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

• Bank of Ann Arbor recently announced that William Smith has joined the bank's mortgage lending team as a mortgage loan officer. In related news from Bank of Ann Arbor, Diane S. Winner has been certified by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards and may use the CFP certification mark in accordance with CFP Board certification and renewal requirements. Winner runs the LPL Financial office at Bank of Ann Arbor. Additionally, R.J. Grimshaw was recently named to the newly-created position of executive vice president and chief sales officer for BoA's wholly owned subsidiary, Ervin Leasing.

• Tom Pelham State Farm Insurance recently welcomed two fully-licensed sales agents to the Ann Arbor team: Josh Schlump and Jake Morse.

• Tilly Shames, executive director of University of Michigan Hillel, won the 2013 Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence Award from Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. The award is given each year to professionals in various stages of their careers who have offered especially innovative approaches to enhancing campus life for Jewish undergraduate students.

• Véronique Liem, an attorney in the Ann Arbor office of Smith Haughey, has been recognized by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as one of Michigan’s Women in the Law 2013. Liem is among 25 attorneys selected who will all be honored during an awards luncheon Sept. 26 at the Detroit Marriott in Troy.

• The Knowles Science Teaching Foundation recently announced Christopher Anderson, an integrated science and environmental science teacher at Washtenaw Technical Middle College, as a member of its 2013 cohort of teaching fellows. KSTF is committed to improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States. Designed specifically to develop beginning teachers into teacher leaders, the five-year teaching fellowships offer support and guidance as participants start building their credentials and their teaching careers.

• University of Michigan graduates Michael and Sarah Tayter recently held the grand opening of their Elevation Burger location at 3365 Washtenaw Ave. The restaurant marked its official opening Aug. 24 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Tayters said they plan to open a total of three Elevation Burgers in Michigan.

• Dancer's Edge Studio, 3045 Broad St. in Dexter will expand the business from its current, 7,000-square-foot space into a building the owner is purchasing across the street that will provide an extra 5,000 square feet for the studio.

• The Berrien Regional Education Service Agency Teachers’ Favorite Awards recently recognized the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum's Distance Learning program. The award recognizes the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum’s outstanding educational programming through videoconferencing.

• Invisible Fence recently announced the winner of their most recent sweepstakes. Sandy Morris of Ann Arbor is the recipient of a complete outdoor Invisible Fence brand pet containment system for her two dogs: Rocky and Tinkerbell.

• The Family Assessment Clinic, formerly located at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, has affiliated with Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw County and is now located at 4925 Packard Road in Ann Arbor.

• Ann Arbor-based BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting was recently awarded a U.S. Small Business Administration grant to provide support to growing Michigan technology companies, as part of the SBA's Federal and State Technology Partnership Program, aimed at stimulating economic development among small, high-technology businesses through federally-funded programs. This is the second year BBCetc has been awarded a FAST grant.

• Focus Financial Partners LLC, a partnership of independent wealth management firms, announced Aug. 12 that Telemus Capital Partners LLC, a Michigan-based independent Registered Investment Advisor, has joined forces with Focus as of Aug. 1. Telemus, with offices in Southfield and Ann Arbor, was founded in 2005 by former Merrill Lynch and UBS Financial Services executives Gary Ran, Bob Stone and Lyle Wolberg. All three partners will continue to lead operations at Telemus moving forward.

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