Wilmington Trust hires new vice president
Wilmington Trust recently hired Robert P. Gehring as vice president and head of the Credit Risk Management Division. A 39-year veteran of commercial banking, Gehring has extensive experience in commercial real estate lending, credit policy, underwriting, credit administration and risk management at East Coast regional banks. He is responsible for all aspects of credit-risk management, including the internal risk rating process and oversight of the reserve for loan losses. Gehring manages a team of 26 credit reviewers and analysts.

Make-A-Wish Foundation names new president
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-Atlantic board of directors recently named Maura Harty as president and CEO. Harty brings more than 29 years of leadership and public service to the Make-A-Wish team. Immediately prior to joining the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Harty served as the senior policy director and director of The Koons Family Institute on International Law and Policy at the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. Harty is also an experienced diplomat who served for 27 years as a U.S. foreign-service officer.

SBA to host conference for veterans Sept. 24
The U.S. Small Business Administration will host its regional veterans’ business conference Friday, Sept. 24, at the Waterfall Banquet & Conference Center in Claymont. The Economic Recovery Rules of Engagement Conference features presentations on the veterans’ master of business administration, small business public relations, federal business opportunities, accessing capital, and corporate and government prime contractors. The keynote speaker will be Harry Siegel, CEO of HMS Technologies and one of the National Veteran-owned Business Association’s vetrepreneurs of the year. The registration fee is $35. For additional information, call 302-573-6294, Ext. 221, or visit sba.gov/de.

Delaware State Police announces promotions
Delaware State Police conducted a promotion ceremony Aug. 11, at Wilmington University’s Dover campus. Superintendent Col. Robert M. Coupe, Gov. Jack Markell, Attorney General Beau Biden and Deputy Cabinet Secretary Elizabeth Y. Olsen were on hand to honor the professional accomplishments of the following troopers, listed with their new ranks and assignments: Capt. John A. Campanella, headquarters, Dover; Capt. Jason H. Sapp, headquarters; Capt. Peter B. Sawyer, headquarters; Lt. Jennifer D. Griffin, Troop 1; Lt. Daniel K. Meadows, Troop 2; Lt. Michael L. Nelson of Rehoboth Beach, Troop 3; Sgt. Richard D. Bratz, Troop 5; Sgt. Eric L. Hamm, Troop 3; Sgt. Thomas J. McKeown, Aviation North; Sgt. Jeffrey C. Whitmarsh II, Troop 3; and Sgt. Matthew M. Zolper, Troop 7.

Del-One announces new board members
Ann Nutter was recently appointed to Del-One’s board of directors. Nutter currently serves as business manager for Polytech School District and will be filing the seat vacated by William Newnom. Associate board members are Jon McDowell, Ruby Katcher and William A. Pfaffenhauser. For more informationabout of Del-One, call 302-739-4496 or visit Del-One.org.

WSFS completes stock offering
WSFS Financial Corp., the parent company of Wilmington Savings Fund Society, announced Monday, Aug. 9, that pursuant to its previously announced public offering of 1,200,000 shares of common stock at a price of $36.50 per share, the underwriters have exercised their option to purchase an additional 170,000 shares of common stock, on the same terms and conditions. WSFS also announced it has closed on the public common stock offering, representing $50 million in gross proceeds. Net proceeds from the offering are expected to be approximately $47.3 million after deducting fees and offering expenses.

Morris James partners honored for litigation
Five Morris James LLP partners have been recognized among the top Delaware litigation attorneys in Benchmark Litigation 2011 - The Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys: Rich Galperin, Clark Collins, Richard Herrmann, Lewis Lazarus and Edward McNally. Benchmark Litigation focuses exclusively on litigation lawyers and firms in the United States. Recommendations are based on extensive face-to-face and telephone interviews with the nation’s leading private practice lawyers and in-house counsel. Visit morrisjames.com.

Patrina Wallace joins state chamber staff
Patrina Wallace recently joined the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce staff as information administrator. In this position, Wallace acts as a goodwill ambassador for the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. She will attend to visitors and deal with inquiries on the phone and face to face. She will also supply chamber information to the general public, members of the chamber and prospective members. Wallace replaces Angie Turochy, who retired from a 26-year career at the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce in June.

Attorneys to be included in guide
Eighteen Morris James attorneys in 13 practice areas were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2011. New to the list are Mark D. Olson and Bruce W. Tigani from the firm’s Tax, Estates and Business practice. Real Estate Practice Group Chairman Richard Beck has been named in the publication since its inception in 1983. Visit morrisjames.com. The Best Lawyers in America 2011 has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.

Coldwell Banker names top producers
Coldwell Banker Resort Realty announced the firm’s top producers in July for the Rehoboth branch. Top listing agent was Kathy Douglass. The top selling agent was Paul Fedynich, and the top overall agent was Skip Faust. For the Lewes branch, the top listing agent was Mary Jarrell, top selling agent was Lucy Churchill and the top overall agent was Kathy DeGrange. All of them are members of the Sussex County Association of Realtors, the Delaware Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. Douglass, Fedynich and Faust may be reached at 20184 Coastal Highway or by calling 227-5000. Jarrell, DeGrange and Churchill may be reached at 800 Kings Highway or by calling 645-2881.

Money Mailer launches $25 gift certificate giveaway contest
Money Mailer announced it is launching a three-month prize giveaway, awarding local households with $25 gift certificates that winners can redeem at any of the local businesses advertising in that month’s Money Mailer envelope. Awarding winners the opportunity to redeem a $25 certificate at a business of their choice in the envelope gives consumers the ability to get exactly what they want, on Money Mailer’s tab – while supporting neighborhood business in the Delmarva area. The certificates will be randomly inserted into the approximately 45 million envelopes Money Mailer mails during the three months, which includes Delmarva. Official rules for the giveaway will be on the Money Mailer envelopes mailed during the promotion and are also available at moneymailer.com.

Chase donates truck to Food Bank of Delaware
At a time when more and more families in Delaware face the threat of going hungry, Chase Bank USA President Keith Schuck presented the Food Bank of Delaware with a donated state-of-the-art food delivery truck at the Food Bank of Delaware’s Newark warehouse. In addition, the company made a donation of $16,676 to assist the food bank with operations of the truck and its mobile pantry program. Chase’s donation is part of a $5 million national grant to Feeding America and its nationwide network of food banks. This donation marks the largest single donation that Feeding America has received from a corporation to date.

Lewes chamber warns of counterfeit bill
One of the Lewes businesses reported to the Lewes Chamber of Commerce it received a counterfeit $100 bill during the weekend of July 30. The bill was actually a washed $5 bill that had been reprinted to look like a $100 bill.

Local women open Tastefully Simple businesses
Linda Mitchell of Georgetown and Tina Morroni of Millsboro recently became independent consultants with Tastefully Simple Inc., a national direct-sales company featuring more than 60 foods. These consultants offer food samples, meal ideas, recipes and serving suggestions at home taste-testing parties. All Tastefully Simple’s products are open-and-eat or can be prepared by adding only one or two ingredients. Mitchell can be reached at lmit999@aol.com, and Morroni can be reached at tmorroni@msn.com. For information about Tastefully Simple, visit tastefullysimple.com.

UD class wins national engineering award
The 2010 National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying Engineering Award grand prize was awarded to the senior design class in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Delaware. The class is led by Michael J. Paul, PE, LEED-AP, adjunct faculty and a senior consultant at Duffield Associates. The award recognizes college engineering programs for engaging their students in collaborative projects with licensed professional engineers.