FredrickZink announces new accountant

Zebulon L. Smith, a certified public accountant, has joined FredrickZink & Associates, PC – an accounting, tax and business-consulting firm in Durango – as a staff accountant.

A Gunnison native, Smith moved to Missouri where he graduated from Drury University with a degree in business administration in accounting. Smith recently relocated to Durango, from his most recent position with an accounting firm in Denver. He will concentrate in the areas of audit and accounting services. While attending college, Smith participated in Students in Free Enterprise, Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity and worked for the Office for International Programs.

FredrickZink & Associates, PC is located at 954 East Second Ave. The firm’s areas of focus include tax planning and return preparation, audits, reviews and monthly accounting services, as well as business consulting and more.

For more information, call 247-0506.

Evening’s Porch announces caregiver

Evening’s Porch Assisted Living welcomes Charmayne Uptain as its resident caregiver.

Uptain received her degree in psychology and Masters of Public Administration at West Virginia University. She also is a certified nursing assistant. Uptain has experience serving individuals and their families in home health, hospice and assisted-living facilities. She enjoys volunteering for various environmental initiatives, homeless shelters and soup kitchens, as well as in various institutions of learning.

For more information, call 884-0101, email erin@eveningsporch.com or visit www.eveningsporch.com.

Express Employment announces opening

Express Employment Professionals announces the opening of the Durango office by franchisee Nancy and Robert Whitson.

The Whitsons and their team will assist local job-seekers in finding employment and help area businesses find qualified employees. Express offers traditional, temporary and contract staffing, as well as temp-to-hire evaluation and direct-hiring options in a variety of fields, including commercial, administrative, customer service, technical and professional.

Nancy Whitson spent most of her career in human resources and most recently in the nonprofit arena, focusing in a variety of areas including benefits, training, compliance and collaboration. Robert Whitson has spent the past 22 years in the directory business and is excited to bring his business and selling background to Express.

The Express office is located at 321 Camino del Rio. The office will serve Montezuma, La Plata and San Juan (New Mexico) counties. For more information, call 403-8780 or visit http://durangoco.expresspros.com.

Dan Osby receives certification

Dan Osby, vice president of Information Technology for First Southwest Bank, recently completed the necessary requirements to become a certified community bank technology officer.

The training program and certification is sponsored by the Independent Community Bankers of America IT Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is designed specifically for community bank technology leaders. The training included sessions to study real-world challenges and scenarios related to rapidly changing technologies within the banking sector.

For more information, visit www.fswb.com or call 375-1100.

Mercedes Ross joins Hair Space

Mercedes Ross is a new stylist at Hair Space, 2855 Main Ave., Suite A101.

Ross will provide cuts, color, facial wax and pedicures.

For more information, call (208) 309-3538.

Blackhat Humane Society wins cash prize

Blackhat Humane Society has won the $200 10th place prize in Tractor Supply Co.’s national Rescue Your Rescue contest, an online competition to recognize groups working to find forever homes for adoptable animals.

Founded in Durango in 2000, Blackhat Humane Society is a nonprofit animal rescue that serves the Four Corners, specializing in caring for abandoned and stray animals and livestock on the Navajo Nation. The organization fosters abandoned and surrendered animals and provides animals with medical care, including spaying and neutering.

For more information, visit www.blackhathumanesociety.org or www.TractorSupply.com.

First National announces new hires

First National Bank of Durango announces these new hires:

Terra Lamotte-Harvey is the new teller at the main branch. Lamotte-Harvey is from Ganado, Arizona, and moved back to Durango in August. She received her degree in business administration, management option from Fort Lewis College. She was previously with Diné College as an academic adviser before joining the bank.

Tish Nelson is the new staff development manager/trainer at the main branch. Nelson is from Bayfield. She received her degree in business and education from Fort Lewis College and her graduate degree in educational technology from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was previously with Pine River Community Learning Center and Adams State University before joining the bank.

Therapeutic massage opens new location

True Therapeutic Massage has moved to a new location.

It is now located in the Ptarmigan Center, 1537 Florida Road, Suite 105. True Therapeutic Massage offers professional, certified therapies including Neuromuscular Therapy, Deep Tissue, Myofascial Release, CranioSacral Therapy and Manual Lymphatic Drainage (Vodder School).

For more information, call 385-6708.

LPEA announces office promotion

Ashley Tokarczyk, who joined La Plata Electric Association as a billing clerk in June 2013, has been named accounting clerk within the cooperative’s Finance and Accounting Department.

In her new position, Tokarczyk is responsible for handling accounts payable as well as receivables for Marathon water heaters and ETS space heaters; she prepares LPEA’s sales-tax returns. Tokarczyk came to LPEA after employment in the medical field, where she garnered experience in customer relations and billing.

For more information, call 247-5786 or visit www.lpea.coop.

Chamber to discuss member benefits

The Durango Chamber of Commerce will host a Member Benefit Boot Camp from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Oct. 15 at the Durango Public Library, 1900 East Third Ave.

Members are welcome to attend and learn how to utilize their member benefits to make the most of their membership investment. Reservations are required. Coffee and light snacks will be provided.

To RSVP, visit www.durangobusiness.org or call 247-0312.

Riversong Ranch announces new hires

Riversong Ranch welcomes Janet Jones and Robin Wellington, with an integrated approach to riding instruction and horse training.

They teach beginning through advanced children and adults. Trailer-in lessons are accepted. They also train horses in western, dressage, hunter and/or jumper disciplines.

Wellington is a bronze-medal dressage rider, with a master’s degree in counseling psychology and wilderness therapy. She offers both dressage and equine experiential learning sessions.

Jones specializes in hunters and jumpers. She uses her doctorate in cognitive science to teach in harmony with equine and human brains, as described in Equus magazine.

Riversong Ranch accepts boarders year-round, offering indoor and outdoor arenas, round pen, indoor-outdoor stalls, paddocks, pasture turnout and premium hay grown on site. It’s two miles north of Bread in the Animas Valley.

For boarding, call Corey Hase at 259-3122 or email coreyhase@gmail.com).

For riding lessons or horse training, call Wellington at 903-5038, email robinwellington@me.com, call Jones at 247-8132 or email janetjones@orionzone.net.

Herald Staff