Newsmakers

Architecture

Matt Boehner of RCB/A Architects earned his landscape architecture license from the state of Missouri.

Brandon Dake and Andrew Wells of Dake-Wells Architecture passed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design exam for new construction. Dake and Wells founded the firm in 2004, and Wells serves as adjunct faculty for upper level design studios at the Hammons School of Architecture at Drury University.

Communications

Today's KTTS 94.7 received four first-place awards from the 2009 Missouri Broadcasters Association for best local Web site, spot news, complete newscast and news series. The Journal Broadcast Group station was honored for its coverage of tornadoes and political elections.

Community

Hotelier John Q. Hammons received The Distinguished Citizen Award from the Boy Scouts of America Ozark Trails Council. The award is given annually to citizens who embody the "spirit of scouting" by service to others and leadership.

The Sertoma Club of Springfield gave Doug Pitt of ServiceWorld Computer Center the Service to Mankind award and named Reed Hopper the club's Sertoman of the Year. The club also installed its officers: Chris Shelton, president; Reed Hopper president-elect; Joe Fuller, secretary; Kraig Bodie, treasurer; and Ray Banning, sergeant-at-arms. New board members named were Jim Altic, Jared Doty, Mark Gelner, Bill Marshall, Josh Wilson and Chairman Don Angell.

Springfield Parks Director Jodie Adams received the O. Franklin Kenworthy Award from Leadership Springfield. The top award for leadership was given to Adams after 35 years with the Springfield Parks Department, where she has been director since 2006.

The Springfield Heart of the Ozarks Sertoma Club installed officers Greg (Yogi) Young, president; Powell McHaney, vice president; Eric Gaisford, secretary; Ben Galbraith, treasurer; Tom Hoerschgen, sergeant-at-arms; and Bob Chancellor, bulletin editor.

Ellie Swogger was named marketing manager for Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Swogger interned at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City and has been a choreographer of children's productions, ballet instructor and office assistant at the Springfield Ballet. She received a bachelor's degree in arts administration and design arts with minors in architecture and global studies from Drury University.

Pattie Behl joined Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks as program director. Behl, a registered nurse, has more than 10 years of experience in health care and is pursuing a master's degree in nursing from Jacksonville University.

Construction

Rebecca Welsh, Buck Van Hooser, Melissa Cox and Mike CastleBerry were named to the Missouri Heartland Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. Welsh was named chair, Van Hooser vice chair, Cox secretary and CastleBerry treasurer.

Butler, Rosenbury & Partners Project Manager John Torgerson passed the registration exam given by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. Torgerson, a four-year BRP employee, is a Drury University Hammons School of Architecture graduate and a member of the American Institute of Architects.

Chris Turnbough, a professional engineer with Anderson Engineering, passed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design accreditation exam.

Education

Dan Beach, Drury University's associate dean for graduate programs, was named interim dean of the College of Graduate and Continuing Studies.

Celeste Prussia, a research specialist at Missouri State University's Bull Shoals Research Station near Kirbyville, was awarded an $11,000 grant by the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society to form a conservation residency program for teens. The weeklong Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems will teach habitat repair and specific ecological issues affecting the Ozarks.

Dennis Hickey, an MSU political science professor, has been appointed as an associate member of the University of Chicago's Center for East Asian Studies. Hickey was invited because of his work in the field, including writing four books, more than 50 scholarly journal articles and editorials in newspapers across the country.

Joe Bohanon, a professor of chemistry at Evangel University, retired after 46 years of service and was granted professor emeritus status. Bohanon, who began teaching at Evangel in 1963, has a Ph.D. from Missouri University of Science & Technology, a Master of Science from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and a chemistry degree from the University of California-Los Angeles.

Joyce Moore, who has served Evangel University in numerous roles, including librarian, cataloger and assistant professor since 1986, retired and was given professor emeritus status. Moore holds a Master of Library Science from Texas Woman's University.

Dr. Reita K. Gorman was named dean of general education at Ozarks Technical Community College. Gorman, formerly a program coordinator for communications, education and developmental studies at Mid-South Community College in West Memphis, Ark., has 17 years of experience in secondary and higher education. She has degrees from University of Kentucky, Middle Tennessee State University and Arkansas State University.

MSU was named as a great place to work by the International Association of Administrative Professionals. The university won based on its mission and vision, physical resources, professionalism, training and development, and service in the category for employers with 1,000 or more employees.

MSU received a 2009 CASE-WealthEngine Award for its fundraising programs. The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education's Circle of Excellence Program awarded six universities the honor based on growth in total support, overall breadth in program areas, donor growth and the impact of the 12 largest gifts to the universities. The MSU Foundation raised a record of more than $15 million in fiscal 2009.

MSU professor and Ozarks Public Health Institute Director Dalen Duitsman received $90,000 for the university's student tobacco education program. Students of Missouri State Against Smoking Hazards is developing a more restrictive tobacco policy for the university by October 2010.

Kathryn Hope, MSU nursing department head and professor, received a $20,000 Department of Health and Human Services grant to be used for the Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship program. Tuition assistance will be available for students pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing for family nurse practitioner and nurse educator programs.

Wenping Qui, co-director of MSU-Mountain Grove's Center for Grapevine Biotechnology, received a $23,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture research grant to create a sustainable grapevine importation and certification program in the Midwest.

Yalonda Pinnell was promoted to associate Springfield campus director for the University of Phoenix. Pinnell, the school's former learning center director, graduated from Southwest Baptist University with a bachelor's degree in business management and marketing and a master's degree in business administration.

Health Care

Jean Morrow of Citizens Memorial Healthcare was appointed to the 2009 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Morrow is one of 500 experts from varying sectors to select winners in six categories, managed by the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Citizens Memorial Healthcare's marketing department won 20 national advertising awards, three of which were gold. The Healthcare Marketing Report Publications Group awarded CMH a gold for its orthopedic recruiting flyer for professional recruitment advertising and a gold for All American Spirit-Cancer Center in the total public relations program category, along with 13 other awards.

The Aster Awards, which recognize excellence in health care advertising and marketing, gave CMH a gold in special events for its Burgundy Ball, along with four other awards.[[In-content Ad]]