Architecture
Ally Jeppsen joined Dake Wells Architecture Inc. as administrative assistant. She provides secretarial and administrative support to architectural and marketing staff, coordinates continuing education programs and interacts with clients and consultants.
Jeppsen also contributes to social media content, blog posts, marketing materials and public art installations by the firm.
Banking
RMI Inc. hired Wes Darnell as loan and portfolio manager. Previously employed by Elliott, Robinson & Co. LLP, the certified public accountant has a master’s in accounting from Saint Louis University and a law degree from the University of Missouri.
Aaron Tackett joined the OakStar Bank mortgage team. He is a longtime resident of the Springfield area. Tackett received his bachelor’s from Missouri State University.
Education
Brittany Earl of Southwest Baptist University accepted the Center for Global Connection’s Nations Award. SBU’s visit and event coordinator in the undergraduate admissions office, she was recognized for leading missions projects during her time as an SBU student and resident director to El Salvador, Nicaragua, Ethiopia and Indonesia. This year, she and her husband Todd led a trip to Guatemala to build a house.
Hospitality
The Ramada Plaza Hotel & Oasis Convention Center received three awards at the Wyndham Global Conference in Las Vegas. The property was named 2015-16 Best of the Best and Quality Hotel of the Year, and Innovator of the Year was given to Ramada Plaza maintenance technician Jon Brown. He earned the nomination for his idea to donate the coins found in the fountains on property to local charities. Insurance
BancorpSouth Insurance Services Inc. was selected to participate in the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America Best Practices Study Group for the seventh year in a row. Of some 1,800 insurance agencies nominated, only 254 qualified based on performance in six revenue categories.
Larry Jansen, an 18-year employee of PJC Insurance LLC, attended the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter Society’s annual meeting in Honolulu. He obtained his CPCU designation in 2000.
Marketing
Charity Fitzgerald joined ADsmith Marketing and Advertising as a marketing specialist/digital marketer. She works with clients, account supervisors, and the digital and design teams to craft marketing plans and campaigns. A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, where she studied English and marketing, Fitzgerald went on to receive her real estate license and worked at Carol Jones Realtors and Murney Associates, Realtors. She maintains her Realtor’s license.
Media
DL Media Inc. earned the Interactive Media Awards Best in Class for creating InkInkTat.com, a responsive, mobile-ready website for the Ink Ink tattoo studios in Springfield and Branson. Judged by design, content, feature functionality, usability and standards compliance, DL Media scored 489 out of 500 points in the arts and culture category.
417 Magazine received the Best Social Media Ecosystem Award at the 2016 Digital Nichee Awards in Denver. The magazine’s social efforts were recognized for engaging and expanding the audience while reinforcing the core brand and driving traffic.
Municipal Stanley Dobbins was named chief of the Branson Police Department. He has 36 years of experience in law enforcement and has served the city of Branson as assistant chief for four years.
Dobbins has a bachelor’s in criminal justice administration from Park University and a master’s in sociology and criminal justice from Lincoln University.
He also graduated top of his class at the FBI National Academy and the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville.
Branson author, speaker and singer Kirsten Hart was appointed to fill the seat of former Ward II Alderman Patrick Parnell. Hart was sworn in after a 4-1 vote by the sitting Board of Aldermen. She relocated to Branson seven years ago from Colorado.
The city of Battlefield received a 2016 Missouri Municipal League Innovation Award at the group’s annual conference in St. Louis.
The city was honored for its initiative to create an autism-friendly city, designed to promote awareness of the social and environmental factors affecting people with autism and support those citizens through public training, environmental upgrades and improved services.
Moseley’s Discount Office Products was purchased; Side Chick opened in Branson; and the Springfield franchise store of NoBaked Cookie Dough changed ownership.
