GIBSONIA — The CEOof Southwest Airlines will be the keynote speaker Sept. 17 when St. Barnabas Health System hosts its 21st annual St. Barnabas CEO Leadership Conference, "Fast Forward to the Future."

Gary Kelly, chief executive officer of Southwest Airlines, which serves Pittsburgh International Airport and has grown exponentially in recent years, was asked to deliver the speech because of Southwest's increasing importance to the Pittsburgh region.

The conference begins at 7:30 a.m. with a light breakfast at the Mount Vernon Restaurant and continues at 8 a.m. in the Kean Theater.

A panel discussion with a question-and-answer period will be moderated by James Roddey, former Allegheny County chief executive.

The panel includes: J. Christopher Donahue, president and CEO of Federated Investors; Michele Fabrizi, president and CEOof MARC USA; Dr. Arthur Levine, senior vice chancellor for health sciences and dean of the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine; Jeffrey Lipton, president and CEO of NOVA Chemicals; and Dennis Yablonsky, secretary of the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

Following the conference, the Leading the Links Golf Open will be held at Butler Country Club.

For more information about the conference and its costs, call 724-443-0700, ext. 5258.

To register for the golf open, call Debbi Panei, director of development, 724-444-5521, or email, dpanei@stbarnabashealthsystem.com.

SmartBusiness Pittsburgh, a regional business publication, also is awarding its annual Pacesetters awards at the conference.

Pacesetters recognizes business leaders in the greater Pittsburgh area who are setting the pace for the region. Leaders will be recognized in divisions, based on the size of their organizations and or the rate of growth.

Nominations are being accepted until July 1. The form is on the St. barnabas Web site, www.stbarnabashealthsystem.com.

Quality of Life Services recently added Fair Winds Manor in Sarver and South Fayette Nursing Center in Markleysburg.Quality of Life owns medical, personal and skill nursing facilities in Butler, Armstrong, Fayette, Lawrence and Mercer counties, including the Chicora Medical Center and Sugar Creek Rest.Fair Winds has 30 personal care beds and 66 skilled care beds. Fayette Nursing Center has 60 skilled nursing beds.

EVANS CITY — NexTier Bank has announced the hiring of a new chief financial officer and seven vice presidents.• Michael Kirk has been named senior vice president and CFO, coming from the director of regulatory reporting at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh. He has also worked for Pittsburgh Financial Corp., the Bank of Pittsburgh and the Community Savings Association. Kirk lives in Fox Chapel with his wife and their three children.The following have been named vice presidents:• Mark Buchek, vice president, commercial lending• Robert Dougherty, senior vice president, commercial lending• Mark Kelly, vice president, commercial lending• Darla Livermore, assistant vice president, retail operations• Kim Scheidemantle, assistant vice president, assistant corporate secretary• Karen Wenzel, vice president, loan operations• Lara Wozniak, vice president, preferred corporate services.

JEFFERSON TWP — Keith Frndak, president and chief executive officer of Concordia Lutheran Ministries, has received an award for his support of mission work.Under Frndak's guidance, Concordia funds three orphanages in Kenya, a medical clinic in Kidera and a soup kitchen in Pittsburgh.Money for mission work comes from the revenues generated by Concordia's in-house pharmacy.The award, the inaugural Common Chest Award, is given by the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

<B>Caroll Stacklin</B>, a Butler Township native, has been named publisher and president of Downers Grove, Ill.,-based GateHouse Media Suburban Newspapers. She is a 1985 graduate of Butler High School. Stacklin received her bachelor's degree from Penn State University and her master's in business administration from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Stacklin's parents, Joseph and Barbara Stacklin live in Butler Township.—¿—<B>Stephen Gurovits</B> has been elected chairman of the board of directors for the F.N.B. Corp., parent company of First National Bank of Pennsylvania.Earnings• S&T Bancorp has declared 30 cents per share cash dividend and authorized a stock buyback program until June 30 for one million shares. The dividend is payable July 25 to stockholders of record as of June 29.• First Commonwealth Financial Corp., has declared a second quarter dividend of 17 cents per share payable on July 13 to shareholders of record at the close of business June 29.