Agriculture & food
Dean Foods' Meadow Gold plant at 1301 W. Bannock St. in Boise has met the requirements for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "Energy Star Challenge for Industry" by reducing its energy intensity by 10.9 percent, the company says.
The challenge is a national call to action to improve energy efficiency in commercial and industrial buildings. The manufacturing industry is responsible for nearly 30 percent of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions and spends almost $100 billion annually on energy.
Meadow Gold has reduced energy consumption by using real-time energy measurement and expanded controls, and by taking other steps such as using high-efficiency lighting, solar heating and thermal recovery and re-use.
"We are thrilled to be part of the Energy Star Challenge and very proud of the work that our plant has done to help protect the environment," says Chris Cappo, the plant manager.
Dean Foods says it has ranked as one of the top consumer-products companies on the Carbon Disclosure Project's Leadership Index for three of the past four years. The company first published environmental sustainability goals in 2009. It recently released new environmental sustainability goals that include reducing greenhouse gases 25 percent and energy use 20 percent by 2020.
Dean Foods is a food and beverage processor and a direct-to-store distributor of milk sold under more than 50 local and regional dairy brands and private labels.
Associations
Brooke Green, of the Community Transportation Association of Idaho, will serve as the 2013 chair of the Boise Young Professionals, and Kristin Muchow, of Meeting Systems, is the new chair-elect.
BYP is a program of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce to connect, empower, and engage young professionals in an effort to keep and attract talent. BYP is run by a 22-person leadership team and two part-time employees.
Other directors include:
Michelle Ross, St. Luke's, immediate past chair.
Julia Morrison, University of Phoenix, professional and leadership development work team chair.
Jamie Westberg, Prudential Realty, professional and leadership development work team chair-elect.
Jason Smith, Performance Demand Solutions, communications work team chair, and professional and leadership development immediate past chair.
Jennifer Blanton, Galatin Public Affairs, community and civic involvement work team chair.
Emily Walton, Idaho Civic Engagement Project, community and civic involvement work team chair-elect.
Kimberly Hudson, Boise State University, community and civic involvement work team immediate past chair.
Chris Fout, KeyBank N.A., membership work team chair.
Kristin Bjorkman, Hawley Troxell, membership work team chair-elect.
Melissa Jones, events and networking work team chair.
Jessie Speck, Idaho Department of Commerce, events and networking work team chair elect.
Eric Leaman, Gameday Sports Leagues, at-large.
Moya Shatz, Idaho Wine Commission, at-large.
Autumn Hornsby, Scentsy, at-large.
Becky Granden, Cooper Norman, at-large.
Michelle Hopkins, University of Idaho-Boise, program sponsor seat.
Heather Kimmett, KeyBank N.A., program sponsor seat.
Nick Taylor, Perkins Coie, program sponsor seat.
Autumn Kersey, Idaho Business Review, media sponsor.
Karen Corn, Boise Weekly, media sponsor.
The 2013 BYP Program is sponsored by University of Idaho - Boise, Key Bank and Perkins Coie.
Education
Rod Gramer has been hired by Idaho Business for Education to be its first full-time president and CEO.
Most recently, Gramer was vice president and general manager at Bay9 News and InfoMás in Tampa, Florida. Idahoans know Gramer from his time as KTVB Channel 7's news director and as a reporter and editor at the Idaho Statesman.
Gramer, an Idaho native and University of Idaho graduate, has experience in communications, management, strategy development and policy analysis.
Idaho Business for Education is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of business leaders seeking to transforming Idaho's education system. IBE wants students to receive high-quality educations for a well-educated workforce.
Gramer will start April 15.
Government
Paul Kjellander, president of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, has been named one of two co-chairs of a national telecommunications committee.
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, which includes commissioners and staffs from all 50 state utility commissions, says Kjellander will co-chair its Committee on Telecommunications. The committee provides a venue to analyze trends in the telecom sector and share best regulatory practices. The committee works with the Federal Communications Commission, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the FBI. In addition, the committee passes resolutions on issues that set NARUC policy.
Kjellander was re-appointed to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission in April 2011 by Gov. Butch Otter, after serving as administrator of the state Office of Energy Resources. He previously served on the Idaho commission from January 1999 until October 2007.
Within NARUC, Kjellander has served on the Telecommunications, Consumer Affairs and Electricity committees. He was also appointed by the chairman of the FCC to the Federal/ State Board of Jurisdictional Separations and served as chairman.
Natural resources
Ranger Mary Faurot will head the Cascade Ranger District, and ranger Brant Petersen will move to the Idaho City post of the Boise National Forest.
Faurot is moving to Cascade from her role as the acting Idaho City district ranger, where she has served for the past six months. She had been the Boise Forest's fisheries program managers before the temporary ranger job. Previously she had been a fisheries biologist and manager with the Payette National Forest, the Umpqua National Forest, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
Peterson began his career with the Forest Service in 1995 on the Idaho City Ranger District. He worked on six forests in Idaho and Oregon.
Nonprofits
Brent Regan, Coeur d'Alene, has been named to the board of directors of the Idaho Freedom Foundation. Regan joins Treasure Valley residents Heather Lauer, Bob Rathbone and Dan Symms on the board.
Regan is the founder and president of Regan Designs, specializing in designing electromechanical products for medical, aerospace, defense, marine and automotive industries. He holds 11 U.S. patents for medical devices.
An advocate of free markets, Regan has testified in favor of free-market health care. He also initiated the North Idaho Conservative Resolution against the federally mandated health insurance exchanges.
Regan has assisted in organizing and opposing local-improvement districts in Kootenai County. He sponsored legal efforts to protect neighbors' property from illegal commercial land use; conceived, sponsored and was the master of ceremonies for the Conservative Candidate Forum before the 2012 primary; and developed a caucus sign-in procedure and volunteer training for the Kootenai County Republican Caucus.
Regan has lived in Idaho since 1999 and is a school board trustee for Coeur d'Alene District No. 271. He is married with three children.
Funded by donations, the Idaho Freedom Foundation advocates free-market solutions, private-property rights, individual responsibility and transparent, limited government.
Retail
The Human Bean donated 15 percent of all sales Feb. 26 to St. Jude Research Hospital in a fundraising radiothon hosted by Wow 104.3. Human Bean owners Alex and Wendy Furioso matched that donation. These, along with other cash donations, totaled $1,550.
The Human Bean is locally owned and operated with four coffee shops in Boise.
David Graves, owner and operator of Alexander Davis Men's Clothing in Boise, was recognized as the Northwest Men's Apparel "Retailer of the Year" at the semiannual Northwest Apparel Show in Seattle.
Graves was nominated and selected by a committee of national clothing manufacturer representatives on the basis of his years in retail, the quality of his operation and merchandise, and involvement in his community.
