Heard on the Street

OL' MO. Springfield's newest bank charter application was made Feb. 22. Organizing directors of Old Missouri National Bank are Jamie Holstein, Mark Harrington, Arthur Blume, Roscoe Killingsworth and Patrick M. Moore, all of Springfield. Craig R. Curry, of Lebanon, is also an organizing director. Holstein is president and chief executive officer and Harrington is executive vice president. Additional directors will be John Bowman, Jon Gold and Barbara Sweet, all of Springfield. The bank will be capitalized initially at $4.77 million. The proposed bank has its offices at 1535 W. Sunshine. The charter application was made to the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

NEW BRANCH. Citizens Home Bank of Greenfield has opened its sixth branch in Stockton. The bank, majority owned by the Hulston family, also has branches of the bank in Willard, Lockwood, Fair Play, Weaubleau and Greenfield.

COPYCATS. The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce made the front page of Arkansas Business. The story concerned the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce and its new $5.3 million headquarters. The building, set to begin construction in October, bears a striking resemblance to Springfield's own chamber building on Sherman Parkway, and that's no mere coincidence. The Little Rock chamber's headquarters will have two stories as opposed to the local building's single story, but it has the familiar two wings and elliptical entrance without the fountain as can be seen in the Queen City. Jim Anderson, Springfield chamber president, was quoted in the Arkansas Business article. He said a group representing the Little Rock chamber has made 11 trips to our fair town. Arkansas Business itself is something of a reflection of Springfield. The weekly publication, based in Little Rock, is working on its 16th volume, while the SBJ in your hands is in its 19th year. Hmmm. Will Little Rock next start claiming status as cashew chicken capital of the world?

BRANSON BY THE NUMBERS. The city of Branson released data on the number of restaurants, theaters and hotels within the city limits. For 1999 the city reported 356 restaurants with 29,687 seats; 51 theaters with 59,266 seats; 205 lodging facilities with 17,405 rooms. The lodging figures include seven campgrounds and 1,467 campsites. And residential real estate sales, as reported in a release from Cooper Appraisal, showed Branson had a banner year. For 1998 there were 996 residential sales reported by the Tri-Lakes Board of Realtors, a 27.3 percent increase compared to 1997. The biggest demand was seen in homes priced below $50,000 (there were 96 sales reported in this range) and those priced between $190,000 and $209,999 (there were 13 such sales in 1998). The lower-end category "is attributed to the demand for homes in this price range due to Branson's employment base," the release from Cooper Appraisal said. The release said demand in the higher category was "surprising."

SLICE OF NICE. Proceeds from a March 6 Good Company performance will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Missouri. "I Will Sing Life Voices from the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp" will be presented March 4-6, at the Vandivort Center Theatre. The performance is adapted from the book by the same name, compiled by counselors at the Paul Newman Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses. Good Company is a community outreach project of the Drury College department of education. Only the 1 p.m. March 6 performance benefits Make-A-Wish. For tickets, call the Make-A-Wish office at 887-5683 or the Vandivort Center Theatre at 831-8001. Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children, between the ages of 2 1/2 and 18, who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses or life-threatening medical conditions.

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