Branson/Tri-Lakes News: Newsmakers

Government

Jeramie Brannon was hired as Hollister's director of parks and recreation. He has worked in the city's Public Works department since 2005.

Hospitality

Joyce Dickens, executive housekeeper at The Best Western Music Capital Inn in Branson, received Best Western's 2008 Heroic Hospitality Star Employee of the Year award for housekeeping. She is the first executive housekeeper in the United States to receive the award, which recognizes staff members displaying a continual attitude of caring, teamwork and leadership to guests and co-workers.

Two Myer Hotels properties received honors from Best Western. The Best Western Music Capital Inn received the Chairman's Award, the chain's highest honor for quality standards. The award recognizes Best Western International hotels scoring in the top 5 percent of all 2,400 North American properties in cleanliness and maintenance. Best Western Center Pointe Inn in Branson received the Director's Award for quality, which recognizes hotels scoring in the top 20 percent.

Entertainment

The magic team of Kirby and Bambi VanBurch was named Best Illusionist at the World Magic Awards 2008 in Santa Monica, Calif. Earlier this year, Bambi VanBurch received the Female Magician of the Year award by the International Magicians Society for the second straight year.

Health Care

Skaggs Regional Medical Center named Michelle Leroux media relations specialist. She also is active in the community relations department, writing for Skaggs' Working for Wellness and Health Matters publications. Leroux has nine years of broadcast news experience, previously as a news producer and weekend assignment editor at KYTV. She also has worked as anchor, reporter and morning news-talk co-host for KTTS-FM and as news director for six Journal Broadcast Group stations in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas. Leroux has a mass media degree from Missouri State University.

Skaggs Regional Medical Center received five-star ratings for the quality of multiple diagnoses and procedures by health care ratings company HealthGrades. The top ratings - published in the 11th annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study - were for coronary interventional procedures, hip fracture repair, cholecystectomy, and treatments of heart failure, stroke, pneumonia, sepsis, pulmonary embolism and respiratory failure. The study analyzed more than 41 million Medicare hospitalization records between 2005 and 2007 at the nation's approximately 5,000 nonfederal hospitals.

Dr. Chris Reeves of Skaggs Orthopedics completed a yearlong spine fellowship at the Beverly Hills Spine Group in California. He studied disc replacement - cervical and lumbar and minimally invasive spine surgery - and kyphoplasty, a minimally invasive treatment for vertebral compression fractures. Reeves has worked for Skaggs for three years and has nine years of experience.

Insurance

Akers & Arney was named a 2008 Best Practices Agency by Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. As recipient, the company is participating in the IIABA's Best Practices Study Group, which includes a field of 195 agencies nationwide and three in Missouri. Akers & Arney was selected based on customer service, growth, stability and financial management, and its performance in six revenue categories. The firm must submit to IIABA extensive financial and operational data for three years to retain its "best practices" status.