Awards
Winners of Topeka/Shawnee County’s 42nd annual Small Business Awards were selected from 25 finalists. To be eligible for an award, small businesses had to be located within Shawnee County and have 100 or fewer employees, including the owner(s). Evaluation included review of each business’ vision, staying power, growth, innovativeness, response to adversity and community engagement. Winners are as follows:
- Dialogue Coffee House: Young Entrepreneur Award.
- Civium Architecture & Planning: Micro Enterprise Award.
- Yes! Athletics: Emerging Innovation Venture Award.
- Customskin Medspa at His and Her Salon & Day Spa: Women-Owned Small Business Award.
- Chavez Inc.: Minority-Owned Small Business Award.
- Ricks Advanced Dermatology & Radiance Medical Spa: Veteran-Owned Small Business Award.
- Bimini Pet Health: Small Business Manufacturer Award.
- Supersonic Music/Tree House Drums: Small Business Exporter Award.
- Senne Co.: Top City Small Business of the Year.
Honors
Aileen McCarthy, a Stormont Vail Health physician and member of the board, has been awarded the American College of Physicians’ 2022-23 Mastership. Fourteen Kansans have received the award since its inception in 1923. McCarthy is the third Topekan to be a Mastership recipient. The American College of Physicians bylaws state that Masters shall be fellows who have been selected because of “integrity, positions of honor, impact in practice or in medical research, or other attainments in science or in the art of medicine.” Masters must be highly accomplished persons demonstrating impact in practice, leadership or in medical research. The ACP’s Board of Regents voted to elect McCarthy as a recipient of the Mastership after they received information outlining the impact she has had on her community, the practice of internal medicine, the profession of medicine, medical science and her patients.
Acquisition
The University of Kansas Health System St. Francis Campus announced the acquisition of Optimum Health Family Practice. The practice will be renamed The University of Kansas Health System St. Francis Campus Family Medicine and will continue to provide care at 2840 S.W. Urish Road. The Family Medicine practice brings the number of primary care providers employed by the health system’s St. Francis Campus to 31 with the addition of Brian Gibson, MD; Kari Brown, APRN, FNP-C; Maria Cangiani, APRN, FNP-C; Roger Gibson, APRN, FNP-C; Hayley Golden, PA; and Megan Floberg, APRN, FNP-C. The health system’s St. Francis Campus now includes six primary care locations in Topeka and Valley Falls. “We are happy to welcome the Optimum Health Family Practice team to The University of Kansas Health System St. Francis Campus,” said CEO Scott Campbell. “These exceptional providers will help strengthen our mission of delivering quality, patient-centered care in the region. We are excited to grown primary care services to better meet the healthcare needs of our community.”
Board
Duane Fager, chairman of the CoreFirst Bank & Trust Board of Directors, announced the election of JuliAnn Mazachek, president of Washburn University, to the board. Fager also announced that Jerry Farley, president emeritus of Washburn, has been elected to the Commerce Bank and Trust Holding Co. board of directors. Mazachek earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering management with an emphasis in mechanical engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology. She received a master’s degree in business administration and a doctorate in accounting from the University of Kansas. Mazachek became the 15th president of Washburn University on Feb. 1, after serving as president of Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Topeka-area hirings, promotions, retirements and other announcements can be emailed to iyb@cjonline.com.
