Small Street Journal: october 7, 2016

​Staybridge Suites in Altoona received the IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group) 2016 New Development Design Award which is given to hotels that are considered the best in class providing exemplary brand design, quality of construction and attention to detail. Staybridge Suites in Altoona is one of only two Staybridge Suites in North America selected to win this award. The hotel was recognized during the 2016 IHG Americas Investors and Leadership Conference.

The Harding Group LLC has officially joined the PXT Select™ Authorized Partner Network and can now provide PXT Select™ assessment solutions to organizations throughout North America. As a PXT Select™ Authorized Partner, The Harding Group plays an active role in sustaining and promoting the value of assessment solutions and is dedicated to helping organizations build better, more productive and happier workforces. These high-quality, research-validated tools provide actionable data about candidates in an easy to understand format that helps simplify and improve hiring processes. By identifying the most suitable candidates, organizations reduce turnover, boost employee engagement and ultimately invest in improving their workplaces.

The new 30-room boutique hotel, The Oxbow Hotel, and onsite restaurant, The Lakely, have opened. The Oxbow Hotel consists of two buildings, The Main House and The Flats. The Main house features The Lakely restaurant, event space, lobby and rooms. The Flats, a mid-century modern building adjacent to The Main House, holds the remainder of the rooms and will be open to a courtyard with outdoor seating, fire pits and kubb lawn. The Oxbow is being managed by General Manager Allison Sullivan. The Oxbow Hotel and The Lakely restaurant project is owned by Longform, LLC, whose members include Justin Vernon, Zach Halmstad, Nick Meyer and Ben Richgruber.

Ruder Ware, a law firm with headquarters in Wausau and Eau Claire, recently was awarded recertification in Meritas, a global alliance of business law firms. Ruder Ware is required to successfully complete recertification every three years. Meritas is the only law firm alliance with an established and comprehensive means of monitoring and enhancing the quality of its member firms—a process that saves clients time in validating law firm credentials and experience. Meritas membership is selective and by invitation only. Firms are regularly assessed and recertified for the breadth of their practice expertise and client satisfaction. The organization’s extensive due diligence process ensures that only firms meeting the tenets of Meritas’ Quality Assurance Program are allowed to maintain membership.

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Foundation Board of Directors recently welcomed new members and honored outgoing members for their years of service. The following individuals have been elected to the board:

• Timothy Ball, Stillwater, Minnesota, is an international tax partner with Ernst & Young in Minneapolis. 
• Patti Lien, Eau Claire, is retired following 12 years as vice president with Wells Fargo Mortgage in Minneapolis. 
• David Moran, Minnetonka, Minnesota, is an executive vice president of marketing and enterprise strategy at Carlson Wagonlit Travel, a position he’s held since 2012.
• Regi Munro, Chandler, Arizona, is chair of the Wellness Division at Chandler-Gilbert Community College
• Therese Pershall, Eau Claire, is the market head for U.S. Bank, a longstanding UW-Eau Claire Foundation corporate partner. In addition to its annual support of diversity and academic excellence scholarships, U.S. Bank was one of the first major corporate donors to the Confluence Project in downtown Eau Claire.
• Elected to additional terms on the board were Andrew Burish, Madison; Betsy Kell, Eau Claire; Vicki Lord Larson, Eau Claire; Neil Lipinski, Irvington, N.Y.; Rudy Pereira of Royal Credit Union; and Rick Schroder, Issaquah, Washington. 

Physician assistant Kailey Scheller recently joined the Emergency Department at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Scheller earned her master’s degree in physician assistant studies from Concordia University in Mequon. She received bachelor’s degrees in biology and neuroscience from Carthage College in Kenosha. She is certified in advanced cardiovascular life support, basic life support and CPR. Her professional interests include emergency medicine and pediatric emergency medicine.

Two colleagues from HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital recently earned advanced certification in their respective fields. Valerie Hofacker and Kate Stuewe, who are registered nurses in the hospital’s inpatient physical rehabilitation department, recently earned their certified rehabilitation registered nurse (CRRN) accreditation. The CRRN accreditation is certified by the American Board of Nursing Specialties. It features an exam about ethical and legal issues, health patterns including assessments, physiology and standards of care, the function of the rehabilitation team, and rehabilitation nursing models.

Nurse practitioner Ashley Schuelke recently joined Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Schuelke earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing at Viterbo University in La Crosse and her master’s degree in the primary care nurse practitioner program at Concordia University in Mequon. Schuelke previously worked as a registered nurse in Critical Care at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. She is certified by the American Heart Association in basic life support and advanced cardiac life support. Her professional interests include improving access to health care and improving health literacy.
Guilherme Giusti, M.D., recently joined the Orthopedic Center at Mayo Clinic Health System. Giusti earned his medical degree and completed his orthopedic surgery residency and hand surgery fellowship from the Sao Paulo Federal University in Brazil. He also completed a second orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Illinois at Chicago and additional fellowships in hand surgery and microvascular research at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Giusti is board-eligible in orthopedic surgery and a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and American Society for Surgery of the Hand.