Newsmakers

Community

Rick Bufford was named regional donor recruitment manager for the American Red Cross Greater Ozarks – Arkansas Region. Bufford is responsible for all aspects of donor recruitment and the needs of blood donors for a 28-county area in southwest Missouri and 22 counties in Arkansas. He previously served as regional donor services manager for central and east Arkansas.

The Springfield Greene-County Park Board appointed Bob Belote as assistant director of parks, effective Jan. 15. Belote, superintendent of recreation with the Parks Department, fills the void left by Jodie Adams, who was promoted to director of parks upon the January retirement of Director Dan Kinney. Belote joined the department in 2004 and has served as director of parks in Independence and Sioux City, Iowa, and as assistant director of parks in Blue Springs. The Springfield native is a Kickapoo High School graduate and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Missouri State University in 1987. He received a master’s degree in parks, recreation and tourism in 1995 from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Child Care

University Child Care Center was awarded a certificate of accreditation from the Missouri Center for Accreditation. The certificate is granted to programs that offer developmentally appropriate experiences in an environment conducive to children flourishing intellectually, emotionally, socially and physically.

Construction

Four Ozarks Technical Community College students received scholarships at the annual Salute to Construction Banquet on Nov. 3. Tyson Shane Collins, of West Plains, received a scholarship from the Greater Ozarks Building Systems Association and is seeking a construction technology Associate of Applied Science. Jesse Galbraith, of Springfield, received a scholarship from the Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield and is seeking a construction technology Associate of Applied Science. Kaleb Klass, of Springfield, received a scholarship from The Builders Association and is seeking an Associate of Arts. Julie Waldo, of Springfield, received a scholarship from HBA and is seeking a construction technology Associate of Applied Science.

Education

Velynda Cameron, Ozarks Technical Community College early childhood development instructor, and Kim Sutton, OTC adjunct professor, presented workshops during the National Association for the Education of Young Children conference in Washington, D.C., Cameron was one of 1,200 speakers chosen out of nearly 20,000 applicants.

The Management Development Institute, a division of Missouri State University’s College of Business Administration, promoted Stacey Trewatha-Bach to assistant director. Trewatha-Bach has five years of experience as a training and development manager with MDI. She is responsible for coordinating the marketing, scheduling and delivery of all institute seminars.

David Hough, MSU College of Education dean, Christopher Craig, associate dean, Aundrayah Shermer, program coordinator for blindness skills, and fellow faculty members Paris Depaepe, Paul Ajuwon and Julie Ituarte were awarded a $700,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The money will be used for Project Diverse, a program that prepares professionals to work with blind and visually impaired students.

College of the Ozarks’ computer programming team won first place at the annual Association for Computer Machinery Programming Contest, held at MSU. Team captain Jakob Stuber and team members Josh Brannon and Robert Hanschu were coached by COO assistant professor Andrew Staugaard. The team defeated 10 other schools, including teams from MSU, Southwest Baptist University and Drury University.

Engineering

Anika Careaga, a project engineer for Midwest Environmental Consultants, recently became certified in two industry fields. Careaga is a certified professional of erosion and sediment control and a certified professional of storm water quality, after meeting educational and practical experience standards and passing qualifying examinations.

Government

Jack Goodman was elected and sworn in to the Missouri Senate for the 29th District, representing Barry, Lawrence, McDonald, Ozark, Stone and Taney counties. The election was necessary as a result of the July death of Sen. Larry Gene Taylor, R-Shell Knob.

Health Care

Dr. Priscilla Arnold of Arnold Vision recently served as moderator for a symposium hosted by Ocular Surgery News. She also made a presentation on surgical technique. The symposium focused on steps surgeons can take when complications arise during cataract surgery.

Hospitality

Chris Myer of Branson-based Myer Hotels was chosen as a Leader of Tomorrow by Hotel & Motel Management. Myer is the vice president of marketing for Myer Hotels and serves on the Choice Hotels Owners Council Marketing Committee, is the vice chair of Choice Hotels Region 13 and is the Missouri State Co-op Chair for Choice Hotels and Best Western.

Insurance

Tim Connell and Randall Gammill of Connell Insurance Inc. recently attended the National Symposium for the Institute of Work Comp Professionals in Annapolis, Md. The symposium was a three-day event for certified workers’ compensation advisers from more than 300 agencies nationwide.

Law

Rebecca Tatlow moved from Evans & Dixon to open her own practice, Rebecca Tatlow LLC, Attorney at Law. Tatlow has expanded her areas of practice, now handling wills and trusts, family law and workers’ compensation.

Manufacturing

Craig and Kim Jones, owners of Country Home Elevator & Stair Lift in Brighton, recently attended the National Association of Elevator Contractors Annual Convention in Toronto. They attended seminars on inspection of residential and commercial elevator equipment; code changes and harmonization; and business management.

Publishing

Whitaker Publishing hired Dori Allen as marketing director. Allen is responsible for the advertising and promotion of 417 Magazine, GO Springfield, 417 Home, 417 Bride and 417 Encore. She has five years of experience in promotions with KOLR-TV and KSFX-TV. She also has been public relations manager for the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Sports

Rick Grayson, teaching professional at the Connie Morris Golf Learning Center at Rivercut Golf Course, was chosen as Golf Professional of the Year and Teacher of the Year by the Midwest Section of the Professional Golf Association. It’s the fifth time he has been voted Teacher of the Year by the group.

Technology

Richard “Mike” Chiles, general manager of Watts Radiant, was slated to receive an honorary professional degree from University of Missouri-Rolla during the school’s winter commencement ceremony Dec. 17. Chiles earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and psychology from the school in 1973 and has served as general manager of Watts Radiant since August 2000.

Travel

Micke Beld joined Springfield-based The Travel Group as an independent associate. Beld has more than 10 years of experience in the travel industry, most recently with Great Southern House of Travel.

Utility

White River Valley Electric Cooperative received two MarCom awards for communication excellence. The cooperative received the gold award in the communication plan category for Touchstone Energy: Maximizing its Value on Corporate Culture, and the company’s newsletter, Current Times, earned a gold medal in the External Newsletter category. The MarCom Creative Awards recognize creativity in marketing and communications.