Hospice staff members

attend conference



Four Hospice Circle of Love staff members recently received continuing education at National Hospice and Palliative Care Organi-zation’s annual conference in Dallas titled “New Frontiers: Expanding Quality Enid-of-Life Care.”

Social workers Lynn Curl and Sharon Semrad, education coordinator and nurse Dede Mehojah and staff nurse Beverly Braman attended the conference Oct. 23-25.

Some of the sessions they attended covered rapid management of uncontrolled symptoms, palliative care for pulmonary disease, wound care at the end of life, 11th-hour transition, professional boundaries and inpatient hospices. They also attended sessions on the new quality assurance performance improvement hospice Medicare regulations that will go into effect Dec. 2.

Speakers at the conference included Bob and Judy Fisher, who interviewed 104 hospice patients to gain insight into what really matters to them. Another speaker was LaDonna Gatlin, younger sister of the musical Gatlin brothers, who combined music and humor to deliver a message about practical strategies in dealing with change.

Hospice Circle of Love has been a member of National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization since 1991. Hospice Circle of Love is a non-profit organization that has cared for terminally ill patients in Enid and the surrounding area for 25 years.



Advance Food honored

for workplace safety



Enid-based Advance Food Co. has received Texas Mutual Insurance Co.’s top honor for prevention of losses connected with workers’ compensation claims.

Founded in 1973 by Paul Allen and David McLaughlin, Advance started by providing hamburger patties and breaded beef to local grocers and restaurants in Oklahoma. Today, Advance operates nine manufacturing facilities in five states, a nationwide distribution network and sells internationally to Canada, Mexico, Germany, Japan and the Caribbean. Advance currently produces nearly 2,200 center-of-the-plate products made from beef, pork, poultry, lamb and veal.

To qualify for the Texas Mutual honor, a company must demonstrate its commitment to workplace safety by carrying out an exemplary safety program and controlling workers’ compensation losses.

Texas Mutual, based in Austin, is the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, with offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Lubbock.



Haygood new loan officer

at Alva State Bank



Alva State Bank & Trust Co. has added Carol Haygood as loan officer in its Alva branch.

Haygood comes to Alva with 14 years experience in agriculture lending with Farm Service Agency and the former Farmer’s Home Admini-stration, including eight years as farm loan manager in Enid area office. Her duties there included administration of all Farm Service Agency loan programs, including beginning farmer loans, guaranteed loans, youth loans and all loan servicing activities.

In addition to her duties as loan officer, Haygood is completing requirements to obtain the state-certified general appraiser’s license. Her appraisal duties include farms, residences, commercial properties, machinery and cattle.

Haygood has been involved with ACDI/VOCA, a non-governmental organization that provides agricultural consultants to Third World countries. The organization is a contractor for the U.S. State Department, USAID and U.S. Department of Agriculture. She has provided training to farm loan officers for credit cooperatives in Russian and Ethiopia.

Haygood has been active in a variety of community activities, including judging many youth activities, such as speech contests, proficiency projects, record books and scholarship contests. She has been involved with Northwest District Junior Livestock Show, Cherokee Strip Oklahoma State University Alumni Association and Gaslight Theatre.

Haygood was raised in Mangum with a farming and cattle background. Her family has been in the Polled Hereford business for 70 years. She earned a bachelor of science in agricultural economics from Oklahoma State University.



YWCA employees attend

conference on violence



YWCA staff members recently attended Oklahoma Partnership Conference on Domestic and Sexual Violence and Stalking in Oklahoma City.

Attending were Linda Anderson, Kayte Anton, Shalonda Kearney, Diana Morrison and Vicki Waggoner.

Theme of the annual conference was “Partners for Change: Implementing Best Practices,” and included partner agencies such as Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center, Oklahoma State Department of Health, District Attorneys Council, Oklahoma CASA and Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

Attendees participated in more than 40 workshops, including understanding violence against women on tribal land, how to prosecute dating violence, safety planning for victims, batterer intervention program models, report writing for law enforcement, ethics for advocates and how to deal with the media following crimes.  

Keynote speaker for the event was award-winning author, Dr. James T. Reese.

“I enjoyed myself at the conference because it’s a great opportunity to network with fellow advocates and gain new perspective. One of my favorite sessions was ‘Domestic Violence: From the Crime Scene to the Courtroom,’” said Kearney, court advocate at the YWCA Crisis Center.

The conference was made possible by the Office on Violence Against Women. For information about the YWCA call 234-7581.



Evans receives national

accreditation honor



Cara Evans, manager of Custom Land Management LLC, has been designated a Leade-rship in Energy and Environ-mental Design Accredi-ted Profes-sional by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Evans is one fewer than 200 people with the designation in the state and the first in Enid.

Accreditation honors building professionals who have the knowledge and skills to successfully steward the LEED certification process and who have demonstrated an understanding of green building practices and principles.

Evans, formerly of The Flintco Companies, of Tulsa, directs all marketing and project management activities for Custom Land Management. She is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, where she studied real estate development, construction management and marketing. She serves on the statewide steering committee of Construction Leadership Council, a division of Associated General Contractors of Oklahoma. She has served on both Oklahoma and DFW boards of Society for Marketing Professional Services and has been awarded for her efforts within the architecture, engineering and construction industries.



Fishback awarded gas

card by TPIStaffing



TPI Staffing Service awarded a gas card from a monthly drawing to Diandra Fishback.

The gas cards are part of a campaign to show appreciation to applicants who have allowed TPI to aid them in their job search. Fishback has been working for Ham Management Co.

TPI Staffing Service is a professional employer staffing company offering full-service solutions for all types of businesses. Services include seasonal, temporary placement, temp-to-hire, permanent placement and payrolling for companies. TPI Staffing Service is located at 320 W. Maple. Phone number is 234-1267.



Holders rank high

in sales for Reliv



Enid residents Dwight and Kecia Holder placed eighth in September sales volume among more than 55,000 U.S. distributors for Reliv International, a direct selling company that markets nutritional supplements.

They earned a $1,500 bonus for their accomplishment. Because of their success in building their sales organization, they also advanced to the level of Key Directors within Reliv.

For information about the Reliv International, call the Holders at 242-7721.