Business News

Mary E. Kienzle has been named senior director, community benefit and social accountability, for the Catholic Health System, located in Amherst. She will be responsible for establishing a framework to ensure successful development and execution of a Community Health Improvement and Community Benefit Plan for the health system and its related entities.

KVS Information Systems Inc., headquartered in Amherst, has been selected by the Village of Carthage, located in the Watertown Fort Drum region of Jefferson County, to provide financial software for its accounting and purchasing procurement needs.

Thomas R. Heine of East Amherst has been named president of the Food Bank of Western New York. Director of procurement and merchandising for Wilson Farms Convenience Stores, he has nearly 40 years of food industry experience. He has been a volunteer and board member for the Food Bank for 15 years.

BNI Business Makers will meet at 7 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 20 at Amberleigh, 2330 Maple Road, west of Transit, Williamsville. Diane Fronckowiak of Arcara & Borczynski will be the guest speaker. Her topic will be on "Audits Demystified." Contact Deb Nye, at 913-1541 for information. The group will not meet Dec. 27.

Thomas P. Cunningham of East Amherst has been appointed as the managing partner of the law firm of Rupp, Baase, Pfalzgraf, Cunningham & Coppola, LLC.

Miriam Sindoni of Amherst has been awarded the Graduate Realtor Institute designation by the NYS Realtor Institute. She received this honor after successfully completing 90 hours of residential real estate education. Sindoni is a graduate of the REALTOR Institute for RealtyUSA.

BNI Business Makers will meet at 7 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 13 at Amberleigh, 2330 Maple Road, west of Transit, Williamsville. Vince Jones of Buffalo Design and Construction will be the guest speaker. His topic will be on the "Apples and Oranges of Construction." Contact Deb Nye at 913-1541 for information.

Bankers Conseco Life Insurance Company has opened a sales office in Williamsville. The office, which plans to hire up to 36 new insurance agents, will serve the area's seniors from its location at 6225 Sheridan Drive, Suite 300, in Williamsville. The telephone number is 932-9010. Bankers Conseco Life Insurance Company focuses on the financial security needs of the mature market. For information, visit bankersconseco. com.

Independent Health has received national recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance, scoring a rating of 99.2 percent in an accreditation survey of NCQA's Quality Plus Member Connections standards. Independent Health was the only WNY health plan to be recognized and one of 50 in the nation.

Michael G. Lurz, financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial Services in Williamsville, has received high marks from his clients in the client satisfaction survey, ranking in the top 21 percent of 2,608 participating advisers who scored at least 96 out of 100 in overall satisfaction and the amount of proactive contact the client receives.

Gilman Ciocia, a provider of federal, state and local tax planning and preparation services, has set its schedule of workshops: 3 p.m. Dec. 12 and 6 p.m. Dec. 13, both at Sonoma Grill, 5010 Main St., near Kensington Avenue, Snyder. Attendees receive a free lunch or dinner during the presentation. To register, call 1-800-tax-team or visit www. gilcio. com.