East Texas Business

NEW ASSIGNMENTS

Jeff Austin III, vice chairman of Austin Bank, announced the promotion of Kortney Pugh to retail office manager of the downtown Ty-ler location.

Ms. Pugh has eight years of banking experience and has been with Austin Bank since 2003, starting as a teller at the downtown location. Prior to joining Austin Bank, she worked at First National Bank of Quitman and Hibernia National Bank.

Gowin is a Jacksonville native who played professional football for the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets. Swaim is a Tyler native who graduated from the United States Naval Academy and served in the Navy. He was an associate professor of military science at Texas A&M University and worked in medical device sales in Tulsa.

Ashton has previous property management experience in Michigan, Illinois and Arizona. He will be involved in managing office, retail and industrial properties.

Ms. Gordon is a registered nurse of 40 years and a certified hospice and palliative nurse. She has eight years of hospice experience. She came to The Hospice of East Texas in 2000 as director of patient care and later served as staff educator.

Also, Kimberly Reimann, was named director of inpatient care, the hospice announced.

A registered nurse for eight years, Ms. Reimann was previously home health aide coordinator and prior to that a case manager. In her new position, she is responsible for services provided to patients at the Robert M. Rogers Hospice Center, HomePlace, in Tyler.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Pillsbury GMAC Real Estate announced agents Harlon Lambright and Dana L. Johnson earned Realtor e-Pro certification through the National Association of Realtors.

The course is designed to provide real estate professionals with technology tools needed to assist consumers in the purchase or sale of a home. The e-PRO certified real estate professionals receive continuous training to provide online-based real estate services.

They are Ricky Contreras, Greg Garwood, Mike Howard, Shane Jones, Cody Leifer, Scott Noe, John Purtle, Martin Roach and Jonathan Wilkerson.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Farmers Insurance announced Tyler agents Letitia Stanley-Donahower and Kit Parkhill were inducted into the Farmers Topper Club for the company's top sales producers in 2007.

Jerry Carnahan, executive vice president of field operations, said Topper Club members are committed to providing quality coverage and industry-leading service to customers.

NEW SERVICE

United Country Bobo Realty in Tyler announced it has begun offering auction services in addition to traditional real estate services.

Carroll Bobo, broker/owner of United Country Bobo Realty, said sometimes a property is better suited to the auction method of real estate than to the traditional sales method. United Country Real Estate began implementing the auction option, United Country Auction Services, in January 2007.

NEW BUSINESS

Sleep Inn and Suites of Tyler opened May 30 at 5555 S. Donnybrook Ave., Burton Hotel Group LLC, the owner, announced. David Burton is regional manager, Curtis White is area manager and Suzanne Beall is general manager. Plans include for the business to become one of the premier hotels in East Texas, serving business travelers, families and groups. The Burton Hotel Group has three additional hotels in production and plans for 20 more. The Tyler hotel is the group's flagship.

CONVENTIONS

These conventions and sporting events are scheduled in the Tyler area, according to the Tyler Convention and Visitors Bureau information. Listed in order are the dates, organizations having the conventions, hotels/motels serving as headquarters and total room nights.

Text and photos for Business & Professional Notes can be e-mailed to Greg Junek, business editor, at business@tylerpaper.com, or hand-delivered to the newspaper at 410 W. Erwin St. E-mailed photos should be attached as JPEG files with resolution of at least 200 DPI. Items can also be mailed to P.O. Box 2030, Tyler, 75710. Text can be faxed to 903-595-0335. Correspondence should include a telephone number. Deadline for submission is noon Tuesday for the next Sunday's paper.