Newsmakers

Bank of America earned the Best in Minority Market Penetration Award from the Mortgage Lending Industry Diversity Conference for the second consecutive year. The award recognizes the financial lender with the greatest proportion of minority applicants compared to the national minority population.

Community

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks added two new members to its Board of Directors. Tim Wainscott, client business manager for AT&T, will assist BBBS with fund-raising, marketing and volunteer support. Eddie Lawrence, an executive at Stenger Management, will assist BBBS in recruiting volunteers and developing financial partnerships.

The Summit Optimist Club of Springfield chose Rhoda Clark as its 2006–07 president. Clark, development director of the Ozarks Regional YMCA, has been a member of Summit Optimist Club for seven years.

Council of Churches of the Ozarks promoted Donna J. Jones to church relations director. Jones, who previously served as the council’s development director, will meet with ministry partner pastors, explaining the value of council membership. She also serves as a liaison for pastors to bring suggestions or issues to the council’s attention.

Distribution

Wil Fischer Cos. announced several staff promotions. Chris Anderson is director of on-premise customer service. Greg Austin is sales administration director. Mark Bohon is senior director of sales. Scott Dunavant is director of key accounts. Wayne Hudson is director of route sales. Jonathan Paulie is director of off-premise customer service, and Brad Wadle is director of on-premise sales.

The Kirby Co. recognized Nixa distributor Dustin Ebert for reaching business goals set by the company. The Kirby Co., based in Cleveland, manufactures home-cleaning systems sold through distributors across the United States and in 70 countries. Ebert’s recognition was part of the company’s yearlong Your Road Map to Success campaign, which awards prizes and trips to distributors with outstanding performance.

Education

Ozarks Technical Community College received a $2,500 grant from the 3M Foundation. The grant will be used to fund Keeping Your Options Open, a program for sixth-grade students that demonstrates the role education plays.

Monett R-I School District received $37,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Economic Impact Initiative Administrative Grant program. Grant funds will help fund final architectural and engineering fees for the completion of the Career Center, a 90,000-square-foot facility with technology to provide work force development programs.

The Missouri Colleges Fund received a $35,750 grant from the UPS Foundation of Atlanta to underwrite student scholarships at the 13 MCF member schools; scholarships are awarded by member schools on the basis of financial need. Local MCF members are Drury, Evangel and Southwest Baptist universities.

Patty Duncan is the new director of academic affairs for the University of Phoenix’s Springfield campus. Duncan is responsible for the management and oversight of day-to-day student, faculty and academic affairs. She also leads faculty training, assessment and recruitment processes and is responsible for curriculum development and implementation.

Government

U.S. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond was honored as a Guardian of Small Business by the National Federation of Independent Business. The award, based on voting records on key small-business issues, was presented to 54 senators and 242 representatives who voted favorably on key small-business issues at least 70 percent of the time during the 109th Congress.

Health Care

St. John’s Health System added four new physicians.

Dr. Kelly Humphries joined St. John’s Clinic – Green Forest, Ark. She received her education from the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, and completed her internship and residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Dr. Frederick Lobati joined St. John’s Clinic – Internal Medicine – Fremont. He trained at the University of Cologne, West Germany, and completed an internal medicine internship and residency, as well as an infectious disease fellowship, with the University of Missouri School of Medicine.

Drs. Curtis Mather and Jeff Mutchler joined St. John’s Clinic – Lebanon – Orthopedics. Mather received his medical degree from the University of Health and Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kansas City and completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at Tulsa Regional Medical Center in Tulsa, Okla. Mutchler earned his medical degree from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed a residency in osteopathic surgery at Tulsa Regional Medical Center.

Ronald Ponds joined the CoxHealth Board of Directors. Ponds is the district manager for the Social Security Administration in Springfield, where he is responsible for providing Social Security services to citizens in 15 southwest Missouri counties.

Lisa Alexander, CoxHealth Foundation president, earned the Certified Fundraising Executive designation from CFRE International. The group certifies fund-raising professionals who demonstrate knowledge, skill and commitment to high standards of ethical and professional practice in philanthropy. Alexander joined CoxHealth in 1995 and has been president of the foundation since 2000.

Real Estate

Peggy Mitchell and Linda Jeffries of the Mitchell/Jeffries Group at Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realtors were awarded certification in valuation of real-estate-owned properties. The Mitchell/Jeffries Group has been serving the real-estate-owned industry in this area since 1997.

Work Force Development

Sherry Hillhouse, a Springfield resident and project manager for Missouri Enterprise, received her Six Sigma Green Belt certification from the American Society of Quality. Six Sigma is a systematic, scientific, fact-based, data-driven continuous improvement methodology that enables companies to evaluate and strengthen customer service.

Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and J.P. Morgan/Chase Service Center received the 2006 Innovative Workforce Development Award at the recent Governor’s Conference on Economic Development in St. Louis. The honor is given to organizations that demonstrate innovative ways of developing a work force and providing a major impact on local economy and quality of life.[[In-content Ad]]