Business digest

NPPD employees reach milestones

COLUMBUS -- Five Nebraska Public Power District employees will be honored in June for reaching employment milestones.

Larry Budler of Columbus will be honored June 10 for 40 years of employment with NPPD. Budler is an engineer for Protection Controls and Automation in the Customer Services and Delivery department. During his career, he also worked as a field engineer in Norfolk, as an operations engineer in York and as a low voltage protection supervisor, load management coordinator and subtransmission engineering supervisor in Columbus before accepting his current position. Budler also served as a member of the Year 2000 Special Project Team.

Marge Krings of Columbus will celebrate her 40-year service anniversary June 3. Krings is a wholesale billing system and customer support specialist. She also has worked as a cashier in Loup City, and as an administrative secretary, a rate technician and specialist, and as a pricing and rates analyst in Columbus. She also served as a subject matter expert on the CHOICE Special Project team, a group tasked with implementation of new software for retail and wholesale billing.

Bob Irish of Columbus will observe 35 years of employment June 1. Irish is a pricing and rates coordinator in Columbus. He has also held positions as a field engineer in Kearney, and as a high voltage substation engineer, senior planning engineer, subtransmission planning supervisor, lead engineer, senior retail rate engineer and as senior pricing analyst in Columbus before advancing to his current position.

Barb Ludden of Columbus will be recognized June 1 for 30 years of service. Ludden is an administrative assistant in the Human Resources department. Previously, she worked as a word processor, secretary, safety and training records coordinator, training clerk, and audio-visual technical assistant.

Carol Torczon of Columbus will observe her 15-year employment anniversary June 17. Torczon is a business analyst in the Retail Billing department. She has also held positions as a customer support representative in Human Resources and as a cash and billing analyst in Retail Support Services.

Olson hired by Cornhusker Power

COLUMBUS -- Brett Olson was recently hired at Cornhusker Power as an information technology specialist.

Olson, who grew up near Broken Bow, received an associate degree from Central Community College in network technology in 2006. Most recently, he worked at Central Community College in the mechatronics department.

Olson is working toward a bachelor of science degree at Bellevue University in information systems software technology. He is a certified A+ IT Technician.

His hobbies include golfing and fishing.

Kuhl attends workshop

COLUMBUS -- Columbus Physical Therapy, P.C. Physical Therapist and Owner Rusty Kuhl attended a WorkWell Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) workshop to become certified in facilitating FCE testing.

FCE testing is utilized by business and industry to test people in a full spectrum of general functional abilities, as well as to test specific job requirements. The goal is to match a worker and their abilities to their jobs in order to prevent injury, lower workers compensation costs and to promote safety and efficiency. Additionally, FCE testing can be used to verify that an individual is able to return to work following an injury.

Workwell FCE training reflects current research and clinical evidence in the field of functional testing and workers compensation.

Fuerhoff receives highest designation

COLUMBUS -- Nathan Fuerhoff, Respiratory Therapist and Sleep Lab Technician for Columbus Community Hospital, recently received the nation’s highest professional designation in polysomnographic technology.

The RPSGT, or Registered Polysomnography Technologist, credential represents a superior level of knowledge, skills and abilities within the field.

As a polysomnographic technologist, Fuerhoff has completed a minimum of 6-18 months paid clinical experience using a polysomnogram to collect data from patients with suspected sleep disorders. The data collected included respiration, brain wave activity, eye movement, heart rate and fluctuation of muscle tension, usually in the legs and chin.

Fuerhoff has been with employed by the Columbus Community Hospital Sleep Lab for three years and has performed over 582 tests.

Owens qualifies for round table

PARK RIDGE, Ill -- Dwain Owens of Columbus recently qualified for the exclusive “Top of the Table” of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), placing Owens among the top professionals in the global life insurance and financial services industry.

Owens, executive vice-president of Strategic Legacy Advisors, Inc., is a 10-year member of MDRT and a four-time Top of the Table qualifier.

The honor recognizes Owens for demonstrating exceptional professional knowledge, client service and ethical conduct.

In addition to recognizing career accomplishments, Top of the Table membership offers Owens the opportunity to further improve professional skills by sharing ideas and best practices with other leading professionals at the Top of the Table Annual Meeting and other educational forums.