KIM BENNETT
Visit Vancouver USA President & CEO Kim Bennett was recently named president-elect of Destination Marketing Association of the West (DMA West).
DMA West is a regional membership organization of more than 145 destination marketing organizations from the Western United States and Western Canada. The association is focused on helping destination marketing organizations improve organizational effectiveness, implement engaging marketing and communications strategies and advance the destination-marketing profession.
Bennett has served as a DMA West Board Member since September 2013.
TERESA SMITH
Johnson Bixby, a financial planning firm with offices in Vancouver and Longview, has added Teresa Smith, a Certified Financial Planner, to its team.
In her new role, Smith will lead the financial planning, investment, tax and insurance departments at the firm, in addition to delivering comprehensive, holistic financial planning to clients.
Having been in the financial services industry for 24 years, Smith brings a wealth of experience to JBA. Previously, she served as a trusted financial advisor before transitioning to sales support to 1,800 advisors in the areas of financial planning, investments, insurance and practice management.
Most recently, she served as supervising principal of financial planning at the home office of a large financial services firm based in Kansas.
Smith earned her degree in business administration in finance from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.
JON BARRETT, DARHL THOMASON, JOSH DANKOVCHIK, STEPHANIE McVICKER, JESSICA LIVELY AND AFIQ ROSLI
Sigma Design recently announced the hiring of six new employees to the rapidly-growing product design and engineering firm.
New local hires include Jon Barrett, test technician; Darhl Thomason, systems administrator; Josh Dankovchik, project manager; Stephanie McVicker, marketing assistant; and Jessica Lively, administrative assistant. Afiq Rosli, manufacturing engineer, has been hired to work out of the firm’s Singapore office.
Barrett has more than 20 years of technician experience. He has background as a senior R&D technician, an equipment technician, a maintenance mechanic and an electrician. He has managed test labs, supervising staff providing R&D research; collaborated with design engineers on new product development, testing and characterization; and developed test plans for new product development. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business from University of Phoenix.
As a senior systems administrator/technician services lead with more than 20 years of experience, Thomason has designed and administered enterprise-wide networking solutions that improve operating stability, efficiency and profitability. Additionally, he has negotiated vendor contracts, written key IT company policies, and supervised technicians and a system administrator. Thomason studied computer science at Oregon State University.
As a mechanical engineer, Dankovchik has designed new mechanical systems to meet customer performance requirements and recommended design improvements to enhance efficiency and reliability. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Portland State University.
McVicker worked for three summers as an Intern at Sigma Design in various administrative roles prior to joining the firm’s marketing team as a marketing assistant. She holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from The Master’s College. In her new role, she will assist with public releases and articles for newsletters and the website. She will also coordinate social media accounts, and perform administrative functions for the department.
Lively has a background as a front office manager, with experience greeting and registering guests, providing customer service, managing accounts payable and receivable, handling shipping and receiving, and managing inventory and purchasing. She holds an associate of arts degree from Clark Community College.
Working out of Singapore, Rosli has experience as a production executive, a mechanical engineer, a project engineer and a manufacturing engineer. His capabilities include project and staff management, quote writing, and machine troubleshooting. He has proficiency with supervision of production output on a production line, failure analysis, and development of strong client and vendor relationships. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Malaysia Sarawak.
