COEUR d'ALENE - Goodwill Industries of the Inland Northwest has named Center Partners in Coeur d'Alene the employer of the year.

In the past two and a half years, Center Partners in Coeur d'Alene has employed more than 100 people from Goodwill's Working Solutions program.

"They have hired more participants in our Working Solutions program than any other employer in the Coeur d'Alene area," Heather Alexander, Goodwill's director of marketing and fund development in Spokane, said Thursday. "They have gone above and beyond to provide opportunities for people who other employers might pass over for a variety of reasons."

The Working Solutions program helps people develop skills needed to get hired, such as interview training, and get them off of government assistance.

The employer of the year is selected from 23 counties in eastern Washington and North Idaho, Alexander said.

Nominations for the award come from employees, she said.

Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza on Trent Avenue in Spokane Valley and the Safeway store on Northwest Boulevard in Spokane won the award last year, she said.