* LaVonne Deininger, of the Realtor Association of Northwestern Illinois, was named Realtor of the year by the local association and received special recognition during a state banquet. The award is given to one member who exemplifies the professional qualities of a Realtor and is based on the person's service and leadership in community and civic affairs. She is broker/owner of Old Northwest Land Co., Galena, Ill., and also received a special award from the state association.

* Luke Gibbs has joined Mission Creative as an account coordinator. He will assist with client service and account management activities, including client communication, billing processes and media coordination. He is a graduate of Wartburg College and a native of rural Dubuque.

* Dennis Hamilton has joined Entegee Engineering Technical Group as a senior designer. He is formerly from Hopkins, Mo.

* McKesson Corp. announced the following:

* Jennifer Kieffer joined McKesson's Horizon Practice Plus development team as a quality assurance analyst. She formerly worked as a product support analyst.

* Tammy Meyer joined McKesson's Horizon Practice Plus as a product support analyst. She formerly worked as a system support specialist at Dubuque Internal Medicine.

* Gail Wiegman was promoted to director of services for McKesson's Horizon Practice Plus division. She has been with the company for 20 years and was formerly the support manager for the Horizon Meds Manager product.

* John Klein joined Hartig Drug as information technology network administrator. He has a computer systems background and formerly worked at Wartburg Theological Seminary.

* Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company announced the following:

* Beverly Kolz joined the company as editorial director of Kendall/Hunt Professional Division.

* Sue Simon joined the company as a senior account manager of Kendall/Hunt Professional Division.

They both formerly owned Simon and Kolz Publishing, of Dubuque.

* Jason Norton joined DuTrac Community Credit Union as senior vice president of marketing and business development. He will be responsible for the development of strategic brand direction and communication across all channels. He will manage both the creative side as well as establish policies and procedures for new business acceptance. He formerly worked as director of league relations for the American Association of Credit Union Leagues and the Credit Union National Association headquartered in Washington, D.C.

* Jamie Widmeier, of Dupaco Community Credit Union, earned the nationally recognized designation of Certified RIA Professional. This specialized designation is exclusively for credit union professionals who have IRA compliance or operations responsibilities.

* Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque announced the following:

* Gary Guetzko has been named vice president for Growth and Business Development. He formerly held the position of vice president finance/chief financial officer for nearly 20 years.

* Bob Shafer was promoted to the position of vice president finance/chief financial officer. He formerly worked in the finance area at Mercy for 33 years, most recently as director of finance.

* Ryan Osterberger joined Mercy as director, Nutrition Services. He formerly worked as manager of a multi-venue dining facility at Iowa State University. He has 12 years of experience providing management and leadership for ISU in food service operations.

* Mike DeMoully, director of human and organizational development at Loras College, recently was named president of the Iowa Chapter of College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. He has been with the college since 2006 after a 21-year career with the Air Force.

* Tom Nall, of First Weber Group Inc., of Platteville, Wis., was awarded the Accredited Buyer Representative designation by the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council Inc. of the National Association of Realtors. He was required to successfully complete a comprehensive course in buyer representation and an elective course focusing on a buyer representation specialty in submitting documentation verifying professional experience.