Newsmakers

Arts
The Springfield Regional Arts Council named the recipients of its 2011 Ozzie Awards. Virginia Bussey received the Individual Award for her promotion and support of area arts organizations. SATO 48, which organizes local film festivals and competitions, received the Organization Award. CoxHealth received the Corporate Support Award for its history as an art supporter and collector. U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt received the Leadership Award for leading investment in the Springfield arts community, including support of arts education.

Education
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education awarded Nixa School’s Inman Intermediate faculty and staff with a Certificate of Excellence for their efforts to support positive behavior in 2011.

For the second time in three years, Missouri State University received national recognition for its fundraising efforts from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education Circle of Excellence program. The university won an Overall Performance Award from CASE.

Drury University, Southwest Baptist University and Evangel University each received $950 in scholarship funds from Enterprise Holdings Foundation as part of the Missouri Colleges Fund.

Nixa Public Schools board member Peggy Taylor was named a regional finalist for the Paul Morris Community Service Award by the Missouri School Boards’ Association Education Foundation.

The Missouri Colleges Fund, which includes Drury, Evangel and Southwest Baptist universities, received a $30,000 grant from the Herman T. & Phenie R. Pott Foundation. The grant will underwrite need-based scholarships for students attending the fund’s 16 schools.

Kala Ady, a substitute teacher with Springfield Public Schools, was named the Missouri Substitute Teacher of the Semester by Kelly Educational Staffing, a national employer of substitute teachers. Ady, who earned the designation for the second semester of the 2010–11 school year, is eligible for the national honor.

Finance
Joe Page was elected managing partner at accounting and wealth management firm The Whitlock Co. Page joined the company in 1994 and was made a partner in 2004.

BKD Wealth Advisors LLC promoted Laura Patrick to managing consultant and Amy Frizzell to managing adviser. Patrick has more than 20 years of information technology experience and received a master’s in business administration from Avila College. Frizzell has worked in the investment industry for 11 years.

Health Care
St. John’s Health System is among the top 57, or 20 percent, of the best-performing health systems analyzed by Thomson Reuters. For the study, 285 health systems comprising more than 1,900 hospitals were analyzed based on eight metrics that explored clinical quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.

Hospitality
The Ramada Oasis Hotel & Convention Center received a Ramada Worldwide Best of 2011 Award, ranking the property in the top 5 percent of Ramada Worldwide hotels in North America. The ranking was based on customer service, property performance and quality and calculated through customer surveys, inspections and revenue.

Insurance
Jared Ballard joined Nixon & Lindstrom Insurance to work in the agency’s commercial insurance sales department.

Nonprofit
Harmony House-The Family Violence Prevention Center received a two-year, $100,000 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health. The center, a first-time recipient, applied for the grant to cover general operating expenses after federal and state funding cuts.

Security
Steve Petersen joined Atlas Security as sales manager. Petersen has worked as a sales director for a regional software company and as national director of sales in the wireless communications industry.

Services
Big Cedar Lodge’s Leah Hardin was chosen as a top wedding professional in The Knot Best of Weddings 2011.

Austin Sickmyre was named the operations manager for Text Bucks. He brings 10 years of experience in the textbook industry and has a bachelor’s in marketing research and a master’s in logistics and supply chain management from Missouri State University.[[In-content Ad]]