Lauryn Brannon, a clinical dietitian at Washington Regional Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, earned designation as a board certified specialist in pediatric nutrition. Brannon has been at the hospital for two years, graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and a master’s degree in family and consumer sciences.
Aubree Hays, a clinical dietitian at Washington Regional’s Women and Infants Center, earned designation as a board certified specialist in pediatric nutrition. Hays joined the hospital last year. She earned a bachelor’s degree in dietetics and nutrition from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia and a master’s degree in family and consumer sciences at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. She worked for Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock and occasionally provides dietetic and nutrition services for Arkansas Children’s Lowell Clinic.
Mike Neil joined Absolute Heat & Air at 2761 Charismatic Ave. in Springdale. He worked for an area HVAC company for 15 years. Neal has a top 2 percent ranking in North America with the “AirTime 500,” a national organization for residential HVAC contractors.
Dr. Sarah Duda, joined Sparks Clinic Family Medicine at 6100 Massard Road in Fort Smith. She is a family medicine physician and will see patients alongside Drs. Michael Cole and Justin Voris. Duda earned her medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock and completed her residency in Springfield, Mo. She was at Sparks Medical Clinic at 5428 Ellsworth Road.
Karen Diefendorf was named director of chaplain services at Tyson Foods. She is a former military chaplain with more than 33 years of ministry experience. She was a chaplain at Hospice Care of South Carolina and was a part-time chaplain at Tyson Foods’ Columbia, S.C. facility. Diefendorf earned her bachelor’s degree in christian education from Lincoln Christian College in Lincoln, Ill.; her Master of Divinity from Lincoln Christian Seminary in Lincoln and her Master of Sacred Theology from Yale University.
Kelli K. Winn was promoted by Arvest Bank to senior vice president, mortgage loan manager in Springdale. She has worked for Arvest for more than 20 years. Winn earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas, majoring in finance and specializing in the areas of real estate and investments. She is a past president of the Northwest Arkansas Mortgage Bankers Association.
Clay Reed was promoted by Arvest Bank to commercial banker in Tontitown. He has 22 years of experience with the bank and graduated from the Arkansas Bankers Association Commercial Lending School and the American Bankers Association Commercial Lending School at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Maria Obispo was promoted to trust officer within Arvest Wealth Management. Obispo has been at Arvest since 2008 and began working with Arvest Trust in 2009. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas and holds FINRA Series 7 and Series 66 licenses, as well as Arkansas health and life insurance licenses.
Briefs are for people in Northwest Arkansas who are new hires, were promoted, received an award from outside their organization or received a certification. Email: cswanson@nwadg.com or send your item to: Christie Swanson, P.O. Box 7, Springdale, AR. 72765. Information must be received by noon Wednesday prior to the Sunday the item is to be published.