised $76,000 in net proceeds from its third annual Foundation Harvest Ball held in October at the Par-A-Dice Hotel. All funds raised were earmarked to benefit the remodeling and renovation of the Ambulatory Surgery Unit.

Pekin Hospital has named Craig Schmechel director of information technology. He has over ten years of experience in healthcare information technology.

Associated University of Neurosurgeons, S.C., announces that Julian J. Lin, M.D., board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgeons, has also achieved board certification in Pediatric Neurosurgery. Dr. Lin is the only board-certified pediatric neurosurgeon in downstate Illinois and one of only 200 in the United States. T

The Hampton Inn East Peoria and its corporate owner, Johnson Development, have made a gift of $3,500 to the Methodist Medical Center Foundation. The gift will be used to purchase TV/DVD combination units for the pre- and post-surgical areas at Methodist Medical Center.

The Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (IPMR) announced Pekin Hospital’s IPMR Rehabilitation Services Department received the Highest Scoring Outpatient Award for patient satisfaction from Press Ganey Associates. Patient surveys for rehabilitation services resulted in the highest mean score for the quarter among 83 reporting rehabilitation departments.

Peter Stefanski, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria (UICOMP), is a recipient of the 2007 Medical Student Professionalism and Service Award presented by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). The award recognizes students who excel in compassionate care of patients, professional behavior and service to the community and/or specialty.

Methodist Medical Center has earned the Gold Seal of Approval for healthcare quality from the Joint Commission for six areas of disease-specific care management: sleep disorder, heart failure, hip replacement, knee replacement, pneumonia and acute myocardial infraction. To earn this distinction, a disease management program undergoes an extensive, on-site evaluation by a team of Joint Commission reviewer every two years.

Methodist Medical Center has earned the Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission for Primary Stroke Centers. Methodist earned this distinction after the Joint Commission conducted an on-site review.

Pam Hillyard, MS, LCPC, CMADC, PCGC, ICCGC, manager of the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery and the Counseling Center at Proctor Hospital, and Eastern Illinois University assistant professor Lisa Taylor, Ph.D., will present their paper, Gambling Awareness for Youth: An Analysis of the “Don’t Gamble Away our Future” Program to the International Gambling Conference in New Zealand.

The Peoria City/County Health Department announced that December’s Employee of the Month was Lisa Dallmeyer.

J. Greg Oakley, M.D., medical director of Pekin Hospital’s ER1, was recently selected as the physician to receive the Solid Rock Doc Award for the months of July through September 2007 by employees at Pekin Hospital.

INSURANCE

Pearl Insurance won four awards, including a Gold Award, in the 2007 Professional Insurance Marketing Association (PIMA) MarkeTTech Marketing Methods Competition. The annual contest highlights the best work in the insurance marketing industry and recognized excellence in marketing materials.

Pearl Insurance recently enhanced its dental program and released its upgraded product offerings as a part of the newly established Pearl Dental Insurance unit. Pearl now offers two different dental programs and a comprehensive website—www.pearldentalinsurance.com—featuring an immediate, online quoting rating engine for dental plan shoppers.

LAW

Paul H. Burmeister has joined Husch & Eppenberger, LLC as an associate attorney. He will be practicing in the areas of labor and employment as well as school law. Prior to working at Husch & Eppenberger, he was the associate general counsel of City Colleges in Chicago.

Husch & Eppenberger, LLC, and Blackwell Sanders, LLP confirm that their law firms will be merging, bringing together two law firms of virtually equal size and national rank. The merger closed in January. Their new name is Husch Blackwell Sanders, LLP.

Debbie Walmsley, a certified identity theft risk management specialist and independent associate for Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., and subsidiaries completed a training course on business compliance for identity theft.

NOT-FOR-PROFIT

Easter Seals in Peoria and Bloomington has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) for a period of three years for Outpatient Medical Rehabilitation Programs. The three-year accreditation is the highest level of accreditation.

Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois has received a grant to establish The Goodwill Community Closet. Individuals and families with few financial resources will be identified with the help of Peoria School District 150 and area social service organizations and will receive vouchers for the purchase of clothing and footwear necessary to attend school or work. The program has been made possible by a grant for the RLI Insurance Company Corporate Contributions Fund of the Community Foundation of Central Illinois.

Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois announced two employee anniversaries. Michael Malin has been employed at Goodwill for six years, and Esther Gonzalez for three years.

Community Workshop and Training Center recently welcomed Andy Parmelee and Paul Gaeto to its board of directors. New board officers are Jim Boehm, president; Wayne Tessier, vice president; Jeff Ulrich, treasurer; and Shirley Dawdy, secretary.

Junior Achievement will add 2,800 new students this school year. Globally, Junior Achievement grew 12 percent in 2006 to 2007, allowing it to reach eight million students in 119 countries for the first time in its 88-year history.

The Children’s Home announced that they received a $2,500 grant from the Yeomans Fund of the Community Foundation of Central Illinois to continue its Keepsacks for Kids Project in 2008.

The Cancer Center for Healthy Living announces the addition of Jessica Brugman as program, special events and communications coordinator.

Sandra K. Gavin, CPA, is the new chief financial officer for Easter Seals of Peoria and Bloomington.

SERVICES

John Q. Hammons Hotel & Resorts opened its 226 two-room suite Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center in East Peoria. The all-suite, contemporary hotel is a member of the Hilton family of hotels and is owned by Mr. John Q. Hammons. This is the first full-service hotel in the area in 50 years.

Hoerr Nursery has been awarded and recognized as one of the “100 Most Revolutionary Garden Centers in the Country” by Today’s Garden Center magazine for the third consecutive year.

TECHNOLOGY

FutureGen, the U.S. Department of Energy’s massive “clean coal” demonstration plant, will be sited in Mattoon. There are three other potential locations—one other site in Illinois and two others in Texas. The project aims to be online by 2012.

Peoria NEXT is accepting proposals for its Research Grant Program. To be eligible for the grant, projects must be in the science or technology fields with the likelihood of commercialization. Grants will be awarded to projects which support innovation and commercialization in the fields of life science, physical science, material science and engineering. For more information, contact Dr. Robert Bolla at rbolla@bradley.edu. Applications and additional information can be found at www.PeoriaNEXT.org.

ExplorePeoria.com announced the addition of a directory of Peoria-area charities and non-profit organizations. The directory lists local groups by category and includes basic contact information for each charity and non-profit group. Any groups interested in learning more about having their organization listed should contact ExplorePeoria.com at Charities@ExplorePeoria.com. IBI