Newsmakers

Kevin C. Skibiski, civil associate engineer at Heideman Associates Inc., was appointed to the Missouri Board of Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors and Landscape Architects. He has a bachelor’s degree in structural civil engineering and a master’s degree in construction management civil engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla.

Banking

Commerce Trust Co. promoted Laura Kiesel to trust officer for the Private Client Group. Her responsibilities include account administration and customer service related to personal trust and investment management services. Kiesel also received the Certified Trust & Financial Advisor designation from the Institute of Certified Bankers. Kiesel has more than 19 years of experience in administration, accounting and management.

Community

The city of Hollister appointed Sgt. Preston Schmidt as police chief. Schmidt has been with the Hollister Police Department for eight years, including three years as a sergeant.

Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks received a $100,000 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health. The 24-month grant will be used to increase program delivery for BCFO in southwest Missouri, including the mammography program and purchase of lymphedema garments.

Greene County announced two appointments to county board and commissions. Vickie Hicks, marketing director for Kirkpatrick, Phillips & Miller CPAs, was appointed to the Springfield-Greene County Library Board, while Derek Fraley, assistant vice president and assistant treasurer of UMB Financial Corp., was appointed to the Industrial Development Authority.

Finance

Matthew J. McClean, supervising consultant and member of BKD’s Forensics and Dispute Consulting division, received the Accredited in Business Valuation credential from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. McClean has bachelor’s degrees in accounting and business administration from Drury University.

Insurance

Richard Ollis, president and CEO of Ollis & Co., attended the Travelers Leadership Conference in San Diego. Invitations to the conference were given only to the top 5 percent of all independent insurance agencies representing Travelers across the country.

Media

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting gave a $106,079 grant to public broadcasting station KOZK-TV. The money will be used to help KOZK continue its conversion from analog to digital broadcasting.

Mediacom Communications named Larry Peterson regional vice president of operations for the company’s cable systems in Missouri, Kentucky, Kansas and southern Illinois. Peterson, who is based in Springfield, has 30 years of cable industry experience, including 27 years with Time Warner Cable.

Real Estate

Mike Fusek, senior adviser with Sperry Van Ness/Rankin Co., received certification from the Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute. Fusek was among more than 240 commercial real estate professionals who earned the designation by passing the institute’s comprehensive exam.

Service

Catrina Horned, manager at McDonald’s on North Glenstone Avenue, received the Ray Kroc Award, an annual performance-based award recognizing the top-performing McDonald’s restaurant managers nationwide. Only 137 managers were chosen for the honor, which comes with a cash award, a trophy and a trip to Chicago for a presentation ceremony.

Travel

Great Southern Travel employees Cam Thieme, C.J. Crow, Denice Zenger, Diana Wray, Marilyn Fare and Tamira Marshall completed The Travel Institute’s Luxury Travel Lifestyle program. The specialist certification requires maintenance every five years.