Newsmakers

Donna Jones joined the Greater Ozarks Chapter of the American Red Cross as regional financial development officer. She has previously served as executive director of Springfield Habitat for Humanity, where she helped build 55 homes. Jones was most recently director of church relations for the Council of Churches of the Ozarks.

Construction

Rebecca Walsh of DeWitt & Associates passed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design New Construction exam and is now a LEED-NC accredited professional. Walsh also serves as vice president of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Missouri Heartland chapter.

Education

The Ozarks Technical Community College Foundation received $183,466 in Youth Opportunities Program tax credits. OTC Foundation will utilize the tax credits to open a middle college for underperforming high school students who have the potential to remain in school in a nontraditional setting.

Crowder College in Neosho received a $1.4 million grant to help address the increased demand for health care professionals in southwest Missouri.

The Expanding Healthcare Employment and Job Opportunity Awareness Project in Southwest Missouri allows Crowder to expand its associate’s degree in nursing program and launch a nursing program at another site.

Geoffrey W. Sutton, associate professor of psychology at Evangel University, had two articles published in academic journals. One article, “Forgiveness: Psychological Theory, Research and Practice,” appears in the Journal of Psychology and Theology. His other article, “Rwanda Remembered: Three Faces of Forgiveness and Reconciliation,” will be published in the Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling. Sutton has been a professor at Evangel since 2001.

Nixa R-II Schools hired Zac Rantz as full-time communication coordinator beginning with the 2008–09 school year. Rantz, a journalism, Web design and English teacher at Nixa High, currently serves as part-time communication coordinator. Rantz also was named the mid-state director for the Missouri School Public Relations Association.

Government

Dave Bird joined Missouri Enterprise as area business manager of the Springfield office. Bird is responsible for representing Missouri Enterprise’s business and technical assistance services to companies in manufacturing, agricultural and technology.

Health Care

Psychiatrist Dr. Paul Dobard joined Ozarks Community Hospital’s Lawrence County Clinic. Dobard graduated from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in 1990 and has practiced in Missouri for more than 10 years, having previously worked for St. John’s Clinic – Psychiatry.

Insurance

JoAnn Evans, Jennifer Little and Chance Morgan of Beimdiek Insurance Agency in Carthage attended the Missouri Association of Insurance Agents’ 18th annual Small Agency Conference. The conference offered marketing, ethics and product training programs.