Bruce Dickerson named vice president of operations of Phillips Machine Service, Inc., Beckley, WV, transitioning from the president of Phillips Technologies.  Dickerson will direct the management team and others within the organization to develop growth in both the sales and market share within the industry.  He has 26 years experience in various industries and has served in various management positions within the organization since 1996.  He has  a bachelors degrees in both economics and accounting.

Jake Hutchison joins VCE, Inc., Nashville, TN, as vice president of VCE’s technical division.  VCE services clients with pre-blast surveys, seismic monitoring, ambient noise monitoring, work easement video documentation, mechanical vibration measurements, as well as seismograph leasing, sales and service and forensic engineering services to the construction and blasting industries.

James E. Surjan appointed to the new position of director of adhesive technology for Powers Fasteners, Inc., Brewster, NY, and work in managing approvals, product testing, technical documentation, training and engineering aspects of adhesives that are sourced products for Powers.  Surjan would also work with the vice president of manufacturing on incoming inspection procedures for adhesive products and with the director of engineering in the marketing group on technical documentation for both literature and code approvals.  Chad Estill and Chris Salisbury named branch managers of new offices, respectively, opened in Dallas and Houston, TX.  Kyle Thuenemann and Ed Gilliam appointed jobsite specialists for the respective branches.  Curtis Fickert has also joined Powers Fasteners as branch manager, with more than 20 years experience in construction sales.

Donovan Symonds, chairman and founder of Norwest, has retired.  He built the firm from a staff of 5 to its present-day workforce of 250.  Symonds currently serves as president of the Coal Preparation Society of America, and is a member of the National Mining Association board of directors.  In 2006, he received the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers Erskine Ramsey medal.

Max Brinckman promoted chief sales officer for Becker Mining Systems AG, responsible for the worldwide sales of and expansion of the group.  Brinckman has a keen understanding of the global markets and together with his product knowledge continues to develop new markets for the German holding company.  He started in 1988 as a junior engineer.

Reab Berry, director of business development, was honored by GIW Industries at its annual banquet recently for having served 45 years with the company.  During his career at GIW, Berry has worked on design, testing, sales, selection, installation and troubleshooting of slurry pumps and systems.  He has been able to solve seemingly “unsolvable” slurry pumping problems and is well known as a slurry pump expert.  Each year, GIW holds a special  banquet honoring workers who have worked for the company for 30 years or more, and this year the number grew to 46 members of the GIW “Thirty Year Club.”  Established in 1891 as a privately-owned foundry and machine shop in 1891, GIW has made its way to the forefront in the slurry pump industry. In 1996, GIW became a fully owned subsidiary of KSB’s Worldwide Pump and Valve Group in Frankenthal, Germany, with sales of more than $2 billion.

Justin McElhattan elected to the newly created position of president and chief operating officer of Industrial Scientific Corporation,

Pittsburgh, PA, responsible for integrating and growing the corporation’s worldwide gas monitoring business.  McElhattan will align the customer-centric operations by developing worldwide strategies that increase productivity and effectiveness in the areas of product and service quality, lean manufacturing, supply chain management, and service operations.

David E. Stock appointed to the newly created position of mining market manager for Farr Air Pollution Control (APC), Jonesboro, AR., a manufacturer of dust collection equipment for emissions control.   Stock will assist in all aspects of Farr APC’s growing mining dust collection business and will work closely with the company’s network of representatives and distributors, helping mining customers solve environmental compliance challenges.

Richard Lake appointed CEO of Bureau Veritas – Asset Integrity and Reliability Services, a newly formed company with the merger of Intico of Melbourne, Australia and NSW-based CCI Pope.  Lake will lead a team of more than 400 people based in 17 offices around the country.  Bureau Veritas is the world’s second largest group in conformity assessment and certification services.

Bob Olson promoted to vice president, sales and marketing, for Dressta North America, Buffalo Grove, IL, responsible for all machine sales, marketing and service support for Dressta products in the U.S. and Canada.  Olson is an industry veteran with more than 30 years experience in sales, marketing and distributor development functions.

Steve B. Kesler named president of the mining business unit of URS Corporation, Washington

division.  Kesler will be responsible for the overall growth and operation of the business unit.  He has held senior executive positions with major mining companies in London, the Philippines, Chile and Namibia.  The mining business unit provides the full life cycle of mining services.

W. Phillip Marcum has joined the board of directors of ADA-ES, Inc., Littleton, CO, and is expected to serve on several board committees.  Marcum has 40 years of experience in financial, operational and managerial experience in the energy industry.  He retired as chairman of the board, chief executive officer and president of Metretek Technologies, Inc., in 2007, and since that time has served as principal at MG Advisors, LLC.

Megan Tanel of the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) promoted to AEM vice president of exhibitions, in recognition of her trade show responsibilities and leadership.  She will oversee AEM show activities for events based in the U.S., including the CONEXPO-CON/AGG construction exhibition and ICUEE, and will continue to serve as director of the same show.  Larry Charrlin named to a newly created position of executive director of international exhibitions, and will oversee overseas shows such as CONEXPO Asia and CONEXPO Russia.

Ron Long appointed vice president of global engineering for CapRock Communications, Houston, TX, and will oversee the company’s satellite communications infrastructure and lead technology development and planning, while building service around the world.  Long has more than 15 years experience in the information technology sector.  CapRock is a global provider of satellite communications to harsh and remote environments.

Jeff Justice has joined International Resource Partners, L.P., South Charleston, WV, as general manager of the Hampden area operations of IRP, responsible for managing all operations of Chafin Branch Coal Company, LLC, Hampden Coal Company, LLC, and Rockhouse Creek Development, LLC, as well as engineering and purchasing/warehousing that support these operations.  Justice has over 20 years of managerial experience in the coal industry and has held senior managerial positions at several leading central Appalachian coal companies.  He has a mining engineering degree from the University of Kentucky and a masters’ degree in business from Vanderbilt University.

Darren Keehn appointed sales representative with Philadelphia Gear, King of Prussia, PA, for the western region of Canada, encompassing the provinces of British Columbia, and Alberta. Keehn will be responsible for various business development initiatives in the region and adding value to the partnership between PGC and its customers in the western region. Keehn brings nearly 20 years of sales and hands-on experience with rotating equipment, applications, with a particularly strong focus on turbomachinery.

M. Shane Harvey promoted to general counsel for Massey Energy Co., Richmond, VA, and will continue to oversee legal matters involving environmental compliance, health and safety compliance and federal and state regulatory issues.  He will also assume additional authority over legal matters of concern to the company, including coordination with outside counsel.  He received a law degree from WVU and before that worked as an analyst for Goldman Sachs International in London.  He earned a B.S. in finance at VPI.

Jon Parker appointed managing director of Norton Gold Fields, taking over from Tim Prowse who assumes the role of technical director.  Parker has been a non-executive director with Norton since September 2006.

Goran Stamenkovic appointed marketing general manager and Craig Smith named CFO, respectively, for Felix Resources. Smith had experience in the mining industry as financial controller with Downer EDI’s mining division, and as CFO with Eastern Corporation.  Stamenkovic has held coal marketing roles previously with Coal & Allied, Xstrata and White Mining.  Felix mines export some 7.5 million tons of coal a year from Queensland and New South Wales.

Robert W. Dieckman named chief financial officer with ROTEX Global, LLC, Cincinnati, OH.  Dieckman has a degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame, and has over 18 years of training in the areas of auditing, federal taxes, human resource law, Cognos interactive software, Friedman Frontier Package, payroll law, 401-K administration, DOL rules and regulations, strategic management processes and methodologies, and manufacturing accounting.

Peter Hogg appointed chief operating officer for Valley Longwall International’s Australia operations.  He has over 27  years experience in Australia and internationally across a number of industries, including the mining and manufacturing sectors.  He has significant experience in acquisitions and mergers and the associated integration processes.

Ken M. Rogers, Midwest region reclamation manager, Peabody Energy, has earned the prestigious Vance “Pat” Wiram Award from the Indiana Society of Mining and Reclamation.  With more than 30 years of tenure with Peabody, Wiram was recognized for pioneering best practices to restore productive farmland, the highest reclaimed land use.  His achievements included reintroducing a blight-resistant American Chestnut on reclaimed lands as part of a broad national partnership to bring back the near extinct species to eastern U.S. woodlands. Rogers leadership in reclamation at Peabody’s Miller Creek Mine in Indiana was also honored by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, which awarded Miller Creek the 2007 Excellence in Mining and Reclamation Award.

Thomas F. Hoffman, CONSOL Energy senior vice president of external affairs, named the 2008 Renaissance Communicator of the Year by the Public Relations Society of America’s Pittsburgh Chapter.  The award honors a practitioner for excellence in communications, including leadership, scope of professional responsibilities, community activities, accomplishments and contributions to the profession.  Hoffman has been with CONSOL for 34 years, and was named senior vice president of external affairs in 2007.

Mark C. McCullough named senior vice president, fossil and hydro generation, for American Electric Power, Columbus, OH, succeeding Bill Sigmon who was named AEP’s senior vice president, engineering, projects and field services last November.  McCullough will be responsible for AEP’s fleet of approximately 36,000 megawatts of fossil and hydro generation.  He will also oversee plant engineering and environmental services, asset and outage planning, and technical skills and process optimization.

Graham Dooley, former United Utilities Australia managing director, named chief executive of the Surat Basin Rail Joint Venture.  Dooley has 20 years of CEO and board skills and experience and, in his new role, he will bring extensive knowledge of private/public partnership projects, substantial infrastructure management experience and proven business capabilities.  The railway is expected to achieve financial close by 2010 and will link Surat Basin with the current rail line running to the Port of Gladstone and the Wiggins Island Coal Terminal.

Mitch Lester appointed training systems consultant at the Mining Industry Skills Centre in Queensland, and will work closely with the mining industry in the Gladstone and Rockhampton areas, providing training legislation guidance, industry advice and assistance in the implementation of training management systems.

Amrasanaan Baljinnyam appointed executive director of Bulgan Gold LLC, WorldStar Energy Corp., replacing Bazar Radnaabazar, who left to pursue other interests.  Baljinnayam is a professional administrator with government and mineral exploration industry experience in Mongolia.

Glenn Telschow named inside sales manager for Tower Fasteners Co., Inc., Holtsville, NY, a distributor of fasteners and electronic hardware.  Telschow comes to Tower with years of experience in industrial distribution and sales management.

Steven P. Case presented the ISEE’s (International Society of Explosives Engineers) 2008 Blaster’s Leadership Award for distinguished service to fellow blasters in the field.  Case has over 35 years experience in the explosives and blasting industry.  Additional awards were made to Isabel M. Castro and Vicente Huelama Arias, recipients of the President’s Award.