Four years and 40 finalists named to date, Business Class is garnering the attention of some of Springfield’s most innovative and successful companies. June 12 marked the beginning of the 2015 celebration as this year’s “top of the class” were recognized at a luncheon at Highland Springs Country Club. Citizens Memorial Healthcare, CoxHealth, Elliott Robinson & Co. LLP, Everything Kitchens LLC, Jack Henry & Associates Inc., JMark Business Solutions Inc., Little Sunshine’s Enterprises Inc., S&H Farm Supply Inc., SMC Packaging Group and Phoenix Home Care Inc. are honored this year for their history of outstanding financial performance, industry leadership and community involvement.
As previous winners will attest, the awards luncheon is only the beginning. Five of the top 10 finalists will continue the celebration on an executive retreat in California’s wine country later this year. The Napa Valley experience is the element that truly sets this event apart from all others. A top executive and guest from each of the five winning companies will join leaders from the five presenting sponsors (UMB Bank, BKD LLP, Lathrop & Gage LLP, Ollis & Co. and Springfield Business Journal) on an exclusive tour of some of Napa’s finest dining establishments, wineries and remote landscapes. Napa Valley Lodge in Yountville, Calif., will serve as home base during the trip and provide the setting for an economic outlook briefing and roundtable discussion with the winners focused on their unique industries and the conditions under which they are thriving.
This special publication is dedicated to the recognition of all 10 Business Class finalists. The top five are identified by a wine-colored graphic in the following profiles. It is the great privilege of our editorial staff to tell these unique stories of innovative leadership and business success. As you turn the pages, you will recognize some faces that have been here before. Companies are eligible to receive top honors up to three times.
Nominations for Business Class recognition were open to all companies that operate within 50 miles of Springfield, have been in business for no less than three years and post annual revenue of at least $3 million. Nominees were asked to provide local and national employee counts, basic financial information and growth percentages for the most recent three-year period. Nominees also responded to open-ended questions related to leadership, innovation and community betterment. Finally, an independent panel of five judges selected the 2015 finalists.
UMB Bank Greater Missouri Region President Ann Marie Baker deserves credit for bringing the Business Class concept to Springfield following the bank’s success in other markets with similar recognition events. However, the event has truly become a collaborative partnership from beginning to end. BKD Managing Partner John Wanamaker, Lathrop & Gage Springfield Managing Partner Randell Wallace and Ollis & Co. President and CEO Richard Ollis round out the hosting team. Media partner Springfield Business Journal, represented by myself and President Dianne Elizabeth Osis, is proud to be among the presenters. It remains our desire to identify and recognize the very best of the best. The 10 profiles that follow tell the stories of companies at the cutting edge of their industries and those that make Springfield a better place to work and live. Cheers to them.
Springfield Business Journal Publisher Jennifer Jackson can be reached at jjackson@sbj.net.[[In-content Ad]]
