RETIREMENTS [Topeka Capital Journal (KS)]

RETIREMENTS

Diane Green, associate broker with Coldwell Banker Griffith & Blair American Home, retired Saturday, Dec. 31. During her 29-year career in real estate, Green was named Realtor of the Year and Salesperson of the Year by the Topeka Area Association of Realtors and the Kansas Association of Realtors. She also served on the board of directors of both organizations and in every elected position of both organizations, including president of TAAR in 2003 and KAR in 2006. In addition, Green served as president of the Sales & Marketing Executives of Topeka and as a director on the boards of the Stormont-Vail Foundation and the Kaw Valley Girl Scout Council. She also was a recipient of the YWCA's Women of Excellence. Green started her real estate career after 13 years of teaching high school English and Spanish.

PROMOTIONS

Jeffrey Blush and <person>Jade Kerr have been promoted to vice president positions at Capitol Federal. Blush began his career with Capitol Federal as a loan service specialist in May 2006 and has held the position of assistant loan servicing manager at the home office in Topeka since 2009. Kerr joined Capitol Federal in August 2003 as an accounting intern and worked as a staff accountant, senior staff accountant and a risk management analyst prior to being named accounting analyst in June 2007. He serves as an accounting manager in the financial services division. Both Blush and Kerr hold master's of business administration degrees from Washburn University.

NEW FACES

Neurosurgeon Tausif Rehman, neurologist Hartej Singh Sethi and physician Priti Duggal have joined St. Francis Health Center facilities in Topeka. Rehman, who joined Topeka Neurosurgery in mid- September, earned his medical degree at Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan, and completed a general surgery internship at Brown University in Providence, R.I., and surgery training through Cornell University. He has an extensive research background with two patents pending FDA approval for new methods of ventriculostomy (stereotactic catheter) placement and aneurysm clipping, both of which earned him recognition during his neurosurgery residency and a diagnostic neuroradiology fellowship at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Sethi, who joined the Kansas Medical Clinic, attended medical school at the Government Medical College in Patiala, India, where he also obtained clinical experience in the areas of internal medicine, pediatrics and neurology. He earned a master's degree in physiology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and completed a residency in neurology, during which he was the chief resident in his fourth year. Sethi also completed one-year subspecialty training in vascular neurology (stroke) at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, one of the busiest stroke centers in the country. Duggal, who recently joined St. Francis Family Medicine at 600 S.W. Jewell, received her bachelor's degrees in medicine and surgery in India, where she also gained clinical experience. Duggal subsequently completed a family medicine residency through the Area Health Education Center based at Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff, Ark., where she gained extensive exposure to all aspects of inpatient and outpatient care.

Dennis Rose has joined Capitol Federal as vice president delivery systems manager. He is responsible for management of software applications and help desk functions within Capitol Federal's information technology department. The graduate of California State Polytechnic University is a certified Project Management Professional and brings experience from a variety of software and financial services firms.

Jared Payne and Jay Carter III have joined the Sunflower Marketing division of M-C Industries as graphic designers. Payne and Carter will design graphics for screen-printed T-shirts, embroidered garments, promotional products and advertising materials. M-C Industries, which is based in Topeka, also is the parent company of Polo Custom Products.

NAMES

Brandon J. Aldridge and Jonathan Schumm, of Modern Woodmen of America in Topeka, have attained the Fraternal Insurance Counsellor designation. The FIC title is an educational designation that can be earned by career life insurance representatives associated with fraternal insurance societies. Representatives devote more than one year to meet the examination and career development criteria set by the Fraternal Field Managers Association.

Dawn Wallace, of American Tax Service in Topeka, has passed the Enrolled Agent Exam and is now permitted to practice before the Internal Revenue Service. The test consists of three sections addressing tax law for individuals, businesses and ethics. Wallace is an accounting graduate of Washburn University and has been employed by American Tax Service for more than seven years.

Gregory J. Meier, of Rossville, and Steven Wayne Porubsky, of Topeka, have been elected to serve on the Shawnee County USDA Farm Service Agency county committee. Meier will represent LAA 1, and Porubsky will serve as first alternate. Committee members serve three-year terms and are responsible for making decisions on FSA disaster, conservation, commodity and price support programs, as well as other federal farm program issues.

MISCELLANEOUS

A partnership between the Prodigy Soccer Club and PT's Coffee Roasting Co. will benefit Topeka-area youth soccer players in need of funding to offset their annual dues. Funding will come from the Jon Kaspar Memorial Scholarship Fund, which was created by Prodigy Soccer in memory of <person>Jonathan Kaspar, a member of the club and employee of PT's Coffee who was killed in a car accident in 2010. He was 20. PT's Coffee will donate $1 for each 8-ounce bag of the Flor del Sol single estate blend sold to the scholarship fund. They hope to raise $1,500, which will help as many as 10 youths play in 2012. The Flor del Sol blend is available at both of PT's Coffee Topeka locations, as well as on their website, www.ptscoffee.com.

St. Francis Health Center has received chest pain center accreditation from the Society of Chest Pain Centers, an international nonprofit organization providing accreditations and certifications for clinics and facilities. The accredited chest pain center at St. Francis Health Center has met or exceeded a set of criteria and undergone an on-site review by a team of SCPC's accreditation review specialists. Key areas in which an accredited chest pain center must demonstrate expertise include the following: integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system; assessing, diagnosing and treating patients quickly; effectively treating patients with low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms; continually seeking to improve processes and procedures; ensuring the competence and training of accredited chest pain center personnel; maintaining organizational structure and commitment; having a functional design that promotes optimal patient care; and supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack.

Topeka-based BA Designs began a partnership in September with Teknion, a leading international designer, manufacturer, and marketer of office systems and related office furniture products. BA Designs is offering the Teknion line of products at its showroom locations in Topeka and Kansas City, Mo. Teknion's integrated product portfolio encompasses several lines of systems furniture, mobile furniture, architectural wall systems, seating, storage and filing, freestanding casegoods, and accessories.

ELSEWHERE

Pat McCandless, of Stephens Real Estate in Lawrence, recently completed the Kansas Graduate Realtor Institute Program, earning the nationally recognized GRI real estate designation. The GRI designation is awarded only to real estate professionals who are members of the national, state and their local Realtor associations and who successfully complete a minimum of 90 hours of specific advanced coursework.

Document Resources, an information security company with facilities in Manhattan, Salina, Hays and Wichita, has received AAA Certification for all of its locations from the National Association for Information Destruction. The AAA rating is the highest level of certification possible. Document Resources specializes in shredding, secure record storage and electronic media storage.

CALENDAR

FRIDAY, JAN. 6

Lean Six Sigma White Belt program, 9 to 11 a.m., Kansas Room, Memorial Student Union, Washburn University. This presentation offers an overview of the Lean Six Sigma problem-solving phases. Cost: $25 for individuals, $50 for organization (up to five people). Information: http://www.washburn.edu/ao/professional_development/ six-sigma/index.html or (785) 670-1399.

SUBMISSIONS

Submit business-related items to It's Your Business, The Topeka Capital-Journal, 616 S.E. Jefferson, Topeka, 66607, or email to iyb@cjonline.com. The Capital-Journal will consider photos of the following: Those receiving national or state awards; those who have completed extensive training programs, such as being certified by the Certified Financial Planner Board or passing the CPA exam; newly elected chairman of the board or president of an organization; new employees or managers/owners of new businesses; and retirees. Items and photos will run as space permits.