Human resources

Samuel E. Upchurch Jr. has been elected chair of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce board.

David Sher will serve as chairman of the executive committee and Carol Z. Garrison as chair-elect.

Vice chairs elected are Gerald Johnson, business services; April Williams, community development; G. Phillip Pope, publications; Thomas L. Hamby, economic development; Dr. Perry W. Ward, education and work force development; Ann Huckstep, general counsel; Samuel M. Tortorici, membership and development; Dudley C. Reynolds, public policy; L. Gwaltney McCollum Jr., regional cooperation; Fox deFuniak, treasurer.

Other executive committee members are Garry L. Gause III, Randall L. Haines and James E. Rotch. Russell Cunningham III is president and chief executive.

MOVES

Linda Hatchett has joined Credex Systems as general manager. She was a group vice president at SouthTrust Bank, which is now Wachovia. Curtis Trimble has joined the research team at Sterne Agee as senior exploration and production research analyst.

BUSINESSES

Guardian Waste Group Inc. is now using a new interactive Internet product that integrates work orders, service history, invoices, customer satisfaction and the payment process. The technology reduces support staff training and is completely paperless.

FURTHERMORE

Florida-based Insurance Office of America, which has a Birmingham office, was named one of the top three commercial insurance agencies of the year by National Underwriter, a property and casualty news publication. Intermark Advertising and Vazda Studios won a Brass Ring Award from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions for an advertisement about the Zoomerang Roller Coaster at Visionland amusement park. Jacksonville State University's College of Commerce and Business Administration is ranked in the top 10 percent of U.S. business schools listed in The Princeton Review's "Best 237 Business Schools." The rankings are based on surveys of 16,000 business school students and institutional data obtained from the schools. Bruce A. Smith, who has worked at Control and Power Inc. more than 10 years, has won the company's 2005 award for salesman of the year. Roger Wentowski, president of Business Telephone Systems Inc., has been selected to speak at the Technology Assurance Group's 2006 national convention.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.