Newsmakers: July 10-16, 2017

Accounting
Duckett Ladd LLP hired Amy Shewmaker and Nancy Turpen as small-business specialists and Hannah Fielder as an audit specialist. Shewmaker and Turpen have a combined 28 years of experience. Fielder is a recent graduate of Missouri State University.

KPM CPAs PC hired Matt Randolph as a staff accountant and Cassidy Cook as an administrative assistant. Randolph recently graduated from Southwest Baptist University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Cook currently is studying accounting at MSU.

Architecture
Esterly, Schneider & Associates Inc. hired Andrew Martin as a project designer. Martin holds a bachelor’s in architecture from Drury University.

Banking
Commerce Bank was named a 2017 Employee Engagement Award winner, based on the bank’s annual employee engagement survey by Korn Ferry International. Commerce was recognized with organizations in 21 countries.

Old Missouri Bank added Connie Rush as vice president of private banking. She has 15 years of experience, most recently as vice president of premier banking for BancorpSouth Bank.

Shanda Trautman, marketing and business development officer of Old Missouri Bank was selected into Leadership Missouri Class 27.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry program identifies emerging leaders throughout the state, to enhance their leadership skills and deepen their knowledge of the state’s opportunities and challenges.

Clayton Cooper, a business intermediary and broker of Kingsley Group Business Brokers, obtained his certified business intermediary designation from the International Business Brokers Association. Cooper has worked for Kingsley Group since 2014.
 
Education
Nixa Public Schools was selected as a 2017 Innovative District to share best practices at the National Model Schools Conference, in Nashville, Tennessee. The International Center for Leadership in Education chose 12 districts based on substantive, data-validated growth year after year.

The Alliance for Assemblies of God Higher Education honored three graduates from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. Renea Brathwaite, Greg Mundis and Randy Walls, were named 2017 Sigma Chi Pi Honor Society inductees.  

Hotel
Myer Hotels’ Comfort Inn & Suites Branson Meadows received the 2017 International Hotel of the Year Award by Choice Hotels. In addition, Comfort Inn at Thousand Hills was honored with the 2017 Gold award, Best Western Music Capital Inn was the Chairman’s Award winner, and Best Western Center Pointe Inn was the Director’s Award winner.

Manufacturing
White River Marine Group, the marine manufacturing division of Bass Pro Shops, named Les Crawford as president. He previously worked as controller for Bass Pro Shops and executive vice president at Tracker Marine for a decade beginning in 1984. Crawford most recently served as president of Lowe Boats in Lebanon, and he succeeds Jim Hagale in the new role.

Marketing
David Carson joined Prosperity Financial Group LLC as director of marketing. He has 20 years of marketing experience in the financial, engineering and medical industries.

Realty
Plaza Realty & Management Services LLC named Kelsi Hall company president. Hall has 20 years of experience in administration and management, having previously served as property manager for Plaza Realty, which she joined in 2015.