Smith named VP of operations at chamber of commerce

Allen Smith has joined the staff at the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce as vice president of operations.

Smith has a bachelor's degree in political science from East Carolina University and is enrolled in the master's program for economic development at ECU. Before joining the chamber, he was employed as the town Clerk in Bethel.

While a student at ECU, Smith worked with the law firm of Taft, Taft & Haigler as a part-time investigator and legal assistant.

As vice president of operations, his duties will include all financial responsibilities as well

as membership data, management of the chamber's database, front office functions and personnel and maintenance of the Fleming House.

Burgdorff elected president of county attorneys group

JoAnne Burgdorff, lawyer for Pitt County government, was elected president of the North Carolina Association of County Attorneys at their annual summer conference in July.

Burgdorff was vice president of the organization last year. She has served as the attorney for the Pitt County Board of Commissioners and as the head of the Pitt County Legal Department for nine years. She also serves as the legislative liaison for Pitt County in dealing with the North Carolina General Assembly and the U.S. Congress.

Burgdorff has been active with the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, serving on the intergovernmental relations committee and the legislative goals committee for several years. In addition, she serves on the finance and intergovernmental relations steering committee for the National Association of Counties. In July, Burgdorff was a presenter at the annual conference for the National Association of Counties on "The Right Way to Run a Meeting." She has been invited to present a similar program at the national conference in Chicago next year.

Burgdorff received her undergraduate degree in business from the University of Houston and her law degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston. She practiced in Houston as a board-certified specialist in family law for 16 years.

After relocating to North Carolina in 1994, Burgdorff was the county attorney for Washington County in Plymouth before being appointed Pitt County's attorney in 1996.

Panaro promoted to account executive

Ann Panaro has been promoted to account executive at The Stone Agency in Raleigh.

Panaro joined the agency in 2004 as an assistant account executive. Her client portfolio includes MeadWestvaco Healthcare Packaging and Merz Pharmaceuticals. She also is the lead account manager for Madison River Communications.

Panaro, originally from Greenville, attended Farmville Central High School. After graduating in 2000, she attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning degrees in journalism and psychology.

The Stone Agency is a full-service, integrated marketing and advertising agency. Founded in 1995, the agency is one of the fastest growing in the southeast. Current clients include such firms as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, MeadWestvaco Healthcare Packaging, Madison River Communications, Merz Pharmaceuticals and The Trane Co.

Carrión-Jones joins medical school staff

Dr. Mónica J. Carrión-Jones has joined the faculty of the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Carrión-Jones comes to ECU from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where she recently completed fellowship training in electrodiagnostic medicine, a method used to evaluate nerve and muscle disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Before that, she completed residency training in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh.

During her training, Carrión-Jones was 2003-04 chief resident and taught other residents and medical students.

This fall, she will receive the Education Junior Member Recognition Award, presented by the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine Foundation, for her participation in a pilot study of neuromuscular findings in persons with complete spinal cord injury.

Carrión-Jones has a medical degree from the University of Panama Medical School in the Republic of Panama. She completed internships at the Social Security Hospital and the Community Hospital of Azuero Region, both in the Republic of Panama, and at Saint Francis Medical Center in Pittsburgh.

Working under the auspices of ECU Physicians, the group practice of the medical school, Carrión-Jones oversees all consultations with rehabilitation patients at the Regional Rehabilitation Center at Pitt County Memorial Hospital.

Nelson retires from county job

John W. Nelson II has retired from Pitt County government after more than 24 years of service.

Art the time of his retirement, Nelson was a tax appraiser for the county.