Newsmakers

OakStar Bank announced several new hires and promotions.

Stuart Wetzel joined the company as vice president and commercial banking officer. He has 24 years of banking experience, as well as a bachelor’s degree in business from Missouri State University and certification from the American Bankers Association in compliance and commercial lending. Kristin Kiefer was hired as a commercial banking officer. She has four years of experience in the banking industry and earned both a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in business administration from Drury University. Robin Schilling was hired as a residential mortgage loan originator and assistant vice president. She has nine years of mortgage banking experience and 17 years in the sales industry. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of Michigan. Kira Owens was promoted to financial services officer. She had six years of experience in management working with new accounts prior to joining OakStar. Lisa Schupbach was promoted to bank vice president. She has 10 years of experience working with mortgage banking and received a Bachelor of Science from MSU.

Communications

ADsmith Communications added Lori Locke in the agency’s account support team and Nathan Williams in the creative services team. Locke is responsible for support in all aspects of daily operations, including media, accounting and creative services. Williams is responsible for advertisement design, content writing and Web development services.

Community

Three area members of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce & Industry were recognized for reaching membership milestones. Herschend Family Entertainment Corp. in Branson has been a member for 35 years, while Ken’s Quality Craft Woodworks in Brookline and The Casey Associates in Springfield are 10-year members.

Education

Ozarks Technical Community College hired Jason S. Gomez as marketing coordinator and Dana Logsdon as public information coordinator. Gomez earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Evangel University and previously served as a media services technician at OTC for three years. Logsdon graduated from Evangel in 2003 with a degree in marketing and worked for two years in Germany as a civilian employee of the U.S. Department of Defense.

John Kent, MSU associate professor of marketing, received a $10,000 grant from Iowa State University for his investigation of fuel surcharge methodologies in the less-than-truckload shipping industry. Carlo Smith, assistant professor of marketing, also received a $10,000 grant from ISU for investigation into technology and policies to support improved fleet fuel performance. Both grants will be used to fund graduate assistants.

Southwest Baptist University added two employees to its marketing and communications department. Shawn Summers, a 1994 SBU graduate in communications, joins the staff as director of alumni and church relations. Justin Wollard, a 1997 SBU alumnus, is a graphic designer.[[In-content Ad]]