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Wednesday, May 01, 2002

Thomas M. Korpiel, MAI, has been elected president of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Chapter of the Appraisal Institute, serving Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia counties bordering Pennsylvania. Kor piel is an appraiser in the firm of Integra Realty Resources-Pittsburgh located in Cranberry, and has been an appraiser since 1990.

Laurie Z. MacDonald has joined Regional Management Group as an account executive.

Pittsburgh Technology Council and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center hired Susan Farrington as director of the information technology cluster work force initiative. Kenneth Siefert joined SPIRC in regional sales.

Allegheny Intermediate Unit named Robert L. Gevaudan assistant director, education division; and Howard S. Shute, director of the non-public schools program, education division.

Thomas A. Karet, vice president of development, ECHO Real Estate Service Co., was elected to the board of trustees at the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children.

TolTest Inc. added William E. Wenner as general counsel.

Dr. Eugene A. Scioscia Jr. has been appointed chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Allegheny General Hospital.

Dr. Evan B. Dreyer has been appointed to the medical staff at Monongahela Valley Hospital and Regional Cancer Center.

MicroPower Systems Inc. promoted Jim Rice to president and chief operating officer.

Carole S. Katz has left Reed Smith to become a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, effective today. A lawyer specializing in employment law, Katz served as lead counsel in Knabe v. Boury Corp., a seminal decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which held that an employer is not liable for sexual harassment if it takes reasonable steps in investigating and responding to the complaint.

	Keith Debiase Job: Head doorman/valet captain Age: 47 Ambitions: To be an integral part of the success of Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa by continuing to provide exceptional, five-star guest service. First job: Worked at Sunnyside Superette, our family-owned grocery store in Morgantown, W.Va. This is where I first learned the art of customer service. Worst job: I never had a bad job. At every one of my jobs, I learned invaluable skills and gained experience that helped me to succeed in future positions. Biggest work challenge ever: To provide the same exceptional service to every guest checking into Nemacolin Woodlands Favorite stock/mutual fund: Mylan Laboratories. Away from work I: Golf and mountain bike to relax. I also like to visit other luxury resorts and hotels to check out what the competition is doing. Dream vacation: Golf America -- starting at Oakmont and ending at Pine Valley. Favorite book: "Jack: Straight from the Gut" by Jack Welch with John A. Byrne. I like his focus on people, especially his employees and colleagues. If I won the lottery: I would be the head doorman and valet captain at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa.

DKW Law Group added five attorneys in its Pittsburgh office. In the firm's corporate practice group, Don E. Goebel joined as a member and Alexander L. Eckman and Michael I. Danovitz joined as counsel to the firm. Michael D. Hughes joined the firm as a member in the employment and employee benefits practice group and Kathryn M. Connelly joined as an associate in the litigation practice.

Hilary N. Snyder has joined Feldstein Grinberg Stein & McKee.

Goehring Rutter & Boehm promoted Michael K. Parrish to shareholder and Wendy Denton Heleen and Andrew F. Evankovich to partners.

Bayer Corp.'s polyurethanes division promoted Kevin Elsken to senior scientist; David Mann, senior technical account specialist; and Steven Schilling, principal scientist.

Eat'n Park Hospitality Group promoted Rob Boyd to director of application development; Adam Golomb, director of marketing; and Amy Bowser, benefits manager.

Inmedius Inc. appointed Gary L. Schaffer president and chief executive officer.

Red Square named Christopher R. Kunselman operations manager; Jeff Walzer, service provider; Jeffrey M. Mauro, Will Whiting and Dale H. Custer Jr., service providers; Christopher L. Casavale, controller; Alishia Pollock, purchasing agent; David Stout, assistant network administrator; James W. Winfield, service coordinator.

LogicLibrary said Jack M. Cooper has joined its advisory board.

Adonix appointed Lucia T. Ahnemann vice president of marketing and channels, responsible for the development and operation of the U.S. indirect sales channel.

CoManage Corp. said Chris J. Valas, a 20-year expert in industry-leading software development, joined as vice president of engineering.

Great Lakes Transportation LLC named Harold D. Tynes corporate controller, and Charles M. Patterson assumed the role of chief commercial officer for GLT's Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Co.

George Calis was named secretary-treasurer of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.

X7 Technologies Corp. announced the extension of its relationship with BMW Financial Services. X7 will continue to provide e-business strategy services, development and deployment services for banner advertisement campaigns, and search engine registration services. In addition, X7 announced the commencement of a new project for Dylan's Candy Bar, the brainchild of co-founders and owners Dylan Lauren and Jeff Rubin. X7 will provide Web site design and development services, e-commerce consulting services, fulfillment consulting, search engine registration services and online marketing consultation to upgrade the appearance, functionality and effectiveness of www.dylscandybar.com.

Transvision Inc. changed its name to MediaPull Inc.

Dr. Jeffrey S. Karlik recently opened Karlik Opthalmology in West View Shopping Center, 1018 West View Park Drive, specializing in surgical, medical and laser treatment of eye diseases. Karlik also performs laser vision correction and will provide routine eye examinations. A complete optical shop is on the premises.

AT&T Wireless will celebrate the grand opening of its newest retail center at Century III Mall Saturday. The area's long-standing wireless communications provider recently expanded at the popular suburban shopping complex, moving from a kiosk to a new store to house more of the latest wireless voice and data products. Patrons are invited to take advantage of special deals during the daylong celebration. Starting at 11 a.m., AT&T Wireless is offering a free Ericsson T60 LX handset and a $50 gift card to the first 100 customers who activate service. While "going wireless," folks can rub elbows with Steelers tight end Mark Bruener. No. 87 will be signing autographs until noon. And 3WS will be spinning oldies.

Minnesota-based Globalcase Technologies Inc. has selected Ventive solutions to automate its service chain processes.

Uni-Marts Inc. has engaged Trefethen & Co. LLC and Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. to act as financial advisers in the exploration and evaluation of strategic alternatives to enhance stockholder value, including a business combination or the sale of certain company assets.

Laurel Capital Group Inc. declared a regular quarterly dividend of 18 cents per share on its common stock, payable May 17 to stockholders of record May 3.

W.E. Enterprises Inc. dba Basco Italia dba Bella Basco Italia, 301 Grant St., One Oxford Center, Pittsburgh. Chapter 7: assets, n/a; liabilities, n/a.

CDSG Inc. dba Geisler Auto, 521 Thorn Run Road, Coraopolis. Chapter 7: assets, n/a; liabilities, n/a.

Pennzoil-Quaker State Co. has signed a lease with Pittsburgh developer Chapman Properties to build-to-suit a 121,000-square-foot regional distribution center in Leetsdale Industrial Park. Pennzoil-Quaker State Co. will service the northeastern United States out of this new facility, one of four regional distribution centers in the country. Leetsdale Industrial Park is located on Route 65, 15 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. Chapman Properties, developer of the park, is planning construction of an additional 650,000 square feet of industrial and office space, with the next speculative building containing approximately 120,000 square feet planned for groundbreaking early next year. Pennzoil-Quaker State will occupy temporary space in the park until the new building is completed in November.

Larry Hershman, a financial adviser with the Pittsburgh North office of American Express Financial Advisors, recently was honored with the President's Recognition Award. The award is one of many American Express initiatives, including training, leadership and recognition programs, designed to help ensure that clients receive the highest quality advice.

Executive Service Corps of Western Pennsylvania has named Alex Thomson an Outstanding Volunteer Attorney for 2002. Thomson, a director with Houston Harbaugh, was nominated by Nancy Holland and Going Home Greyhounds, an all-volunteer nonprofit corporation dedicated to finding adoptive homes for former racing greyhounds.

Margret H. Setcavage has been appointed by Gov. Mark Schweiker to the office of commissioner of deeds in Allegheny County. Setcavage is employed in the corporate legal department at Bayer Corp.

FedEx Ground, Moon-based, provider of small-package ground delivery service, was named Carrier of the Year by the National Small Shipment Conference. It's the third time FedEx Ground has received the award.

Fitting Creative received one ADDY Award and four Certificates of Merit during the Pittsburgh Advertising Federation's show at the Pittsburgh Hilton and Towers.

Kirkpatrick & Lockhart said former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and his wife Ginny Judson Thornburgh were awarded the Bikur Cholim Hospital International Brotherhood Award at a tribute dinner at the Capital Hilton. Thornburgh is counsel to Kirkpatrick & Lockhart. Ginny Thornburgh is the vice president and director of the Religion and Disability Program of the National Organization on Disability.

James Protho, associate systems consultant for Bender Consulting Services Inc. is the recipient of the Prentke Romich Communication Technology Employment Award. This national award is sponsored by the United Cerebral Palsy Association of America. The award recognizes individuals who have achieved success in employment by using augmentative communication devices.

William E. Salem of Cornerstone Investment Consultants & Sentra Securities in New Kensington was recently designated a Certified Financial Planner by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards.

The Ron Dunn Agency was recently awarded the Samuel P. Black Award from Erie Insurance Group for the second consecutive year. This prestigious award is presented annually to agencies in recognition of achievements in private passenger auto production, and is named for Erie's first full-time claims manager, who later served as an Erie agent and member of the company's board of directors.

Lawrence M. Konter, regional manager, American Express Global Corporate Services, was the recipient of the American Express President's Club Award for the second straight year at the company's National Convention in Dallas. The award is presented to the top 5 percent of personnel worldwide who achieve exceptional shareholder return, employee satisfaction and overall business and customer service goals.

Randy Davis, executive mortgage representative at Dollar Bank Residential Lending -- South Hills Branch, has earned the award as top producer of the month in February, based on highest dollar amount and highest unit count of loans closed.

AT&T Wireless was ranked No. 1 international wireless carrier by Business Traveler readers in its 12th Annual Business Traveler Reader Survey. The survey results recognized the "Best of 2001" travel partners, awarding AT&T Wireless WorldConnect service first place status.

The Pennsylvania Division of the Federal Highway Administration presented GAI Consultants Inc. and PENNDOT District 11-0 its first Historic Preservation Excellence Award for Archaeology at the ByWays to the Past Conference held at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in March. The award recognizes exemplary archaeological excavation and public outreach on the Coverts Crossing Bridge Replacement project in Lawrence County.

PPG Industries Inc. was honored during Friedrich Air Conditioning Co.'s ninth annual Outstanding Supplier Awards ceremony held at Sontera Country Club in San Antonio.

Fitting Group has been honored with two 2002 Telly Awards for television commercials. Fitting Group won a Silver Statuette, the top award, and a Bronze Statuette for commercials created for Penn Telecom, a Pittsburgh telecommunications provider.

The Western Pennsylvania Optometric Society presented awards during its annual luncheon and awards ceremony at The Grand Priory on March 10: Dr. Rebecca Knorr of Washington, Pa., was named "Young Optometrist of the Year"; Dr. Maureen Weldon Kamons of Regent Square was named "Optometrist of the Year"; and The Lions Club International was presented with the Van Essen award. This award is given to an individual or group, outside the field of optometry, that has demonstrated outstanding leadership in promoting the visual welfare of the public. The Lions Club earned this distinction through its continued support of the Special Olympics "Opening Eyes" vision screening project.

Scott Pipitone Design won five awards for its work for clients in three recent competitions:

Award of Merit from the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts; Silver Award for its work on the ProPerformance booklet for General Nutrition Centers, Pittsburgh, at the 2001 Print Excellence Awards from the Printing Industries Association of Northern Kentucky and Ohio; SPD also received three awards at the 36th Annual Exhibition of Western Pennsylvania Printing, sponsored by the Printing Industry of Western Pennsylvania. The firm won a "best of category" award for the four-color "Exceptional Expectations" brochure it designed for Watson Institute, also received "honorable mentions" for the "Energy Through Technology" brochure produced for K-Ne Tech, and for the Insurance Agency Marketing Program kit produced for PPG PROSTARS.

Nova Chemicals Corp. received superior and excellent awards from Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America Inc. during the carmaker's Annual Supplier Business Meeting and Awards Ceremony in Covington, Ky.

Insurance Restoration Services recently won a national Phoenix Award from the Association of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration for restoring a local Lone Star Steak House after a major fire. The electrical fire that swept through the Lone Star at Century III Mall on a Sunday during the summer of 2001 caused $325,000 in property damage. Insurance Restoration Services concluded a record-breaking interior and exterior restoration at the restaurant within 17 days from contract to completion.

Ad 1 Partners won three awards in Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International's Golden Bell Public Relations and Adrian Advertising Awards competition.

Verizon Foundation provided $8,500 to support the "Youth Fair Chance -- BizTech' Project," a collaborative effort between Youth Fair Chance and NFTE or the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, to implement BizTech, NFTE's online entrepreneurial training program, at the Youth Fair Chance site serving 30 budding entrepreneurs.

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