Newsmakers

Empire Bank announced a new hire and four promotions. Doug Page joined the bank as senior vice president and commercial loan group leader. He has more than 20 years of lending and management experience. Calen Bestgen was promoted to commercial loan officer. He has five years of experience with Empire Bank. Sandy Jensen was promoted to assistant vice president of commercial banking services. She has 30 years of banking experience at Empire Bank and is responsible for managing the commercial banking services department. Elizabeth Kinard was promoted to bank training coordinator, and Joselyn Baldner was promoted to assistant vice president and retail sales manager.

Community

Andrea Vent was named director of advancement for Boys & Girls Town of Missouri, based in Springfield. Vent, who has been with the organization for about six months, was previously the resident director of the group’s St. Louis residential program. As director of advancement, she is responsible for planning and overseeing all fund-raising activities in southwest Missouri.

Education

Elizabeth Rozell, the Kenneth E. Meyer professor of management at Missouri State University, received the 2007 Governor’s Teaching Award for Excellence, which recognizes one outstanding faculty member from each state university for effective teaching, innovative course design and nurturing student achievement. Rozell has been a professor in MSU’s management department for nine years.

Sequiota Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Jeannie Ratcliff received the Springfield Public Schools Teacher of the Year award. The award qualifies Ratcliff as a candidate for the 2007-08 Missouri Teacher of the Year award, given by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Ratcliff receives $2,000, and Sequiota Elementary School receives another $2,000.

Deborah Davis and Debbie Dick, librarians at Kickapoo High School, received the Springfield Public Schools’ Linda Luke Librarian of the Year Award. The award, established 10 years ago by family and friends of Hickory Hills and Disney elementary school librarian Linda Luke, was given to Davis and Dick for their work with Kickapoo’s theater and media departments and their National Library Week projects. The two split a $1,000 cash award, and the school library receives an additional $500.

Finance

Luke Prenger, of Springfield, bank examiner for the division of finance of the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration, attended the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, Liquidity and Capital Markets seminar in Anaheim, Calif. The seminar was designed for examiners who need to develop greater familiarity with capital market products, risks and issues.

Health Care

Evangel University professor Bernie Dana was selected to chair the newly formed Board of Overseers for the American Health Care Association National Quality Award program. The program allows nursing homes and assisted living facilities to guide the development of quality management systems.