Newsmakers

Art Spisak was named director of the Honors College at Missouri State University effective July 1. The appointment is for a three-year term, subject to satisfactory annual evaluations. Spisak’s appointment is part of the school’s University College reorganization plan recently approved by the board of governors.

Evangel’s Leadership Scholars program honored six graduates as Leadership Fellows during its graduation awards ceremony. Fellows must take seven hours of leadership courses and participate in seminars and trips. The honorees are Andrea Galer, marketing and management double major; Laci Keith, psychology major; Shaun Swartz, physical education major; Karen Terhark, government major; Ariel Welshans, criminal justice major; and Steven Weese, accounting major.

Nicholas Idos, a student at Ozarks Technical Community College, was presented with the 2006 Missouri Physical Therapy Association’s Physical Therapist Assistant Student of the Year award. Idos was selected from among four nominees across the state by a panel judges because of his academic performance, leadership and potential for future contributions to the field.

Kelly Schlinder, a senior modern and classical languages major at MSU, received a Fulbright Teaching Award. The grant is awarded annually to a person who will teach English in a foreign country. Schlinder will assist a full-time English teacher in Cottbus, Germany, for nine months.

The Missouri Colleges Fund received two $5,000 grants, one from the Musgrave Foundation and one from H&R Block Bank. The grants will underwrite student scholarships at each of the 13 MCF member schools, which include Drury, Evangel and Southwest Baptist universities. Member schools will award the scholarships based on financial need.

SBU professor Rodney Reeves, dean of the Courts Redford College of Theology and Ministry, received the 2006 Parkway Distinguished Professor Award. Reeves has been a faculty member at SBU since 2000 and has served for three years as dean.

Finance

Richard Weston of Tax and Financial Advisors LLC was the speaker at the Heart of the Ozarks Chapter of the Missouri Society of Accountants’ May meeting. Weston spoke about the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2006, which includes changes to the alternative minimum tax for 2006.

John T. Piatchek, president of financial services firm Piatchek & Associates Inc., attended the Business Enterprise Institute’s boot camp for advisers in Irving, Texas. The conference, titled “Valuation, Litigation and Fraud Deterrence – Practical, Theoretical and Academic Perspectives,” dealt with developments in business valuation, financial litigation forensics, fraud deterrence, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, exit planning and corporate governance.

Sue Eudy was named branch manager at Arvest Bank’s new location at Branson Landing. Eudy has more than 35 years of experience in the banking industry, including 12 years as a senior vice president and lender. Eudy received an Associate of Arts from College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout.

Bank of America Mortgage Division added Mandy Raines to its home loan sales team. Raines is responsible for providing operations and marketing sales support to the mortgage team and its client base.

Government

Two area professionals were appointed to state boards and commissions. David E. Richards, associate professor of library science at MSU, was appointed to the Missouri Historical Records Advisory Board. Mark Skrade, president of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology, was appointed to the Missouri Health Education Centers Council.

Rob Fulp, president of Signature Bank, was re-elected as vice chairman of the Missouri Housing Commission. This will be his second year in the position with the agency, which finances, develops and preserves affordable housing throughout the state.

Insurance

Sue Altman, branch manager for Gresham & Associates, was named Insurance Professional of the Year for the Insurance Association of the Ozarks, an affiliate of the National Association of Insurance Women. The award recognizes excellence among insurance industry employees who have 10 years of experience or more. Altman will go on to compete at the state level.

Ella Eidson, insurance agent for American National Property and Casualty, was named Rookie of the Year by the Insurance Association of the Ozarks. The award recognizes excellence among those who have been members of the association for less than two years.

Law

Several members of Springfield Area Legal Support Professionals achieved certifications from the National Association for Legal Professionals. Blanche Brasser, Jennifer Keel, Sharon Smith, Julieta Villines and Lori Rupar received basic certification. Brasser, Keel, Rupar and Jennifer Martin received advanced certification. Cindy Carter, Paula Zerrer and Melissa Sharples received professional paralegal certification.

Manufacturing

Jack Raidel, Jason Sneed and Kerry Geisz joined Ridewell Suspensions as summer interns in the company’s engineering department. Raidel is a business administration student at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan. Sneed and Geisz are both mechanical engineering students at the University of Missouri-Rolla.

Real Estate

Julie Broadbent, a member of the commercial team at Coldwell Banker Commercial Vanguard Realtors, completed her training as a certified commercial investment member.

An estimated 6 percent of commercial real estate professionals hold the CCIM designation, according to CCIM Institute, an affiliate of the National Association of Realtors.

Murney Associates Realtors was named as one of the 50 top-performing real estate firms in the country by the 2006 REAL Trends 500 Survey Rankings report.

The company was No. 39 among all independently owned firms and No. 89 among the country’s 100 largest firms in sold residential transaction sides. Murney had 6,408 closed transaction sides in 2005, a 13 percent increase over 2004.

Sales

The Carpet Shoppe announced two staff promotions.

Aaron Paddock was promoted to outside builder sales representative. Paddock, who has been with the company for three years, served most recently as warehouse operations manager.

Josh Clair, a two-year Carpet Shoppe employee, was promoted to warehouse operations manager.

Gordon’s Furniture Gallery in Nixa added Joyce Jarvis to its sales staff. Jarvis has 40 years of retail furniture sales experience at several area furniture stores. Gordon’s features numerous lines of residential furnishings.

Brian Sherrell joined LCS Kleen-Aire as outside sales manager.

Sherrell, who has earned the Environmental Protection Agency’s industry professional certification, has extensive experience in commercial construction projects, specializing in plumbing, electrical and heating, vacuum and air conditioning systems. Sherrell is a 1997 graduate of MSU.

Technology

Cody Ray rejoined Layer 3 Technologies on its information security team. Ray has extensive experience managing Linux and Microsoft computer operating systems for more than 100 servers and infrastructure devices. He also has earned three certifications in the information security field. Ray co-founded Layer 3, one of the two companies that merged to form Layer 3 Technologies.[[In-content Ad]]