Business briefcase [The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa]

Oct. 06--Two Fort Madison Air Evac Lifeteam employees were recently honored with national awards. Eric Bean, flight nurse and base clinical lead for the Fort Madison Air Evac Lifeteam base, received the company's 2013 National Base Clinical Lead award. Aaron Feagain, flight paramedic for the Fort Madison base, was named the National Paramedic of the Year. They received the awards at Air Evac Lifeteam's national awards banquet Sept. 21 in St. Charles, Mo.

The Base Clinical Lead of the Year award is presented to a flight nurse or paramedic who demonstrates accountability, initiative, integrity, endurance, enthusiasm, dedication, and a commitment to his or her own personal and professional growth as well as a commitment to the growth and development of colleagues and peers. Jennifer Fletcher, director of patient care services, said Bean is always working to improve the outreach education in the Fort Madison service area.

The Paramedic of the Year is presented to the flight paramedic who works as a team player, demonstrates a desire to increase knowledge and skills, and actively pursues opportunities to promote Air Evac in the community. Joe Grygiel, senior director of base operations, said Feagain has great passion and enthusiasm for educating EMS personnel.

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Karen S. Elliot has joined Jon Hart'sEdward Jones office in Burlington as a financial adviser.

"I'm looking forward to working with Jon Hart and meeting investors in this area. I've come to admire his professionalism, and I believe working with him will make me a better financial adviser," Elliott said.

"Karen will help provide the high level of service investors in Burlington and West Burlington have come to expect from us as well as extend our services to new investors," Hart said.

Hart's office is located at 3211 Division St., Suite 2.

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KSB Insurance recently announced the acquisition of English Insurance Agency in Fort Madison (formerly a branch of State Central Financial Services). Insurance professionals Beth Holmes and Cheryl Untz also have joined the KSB Insurance team as part of the acquisition and will continue serving the Fort Madison community for all its insurance needs.

"Beth and Cheryl bring a diverse and successful insurance background to our organization. They are very excited to get started and we are confident that both will be an integral part of our success in Fort Madison," said Jeff Allerman, vice president of KSB Insurance. "With KSB Insurance, they will be representing many new insurance carriers and look forward to helping their customers find the best insurance coverage and value."

KSB Insurance is temporarily operating from rented space within the Dodd Printing Building at 623 Ave G, but will be moving to its new permanent office at 1223 Ave --( Former Scholl Real Estate Office) very soon. A grand opening announcement and celebration will follow in the coming months.

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Great River Health Systems has been recognized as one of the best places to work in Iowa, according to a recent Des Moines Register survey. Great River Health Systems ranked fourth in the large company category and placed highest in the health care category. The 2013 Top Workplaces survey included more than 160 companies with more than 35,500 employees responding.

The Des Moines Register has recognized 100 companies and organizations in Iowa as top workplaces based solely on surveys about the workplace completed by their employees.

"We are proud to be included in the list for Top Workplaces in Iowa," said Mark Richardson, president and CEO of Great River Health Systems. "Our people really go beyond the technical aspects of providing health care. That is what health care is all about."

GRHS won a special award for training excellence based on standout scores for employee responses to specific survey statements. Employees rate these statements on a seven-point scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The criteria for the training award was: "I get the formal training I want for my career."

"Our motto is to educate, motivate and entertain," said Sue Ferguson, director of corporate education for GRHS. "We're honored that the employees have recognized that effort."

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