The People: July 19-25

Emma Williams is a public relations associate and Amanda Venit is public relations administrative assistant at Preferred Public Relations. In addition, Preferred Public Relations is providing PR services for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada.

Melanie Evans is the Southern Nevada mortgage and marketing specialist at the Nevada Rural Housing Authority.

Eugene Santiago is executive chef at Carson Kitchen in the John E. Carson Hotel, 124 S. Sixth St., Las Vegas. Santiago has been with the restaurant since it opened in June 2014.

Mindy Martinez of Western Risk Insurance earned her Certified Insurance Counselor designation through the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research. Martinez joined the company in 2007.

Larry Piparo is tax services manager at Stewart Archibald & Barney. He handles business development and manages complex tax issues and the growth of the tax department.

Seth Schorr is chairman of the Downtown Grand and Jim Simms is CEO. Schorr was the property’s CEO. Simms was president and general manager of Miami Valley Gaming in Ohio.

Dr. Craig Hunter joined Urology Specialists of Nevada. Hunter was a fellow in the 2014 Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship at the Kulkarni Center for Reconstructive Urology in Pune, India. He received his degree in medicine from Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his urologic residency as chief resident at the Detroit Medical Center, Michigan State University consortium.

Brooks Pierce is Aristocrat’s managing director of the Americas. He previously was CEO of BHP Consulting Group.

Mike Korzen is a strategic marketing executive at Capstone Risk Management. Korzen has more than 20 years experience in insurance marketing.

International School of Hospitality Executive Director Timothy Lam is president of the Foundation of the National Association for Catering and Events.

Go Global Realty broker/owners Michael Ring and Rone Chang awarded Wing Kwong “Vincent” Ho one year of paid dues to the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, worth $1,100. Ho won the grand prize at the Go Global Realty Builder Trade Show.

Stephanie Tyler, president of AT&T Nevada, joined the board of directors of the Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities.

Patrice Ross is state director of the Nevada State SHRM Council. The council is the state affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management, the world’s largest professional association devoted to human resources management. Ross has more than 15 years in human resources experience, working primarily for nonprofit and government-contracting organizations.

Several people joined the staff of Southwest Medical Associates. Chad Bullock, an advanced practice registered nurse, specializes in adult medicine at the Lake Mead Health Center, 270 W. Lake Mead Parkway, Henderson. Phyician’s assistant Marcy Holloway specializes in adult medicine at the Lifestyle Center-West, 8670 W. Cheyenne Ave., and the West Flamingo Health Center, 6330 W. Flamingo Road, both in Las Vegas. Dr. Maria Manalo specializes in adult medicine and nurse practitioner Maria Barlaan and Dr. Jyotu Sandhu specialize in urgent care at the Urgent Care Center, 2704 N. Tenaya Way, Las Vegas. Dr. Josef Abbo specializes in urgent care at the Charleston/Rancho Urgent Care Center, 888 S. Rancho Drive, Las Vegas. Dr. Mukesh Wadhwa specializes in anesthesiology at the Surgery Center, 2450 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas, and physician’s assistant Lyndsie Wilson specializes in gastroenterology at the Charleston/Rancho Health Center, 2316 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas.

Rodney Morrow, director of sales at Green Valley Ranch Resort, won Henderson’s seventh annual Destination Champion Award, which recognizes excellence in the hospitality community.

Eric Geisler is director of sports venues at Shawmut Design and Construction.

Jason Elison is director of technical compliance at BMM Testlabs, a gaming testing laboratory and technical consultant.

Ellen Lloyd is a grant writer for Professionals in Philanthropy.

Steve Bonilla is engineering development manager at Gaming Laboratories International. He was director of IT and technical compliance at American Gaming Systems.

Adam Jones is state director of Americans for Prosperity Nevada. He co-founded the Foundation of America with actor John Ratzenberger. Jones previously served as chief of staff for former Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki and held roles with Mitt Romney for President and RedRock Strategies, a Nevada political consulting firm.

The Restaurant Hospitality Institute began instruction. Mark Steele, a fourth-generation food and beverage industrialist, is the founder and instructor. The institute offers a five-session educational program and is the first and only food server academy recognized by Nevada and approved by Nevada’s Postsecondary Education Board.

Penn National Gaming appointed Bob Sheldon to oversee the Tropicana and the M Resort. Sheldon was general manager of Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., and started his career at the Las Vegas Hilton, now the Westgate.

Hard Rock Hotel won the No. 1 spot for “Best Hotel Pool” in USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice contest.

Aristocrat Gaming rolled out Lighting Link games, available on Happy Lantern, High Stakes, Magic Pearl and Sahara Gold machines. Lightning Link offers multiple denominations with a progressive jackpot that is the same for all denominations.

Travel website Trip Advisor named Clark County Wetlands Park one of the area’s best attractions, based on reviews from the website’s visitors.

Silver State Schools Credit Union opened a branch at 2256 S. Nellis Blvd., Las Vegas, in the Winterwood Pavilion Shopping Center.

AT&T set up cell towers at Grand Canyon Village at Horse Drive and U.S. Route 95, in Southern Highlands at St. Rose Parkway and South Las Vegas Boulevard, and in Winchester at Desert Inn and Theme roads.

Solutions Recovery opened a Pahrump office at 1306 E. Calvados Blvd. The center offers outpatient services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for adults 18 and older.

Las Vegas Sands ranked 60th of 500 companies on Newsweek Magazine’s 2015 list of Top Green Companies in the United States. Researchers based the rankings on eight environmental performance indicators, including energy, water and carbon productivity. Other companies with Southern Nevada ties that made the list include Wynn Resorts (No. 100), MGM Resorts International (No. 112) and HCA Holdings (No. 340).

Sundance Helicopters was inducted into the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame after receiving its fifth consecutive TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award.

Smith’s closed a store at 4440 N. Rancho Blvd., Las Vegas, and celebrated the remodel of a store at 55 S. Valle Verde Drive, Henderson.

The Nevada Department of Transportation awarded a $39.2 million contract to general contractor Las Vegas Paving Corp. to build north- and southbound U.S. 95 connection ramps to the east- and westbound 215 Beltway in northwest Las Vegas.