Angie Wilson has been hired as an agent by GHB Insurance. She specializes in assisting small employers in Thurston and Pierce County with employee benefits including dental, vision, disability and individual medical. Wilson, who will be working out of the Olympia office, has several years experience in the insurance industry.

The Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center Executive Chef Allan Wambaa earned the ProChef Level II certification from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). There are three levels of certification. Wambaa was able to bypass level one due to his years of experience including more than 10 years as an executive chef as well as having graduated from culinary school at the Career Training Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. He embarked on an eight-month journey preparing for the exams that took place over a four-day period in June. The scope of the accreditation now qualifies Wambaa as a dietician and a nutritionist.

ChildTrek wins the prestigious King 5 Evening Magazine's Best of Western Washington – Children's Gifts 2009 contest. More than 191,000 votes were cast in this contest, representing over 150 categories, with entries from Olympia to Bellingham to LaConner and beyond. In 2008, ChildTrek placed second in this contest.

Charla Bear, most recently assistant producer for NPR's Weekend Edition, will join the KPLU news team on Jan. 11. She'll share the Education beat with KPLU reporter Gary Davis. In addition to a Master's Degree in Journalism, Bear holds a bachelor's degree in architecture, and worked as an architect in Seattle from 2000 to 2004.