BUSINESS PEOPLE

Gabriel Lara, executive housekeeper of Doubletree Suites by Hilton-Bentonville, was named a winner of Hilton Worldwide’s Spirit of CARE Award. Winners of the Creating A Rewarding Experience award are nominated by peers for exemplary loyalty, attitude and service. Fewer than 100 of Hilton’s 50,000 employees are honored each year.

While his background is in catering and banquet service, Lara accepted the executive housekeeper position shortly before the February 2008 opening of Doubletree. By making employee recognition a priority in his department, Lara boosted employee retention rates and improved team performance. His team participates in charity fundraising and community events. His department scored 100 percent in all areas of the Hilton Quality Assurance inspection. He will receive a cash prize and other special recognition.

Lisa Morstad, chief financial officer for Fayetteville School District, was among three winners named 2013 Arkansas School Business Official of the Year. The award was presented March 7 by Kelly Hayes, comptroller for the Springdale School District during the annual meeting of the Arkansas Association of School Business Officials in Hot Springs.

Two employees of Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville recently earned the certified diabetes education national designation. Donita Clark, a clinical dietitian, has been on staff for 12 years and has a bachelor’s degree in human environmental sciences from the University of Arkansas. She provides guidance to people with diabetes to help them manage and control their blood sugar and offers nutrition counseling.

Kandy Johnson, R.N., has been with Washington Regional for 35 years. She earned an associate’s degree in nursing and a bachelor’s degree in education, majoring in science and health, from the University of Arkansas. She maintains an active statusfor her teaching certificate through the Arkansas Department of Education.

Stefanie Anne Ryan, APN, has been hired by the Benton County Health Department to assist in family planning, maternity, breast care and gynecological services. She received her master’s degree and specialty as a women’s health nurse practitioner through the Frontier Nursing University in Hyden, Ky. Previously, she worked in the critical care unit of Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville.

Christopher Milligan has been promoted to vice president of BlueInGreen LLC in Fayetteville. He joined the company in March 2012 as director of engineering after BlueInGreen had been among the first clients of his consulting engineering firm. Milligan will continue to oversee the company’s engineering team, providing help with strategicplanning for operations and marketing. Milligan has more than 10 years experience in civil and water engineering. His bachelor’s degree in civil engineering is from the University of Arkansas and his master’s is from the University of Oklahoma. He is a licensed wastewater treatment operator and a licensed professional engineer in nine states.

Chase Sorrels, manager of Seeburg Muffler & Brake in Rogers, received the 2013 Humanitarian Award at the Vision Hi-Tech Training & Expo in Kansas City. Sorrels developed a community outreach project where Seeburg provides auto repair with donations from O’Reilly Auto Parts for local residents in need identified by the Samaritan Center and two local churches. The annual event in early March is the Midwest conference of the Automotive Service Association. Only two humanitarian award-winners were selected.

Jordan McGuire, a sales consultant at Frank Fletcher Honda in Bentonville for thepast four years, was awarded gold-level membership in the Council of Sales Leadership recognition program of American Honda Motor Co. Inc. He was among 341 toplevel designees out of more than 14,000 Honda sales consultants.

Steve Cox, vice president of economic development for the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce, graduated March 14 from the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute in Norman, Okla. Economic development professionals in the program complete 117 hours of instruction with particular focus on real estate, finance and business retention and expansion.

Billy Law has been hired as marketing coordinator for Clark Partners Realty Group in Fayetteville. He has six years professional graphic design experience with a background in the printing industry, most recently as senior graphic designer at Arcom Printing in Fayetteville. He attended Southern Arkansas University Tech in East Camden and was the department’s 2007 inductee to the National Technical Honor Society.

E-mail: [email protected] or send your item to: Sue Morris, P.O. Box 7, Springdale,Ark. 72765. Information must be received by noon Wednesday prior to the Sunday the item is to be published.

Business, Pages 66 on 03/31/2013

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