Newsmakers

Liberty Bank added four members to its staff. Chris Thomas is vice president of commercial lending. He has 18 years of banking experience, including several years as a community bank president in El Dorado Springs. Kim Cash is a location manager. She has 12 years of banking experience. Kelli Price is the marketing officer. She has 10 years of experience in marketing and public relations and most recently served as marketing manager for The Joplin Globe. Brian Grim is a mortgage loan officer. He has 11 years of experience in real estate lending and specializes in first-time homebuyer programs.

Liberty Bank also promoted James R. Combs and Emily Clayton. Combs was promoted to vice president, small business administration officer. He has been with the bank for three years, most recently serving as human resources director. Clayton was promoted to vice president, director of human resources. She previously served as the bank’s vice president of training. She has 25 years of experience in banking and human resources.

Jason McMillen joined Citizens National Bank as vice president of commercial loans. McMillen is responsible for all aspects of commercial lending, including serving as a loan officer for new customer, commercial, small business, commercial real estate and agricultural loans. He has more than 10 years of financial services experience.

Kim Pennington joined Guaranty Bank as a commercial loan assistant. Pennington assists lenders in completing documentation for commercial loan origination, processing and closing as well as providing administrative assistance within the department. She has six years of banking experience ranging from consumer banking services to consumer and commercial lending.

Community

Seven southwest Missouri social service agencies received competitive grants totaling $1.365 million to combat homelessness: Barry-Lawrence Advocates Standing Together, $297,990; Economic Security Corp., $171,473; Lafayette House, $63,000; Ozarks Area Community Action Corp., $26,655; Housing Authority of Springfield, $104,472; The Kitchen, $472,250; and Salvation Army of Springfield, $228,882. The grants provide funding for a range of assistance programs, including transitional and permanent housing.

David Caffey was elected to the statewide board of directors for Boys & Girls Town of Missouri. Caffey is a senior director with Community Blood Center of the Ozarks and previously served as a regional trustee for Boys & Girls Town’s Southwest Region, based in Springfield.

Rotary Club of Springfield received a $2,129 grant from Rotary International to publicize the Rotary/Rotaract-Ozarks Food Harvest Mobile Food Pantry project. The Mobile Food Pantry is a cooperative project between the Rotary and Rotaract clubs in southwest Missouri and Ozarks Food Harvest. The clubs are raising funds for a tractor and beverage trailer to be used by the food pantry to provide food distributions in areas without food pantries and to distribute perishable foods.

Colleen Neill joined Junior Achievement-Ozarks District as executive director and program manager. JA-Ozarks was founded in 1976 and serves Springfield and surrounding areas. Volunteers from area businesses present curriculum for students, teaching them about the free enterprise system.

The Springfield Fire Department received a $24,000 Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The funds will be used to install the department’s first diesel fumes exhaust system at Station 2 on Commercial Street. The system captures potentially carcinogenic fumes from a fire truck’s exhaust system and pumps them out of the building. Fire Station 12, currently under construction on Blackman Road, also will feature a fume-capturing system.

Peggy King, owner of Peggy King Advertising in Republic, received the Woman of the Year award from the Republic Business and Community Women. King was recognized for her contributions as a business owner, chairwoman of the Republic Area Chamber of Commerce annual business exposition and Pumpkin Daze committee member.

Construction

Cassville-based Couch Excavating was one of 12 national finalists for the Contractor of the Year 2007 award, given out March 10 at a banquet in Las Vegas. The Contractor of the Year award, sponsored by trade magazine Equipment World and equipment manufacturers Caterpillar Inc. and Wacker Corp., is based on business growth over the last five years, along with recommendations from customers and vendors and contributions to the construction industry.

Education

Carole Eldridge, assistant professor of nursing at Southwest Baptist University’s St. John’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences, was selected to make a presentation at the International Nursing Research Congress this July in Vienna, Austria. Eldridge’s abstract was selected from more than 1,300 submissions.

Stephene Killian, science student at Ozarks Technical Community College, is one of 80 students nationwide selected to participate in the International Scholar Laureate Program Delegation on Medicine in China. The group studies the relationship between modern medicine and ancient culture in China, Australia, South Africa or India. Killian will graduate this spring from OTC with an Associate of Arts degree in Science, at which point she will continue her education at Missouri State University.

Southwest Baptist University commercial art majors Emily Huser and Cassandra Waterman received Awards of Excellence in the undergraduate category for graphic designs submitted for American Corporate Identity 23, an annual national contest centered around corporate identity as a foundation of brand development.

Finance

David Yaktine, managing director with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network in Springfield, received the company’s Outstanding Achievement in Recruiting and Sales Award. The award recognizes excellence and requires managing directors to hit both individual sales and office recruiting goals each year.

Kristin Tucker, of Springfield, assistant bank examiner for the Division of Finance of the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration, attended the Loan Analysis School in Arlington, Va. The school, held at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Seidman Training Center, provided an onsite workshop and loan analysis for assistant bank examiners using computer-based instruction. Tucker has been with the division since January 2006.

Danette Proctor and Fred R. Schoen were appointed to state boards. Proctor, co-owner of D-4 Investments LLC, was appointed to the Missouri Development Finance Board. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Missouri State University. Fred R. Schoen, branch manager for Geo-Enterprises in Monett, was re-appointed to the Well Installation Board. He also serves on the advisory council for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning program at Ozarks Technical Community College.

Casey Cooper joined the staff of CU Community Credit Union as a mortgage loan officer. Cooper, who has four years of experience in the mortgage field, is responsible for assisting members with home buying and refinancing.

Christopher Ollis, vice president and portfolio manager for The Commerce Trust Co., received the Certified Financial Planner designation from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. The designation is given to individuals who meet experience and ethical requirements, complete financial planning coursework and pass the certification examination covering financial planning, risk management, investments, tax planning, retirement and employee benefits, and estate planning.

David Wright, senior vice president at Springfield-based Superior Consulting, received his designation as a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist. The certification requires industry experience as well as passage of an exam on U.S. and international money laundering issues and audit strategies.

Michael Zalewski and Bryan Reaves of Superior Consulting received designations as Certified Information Systems Security Professionals. The CISSP designation exam has 250 questions covering topics such as access control systems, cryptography and security management practices.

Health Care

Children’s Miracle Network at CoxHealth promoted Crystal Conway to director of children’s services. Conway joined CMN in 2006 as an intern. As director of children’s services, she will be responsible for coordinating all financial assistance programs and assisting in the CMN telethon and other special events. The Portland, Ore., native holds a bachelor’s degree in business management with a concentration in marketing from North Carolina State University and is working on a master’s degree in nonprofit management from Regis University.

Dr. Brent Bergen joined the pulmonology group at Ferrell-Duncan Clinic. Bergen received his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma and completed his residency at Scott & White Memorial Hospital at Texas A&M University. He also completed fellowships in pulmonary medicine at Scott & White Memorial Hospital and critical care medicine at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center at St. Louis University. He is board-certified in internal medicine, pulmonary diseases, critical care medicine and sleep medicine.