This well-traveled salesman may have the gift of gab, but not in the way you might expect. There aren't many salesmen out there who are fluent in four languages, for decades have been on the road for hundreds of days each year in a quest to make sales, have been knighted—not once, but twice—and who've been dinner guests at the White House.

Seddik Belyamani, executive vice president of Sales for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, is all that and more.

And now he has one more title to attach to his name—"Boeing retiree." After 28 years of making airplane deals for Boeing, Belyamani is finally going to put his suitcase back into the closet and start spending more time at home. "It's time to spend more time with my family," Belyamani said, about his decision to retire.

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'Citizen Elect' Omopariola

To Yinka Omopariola, the greatest compliment anyone has yet given him is to call him "Citizen Elect." His colleagues say he deserves it.

Thanks to the help of fellow Boeing engineers, Omopariola will officially shed the "Elect" portion of that compliment in August. He and his wife, Pauline, will be sworn in as naturalized U.S. citizens during ceremonies at the federal courthouse in Wichita, Kansas.

Omopariola first arrived in North America from Lagos, Nigeria, after being selected as a visa lottery winner. An annual U.S. visa lottery is commonly held in many countries worldwide and is targeted to people who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

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Hooked on pyrotechnics

George Plimpton's book, Fireworks: A History and Celebration, was the launching pad for Greg Ray's fireworks hobby. The book, which some call the ultimate source on pyrotechnics, led this lifelong fireworks lover to take action.

"I wrote to the Pyrotechnics Guild International, which was listed in Plimpton's book, and started getting literature," said Ray, who is a Commercial Airplanes process analyst based in Renton, Wash. "But the turning point was attending PGI's convention in Idaho Falls, Idaho. When the organization held its annual convention there, I told my wife, Vicki, 'This is as close as it's ever going to be to the west coast, and we should go.'

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