The Daily Oklahoman Business People column

(Daily Oklahoman, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jan. 15--MidFirst Bank names James P. Boggs senior vice president of commercial banking. He will be responsible for the development and management of customer relationships in Oklahoma. Boggs joined MidFirst in 1996.

Hiland Partners LP names Ron Hill vice president of business development. He has spent the past 25 years of his career focusing on gas processing, midstream gas gathering, transportation and NGL marketing. Hill recently served as vice president of Gas Supply for Pioneer Gas Pipeline Inc. in San Angelo, Texas.

The American Association of Feline Practitioners' names Letrisa M. Miller board of directors member. She practices at The Cat Clinic in Norman. The Association is an international veterinary organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of cats.

Triangle Development Group names Brenda Craiger sales leader in market properties for the Oklahoma City central business district. She is a Realtor with experience in marketing and selling residential properties.

*CELEBRATIONS! Educational Services names Kim Kamp Leslie executive director. *CELEBRATIONS! is a private nonprofit preschool and kindergarten primarily for Hispanic children.

Oklahoma Long Range Capital Planning Commission names Gregory Frogge chairman. He will be responsible for advising and assisting the Legislature in providing for capital facilities in the state.

Rose State College names Lisa Pitsiri associate vice president for resource development and executive director of the RSC Foundation. She has worked as the college's news bureau coordinator since 2000.

Interim Healthcare of Oklahoma City names Mark Stevenson marketing representative. He will market Westmont Medical Services, which provides durable medical equipment, respiratory and rehabilitation services.

Oklahoma Partnership for School of Readiness names Nancy vonBargen executive director of Smart Start Oklahoma. She recently worked with OKDHS for more than 29 years and was part of the program Reaching for the Stars, a program that tries to improve the quality of child care across the state.

Ideal Homes names Russ Gammill director of purchasing and estimating, and Brian Rice director of operations for the company's management team. Gammill will be responsible for establishing and managing the systems to meet company variance and margin goals. Rice will oversee the company's human resources and IT divisions.

First American Bank names Gayla McLin administrative officer and LuAnn Milligan loan officer. Both will be working at the Maysville Banking Center.

OU Physicians names Ewa Olech rheumatologist. She is board-certified in internal medicine and board-eligible in rheumatology. Olech will diagnose and treat degenerative and inflammatory disorders of connective tissues.

Oklahoma RedHawks names Jamie Cobb marketing manager, Mark Pritchard director of sponsorships and Chris Lucas director of merchandise.

Lemke Land Surveying of Norman names David Ricketts land surveyor working in the field.

Stillwater National Bank names Cynthia Northington credit officer, Debbi Groh banking officer and Michele Manning-Lucky assistant to the vice president of commercial lending. They all will work in the Oklahoma City division in the Waterford office.

Hornbeek Krahl Vitali & Braun names James S. Daniel and Rachel L. Bussett, associates. Daniel will focus his practice in workers' compensation and insurance defense. Bussett will concentrate her practice in civil litigation and insurance defense.

Awards and honors

Maaco Collision Repair and Auto Painting honored Oklahoma City franchise operators Gary and Ana Butler for more than $1 million in sales. The facility located at 400 E Interstate 240 has achieved the standard for the seventh time since opening.

Marilyn Hildreth, Tim Missaghi and Harold Ford, Allstate Insurance agents, have been awarded an Agency Hands in the Community award for their commitment to volunteering in the community. The award comes with a $500 grant from the Allstate Foundation to ACT-SO, the Hope Community Service and the Community Action Network.

Submissions

The Oklahoman provides free notices of selected promotions, appointments and honors to recognized businesses as space allows. For more information, contact Elizabeth Shelton at 475-3273 or send e-mail to eshelton@oklahoman.com.

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.