The following is a list of achievements by businesses and individuals in the Ann Arbor area:

• Patrick Cavanaugh was named vice president and business banking relationship manager for Fifth Third Bank Eastern Michigan. Cavanaugh will be working with businesses with sales between $3,000,000 and $20,000,000 and loan requests over $500,000 in Washtenaw County. Cavanaugh is a resident of Ann Arbor.

• Due to its recent strategic merger with Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, changes were recently made to the leadership structure at IHA. All appointments were effective Jan. 1. Dr. Mary Durfee, will serve as IHA’s executive vice president - chief medical officer. Cindy Elliott's title has changed from chief operating officer to executive vice president - chief operating officer. Lowell Sprague has been promoted from chief financial officer to vice president - chief financial officer. Linda MacEllven was promoted from director of human resources and customer service to vice president of human resources and customer service.

• The Promanas Group, an Ann Arbor-based real estate acquisitions and management company, recently added five outlots to a Super Wal-Mart in Sterling Heights to its Commercial Real Estate Private Equity Fund. The properties are located at the corner of 14 Mile and Van Dyke Road and tenants include McDonald’s, TGI Friday’s, IHOP, Papa Vino’s and Joe’s Crab Shack. The cost of the acquisition was approximately $3,500,000.

• Aastrom Biosciences, which develops stem cell therapies, recently announced it has been granted a U.S. patent for its investigational expanded autologous cell therapy. The Ann Arbor-based company said the patent supports the basis for a cellular therapy derived from its technology. Aastrom expands cells derived from patient bone marrow to help treat cardiovascular diseases like critical limb ischemia and dilated cardiomyopathy.

• Visiting Angels in Ann Arbor was chosen as the exclusive homecare provider for the Ford Employee Recreation Association. Visiting Angels in Ann Arbor is an independently owned and operated franchise providing homecare services to aging and disabled adults. FERA was established in 1947 for the purpose of developing fellowship and understanding among the Michigan employees of Ford Motor Co. through the promotion of social, physical, cultural and special programs.

• Lynn McGuire, an attorney with Butzel Long, has been elected a shareholder. McGuire is based in the firm's Ann Arbor office.

• Ann Arbor-based Mast Shoes recently announced it will up donations of shoes and socks to local charities. In December, Mast donated 18 pairs of boots to Safehouse Center, a local noprofit serving victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault. In mid-January, shoe store owner Tom Mast announced the store will donate 60 more pairs of shoes to Safehouse. Yaleet Inc., distributors of Naot footwear, teamed with Mast Shoes to make the donation possible. In related news, Mast Shoes will be a collection point for the Annual Sock Drive to benefit the Education Project for Homeless Youth during the month of February. Members of the community can drop off new socks and underwear to be donated to Education Project for Homeless Youth, a project of the Washtenaw Intermediate School District that works to ensure students in homelessness and temporary living situations enroll, regularly attend and succeed in school.

• Ann Arbor restaurant The Chop House was recently announced as the 2010 Main Street Ventures Presidential Award of Excellence. The MSV Presidential Award of Excellence is awarded to a MSV restaurant that received the highest marks during a series of inspections conducted by the MSV executive team. The 2010 inspection team traveled five states in nine cities, evaluating each MSV restaurant within a documented code of standards and excellence. The award went to the Chop House of Ann Arbor for achieving the highest scores during the inspections. The award was presented to the staff of the Chop House of Ann Arbor during an award ceremony held there on Jan. 10.

• For the ninth year in a row, The Bouma Group has sold more Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County homes than any other Realtor. In 2010, the Bouma real estate team sold 187 homes and condos, an increase of 6.75 percent from the previous year, along with 37 rentals. Their total sales volume was $43.1 million. The Bouma Group, headed by team leader Martin Bouma, is Keller Williams Realty’s top agent in the Midwest.

• Brenda Warburton, of Ann Arbor-based jeweler Austin & Warburton, crafted a bracelet that was honored by the American Gem Trade Association. Niveet Nagpal, a principal with Omi Gems of Los Angeles, chose Arizona jewelry designer Judith Evans to design a special bracelet of sapphires, diamonds and platinum intended for the AGTA Spectrum Design Contest for 2011. Warburton executed Evans' design using more than 400 melee diamonds and showcasing the 14 carats of blue sapphires. The American Gem Trade Association recently announced that the bracelet, known as the "Princess of Ratnapura," had won top honors for 2011 in "Best use of Platinum and Colored Gems." The bracelet recently attracted attention on the runways of the Golden Globe Awards when it was worn by Mary Hart of Entertainment Tonight as she greeted and interviewed Hollywood stars.

• Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP recently announced that Christopher A. Ballard has joined the firm as a partner in its trusts and estates department. Ballard is located in Honigman’s Ann Arbor office.

• Bank of Ann Arbor recently announced two promotions. Jacqueline Jenkins was promoted to assistant vice president, portfolio manager and business development officer. Mitzi Talon was promoted to assistant vice president and personal trust officer. Bank of Ann Arbor is a locally owned and operated bank serving people and businesses in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.

• Monika Holzer Sacks, a family law attorney/shareholder with Nichols, Sacks, Slank, Sendelbach & Buiteweg PC, a law firm with offices in downtown Ann Arbor and Brighton, was elected president of the Collaborative Practice Institute of Michigan for 2011. Collaborative Practice uses an interdisciplinary team approach, enabling divorcing couples to settle their disputes without going to court for judicial decision-making.

• Ann Arbor-based Con-way Inc. recently named Michael J. Morris senior vice president and treasurer. Morris is based at Con-way's corporate office in Ann Arbor.

• The University of Michigan Museum of Art has been recognized as one of 10 projects worldwide with the 2011 American Institute of Architects Honor Award for Architecture, the profession's highest recognition of works that exemplify excellence. The recipients will be honored at the AIA 2011 national convention in New Orleans in May. Designed by Allied Works Architecture of Portland, Ore., the museum's expansion and renovation project included a new 53,000-square-feet addition and the complete restoration of the museum's original 1910 Beaux-Arts building. The $41.9 million transformation more than doubled the space available for collections, exhibitions and programs. Integrated Design Solutions, based in Troy, was the associate architect.

• Domino's Pizza, headquartered in Ann Arbor, has opened its first store in Bulgaria, serving the residents of the city of Sofia.

• Great Lakes Educational Group, an academic tutoring, test preparation and study skills center based in Saline, has launched its new website: www.greatlakeseducationalgroup.com. The site was designed and developed by DesignHub Inc., also of Saline. In related news from DesignHub, the company also designed and developed a new website for Food Gatherers, Washtenaw County’s food rescue and food bank program: www.foodgatherers.org.

• Ann Arbor's Denison Consulting LLC, a company providing organizational leadership assessment, recently announced its strategic partnership with PA Consulting Group, a global management and IT consulting and technology firm.

• Michigan Economic Development Corp. president and CEO Michael A. Finney recently announced the appointment of two to his staff. Elizabeth Parkinson, former vice president of marketing and communications for Ann Arbor SPARK, was named MEDC senior vice president for marketing and communications, and Donald E. Snider, former president and CEO of Walden Foods in Ann Arbor, was named MEDC senior vice president for urban economic development.

• Margaret Adrain recently joined Arbor Hospice as vice president of marketing. The Beverly Hills resident will be responsible for directing the sales, marketing and public relations functions for the Ann Arbor-based nonprofit.

• Hundreds of University of Michigan Health System physicians have been named to the 2011-12 Best Doctors in America list. The new national list includes 433 U of M physicians - up from 396 U-M doctors who were honored in the last listing two years ago. This places those U-M physicians among the top 5 percent of doctors in their specialties. UMHS has more physicians recognized than any other health system in Michigan.

• The Charles Reinhart Co.’s 15th annual coat drive, which ran through the end of December, received a record-setting number of donations. New and gently used winter coats were collected at all of the Reinhart offices as well as all Sunday open houses.
Capital Cleaners, Chelsea Cleaners and Gold Bond Cleaners donated their services to professionally clean the coats before they are distributed to local agencies. Due to efforts by Reinhart agents and contributions from the Ann Arbor area community, the Charles Reinhart Co. was able to donate a record-setting 1,497 coats to more than 20 local agencies.

• E-mail items for People, Achievements and Paparazzi to business@annarbor.com . Sign up for the weekly Business Review email newsletter here.