Broadcasting The Vacation Channel in Branson hired Rod Orr as director of revenue and development and Sue Braun as media marketing consultant. Orr has more than 20 years of broadcasting experience, and Braun has worked in sales at Springfield News-Leader and Table Rock Area Chamber of Commerce.
Dave Shelly was named promotions manager at KRBK-HD, a Koplar Communications International Inc. station that serves the Springfield and Lake of the Ozarks areas. Shelly’s career spans more than 20 years, including positions at FOX and The CW.
Education Evangel University math professor Don Tosh received the George Mach Distinguished Service Award. Mathematics honor society Kappa Mu Epsilon, of which Tosh has been a member for more than 25 years, presented the biennial award at its national convention in St. Louis.
Event Planning Celebrated Occasions received a Carlson Craft Excellence Award for 2010. The company has sold event announcements and invitations for 21 years and received the award for outstanding performance.
Finance Paula Dougherty of Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. scored in the top 1 percent of Ameriprise financial advisers in the company’s biannual client satisfaction survey. Dougherty is a member of Ameriprise Platinum Financial Services, reserved for the company’s outstanding practices.
Brenda Snider was promoted to benefits banking program specialist at Commerce Bank.
A 40-year employee, Snider will coordinate Commerce’s workplace banking and manage the Springfield-area portfolio of those accounts.
Empire Bank Insurance Agency promoted Brad Hill to account executive. Hill is a certified commercial lines coverage specialist.
Health Care Edmonds Dental Prosthetics Inc. was named the exclusive lab provider for continuing education programs for Solace, maker of the NuCalm technology intended to ease anxiety.
Hospitality Doubletree Hotel-Springfield made Expedia’s Insiders Select list, which recognizes excellent service and value, based on guest reviews and value analyses. The ranking designates Doubletree as one of the top 500 hotels worldwide.
Insurance Casey Chastain joined Hollister-based Connell Insurance Inc. His career includes stops at companies such as Sentry Insurance, Business Insurance Solutions and Federated Insurance, and he is a graduate of Missouri State University’s College of Business Administration.
Law Richard Owensby, a member of Neale & Newman LLP since 1968, was named the 13th recipient of the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association’s Distinguished Attorney Award, its highest honor.
Nonprofit Sheri Hawkins and Eric Austin joined Champion Athletes of the Ozarks’ board of directors. Hawkins owns public relations firm 2 Balance, and Austin is a manager at American National Property & Casualty Co.
Cara Restelli joined the Better Business Bureau of Southwest Missouri as community outreach director. A former KY3 consumer and investigative reporter, Restelli researches businesses and hosts events for consumers and businesses.
Crisis nursery Isabel’s House received a $11,000 William T. Kemper Foundation grant to fund information technology purchases.
Jonathan Morgan joined Champion Athletes of the Ozarks to work in fundraising and marketing. He graduated from Missouri State University with a major in entertainment management with a specialty in sport.
Real Estate Murney Associates ranked 97th out of the nation’s real estate firms based on its reported number of transactions and sales volume, breaking into the top 100 for the seventh consecutive year.
The annual report on U.S. brokers was compiled by RISMedia, a real estate information systems company, and included almost 1,000 firms.
Century 21 Integrity Group hired Virginia Altis as a real estate saleswoman. Altis has a 15-year career in insurance, most recently with Allstate Insurance.
Teresa Hall was honored as Century 21’s top 2010 producer in the southwest Missouri region, a distinction Hall has earned for the past five years.
R.B. Murray Co. Vice President Ryan Murray earned the certified property manager designation by the Institute of Real Estate Management. Murray has worked at R.B. Murray Co. for four years and met several professional standards to receive the designation.[[In-content Ad]]
BluCurrent Credit Union held a June 21 grand opening at an office building it renovated at 4520 S. National Ave.; Ozark Mountain Gymnastics changed ownership; and a Branson theater property made way for a new entertainment business with the opening of Star Concert Hall.