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Wednesday, February 27, 2002

By Natalie Hill

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Architecture

Roger Pearson, director of planning for IDC Architects, has transferred to the firm's Pittsburgh office from Austin, Texas.

Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Associates said Steven Franckhauser has joined the firm as general counsel.

		Profile of the Week Joe Franz Job: President of Information Systems Services Inc. Age: 44 Ambitions: To be there for my family and to help my sons through college, create a positive impact on people whom I interact with on a personal and professional basis, or become filthy rich and go into seclusion. First job: Cutting grass as a 13-year-old Worst job/why?: Cutting grass as a 13-year-old. I was hired by an apartment complex to cut approximately three acres of grass with a push mower. That wasn't so bad; the $3 per acre that I was paid was the problem. I didn't cut the grass a second time. Biggest work challenge ever: Leaving Fortune 500 companies to work in a small company. That has been the biggest adjustment, but also the best move I have made. Favorite stock/mutual fund: Dreyfus Away from work I: Enjoy as many sporting and social activities as a 44-year-old can. Specifically, weightlifting, racquetball, golf, movies, gambling. Dream vacation: Hiking the Grand Canyon, snorkeling and scuba diving in the Caribbean Favorite book: "The Partner" by John Grisham If I won the Lottery, I'd: Open a gym, hike the Grand Canyon and scuba all over the world.

Associations/Organizations

Southwestern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center hired Joe Mason as vice president of sales.

For the first time in the North Side Chamber of Commerce's 105 year history, a woman has been elected board president: Linda Leonhardt, vice president, market manager for National City Bank of Pennsylvania.

Markovitz Dugan & Associates said Timothy A. Taylor has been elected to serve as the vice chair of the Quality Enhancement Committee of the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts.

Arthur H. Stroyd, a litigation partner of Reed Smith, has been named to represent Allegheny County on the House of Delegates of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, which sets Pennsylvania Bar Association policy and is made up of representatives from 12 zones around the state.

Downtown Neighborhood Association elected officers: J.D. Fogarty, president; Bill Baumgarten, vice president; Karl Ohrman, treasurer; and Jeri Isreal, secretary. Newly appointed to the board is Ellen Yarnell.

Dr. Joe D. Forrester, president of the Beaver County Community College, was named to the advisory board for the Workforce and Economic Development Network of Pennsylvania.

Banking, Finance

Fidelity Bank promoted Lisa Dillon to assistant vice president.

Irwin Bank & Trust Co. promoted David A. Finui to senior vice president and chief operating officer; and Robert A. Bowell to executive vice president/secretary-treasurer/chief lending officer.

Consulting

Corporate Solutions LLC promoted David Hintemeyer to chief technology officer and hired Saba Malki as a principal consultant in the Oracle practice.

H.B. Maynard & Co. Inc. promoted Jason Bocz to staff consultant; Megan Hebda joined as associate consultant.

Education

Maryjean Lovett was elected to the board of trustees at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Blind. She is director of student alumni programs at the University of Pittsburgh.

Energy

Equitable Resources and affiliates Equitable Gas Co. and Equitable HomeWorks noted some appointments and promotions. Tracy Geyer has been promoted to vice president of customer relations for Equitable Gas; Marie Sonnet has been named manager of service excellence, responsible for customer service quality, training and process improvement at Equitable's customer care center; Andy Murphy is vice president of rates, purchasing and strategic planning at Equitable Gas; Lisa Hyland was appointed director of operational analysis. Equitable HomeWorks, the retail marketing affiliate of Equitable Gas, has named Mike Jasper director of retail marketing. Ken Fredericks has been promoted to assistant controller marketing segment, responsible for the marketing operation's accounting and derivative related accounting for Equitable Resources.

Foundations

The Pittsburgh Child Guidance Foundation elected 2002 officers: Nancy D. Washington, president; Thelma Lovette Morris, vice president; Kelly J. Kelleher, secretary; and Lloyd F. Stamy Jr., treasurer.

Health and Medicine

LifeCare Hospitals of Pittsburgh Inc. hired Michael J. Smith as director of finance.

Roberta L. Plohr was named practice manager for The Heart and Lung Institute at St. Francis Medical Center.

Ohio Valley General Hospital named Denise Abernethy clinical manager of the hospital's critical care suite.

Investment

J. Kenneth Moritz has joined Stonewood Capital Management Inc.

Law

Penina Kessler Lieber joins Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel as counsel in the firm's Pittsburgh office.

Karen Y. Bonvalot, Richard S. Cobb, Patricia Lindauer and Jill Garfinkle Weitz have been named shareholders of Klett Rooney Lieber & Schorling.

Bonvalot and Lindauer are residents in the firm's Pittsburgh office; Cobb is a resident in the Wilmington office, and Weitz is a resident in the firm's Philadelphia office.

Bonvalot is a shareholder in the firm's litigation department, and Lindauer is a shareholder in the firm's real estate and finance department.

Multimedia

Todd Graf has joined Mind over Media as interactive project manager.

Nonprofit

Gifts For Jesus announces the election of Gina Sambuco to its board.

Technology

Spinnaker Networks hired Deborah Jones as director of strategic alliances and Don McCoy as director of customer support services.

NetTec Services hired Madeleine Wickwire as the director of marketing and Michael Brooks as an account manager.

InterScope Technologies Inc. said Michael R. Hughes has joined as vice president of sales and customer operations.

National Business Network Inc. named Larry Hampshire president and CEO, and Timothy Mayo chief technical officer.

BUSINESS NOTES

Droz and Associates, the Pittsburgh-based integrated marketing firm, has merged with INFORMA, the Institute for Marketing Accountability. The merger has created one of the nation's first outcome-based marketing firms. INFORMA is now a corporate division of Droz. Dan Droz remains CEO and assumes the title of chairman; and Gerald Driggs, former CEO of the Corporation of Standards and Outcomes and founder of INFORMA, has been appointed president and COO of the firm.

MED3000 Group Inc. said it has obtained a $12.5 million senior revolving credit facility from Heller Healthcare Finance Inc., a GE Capital company.

DHR International has acquired the assets of StratfordGroup, the global retained search subsidiary of Spherion Corp.

Multimedia Unlimited Inc. has been approved under the state's Master IT Services contract. Through the Invitation to Qualify process, initiated by ex-governor Tom Ridge, vendors become prequalified to provide Information Technology services.

In continuing efforts to help regional displaced workers, Community College of Allegheny County is offering additional certificate programs that will train workers for local business and technology sectors in need of qualified employees. The programs are: Fiber Optics Technology, A+ Certification, Project Management Certification, Cisco Certification, Office Productivity Software. Contact the Office of Workforce Training at 412-237-2570.

Penn State's Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program has launched an e-business Technical Assistance Program, called e-TAP, to provide free help to enhance the e-business capabilities of small and medium-sized companies throughout the state.

The e-TAP initiative is funded by the Pennsylvania Technology Investment Authority of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and by the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

Armstrong Rehabilitation Therapy purchased the Nutrition Management Division of NCS Healthcare. This acquisition will operate as a division of ART and will be called Armstrong Nutrition Management.

Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc. acquired certain assets of Empire Specialty Steel Inc. from the New York Job Development Authority. The acquisition includes the inventory, property, plant and equipment and selected intangible assets. The purchase price of $4 million was funded with $1 million in cash and $3 million in notes payable to the JDA.

NEW BUSINESS/ NEW OFFICES

KTH Architects Inc. has opened a Westmoreland County Regional Office, 524 Route 30, Irwin. Frank Colletti, AIA, a registered architect with 27 years of experience, manages the office

Bally Design has relocated to the North Shore Center at 600 River Ave.

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