Branson Newsmakers

The Downtown Branson Main Street Association hired Deana Acton as interim executive director. Acton fills the vacancy left by Gayla Roten, who was hired as director of the Missouri Main Street Connection. Acton, a longtime business owner in the historic downtown district, has served as a board member and president of the association. Also, Jeff Justus was appointed board president.

Branson City Clerk Lisa Westfall received certifications as a Missouri registered clerk by the Missouri City Clerks and Finance Officers Association and as a certified municipal clerk from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. These certifications required 100 hours of institute training during a period of four years. Westfall also serves as Branson’s municipal court administrator.

Health Care

Board-certified pulmonologist and critical care specialist Dr. Mohamed Bakry joined Skaggs Community Health Center. Bakry, who worked for two years at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, practices at Tri-Lakes Pulmonology in Skaggs Outpatient Center. Bakry earned bachelor and medical degrees from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, and completed a pulmonology/critical care medicine externship at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City and an internal medicine residency and pulmonary fellowship program at New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn.

Benjamin J. Morris, of Nixa, has been appointed director of Skaggs Cancer Center, which is scheduled to open in March. Morris was most recently program director of the CoxHealth School of Radiation Therapy in Springfield.

Laurice Flasnick was named recruiter for Skaggs Community Health Center. Flasnick has worked more than two decades in hospital and health care human resources and recruitment in Murrieta, San Diego, and Oceanside, Calif.

Telecommunications

Two Branson area employees were among 35 recipients to receive CenturyTel’s outstanding service provider awards. Public Relations Manager Pamela Anderson and Sales Associate Jeremy Rasnick were selected from more than 550 nominations submitted by employees nationwide. Anderson and Rasmick joined the other recipients on a tour of CenturyTel’s corporate headquarters in Monroe, La., and visited with the company’s executive team.[[In-content Ad]]