01/18/10 In Basket

Agriculture

* Tree Top Inc.'s board of directors has re-elected several officers. They are Tom Auvil, chairman; Ed Kershaw, vice chairman; and Randy Smith, secretary/treasurer.

Several board members were also re-elected to serve a three-year term: Bruce Allen, Michael Smith and Warren Morgan.

Arts

* The Yakima Youth Symphony Orchestra has appointed Tony Smith to serve on its board of directors.

He joins the other officers and members of the board. Officers are Nancy Miles and Doug Miles, co-presidents; Pammy Kibbe, treasurer; and Kayla Fager and Matt Fager, co-secretaries.

Board of directors at large are Betsy McCann, Linda Seaman, Libby Penhallegon, Libby Kopeznski-Moore, Val Shepler, Rashelle Simons and Mary Kay Anabtawi.

* Several local residents were selected to serve on the board of trustees for Humanities Washington, an organization dedicated to providing and encouraging high-quality cultural and educational programming across the state.

John Baule, director of the Yakima Valley Museum, will serve as chairman-elect for 2010. New trustees include Ed Marquand, co-founder and co-director of Mighty Tieton; Carli Schiffner, dean of arts and sciences at Yakima Valley Community College; and Ricardo Valdez, director of the University of Washington's Yakima Valley Community Partnership at Heritage University.

Health

* Yoga Alliance has awarded Heather Powell its Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher status. Powell, owner of Feather Yoga Studio in Yakima, earned the designation by teaching more than 1,000 hours of yoga and organizing yoga at work programs for a number of local businesses, including the Yakima Regional Library and the Bureau of Reclamation, along with holding group and private lessons, workshops and retreats at her Yakima studio.

* The American Council on Exercise has awarded Lindsey M. Woodkey its Advanced Health & Fitness Specialist certification. Woodkey, a personal trainer at Anytime Fitness in Ellensburg, earned the designation after passing an examination that shows her ability to provide in-depth preventative and post-rehabilitative fitness programming.

Woodkey, a 2007 graduate of Eisenhower High School, is a junior at Central Washington University double majoring in exercise science and nutrition. She is also certified by the American College of Sports Medicine and Yogafit.

* Physical therapist Steve Dale has transferred ownership of Medical Center Physical Therapy and Selah Physical Therapy to Therapeutic Associates Inc. Dale, who has practiced in Yakima for 39 years, will continue to practice at the two clinics.

Therapeutic Associates Inc. has selected Robb Jacobs as director of both clinics. Jacobs, a graduate of West Valley High School and the University of Washington, has a doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Montana and has worked in the Seattle area for the past four years.

Michele Ahlbrecht, who has been practicing with Dale for the past 18 years, will continue her practice at the Yakima and Selah clinics.

* Cascade Women's Healthcare Associates has hired Joe Ketterer as its clinic administrator. He previously worked as assistant administrator at Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center.

* Dr. Michael Zammit, who studied under pioneering cardiovascular surgeon Lester Sauvage of Seattle, has joined Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center.

Zammit, 57, will practice at a new clinic called Central Washington Vascular Center, which is a member of Central Washington Medical Group, Regional's clinic network.

He most recently was part of a group practice called Edmonds Vascular Center, with privileges at Stevens Hospital and Swedish Medical Center.

Zammit received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Royal University of Malta and completed residencies at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and Rush Presbyterian and St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago.

In the mid-1980s, Zammit was a fellow at the Hope Heart Institute of Seattle, founded in 1959 by Wapato native Sauvage.

Sauvage performed the first coronary bypass surgery using animal vein tissue in 1962.

Insurance

* The American College and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors has named William (Bill) T. Hays as a Life Underwriting Training Council Fellow. Hays, an agent with New York Life's Eastern Washington General Office, was awarded the designation after completing the six-course professional curriculum on product-focus education, hands-on sales training and ethics, and passing several examinations.

Real Estate

* The National Association of Realtors has awarded Rick Lopez its Short Sales and Foreclosure Certification.

Lopez earned the certification after completing training on how to manage short-sale, foreclosure, and real-estate owned transactions and on relevant national and state-specific information on buying and selling distressed properties.