Banking & Finance
Valliance Bank welcomed Carey Blair Farmer – photo – to its lending team as vice president of commercial lending in its McKinney office. Farmer brings more than 10 years of banking experience. Prior to joining Valliance, Farmer served as a commercial loan officer and relationship manager at Southside Bank. In 2013, she was honored as a Top 20 React Partner Award recipient by BBVA Compass. She is the founder of the Collin County Professional Women’s Networking Group, is a member of Frisco Moms Care board, Turning Point board member elect, and CASA Golf Committee member. She has also served on the boards for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Girl Scouts of SW Texas and McKinney Little League and Sports Association.
Boards & Organizations
Plano Mayor Pro Tem Lissa Smith – photo — was elected president of the North Central Texas Council of Governments’ Executive Board for a one-year term. The board is the policy-making body of the Council of Governments, which serves the 16 North Central Texas counties of Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, Palo Pinto, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant and Wise.
Education
Children’s Lighthouse Learning Center appointed a group of consultants to supplement the teams and processes within the organization. The consultants are Eilene Moore, Robyn White, Anna Sherman, Monica James and Melinda Harris. Moore has served as franchise consultant/operations support manager since October 2015. Prior to home office support, she was the center director at two Children’s Lighthouse locations. Moore also served as the director for the Crowley United Methodist Church preschool in Crowley from 2012-2014. White has served as a director of field support/franchise consultant since June 2015. Previously, she was a sales consultant with USA Shade & Fabric Structures. White has more than 15 years of child care management experience with several different companies such as KinderCare, Children’s World and Childtime. Sherman has been a franchise consultant since July 2014. She was previously employed as an executive director for Children’s Lighthouse at Grand Mission LLC in Katy, Texas, from 2008-2014. James has been a franchise consultant since April 2016. From 2007-March 2016, James was a sales consultant with USA Shade & Fabric Structures and also worked with Jemcare. She has more than five years of child care experience. Harris was appointed as a franchise consultant in May 2016. Prior to that, she served as an independent consultant from January 2014-May 2016 and worked with Open Door Preschool as a consultant.
Engineering & Construction
Nathan Thompson – photo — is a new senior project manager hire at Peloton Land Solutions Inc. in Frisco. Thompson comes to Peloton with 15 years of experience in private land development. He is responsible for developing and maintaining client relationships and projects, and oversees the entitlement and engineering design process for master planned residential communities to small infill development. He will also assist developers in the formation and administration of special-purpose districts, while also coordinating with municipalities on tax increment financing and tax increment reinvestment zones. He is a registered professional engineer in Texas and has been admitted to the State Bar of Texas.
Wayne Hartt – photo — joined the Frisco office of Freese and Nichols Inc. to lead transportation efforts in Collin County and the surrounding area. Throughout his 25-year career, Hartt has led roadway, traffic engineering and drainage components for projects totaling more than $450 million. He gained additional experience through consulting work with the Texas and Florida departments of transportation. Hartt is pre-certified by the Texas Department of Transportation in nine categories.
Government
The city of McKinney hired Darrell Auterson – photo – as president of the McKinney Economic Development Corp. Auterson most recently served as president and CEO of the York County Economic Alliance in York County, Pennsylvania, since 2012 and previously worked in the same role at the York County Economic Development Corp. since 2002. He previously had business and economic development positions in Indiana, Illinois, North Carolina and California. Auterson serves on the board for the International Economic Development Council and is a member of several professional economic and business development organizations.
Honors & Awards
Vanessa Curtright-Bowles, — photo — sales and marketing director of Edgemere, an SQLC retirement community, received the 2016 Sales and Marketing Director of the Year award from Greystone, a senior living management company. Curtright-Bowles was selected out of more than 30 marketing directors from senior living communities across the country based on quantity of sales, excellent standards of performance, and team performance and leadership. Curtright-Bowles was previously named Sales and Marketing Director of the Year in 2013.
The State Bar of Texas honored McKinney resident Jan Kearney of Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas with the Pro Bono Coordinator Award.
Gwen Chipango, caregiver supervisor at Mustang Creek Estates of Allen, received the 2016 Texas Hero Award from the Texas Assisted Living Association for her dedication to seniors. Chipango also received a check of $1,000 from the owners of Mustang Creek Estates.
Dave Lieber, — photo — “The Watchdog” columnist for The Dallas Morning News and a certified speaking professional, received the Joseph J. Charbonneau Award for his public speaking and leadership from the National Speakers Association/North Texas chapter.
McKinney’s Finance Department was awarded the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. The department’s staff has earned this award for 32 consecutive years.
Six Texas Health Resources hospitals earned the Mission: Lifeline quality achievement award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks. The hospitals and their awards are: Texas Health Heart & Vascular Hospital Arlington, Gold Plus Receiving Quality Achievement Award; Texas Health Hurst-Euless-Bedford, Gold Receiving Quality Achievement Award; Texas Health Dallas and Texas Health Denton, Silver Plus Receiving Quality Achievement Award; Texas Health Plano, Bronze Plus Receiving Quality Achievement Award; and Texas Health Huguley, Bronze Receiving Quality Achievement Award.
Nonprofit Organizations
Leighanne Daley Sanchez – photo — has been appointed the executive director of Pathways Core Training Inc., a life-management training nonprofit organization. Sanchez is the former executive director of the Nature Preserve Foundation and prior to that, she was a consultant to nonprofit and for-profit companies where she created financial models, developed boards, generated strategic alliances and expanded programs. Sanchez also was the managing director of Youth Speaks Inc., an educational arts organization.
Radio & Television
Melissa Harrison – photo — joined Mike Rogers and Scott Sams as co-anchor of the KRLD Morning News. Harrison is a veteran journalist who has worked as a television news reporter in New York and Dallas-Fort Worth as well as Birmingham, Ala.; Jackson, Miss.; Waco and Abilene. She was most recently a freelance reporter for KXAS-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth. She has also served an assistant professor and broadcast journalism consultant at Biola University near Los Angeles. KRLD-AM is owned and operated by CBS Radio, which owns and operates 117 radio stations in major markets nationwide. CBS Radio also owns and operates KJKK-FM, KRLD-FM, KMVK-FM, KLUV-FM, and KVIL-FM in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Technology
Greatbatch Inc. formally changed its name to Integer Holdings Corp., effective July 1. The company’s common stock continues to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, adopting the ticker symbol ITGR. According to Thomas J. Hook, president and CEO of Greatbatch, the Integer brand will be introduced as part of the company’s offerings on a phased basis over the next several months. Greatbatch Medical, Lake Region Medical and Electrochem will continue to serve as customer-facing brands. The new brand does not affect Greatbatch’s corporate structure. Integer Holdings Corp. is the largest medical device outsource (MDO) manufacturer in the world serving the cardiac, neuromodulation, orthopedics, vascular, advanced surgical and power solutions markets.
Tourism, Entertainment & Leisure
The Frisco Convention & Visitors Bureau added Stacie Esteban – photo — as the corporate sales manager. Esteban comes to the Frisco CVB with more than 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry. In her most recent position, she was the opening director of sales for the Hampton Inn and Suites Dallas/Frisco North Fieldhouse USA.
Please send newsmakers to Betty Dillard at bdillard@bizpress.net
Red Cross taps Rhodes as chief executive
Longtime nonprofit leader Keith Rhodes – photo — has been named the new chief executive officer for the North Texas Region of the American Red Cross.
Rhodes has spent the past 24 years supporting youth, especially those at highest risk for dropping out of school, using drugs or becoming homeless.
“We immediately recognized that Keith’s past experiences steering youth at Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys Town and Methodist Home for Children of New Orleans prepared him to lead our cause at the American Red Cross,” said Sharon Jaksa, division vice president for the American Red Cross. “We are thrilled to have him on our team, especially leading one of our busiest and most effective regions.”
Rhodes will be responsible for enhancing the organization’s mission across the region’s121 counties.
Currently, the North Texas Region has an annual fundraising goal of $9.4 million. Rhodes believes that goal is not only achievable, but can be significantly surpassed.
“The more people we can talk to about this incredible mission, the more confident I am that our community will support our critical work,” he said.
Rhodes said that aside from disaster response, raising public awareness about how the organization supports United States military members and their families is paramount.