From new hires and promotions to industry awards, here’s a roundup of achievements by businesses and individuals in the greater Ann Arbor area:

• Karen Wexler Feb. 1 joined Ann Arbor State Bank as vice president of commercial banking. Wexler, a resident of Novi, will be responsible for new business development and servicing commercial customers in the Ann Arbor and Plymouth markets.

• Ann Arbor-based Tangent Medical announced Jan. 30 that it was named the Most Innovative Company at the 2013 Business Excellence Awards by ActionCOACH, a business coaching firm.

• Wendala Klinski of Saline recently earned the Registered Play Therapist credential conferred by the Association. Klinski is a licensed professional counselor.

• Promotions-ETC, a Milan-based supplier of promotional products, has adopted the Promotional Products Association International’s Code of Conduct - emphasizing its commitment to safety, quality and product integrity.

• Local Ann Arbor real estate broker Charles Reinhart Company Realtors has added six agents: David Curtis, who will work out of the Ann Arbor North Office; Joanne Jonna, who will work out of the Ann Arbor East Office; Carmen Knick, who will work out of the Ann Arbor East Office; Alexander Munro, who will work with the Marygrace Liparoto Group out of the Ann Arbor East Office; Jaimie Parker, who will work out of the Ann Arbor South Office; and Biff Weber, who will work out of the Chelsea Office.

• The Guelph Food Technology Centre, a Canadian firm providing food safety certification, training, quality and technical solutions, has merged with Ann Arbor's NSF International, a public health and safety organization doing similar work in food safety and training. Going forward, the organization will be known as NSF-GFTC.

• United Bank & Trust was selected as the official bank of Ann Arbor’s Performance Network Theatre. United Bank & Trust is a community-based financial services company located in Washtenaw, Lenawee, Livingston and Monroe Counties in Michigan.

• getDowntown has launched a new version of their website, get-downtown.org, devoted to downtown Ann Arbor commuters. The site consolidates resources for all types of commuters in one location. The new site is easier to navigate, consolidates the blog with the site and allows online purchasing of go!passes, a transit pass sold by the getDowntown Program to downtown Ann Arbor employers. The site was designed by Ann Arbor-based website design and development company Keystone Media. The site was developed by Artemis Solutions, a Lansing-based company.

• Parents magazine Feb. 4 announced its exclusive list of 10 Best Children's Hospitals, ranking the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital eighth in the nation. C.S. Mott Children's Hospital was the only Michigan hospital ranked in the top 10. The full list is available at http://www.parents.com.

• Merit Network Inc. of Ann Arbor, a nonprofit corporation owned and governed by Michigan's public universities, has launched a collaborative partnership with Mile2 to provide cyber security courseware and certifications through the Michigan Cyber Range. Mile2 designs, develops, and delivers cyber security certifications and provides Information Assurance services that meet military, government, private sector and institutional specifications.

• Troy-based software firm Altair recently announced that a group of industry leaders will serve as judges for the Altair Enlighten Award, a new program to recognize innovation in vehicle light-weighting for the auto industry. The awards were developed in collaboration with the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research. Among the panel of judges are Jay Baron, president and CEO of CAR and director of CAR's Coalition for Automotive Lightweighting Materials, and Harvey Bell, professor of engineering practice and co-director of the Multidisciplinary Design Program at The University of Michigan.

• The University of Michigan Police Department has received accreditation from the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. The association will formally recognize the U-M Police Department's four-year accreditation at its annual conference June 28-July 2 in Louisville, Ky.

• The Association for Advancing Automation, based in Ann Arbor, recently announced that four employees have recently joined the organization: Bob Doyle, director of communications; Pat Davison, director of standards development; Jackie Kazaleh, marketing and membership manager; and Mandy Pawczuk, administrative assistant.

• Christie’s International Real Estate and Howard Hanna Real Estate recently announced that Howard Hanna has been named the exclusive Christie’s affiliate in Southeast Michigan, including the Ann Arbor area. This affiliation is a continuation of a long-term relationship between the organizations. Howard Hanna is also the selected broker in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and West Virginia.

• Lawrence G. Almeda, a shareholder in the Ann Arbor office of intellectual property law firm Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, was reappointed to serve as chair of the Michigan Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. This is Almeda’s second, two-year term as chair.

• The Washtenaw Area Apartment Association, a local trade association, has elected its board of directors for 2013. The following officers will serve one-year terms: Terri Neely of McMullen Properties, president; Amy Kahn of CMB Management, vice president; Mark Hannaford of Campus Management, treasurer; and Michelle Foley of Village Green, secretary. The other board members serving one-year terms are Kristine Siemieniak, Wilson White Co.; Leslie Llemerand, Oxford Management; Kathleen Quick, Timberland Partners; Russell Egerton, AMRent; and Karen Valvo, Fink and Valvo PLLC.

• 300 Decisions LLC, a relocation management company based in Ann Arbor, recently launched an online Business Relocation Resource Center at www.relocationfocus.com. This blog-style web site provides helpful tips and downloadable tools designed to educate and inform organizations contemplating a move.

• Architect James Mumby, whose specialty is designing public libraries, has joined Quinn Evans Architects as a principal in the Ann Arbor office.

• Yukiko Yamashita of the University of Michigan's Life Sciences Institute received an award from the W.M. Keck Foundation to support a research project. Yamashita is a research assistant professor at LSI and an assistant professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the U-M Medical School. She was one of a handful of researchers to win a Keck Foundation award in this round. As part of its Medical Research Program, the foundation will provide $500,000 to advance her research on stem cell biology.

• In honor of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, volunteers from the Washtenaw-Lenawee Chapter of the Red Cross, in partnership with Key Bank, went door-to-door Jan. 26 and 27 in the area talking to residents about how to prevent home fires and how to escape safely should a fire occur. KeyBank’s support for the MLK Day Fire Prevention/Preparedness program was made possible through a grant from the KeyBank Foundation. Volunteers talked to residents who were available, and left safety-tip door hangers for people who were not at home. The hangers included cooking and heating tips, and also highlight the importance of smoke alarms and the need to create and practice a fire escape plan.

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