St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Belleville hired Brian Johnson as the new director of surgical services. Johnson will oversee surgical services, prep clinic, outpatient surgery, surgery and endoscopy.

Mary Cilano and Lori Wilson have joined Cardiac Cath Lab at Memorial Hospital in Belleville. Cilano has been named clinical nurse educator; Wilson was appointed nurse manager.

Kerwin Paris joined Home Federal Savings & Loan in Collinsville and Maryville as a senior loan officer. Paris has more than 35 years of lending experience in the industry.

Edward Jones Financial Advisor Marcy Pinnell, of Maryville, attended Barron's Winner's Circle Top Women Advisors Summit in Palm Beach, Fla., late last month. This conference was created to enhance the professional development of those who work with individual investors and represents the nation's top women financial advisers as well as industry decision-makers.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy Associate Professor Scott Bergman was given the Excellence in Innovation award by the Illinois Pharmacists Association. Bergman works with the SIU School of Medicine and Infectious Diseases division. For the past six years, Bergman worked at Memorial Medical Center and St. John's Hospital, both in Springfield, and as an SIUE School of Pharmacy faculty member.

The Illinois Young Professionals Network won the top state award as Network of the Year from the National Association of Realtors. Christopher Mitchell, past president of the Realtor Association of Southwestern Illinois in Belleville, was one of two officers to accept the award. Mitchell is the 2012 Illinois Young Professionals Network Vice Chair and 2013 Illinois Young Professionals Network Chair.

Belleville attorney Mel Hutnick was selected by the Illinois State Bar Association Board of Governors to the 2012 Class of Distinguished Counselors.

Brian Gibson of Centrue Bank, Marilyn Lippold of Card Marketing Inc., Maryann Reese of St. Elizabeth's Hospital, and both Garry Reuter Jr. and Patricia Wharton of Greensfelder, Hemker and Gale were elected to the Board of Directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Illinois.