Economic Impact Award honorees are selected by an independent panel of judges who fill different roles in the southwest Missouri business community.
Brian D. Allen is the founder and president of Pension Consultants Inc., an independent retirement-plan consulting firm with more than $2 billion under advisement for more than 65,000 employees at companies in five states. Allen has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Missouri State University and holds designations as a certified financial planner and qualified pension administrator. His company was a 2011 finalist for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s W. Curtis Strube Small Business of the Year Award.
Isabel Eisenhauer is a business consultant at the MSU Small Business & Technology Development Center, which she joined in 2007. The SBTDC provides training and consulting for small businesses, as well as services such as financial analysis and trademark searches. Eisenhauer holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Northern Arizona University. Her background includes working with two Fortune 100 companies, Northrup Grumman Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
Conrad Griggs is business development officer for The Bank of Missouri, which operates four full-service branches in the Springfield area. Griggs, a former member of Springfield City Council, focuses on helping the bank build its local presence, as well as on investment and retirement planning. He has 30 years of investment experience, 26 of which with Merrill Lynch. Since the Perryville-based bank entered the market in 2006, Bank of Missouri has grown its local assets to $147 million.
Dennis Jones is the Missouri district president of Score-America’s Counselors to Small Business, coordinating activities for six chapters and more than 250 volunteers. He has worked with entrepreneurs through Score since 1999, following a career that included working for IBM, Texas Instruments and Purolator Security. He also has owned several franchise companies and worked as a business broker. In 2006, he received the President’s Volunteer Service Award from President George W. Bush.
Louise Knauer is senior vice president of communications for Community Foundation of the Ozarks, which she joined in 2010 after working in local media and as a former public information director for the city of Springfield. CFO is a public foundation that encompasses more than 40 community foundations and more than 2,000 charitable funds and is focused on enhancing regional quality of life. Knauer is a 2003 Springfield Business Journal Most Influential Women honoree.
From the 2011 Economic Impact Awards publication[[In-content Ad]]
