BBB hires former T.J. Sales owner

Better Business Bureau of Southwest Missouri announced last week that a new community outreach and development director has taken the helm.

Tim "T.J." Loudis - former owner of apparel and screen-printing company T.J. Sales and most recently a physical therapy consultant for Integrity Athletic Performance & Physical Therapy - began working at BBB on June 11. He is charged with organizing events for businesses and consumers, according to BBB President and CEO Judy Mills.

Loudis succeeds Cara Restelli, who left the position to pursue an opportunity with the city of Springfield, Mills said.

“Cara has taken a job with the Fire Department as a life and safety educator, and so T.J. is taking care of the place,” Mills said.

Restelli was hired by BBB in May 2011 after nine years of working as an investigative reporter for KY3, according to Springfield Business Journal Archives.

After one year with BBB, Restelli gave her two-weeks notice on June 4, deciding to take the position with the Springfield Fire Department, she said.

“It certainly wasn’t something I was looking for,” Restelli said. “It was something I came across and I’ve always had a desire to educate people about public safety issues, so it seemed like a really good fit.”

Restelli’s position at the Fire department combines the skills she learned during her time at BBB and as a reporter for KY3, she said.

“There’ll be a lot of public speaking and research into different trends as to what’s causing fires in certain areas of concern, and then I would develop programs to address those areas of concern,” she said. “At Better Business Bureau, I did a lot of program development, so both positions have aided in making this a good position for me.”

Loudis could not be reached for comment by deadline.

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