Johnson hired

Ariston E. Johnson has joined the law firm of Bucklin, Klemin, McBride & Schweigert, P.C., as an associate attorney. Johnson received his undergraduate education at the University of North Dakota and his legal education at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. His practice is primarily devoted to civil litigation, ranging from personal injury claims to commercial litigation.

Brown hired

BlackRidgeBANK Bismarck Loan Office has announced the hiring of Karen Brown as assistant vice president of loan administration. Brown has seven years of banking experience and will manage the loan administration, loan review and compliance areas for the office. She has a bachelor's degree from Dickinson State University in accounting and business administration.

Hamar awarded

St. Alexius Medical Center presented their 2008 Benedictine Spirit Award to Dr. Steve Hamar of Mid Dakota Clinic. The award is presented to a physician who exemplifies a compassionate spirit of medicine as well as a vision for St. Alexius Medical Center.

Schneider qualifies

Ingrid L. Schneider, branch manager and financial adviser with the local office of Wachovia Securities, LLC., recently qualified for President's Council, one of the top sales honors given by the firm. Schneider has been a financial consultant in the Bismarck office for 17 years. The office opened in 1987 and has seven financial consultants serving the area.

Carlson hired

The Rainmaker Group hired Stuart Carlson to its team as a human capital adviser. A certified senior professional in human resources and a board member of the Central Dakota Human Resources Association, Carlson brings 18 years of experience in operations and human resources management. Upon joining The Rainmaker Group, Carlson also received his Professional Behaviors Analyst, Professional Values Analyst and TriMetrix certifications from Target Training International.

Sand hired

Holly Sand recently joined Coldwell Banker Realty Group as a Realtor. Sand holds a degree in business management from Northern Illinois University and has more than 10 years experience in marketing and communication management to the real estate profession.

Leingang awarded

Gordon Leingang, DO, St. Alexius Medical Center, was recently awarded the Alpha Omega Alpha, North Dakota Alpha Chapter's Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award. This award represents the high esteem medical students have for Leingang's teaching and professional example. The nomination process involves all fourth-year clinical clerks, and the selection is by Alpha Omega Alpha recipients.

Woodard awarded

Securian Financial Advisors of ND, Inc., announces Thomas "Woody" Woodard, a representative of Securian Financial Advisors of ND, Inc., in Mayville, is the top producer for the month of April. He has been affiliated with Securian Financial since June 2005.

Three hired

The North Dakota Department of Commerce has hired Nathan Schneider to be a credit-technical analyst for the North Dakota Development Fund, Sandra McMerty to be marketing and communications coordinator, and Kayla Effertz to be a career promotions specialist.

Schneider will analyze new loan and investment requests and also review the North Dakota Development Fund's existing loan and investment portfolio. McMerty will coordinate communication activities for the Division of Economic Development and Finance, and also direct the Ambassadors program and Commerce Web sites.

In her new position, Effertz will be the career promotion-internship coordinator.

Manager named

Kari Krein has been named support operations manager in the North Dakota Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division.

In addition to her duties in vehicle registration and titling, Krein's new responsibilities include managing renewal notifications, registration card printing, imaging of more than 1.5 million documents per year, record management, storage and research, and cash management within the division.