YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
TAKING STOCK. John Q. Hammons Hotels Inc. announced Dec. 14 its board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to $3 million of the company's shares. A release from the company said up to $250,000 worth of stock could be purchased each month in 1999, up to the $3 million maximum. "The company believes the stock is under-valued and that it represents an attractive investment for the company," a release stated. The transactions will be made through open-market purchases, though the release said unsolicited negotiated transactions and other types of repurchases were not ruled out. The company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol JQH.
PART II. Guaranty Federal Bancshares Inc. also announced a stock repurchase plan of up to 5 percent of its common stock after Jan. 1. The parent company for Guaranty Federal Savings Bank has more than 5.92 million shares outstanding and the announced repurchase would buy up to 295,837 of those. The company trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol GFED. In the same release, Guaranty Federal announced it has regulatory approval to open its sixth facility in the now-under-construction Nixa Wal-Mart Supercenter. James Haseltine, president and chief executive officer of Guaranty Federal, said Wal-Mart estimates the store will attract 35,000 people a week. Those customers will, according to Wal-Mart statistics, return to the store between 1.8 and two times a week. "We already have a fairly decent deposit base in Nixa, and we saw an opportunity there," Haseltine said. The store is scheduled to open Jan. 27, 1999.
SAFE. Wil Fischer Distributing Company was honored Dec. 16 as a member of the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program. The Springfield company is the 24th Missouri firm to join the program. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Missouri's Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Division of Labor Standards cooperatively administer SHARP. As a result of the award, Wil Fischer is removed from OSHA's general compliance inspection list. SHARP participants are evaluated annually for management leadership, employee participation, hazard prevention planning, and safety and health training.
OUTSTANDING. James Arthur Osmond, otherwise known as Little Jimmy Osmond, has been named one of the 10 Outstanding Young Americans for 1999. The Branson entertainer and theater manager received the accolade from the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce. The 36-year-old Osmond was named this year along with such notables as NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, Miss America 1998 Kate Shindle and newly elected Arkansas U.S. Sen. Blanch Lambert Lincoln. Among the past 590 recipients of the honor are Elvis Presley. Presley mentioned his status as an Outstanding Young American in a letter seeking an audience with then-President Richard Nixon. To view the letter, and the most requested document under the government's Freedom of Information Act (a truly weird photo of The King and Tricky Dick in the Oval Office), turn your Web browser to
http://www.seas.gwu.edu/nsarchive/
for the previously classified information. It's a stretch, but Mr. Osmond's honor was just the excuse we were waiting for to alert you to this remarkable Web site. In further unrelated news, we wonder if the recognition will increase the value of Little Jimmy's bubblegum card in the very popular (with third graders) Osmond trading card series.
DON'T FORGET THE BATTERIES. Hawker Springfield, a company that manufactures industrial batteries, held a ribbon cutting for its facility in the Partnership Industrial Center Dec. 11. Hawker is one of the most recent additions to the center, which now has a total of 12 tenants. Hawker Springfield estimates that it will employ 160 people by the year 2000, with $30 million in total sales. With a few exceptions, the plant will be locally staffed. The Springfield plant contains 104,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space and 16,000 square feet of office space.
SLICE OF NICE. The Developmental Center of the Ozarks has a gift-wrapping booth at the Battlefield Mall, located near the JC Penney north entrance. The booth will be open whenever the mall is open, through Dec. 24. Prices for wrapping gifts range from $3 up, and include a box, paper, ribbon and bow. If you have your gift wrapped at the booth, you may also register to win a 1998 Dodge truck or a basketball autographed by Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets. Both drawings will be held Dec. 23. For more information, or to volunteer, call Marci Bowling at 831-1545.
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