Platinum Home Mortgage expands to Coeur d'Alene

Residential mortgage lender Platinum Home Mortgage Corporation has opened a new branch office in Coeur d'Alene at 1859 N. Lakewood Drive. This is the first Idaho location for Platinum Home Mortgage.

Steve Carlsen and Matt Richter have been named branch managers for the new Coeur d'Alene location. Carlsen and Richter are mortgage industry veterans, who were most recently managers at Wells Fargo.

Platinum Home Mortgage originates FHA, VA and conforming mortgage programs and is a Fannie Mae-approved HomePath Mortgage lender. The company remains healthy despite recent concerns in the subprime and Alt-A mortgage lending communities. Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Ill., the company has branches in California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Nevada, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

US Bank employees receive awards

Frances Mueller, US Bank branch manager at 6376 Government Way in Coeur d'Alene, won the bank's annual Pinnacle and Top Tier award, the company's highest consumer banking employee achievement honor. She was in the top 1 percent of retail managers throughout the country. She has worked in the financial industry for 12 years and this is her first annual pinnacle award. She is a graduate of the University of Idaho in Moscow and volunteers in the community with Human Rights Education Institute and Pi Beta Phi Fraternity. She resides in Rathdrum with her husband, Edward, and 2-month old son Morgan.

Jill Andrews, a financial adviser for US Bancorp Investments and Insurance who works at the same branch won the president's award.

Both were recognized at a dinner honoring them for their service achievements.

"These employees deserve tremendous congratulations for their achievement as they do an outstanding job to make sure our customer's expectations are not only met, but exceeded," Rick Hartnack, vice chairman of consumer banking for US Bank.

Hartnack noted that it is because of these employees that US Bank has received several accolades this past year, including being recognized in Fortune magazine as one of the world's most admired regional banks, and another from Global Finance, which noted US Bancorp as one of the safest banks in the world.

"Customers value service and stability, and these rankings are like a seal of approval for us and confirms our belief that quality matters," Hartnack said.

US Bank's awards program recognizes outstanding achievement and rewards employees for their performance.

Rosenberger elected to professional post

Chelsea Rosenberger was elected to serve as chairwoman of the Young Professional's Initiative for the International Association of Fairs and Expositions. The IAFE is a voluntary, nonprofit corporation based in Springfield, Mo., organizing fairs and exhibitions internationally.

Rosenberger serves as the sponsorship and special events coordinator for the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo and Kootenai County Events Center.

If you have a new, relocated or expanded business, or announcement of events, promotions or awards, The Press wants to let our readers know. The service is free and items run Tuesday through Saturday. To get the word on the street on your movers and shakers, call city editor Bill Buley at 664-8176 Ext. 2016 or e-mail bbuley@cdapress.com.