Newsmakers

Accounting
Renae Weddle and Penny Sieger joined A Plus Payroll as processor and customer service representatives. Weddle has 12 years of experience in payroll, human resources and accounting, and Sieger has worked as a personnel administrator for Harry Cooper Supply Co. for 15 years.

Architecture
Architect John Oke-Thomas, president and CEO of Oke-Thomas & Associates, received the 2011 Minority Small Business Person Award at the Minority Enterprise Development Week awards luncheon in Kansas City.

Banking
Amy Beller was named Arvest Bank branch manager on Republic Road, and Jon Pettigrew was named retail services manager. Beller previously managed a branch in Westville, Okla., and Pettigrew has worked for Arvest since 2005.

BluCurrent Credit Union promoted Brent Davis to vice president of organizational resources. Davis, who joined the credit union in 2009, is responsible for managing its human resources and compliance/internal audit departments.

Education
Springfield Public Schools inducted alumni Dr. John “Bucky” Buckner, Doug Pitt and Ginger Robinson into its Hall of Fame. Buckner is a local surgeon and Air Force veteran; Pitt is owner of ServiceWorld Computer Center and a philanthropist; and Robinson is a registered nurse and nonprofit organizer.

Through Missouri Colleges Fund, the foundation arms of Wachovia, Enterprise Holdings and Commerce Bancshares each awarded scholarships to Evangel University students Melodee Ortiz, Molly Hurt and Elizabeth Hensley.

Government
Gov. Jay Nixon appointed State Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, and Christopher S. Smith, Springfield Public Schools librarian and teacher, to the Joint Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children.

Health Care
St. John’s Health System hired 15 doctors: Anoop Parameswaran, Krisi Mandara, Atif Shahnawaz, Jenifer Insley, Rajashree Voraganti Ramamurthy, BJ Schlott, Luke Shaw, Eric Luehr, Ronald Jones, Sombabu Maganti, Laura Luehr, Steven Bowlin, James Belk, Mary Wood and J. Mark Sledge. St. John’s also added psychologist Amy Kessinger and registered nurse Beth Melgren.

Citizens Memorial Healthcare added Dr. Matt Stunkel to its medical staff. Stunkel practices dentistry with the hospital’s Miles for Smiles mobile program.

Pediatrician Robert Steele expanded his administrative role at St. John’s as the senior vice president of market growth and development. Steele, who joined Mercy Health Systems in 1997, is St. John’s Health Plans board chairman, an Executive Council member and Mercy Executive Leadership team member.

Psychologist Thomas Blansett and nurse practitioners Tom Douglas and Earl Flood joined Ozarks Community Hospital. Blansett works at the behavioral health suite at the hospital’s Springfield Specialty Clinic. Douglas serves as an urgent-care provider at the OCH Christian County Clinic in Nixa, and Flood works at the OCH Jasper County Clinic in Webb City.

Nonprofit
Brent McCoy, vice president of membership for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, was named a 2012 board member for the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Missouri.

The Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau received a 2011 W3 Silver Award from the International Academy of the Visual Arts for its Web site, SpringfieldMO.org. The award, for which there were 3,000 submissions, recognizes Web sites, marketing and video, and mobile applications.