The Peterson Group of Newport Beach...

The Peterson Group of Newport Beach appointed Arlene Garfield

office coordinator. With more than 10 years of administrative and

sales management experience, Garfield is expected to be an asset to

the 11-year-old full-service marketing communications agency. She

will be responsible for facility operations, safety procedures,

office material acquisition, travel coordination, reception, internal

archiving and meeting coordination.... Navy Seaman Recruit Nathaniel

R. Taylor recently graduated from the Basic Enlisted Submarine Course

at the Naval Submarine School in Groton, Conn. Taylor, son of Denise

C. Lang of Macon, Miss. and Patrik M. Taylor of Costa Mesa, completed

the five-week course that focused on basic construction theory and

operation of nuclear-powered submarines, shipboard organization,

damage control and safety, as well as hands-on training with reality

simulators....Marine Corps Pfc. Jonathan O. Bass of Costa Mesa

recently completed basic training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot in

San Diego. Bass, son of Jeanine M. and Jeffrey O. Bass, completed the

12-week training consisting of a physical conditioning program, as

well as classroom and field instruction. Bass, a 2002 graduate of

Newport Harbor High School, ended his training phase with The

Crucible, a 54-hour team effort of problem solving evolution prior to

his graduation ceremony.... Larry Moore will take over as the new

crew coach at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. Moore, a former

member of OCC’s 1970 varsity eight crew team, rowed for two years at

Cornell University in New York and has been a rowing coach for 20

years. He was also the head crew coach at UC Irvine from 1983 to

1991.... Enterprise Rent-A-Car announced last month’s promotion of

Gina Nguyen-Denton to area manager of offices in Costa Mesa,

Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Santa Ana. Nguyen-Denton, who

began her career with Enterprise in 1997 as a management trainee

working behind the rental counter, will be responsible for the five

offices and 20 employees. She holds her degree in political science

from UC Santa Barbara and will be based in the company’s north

Huntington Beach branch.... Stephanie Wai, a senior at Santa Catalina

School in Monterey, has been selected as a semifinalist in the 48th

annual National Merit Scholarship competition. She is the daughter of

Mrs. Kit Yee Wai of Newport Beach. Nationwide, about 16,000

semifinalists have been selected. They now have the opportunity to

continue in the competition for about 8,000 Merit Scholarship awards,

worth $30 million, that will be offered next spring. More than

1.3-million high school juniors in more than 20,000 U.S. high schools

entered the 2003 National Merit Program by taking the 2001

Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

* NEIGHBORS spotlights achievements in the community. Please

direct noteworthy information to Christine Carrillo via fax at (949)

646-4170, or send e-mail to christine.carrillo@latimes.com.