Heard on the Street

SUPERSTAR. Carl I. Brown Branch Manager Tommy Ridenhour was featured as September's Superstar of the Month in Mortgage Originator Magazine. Ridenhour had $54.33 million in volume on 571 loans in 1998. In his first year as a loan originator 12 years ago, the article said he had $3.1 million in loan volume. He started at Carl I. Brown in 1994 where in 1997 he had loan volume of $25.6 million. The sharp increase in business in 1998 Ridenhour attributes to business coaching, marketing, and referrals from real estate agents, builders and customers. "We're always asking for the business," Ridenhour said in the article, referring to a program of follow-up contact with customers.

THE MONTH. Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan has proclaimed September the Month of the Small Manufacturer. "With more than 10,000 facilities and 420,000 employees, manufacturing represents more than 15 percent of the state's employment base," said Joseph L. Driskill, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development. "The average hourly wage for jobs in the manufacturing industry is $13.29 16 percent higher than the average Missouri wage. This, and the numerous other contributions manufacturers make to our economy, makes them worthy of this honor."

HOW LOW CAN IT GO? Missouri's unemployment stayed at 3.9 percent in July, the same as it was in June and down 0.7 percentage points from July 1998. The state's total employment was 2.85 million. In the Springfield metropolitan statistical area, comprised of Greene, Christian and Webster counties, unemployment was even lower. For July, unemployment here was 2.7 percent, down marginally from the 2.8 percent mark in June and the 2.8 percent recorded in July 1998. The Joplin MSA, comprising Jasper and Newton counties, had 4.1 percent unemployment in July, up from the June unemployment figure of 3.6 percent and the 3.9 percent unemployment reported in July 1998. The figures were compiled by the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

NOTABLE. "My kingdom for a notary!" will no longer be a necessary cry. Not with

www.findanotary.com

as a new site on the World Wide Web. The site is a free service to locate notaries within any geographic area. It was started by the National Notary Association and now lists 2,000 notaries. The California-based organization projects that more than 50,000 notaries will be listed in 2000. The Web site allows users to search by a city and ZIP Code combination, as well as language or other specialties, such as 24-hour service or status as an attorney or court reporter. The findanotary.com site links to NNA's site, which includes notary news, requirements for becoming a notary, frequently asked questions and how to apply for a notary commission.

BREAK ON THROUGH. Without fanfare, the west end of Park Central Square has opened up to through traffic. The so-called tuning fork is no more. College Street barrels right into Park Central West, and the vista from the front porch of the Springfield Business Journal extends invitingly toward the setting sun. Inevitably, the change has not come uneventfully. At least one collision (of a Cadillac and a pickup) has occurred at the new intersection.

SHEALY. An Aug. 31 release announced the retirement of Dr. C. Norman Shealy, founder of the Shealy Institute in Springfield. Shealy is recovering from a fourth major spinal surgery, the announcement said. "Although he expects to make a full recovery, he feels the time has come to lighten his workload, and wishes to focus upon the research which has been his second love." The Shealy Institute earlier this year merged its operations with the Forest Institute.

HOT JULY. Springfield's hotels and motels had a successful July, thanks in large part to the Gold Wing Road Riders Association, the Amateur Athletic Union and the Missouri Vocational Association. Those groups accounted for about half of all the rooms rented in July. More than 118,000 rooms were occupied at an average daily rate of $50.88, resulting in $6.03 million in room sales, all records for any single month, according to the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau. The occupancy rate for the month was 71 percent, the fourth highest such mark.

SLICE OF NICE. The Springfield Citizen's Police Academy starts Sept. 9. The program, which is to familiarize citizens with how their police department works, will meet on 10 consecutive Thursday nights beginning at 6 p.m. The training is free and open to anyone who is interested in attending. For more information or an application, call Cpl. Todd Revelle at 836-7612.