Newsmakers

BKD LLP promoted Julie Bilyeu to supervising consultant and Diana Maez to senior outsourcing consultant for BKD’s nursing facilities team. Bilyeu provides Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement consulting and claim reviews for health agencies, and Maez assists with tax returns, compilations and cost reports.

Community

Boys & Girls Town of Missouri announced its two volunteer honorees for the southwest region. Valerie Savvenas and Mike Mitchell were awarded the group’s Star Volunteer award for dedicated service to children. Savvenas, co-owner of Manoli’s Jewelers, helped raise $27,000 through the Diamond Night event. Mitchell, a resident of Overland Park, Kan., has arranged for thousands of pairs of blue jeans for children from Boys & Girls Town.

Safety Council of the Ozarks elected new board members and officers for 2006. Jim Baker of Missouri State University is president; Allen Kunkel of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce is vice president; and Patti Penny of Penmac is treasurer. New board representatives are James Brookhart of St. John’s Health System, John Leyenberger of Wal-Mart and Bob Schutz, who is retired from Northrop Grumman. New board members are Daniel Allen of J.B. Hunt, Matt Seiler of the Missouri Department of Transportation and Jack Merritt, Greene County sheriff.

The Ozarks Chapter of Charter Property Casualty Underwriters made a $2,400 scholarship contribution to the Missouri State University Foundation for the 2006–2007 school year. Half of the funds came from the national CPCU-Loman Education Foundation while the local chapter raised $700 with a trivia night event earlier this year.

Education

Six former Missouri State University faculty and staff members were recognized with plaques on the school’s Wall of Fame: Kenneth Brown, professor emeritus of accounting; Ralph K. Manley, former finance professor and Springfield City Councilman; the late Grace B. Palmer, former MSU head librarian; J.N. Smith, agricultural business professor; Robert Trewatha, former associate vice president of academic affairs; and Max Wood, the school’s first director of auxiliary services.

William Mario McNeely, a 2005 graduate of Kickapoo High School, received an appointment to attend the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo, nominated McNeely.

Lacey Nunnally, Evangel University’s assistant professor of social work, received the 2006 E.M. and Estella Clark Award for Excellence in Teaching, Scholarship and Service. The award includes an unrestricted cash grant.

Martin Mittelstadt, Evangel’s assistant professor of New Testament studies, received the first Orville & Jewel Mills Young Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, Scholarship and Service. The award was established to recognize professors younger than 45 who have less than 10 years of teaching experience.

Debbie Gill joined the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary as professor of New Testament exposition. Gill holds a Ph.D. in Old Testaments and New Testament biblical studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. She also has a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in biblical languages from the AG Theological Seminary.

Health Care

Tammy Mallow-Elly, clinic administrator of Family Medical Walk-In Clinics Inc. in Springfield, spoke at the National Association for Ambulatory Care annual conference in Las Vegas. The conference is attended by urgent care physicians, owners and administrators from around the nation. Mallow-Elly is an advisory member to the NAFAC Board of Directors.

Family Medical Walk-In Clinics hired June Meldi, a nurse practitioner as a staff nurse. Meldi, formerly of the Jordan Valley Community Health Center in Springfield, is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

Dr. Steven Florence joined St. John’s Clinic-Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Florence, who received his medical education from the University of Louisville and completed a residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery with Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., joins St. John’s from Evans Army Community Hospital in Fort Carson, Colo.

Insurance

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield selected Croley Insurance and Financial Agency to represent southwest Missouri on its Producer Advisory Council. Trevor Croley, director of business development for Croley Insurance and Financial, represented the agency in April at Anthem’s annual meeting in St. Louis.

Law

The Springfield office of Evans & Dixon LLC hired Karen L. Johnson as a senior associate. Johnson works for the firm’s workers’ compensation practice group.

Utility

Stacy Bramell, a human resources generalist at Associated Electric Cooperative Inc., received the cooperative’s Excel Award for Employee of the Year in a Secretarial Field. Nominated by her peers, Bramell was recognized for setting and achieving high standards, performing beyond her normal responsibilities and tackling significant projects, including administering AECI’s employee fitness program.

Kelly Walters was elected vice president of regulatory and general services for Empire District Electric Co. In her new position, Walters is responsible for the areas of corporate communications, information services, land administration, planning and regulation, purchasing and stores, and safety and environmental services. Walters was general manager of regulatory and general services.