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

• Melissa Stowe-Lloyd has been named assistant director of the Center for Ethics, Service, and Professionalism for the Ann Arbor campus of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. In this role, she oversees the campus Professionalism Portfolio Project, coordinates the school’s Integrity Speaker events, and assists with the school’s professionalism orientation, faculty and projects.

• Indoor Comfort, an Ann Arbor-based heating and cooling business, was recently honored at the annual Bryant Dealer meeting with a Tier 1 Medal of Excellence Award. The MOE award is a business enrichment program designed to recognize Bryant dealers that have improved their business. The MOE award is based on their sales growth, product mix and customer satisfaction.

• Dan Milstein, founder and CEO of the Gold Star Mortgage Financial Group, announced in late June that company officials plan to double the company's headquarters staff and have already begun moving sales staff from their present location on Packard Road into a larger facility at Avis Farms in Ann Arbor. The current Gold Star headquarters building on Packard Road has become the center for the operations department, while the majority of the sales positions have moved into the new location. The 165 employees working in Ann Arbor are expected to reach 240 by the end of the year.

• The Arts Alliance has moved to a new location. The county-wide arts advocacy organization will now share space with Artrain at NEW Center. The new address is 1100 North Main, Suite 106B, Ann Arbor.

• Coval Fitness & Sports Performance will host a grand opening celebration on Saturday, July 14 at its new location, 3751 Varsity Drive, Ann Arbor. Visitors may sample boot camp-style classes for $5, with alll proceeds going to the Alzheimer's Association Great Lakes Chapter, located in Chelsea. Also during the grand opening, staff will raffle off a one-month semi-private training package.

• Nearly 400 health researchers from across the University of Michigan and partner organizations have formed one of the nation’s largest research entities of its kind, the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. Opening on the University of Michigan's campus in late June, the institute unites members of the local health care research community in a variety of fields, including cancer, heart disease and diabetes, children’s health, surgery and mental health. The opening of the institute in a dedicated building at the North Campus Research Complex coincides with the third anniversary of U of M’s purchase of that site, formerly belonging to Pfizer. The first 80 IHPI researchers and staff moved in to the newly-renovated building in late June, and more than 400 more will move there in coming months; in all, IHPI includes nearly 400 faculty researchers plus hundreds of professional staff and trainees. The search for a director for IHPI is now underway.

• Hope Clinic, a nonprofit organization based in Ypsilanti that offers free medical and dental care for the uninsured and those in need, was recently the recent recipient of a $5,500 gift to help continue their work in the region. The check was provided by 100+ Women Who Care in Washtenaw County, a newly-organized group of women committed to improving the lives of people in the greater Washtenaw County area. The local chapter is one of many "100 Women Who Care" organizations across the nation.

• The Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra recently added four new members to its board of directors: Allison Brooks-Conrad, a student at Pioneer High School; Beverley Geltner, founder and president of Educational Coaching and Development Inc.; Michael Godwin of Resonant Ventures; and John Pollock, attorney at Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC. All will serve a three-year term that began Sunday, July 1. In addition, the 2012-13 slate of officers were recently elected, including William Maxbauer, senior banker at JPMorgan, continuing his term as president; J. Robert Gates, project leader in the finance department of Domino’s, as first vice president; Steven Pierce, owner and principal of Pierce Financial, serving as secretary; and Bruce Duncan, regional president of Comerica, re-elected treasurer. Returning for another term of office are Leah Adams, James Froehlich, J. Lawrence Henkel, Lawrence Jordan, Sally Rudisill and Jane Wilkinson.

• DesignHub Inc., the Saline-based creative services and marketing firm, has designed and developed the new website and brochure for Phoenix Packaging Corp., also of Saline. The company’s new website is www.PhoenixPackagingMI.com.

• Barracuda Networks June 27 announced that it will double its number of employees in Ann Arbor, creating 184 high tech and engineering jobs over three years. This move is part of the company's commitment to invest $6 million in its relocation to 317 Maynard in downtown Ann Arbor.

• United Methodist Retirement Communities Inc., a company providing senior residential and healthcare services, hired Lee Karson as the new health services administrator at Chelsea Retirement Community. In his new position, Karson will be responsible for the day-to-day functions of Kresge Rehabilitation Center on the Chelsea Retirement Community campus.

• Humantech Inc., an ergonomics consulting firm based in Ann Arbor, recently announced that Director of Consulting and Ergonomics Engineer Winnie Ip received The American Society of Safety Engineers' Best Technical Ergonomics Article of the Year 2011 - 2012 award. Ip's article, Designing for an Aging Population, was selected from more than 15 ergonomics-related articles and was published in ASSE's Interface and the Ergonomics Practice e-zine; it will be published again in July in the 2011-2012 "Best of the Best" publication, a compilation of the best articles from ASSE's Practice Specialty newsletter. The article describes unique design requirements to consider when employing older workers.

• Ann Blakeslee, an English professor from Eastern Michigan University, was recently honored by the Society for Technical Communication with the Ken Rainey Award for Excellence in Research. Blakeslee received the award in a ceremony at the Society's annual conference in Rosemont, Ill. The award is given annually to individuals whose research has made outstanding contributions to the field of technical writing.

• Service Brands International, the parent company of service-based franchises Mr. Handyman, Molly Maid, ProTect Painters, and 1-800-DryClean, recently appointed Craig Donaldson to the role of the chief executive officer. David McKinnon, the co-founder of SBI, will stay integrally involved with the company, working with Donaldson as chairman of the board of directors. Service Brands International is a privately held franchise system with worldwide headquarters in Ann Arbor.

• Merit Network Inc. announced June 28 the launch of Merit Michigan ID, a federated identity management service. Merit Michigan ID enables participating organizations to provide access to shared resources, applications and content over Merit's trusted network via a single sign-on (SSO) account. Merit Network Inc., a nonprofit corporation based in Ann Arbor, is owned and governed by Michigan's public universities. Merit owns and operates America's longest-running regional research and education network.

• Ann Arbor-based Twin Oaks Landscape recently announced that designer Nicole Lloyd has joined the company's team of landscape professionals. Lloyd is certified in the Green Industry Provider program through the state of Michigan.

• Ann Arbor's The Beal Group recently announced several new hires. Luke Donahue and Jim Mason were hired by Beal Inc. as maintenance and improvement estimators in Ann Arbor, while Brandon Garton has been hired as maintenance and improvement estimator in Detroit. Additionally, Beal Properties LLC hired Amanda Davenport as office manager and Eric Novack as property manager for the Broderick Tower in Detroit.

• Kramer-Triad Management Group (an Associa company with offices in Troy, Novi and Ann Arbor) and Associa Supports Kids have partnered with National Night Out. Associa, the national promotional sponsor for NNO 2012, kicked off a Facebook promotion starting Monday, July 2 and ending Aug. 7 to promote National Night Out. Every time an individual “Likes” Associa’s Facebook page, he or she is entered into a sweepstakes to win a free Fall Safety Block Party, valued at $2,500. In addition, for every “like” Associa receives, the company donates $1 to the NNO organization, up to $20,000.

• Jim Doty of the financial services firm Edward Jones in Ann Arbor recently won the firm's Ed Armstrong Award for his exceptional achievement in building client relationships. Doty was one of 1,429 of the firm's 12,000 financial advisors to receive the Ed Armstrong award.

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