Karen Ratcliff

Richard Bausch

Dee Latch

Kathy Bomar

Lorraine Butler

Dr. Robert J. Walker

Bill Breen

Katie Norman

Karen Ratcliff has joined the Exchange Club Family Center as director of marketing and special events.

Ratcliff will be responsible for overseeing internal and external marketing and public relations initiatives as well as planning and producing fundraising events for the center.

Ratcliff previously held marketing roles for Magna Bank, BackyardCity.com and Puskar Gibbon Chapin Inc. She is a graduate of Southern Methodist University in Dallas and an active member of the Junior League of Memphis and the Maternal Welfare League.

Richard Bausch has won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for his novel “Peace.” The prize, which includes $10,000, is the only international literary peace prize awarded in the United States. It stems from the Dayton Peace Prize, which commemorates the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that ended the war in Bosnia. Bausch is the holder of the Moss Chair of Excellence in English at the University of Memphis.

Dee Latch has been promoted to program manager at Counterpart Communication Design. Latch most recently served as an account executive. As program director, she will be responsible for analyzing and optimizing content practices across Web-based business applications and developing initiatives to streamline content management practices.

The Memphis Area Association of Realtors has honored John Thompson of Germantown Properties and Ryan Guess of Patriot Bank Mortgage with the 2009 Community Service Award. The award honors members who devote their time to nonprofit and other organizations in the Memphis community.

Kathy Bomar, a clinical educator in neuroscience and orthopedics at Methodist University Hospital, has received the Excellence in Neuroscience Education Award from the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses. Bomar is responsible for developing unit-based education for current and new employees and has created a specialty fellowship orientation for neuroscience practitioners. She has mentored 16 nurses to obtain their certified neuroscience registered nurse certification.

Lorraine Butler has been named administrative director of perioperative services for Methodist University Hospital. Before joining Methodist, Butler served as system administrative director at Clarian Health Partners in Indianapolis. She received her Master of Science Administration degree from Central Michigan University and her Bachelor of Nursing degree from Molloy College in New York.

Counterpart Communication Design has added to its staff interactive developer Jeff Janovetz, senior account executive Tera Simmons and content manager Renee Brazell. Janovetz previously served as senior Web developer for Physician’s Postgraduate Press Inc. Simmons previously served as the West Tennessee Asthma Walk coordinator at the American Lung Association in Tennessee. Brazell previously served as content manager for FedEx Services through Cook Systems.

Dr. Robert J. Walker has been selected as the International Foundation for Education and Self-Help Outstanding Educator of the Year for Ethiopia. Walker is the chair of the Education Department of Southwest Tennessee Community College. He served as a trainer for college teachers at Debre Birhan University in central Ethiopia.

Bill Breen has met the requirements for the Certified Medical Practice Executive designation in the American College of Medical Practice Executives. The designation demonstrates expertise in medical practice management. Breen is chief executive officer of Health Choice LLC, a managed care contracting organization for MetroCare Physicians and Methodist Healthcare.

Katie Norman has achieved the Certified Healthcare Privacy and Security certification. Norman is the first health care professional in West Tennessee to achieve the certification. Norman is the supervisor of health information management at Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital.

J. Houston Gordon and Irma Merrill Stratton, members of the Law Office of J. Houston Gordon, have been chosen for inclusion in the 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America.