Appointments and promotions:

A & E board member Alan Biland has been elected to the newly created position of executive vice president of A & E Inc. Biland has also been elected to the position of president of A & E Hand Tools, 5501 21st St., which is a subsidiary of A & E Inc. In his new position of hand tool president, Biland will provide leadership that positions the company at the forefront of the industry. He will be responsible for all aspects of the division including strategic planning, profit and loss, organizational development, materials, sales and marketing and leadership. Before joining A & E, Biland was most recently the president and chief executive officer of CC&N, an employee-owned company based in Milwaukee.

Honors and Awards: Erv Nelsen of Shorewest Realtors of Racine has been honored as Realtor Emeritus by the National Association of Realtors for 40 years as a licensed realtor.

HGI Co. of Burlington has received a "Best of the Best Workplace" designation for their achievements in creating an outstanding workplace for their employees. This was HGI's second consecutive award in the competition encompassing all three of their manufacturing locations.

Genesis Architecture has been named a winner in the prestigious 5th annual Milwaukee Home & Fine Living Design Awards contest. Genesis Architecture won a Gold Award in the Best New Custom Home category and also the overall Best of Competition award for their entry, "The Arrowhead Home."

Anniversaries: This year marks the 25th anniversary of Landmark Title of Racine Inc.

Landmark Title of Racine Inc. was started in 1984 by Michael Staeck. Landmark Title of Racine Inc.'s original location was 811 Main St. and moved to 719 Washington Ave. in 1994 where it remains today. In 2005, Eric Peterson became an equal partner.

Landmark Title of Racine Inc. provides title insurance, closing services, construction escrows and inspections, 1031 exchange services, and closing document preparation. Landmark Title of Racine Inc. prides itself in excellent customer service, a knowledgeable and experienced staff, unique themed closing rooms, and the fact that it has remained an independently owned and operated title insurance company that serves all of Southeastern Wisconsin.

Johnson Insurance Services LLC, one of the state's leading independent insurance agencies, is celebrating 25 years in the insurance business. Johnson Insurance and Johnson Bank are both part of Johnson Financial Group, a $5.7 billion financial services company.

A state-based agency, Johnson Insurance was founded in 1984. With more than 200 associates throughout Wisconsin and Arizona, the agency has grown to $23 million.

The agency is now recognized as the 24th largest bank affiliated insurance agency in nation and the 102nd largest insurance agency overall in the country. Serving business and personal insurance clients since 1984, Johnson Insurance is recognized by top carriers in the nation as a leading provider of insurance products and services.

The agency has offices in Appleton, Green Bay, Kenosha, Racine, Milwaukee, Brookfield, Franklin, Waukesha, Janesville, Madison, Lake Geneva, Eau Claire, Ripon, Rice Lake and Hayward; and also in the greater Phoenix area in Arizona. Johnson Insurance services are also available through the more than 60 Johnson Bank locations in Wisconsin and Arizona.

Compiled by Sharon Knox

The Journal Times welcomes news about promotions, appointments, professional organization elections, certifications, and professional honors. There is no charge for this service.

Because of space constraints, we reserve the right to edit for length or clarity. The deadline for People in Business items is 3 p.m. Thursday of each week. Photos may accompany notices of new hires and promotions. Our address is: People in Business, The Journal Times, 212 Fourth St., Racine, WI 53403.

Business anniversaries

Is your business celebrating an anniversary? The Journal Times will begin publishing short news items of 10th, 25th, 50th and greater multiples of 25 years of Racine County-based companies.

We ask you to provide us with the basic information: when the business started; the founder; its location then and now; the original name if different than today's; and what the business did in the beginning and now.

We will include these in People in Business or use them as stand-alone news items in our Sunday Money section.

Send your items to Michael Burke at: mburke@journaltimes.com, or to Sharon Knox at: sknox@journaltimes.com, or fax them to (262) 631-1780. Please provide a contact name and phone number in case we have questions.