Biz Buzz: Pappas steps down as head of KSBY

Evan Pappas is stepping down as president and general manager of KSBY after three years with the San Luis Obispo-based television station.

He is moving to Colorado Springs, Colo., to head KOAA-TV. He’ll be replaced by Kathleen Choal, currently station manager at KVOA-TV in Tucson, Ariz.

All three stations are NBC affiliates owned by Cordillera Communications of Duluth, Minn.

“It’s a considerable promotion,” Pappas said Thursday, noting that Colorado Springs-Pueblo is a larger market, with about 250,000 more people.

Before joining KSBY, Pappas spent five years as KVOA’s general sales manager. He joined that station in 2003 after more than a decade in the cable and television advertising industries.

Choal started working at KVOA in 2005 as news director. She’s also held management positions with CBS and Post-Newsweek Stations, the broadcasting branch of the Washington Post Co.

Pappas praised his replacement as an “exceptional leader.”

“She has great management experience. She’s smart. She’s genuine,” he said. “It always helps when you have good journalists in the building.”

Pappas and Choal start their new positions on April 1.

In the meantime, Pappas said, his family is looking forward to the move to mountainous Colorado.

“Believe it or not, my kids have never seen snow before,” he said.

Pappas and his wife have three sons, ages 11 to 17. The eldest is a junior at Atascadero High School; the other two attend the Atascadero Fine Arts Academy.

Pappas said he will miss the Central Coast.

“I have great respect for the people here, and the area as a whole, and will miss being an active participant here,” Pappas wrote in an e-mail.

— Sarah Linn

Transitions group gets accreditation

Transitions-Mental Health Association has received a three-year accreditation from the International Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities for its Supported Employment Program.

The nonprofit organization earned the highest level of accreditation offered by the commission for the program, which provides ongoing job support services to assist individuals with mental illnesses in choosing, obtaining and maintaining employment.

SEP serves about 200 individuals per year in San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties.

The accreditation is the first awarded to Transitions-Mental Health Association since the reinstatement of the Supported Employment Program in 2006.

— Julia Hickey

Learn better e-mail productivity

The Business and Career One-Stop of San Luis Obispo and Optimum Productivity, a job coaching firm, have teamed up to host a free workshop.

The Time-Saving E-mail Strategies Workshop and Networking Event takes place from 3 to 5 p.m. today at the Business and Career One-Stop of San Luis Obispo, 880 Industrial Way.

RSVP to lpauschek@scgoodwill.org or call 903-1426.

Goodwill Industries/Shoreline operates the county’s Business and Career One-Stop Centers. The centers provide a comprehensive array of services to match employers with job seekers.

Optimum Productivity provides training programs and seminars on productivity, time management and e-mail efficiency.

— Stacy Daniel