Here is a roundup of Mid-Columbia business items:
New positions
* Dr. Aaron Qunell has joined Center Vision and Contact Lens Clinic in Kennewick. He is a Yakima Valley native and graduated from Central Washington University and Pacific University College of Optometry. He served in the Air Force as the chief of optometry services at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
* Cyndi Wood, of Walla Walla Banner Bank, has been promoted to senior vice president of the retail division. As division manager, Wood supervises the bank's nine retail branches in the Walla Walla and the Tri-Cities. Wood has worked at Banner Bank for eight years.
* Jessica Gaudreault has been named the new director of training at HAPO Community Credit Union. Gaudreault has worked in a variety of roles at HAPO since 1994 including several years as a branch manager in the Tri-Cities. As director of training, she oversees the teller and financial service specialist training programs.
Honors, fellowships
* Brad Stark, a certified financial planner with UBS Financial Services in Spokane who does business in the Tri-Cities five to nine days a month, has earned special recognition from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. Stark has successfully completed financial planning course work and has passed a variety of examinations in various aspects of financial planning.
* Rosie Rumsey, Franklin County human resources director, was named the Pasco Chamber of Commerce Member of the Year at the Moonshine Ball on Oct. 1.
* Dr. Stephen M. Dechter, DO, has been awarded the UCLA/West Los Angeles VA Fellowship in Pain Management starting in July 2012. Dechter is a 1998 graduate of Kamiakin High School and a 2002 honors graduate of Eastern Washington University, where he majored in biology. He graduated with honors in 2008 from the Western University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in Pomona, Calif. He is the chief resident of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Case Western Reserve University/MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
Honors
Fluor Federal Services has been awarded the Star of Excellence in the Department of Energy Voluntary Protection Program.
The award recognizes its low rate of on the job injuries and illnesses, which is at least 75 percent better than national averages. Fluor Federal Services was recently recognized as a DOE Voluntary Protection Program star site for the fourth time.
The Richland office is focused primarily on construction, engineering and project management at Hanford.
Meetings
* Kiwanis Club of the Horse Heaven Hills meets at noon Monday in the fourth-floor conference room at Clover Island Inn, Kennewick.
* Richland Rotary Club meets at noon Tuesday at the Richland Red Lion Hotel. Information: Justin Raffa at justraffa@aol.com.
* Kiwanis Club of Kennewick meets at noon Tuesday at Leo's Catering in downtown Kennewick. Information: Pat Johnstone at 531-6493.
* Soroptimist Pasco-Kennewick meets at noon the second and fourth Tuesday of each month for a luncheon buffet at the Clover Island Inn in Kennewick. Information: Amber Martin at 586-0541.
* Kiwanis Club of the Columbia meets at 7 a.m. Wednesday at Granny's Buffet on Canal Drive in Kennewick. Information: Marjorie Worden at 547-4861.
* The American Association of University Women meets at 7:15 a.m., the second Wednesday of each month at IHOP, 6511 W. Canal Drive, Kennewick. Information: 547-5028.
* Kiwanis Club of Richland meets at noon Wednesday at Einan's Memories at Sunset Event Center near Swift Boulevard and the bypass highway in Richland. Information: Leona Hassing at 492-4111.
* The Pasco-Kennewick Rotary Club meets at noon on Wednesday at Leo's Catering in downtown Kennewick. Information: Floyd Ivey at 735-6622 or feivey@bossig.com.
* Tri-Cities Business Builders meets from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at the Red Lion in Kennewick.
* Pasco Kiwanis Club meets at noon Thursday at the Pasco Red Lion. Lunch costs $13. Information: Dave Davis at 545-4300 or ddavis157@yahoo.com.
* The Sunrise Rotary Cub of Tri-Cities meets at 7 a.m. Friday at the Pasco Red Lion.
* Kiwanis Club of Tri-City Industry meets at noon Friday at the Red Lion Hanford House, 802 George Washington Way, Richland. Information: Carrie Green at 735-5559.
