Seafirst Bank now Bank of America
On Monday, Sept. 27, Seafirst banks throughout the region
formally changed their name and logos to that of the “new” Bank of America.
Seafirst – founded in 1870 as Phillips, Horton and Company
and later named Seattle First Bank – became a subsidiary of BankAmerica
in 1983. The Seafirst name is being dropped as a result of the
October 1998 merger of NationsBank and BankAmerica, which created
the nation’s first coast-to-coast banking company. The merged company is
the largest bank in the United States, with operations in 21 states and the
District of Columbia.
As part of the official unveiling, Bank of America announced it
is awarding over $700,000 in “Day One” grants to a variety of nonprofit
agencies throughout Washington state. In addition, on Oct. 2
approximately 3,000 bank employees will fan out through the state to perform
community volunteer service projects.
Seafirst customers will see the new signs at the region’s branches, but
corporate spokesmen advise their banking services and account number
will not change. Customers can continue to use their existing checks and
deposit slips. Replacement ATM, debit and credit cards with the new Bank
of America name and logo should arrive by the end of November.
Bank of America currently employs over 8,400 in Washington at
235 banking centers and non-branch business units. The North Bend branch
is located at 128 Bendigo Blvd. And is managed by Anu
Sharma. Snoqualmie’s branch is at 38565 S.E. River St., under the direction
of Carolyn Fischer.
Carnation company offers backup power systems
A Valley company has culminated four years of development work
with the introduction of noiseless, automatic backup power systems that
replace traditional noisy, portable generators in homes and offices.
The two new products, built by E-MultiSource Inc. of Carnation,
are available for immediate sale and are named
WinterglowTMand Com-ServTM. They utilize solid-state
inverters and heavy duty industrial batteries to supply silent, stored power
to all types of equipment and lights when utility power suddenly
fails. WinterglowTM is designed to run
modest-sized homes and offices, while
Com-ServTM is designed to operate large homes and medium-sized
offices.
According to E-MultiSource president Bill Petitjean, unlike
gasoline- powered generators which are noisy, hazardous and messy, his
company’s products make virtually no noise, have no moving parts and require no
fuel because the batteries are automatically recharged using the power
company’s electricity.
The new units take power from the home’s main power panel and feed
it into the home circuits that require backup power. These include
refrigerators, gas or oil furnaces, microwaves, well pumps, sump
pumps, computers and lights of all kinds. A small amount of power is used
to charge the batteries so they are always ready for the next outage.
“The transfer to backup power is so quick and unnoticeable, even
TV sets and computers are not interrupted,” says Petitjean. “Our
customers are amazed at how seamless and silent these units are when we
install one at their home. With 14 systems now in the field, we have many
anecdotal stories about power outages that have occurred without the home
owner even knowing they have ever happened.
“Our units are really little surge tanks of electricity that stand
between the home owner and the utility. It doesn’t make any difference if
the power outage lasts three seconds or three days, the home owner no
longer sees it. We make the power company look `perfect,’ and they didn’t do
anything to make their distribution grid more reliable.”
Petitjean’s business was originally named the Petitjean Company,
was located in Fall City, and sold and installed large engine generators
into homes through eastern King County. With the development of
the WinterglowTM and
Com-ServTM systems, Petitjean renamed his
company and moved it to Carnation.
He adds he and his four employees have signed up Issaquah
Honda-Kubota as a new dealer and are actively recruiting additional dealers
in the Puget Sound Basin and Eastern Washington.
For more information on E-MultiSource’s backup systems,
call (425) 333-5411 or e-mail at petinc@nwlink.com.
E-MultiSource is located at 30516 N.E. 55th St., Bldg. 101,
Carnation, WA 98014. They can be reached at (425)
333-5411.
