Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Las Vegas business fast track

Harker will oversee the expansion of Encore's post-production capabilities and facilities. He is currently supervising the $1 million upgrade of the firm's online component digital editing suite.

Harker has worked for 20 years in the Las Vegas market.

Jeannean Eshragh has joined Encore as human resources director.

Eshragh is responsible for benefits, community relations, compensation, employee relations, recruitment, placement, labor relations, risk management, safety and security, training and development and wellness.

Prior to joining Encore, Eshragh was area marketing manager for Norell Services Inc. She earlier owned an independent consulting service in Houston and taught at Harris County Community College in Houston. She attended Austin State University and Massey Business School.

* Donald Snyder has been named to the board of directors of BankWest of Nevada.

Snyder is president and board member of Boyd Gaming Corp. He earlier was president and CEO of the Fremont Street Experience and chairman and CEO of First Interstate Bank of Nevada. He is chairman of the UNLV Foundation and chairman of the Fremont Street Experience board. He also serves on the boards of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the Performing Arts Foundation and the Nevada Development Authority.

* Irwin Kishner, Nevada's director for the American Hotel & Motel Association, has been presented the association's 1996 Lawson A. Odde award.

The award recognizes contributions to the advancement of the lodging industry by a member of the AH&MA board of directors.

Kishner served as a director and alternate AH&MA director for Nevada from 1984 through 1996. During this time, he represented lodging and gaming interests at national board and executive committee meetings. He also helped organize grass-roots efforts for the lodging industry in getting its message to the president, Congress and a number of federal agencies.

* Curt Krosta has been named vice president and manager of the Pioneer Citizens branch at 4170 Maryland Parkway.

Krosta will oversee business development, maintain existing client relationships and lending.

Prior to joining the Pioneer Citizens, Krosta was vice president and manager at First Interstate Bank where he was responsible for the overall management of two branches.

* Donn Nimmer has been appointed director of the new ITT Technical Institute campus in Henderson.

Nimmer will oversee all education, recruitment, financial and placement functions of the college.

Nimmer was most recently an instructor in Vancouver, Wash. Earlier, he was education supervisor at the ITT Technical Institute in Portland, Ore. He has an associate's degree in computer-aided drafting from ITT and both a bachelor's degree in management technology and a master's degree in education from City University in Twin Lakes, Ind.

* FHP Health Care has made two appointments to its operations in Las Vegas:

Rick Krause has been named commercial sales director.

Krause previously was senior director of national and major accounts with Foundation Health in Sacramento, Calif. He attended the University of South Florida.

Laura Robarts has been named finance manager.

Robarts was previously business manager with Sierra Health Services in Las Vegas. She is a graduate of Pepperdine University and UNLV.

* Bob Faiss, a partner in the firm of Lionel Sawyer & Collins, has been named one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America by the National Law Journal, in a "Profiles in Power" supplement to its April 28 edition.

Faiss, whom the NLJ termed "the nation's premier gaming attorney," is the first Nevadan and the first gaming lawyer to be selected for the list, which has been published by the NLJ every three years since 1985.

Faiss is chairman of the administrative and gaming law department of Lionel Sawyer & Collins.

* Spintek Gaming Technologies has made three management promotions and added to its engineering department:

Robert Huggins will serve as senior vice president, in conjunction with his present duties of chief financial officer.

Erik Batzloff has been named vice president, compliance/publications.

Judy Karabin was promoted to manager of manufacturing and production.

Keith Kammler, recently a programmer at Casino Data Systems, was appointed to the position of firmware developer.

* Marilyn Ming has joined Goodwill Industries of Southern Nevada Inc. as director of marketing and development.

Ming previously was publicity manager for the Four Queens hotel-casino.

* Mark LaVoie has been named general manager of the new Gordon Biersch brewery restaurant in Hughes Center.

LaVoie has worked at three of the Gordon Biersch brewery restaurants, most recently as general manager in the company's flagship San Francisco location. A 10-year veteran, he earlier held management positions with Restaurants Unlimited Inc. and Cheesecake Factory. He has a degree in economics from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn.

* The Las Vegas Chapter of Chartered Property Casual Underwriters Society recently held general elections.

Richard Cass, an claim-evaluation consultant for Allstate Insurance Co., was elected president. Alec Grandon, a claim superintendent for State Farm Insurance Co., was named vice president. Michelle Robertson, an account executive at Cragin and Pike, was elected secretary. Katherine Deveraux, a vice president at Johnson, Higgins, Marsh and McLennan, was named treasurer.

The CPCU Society has more than 18,000 members and 152 chapters nationwide, promoting and supporting continuing education, professionalism, research, high ethical standards and community service among its members.

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