Newsmakers

Greg Horton, chief service officer of Integra HealthCare and Integrity Home Care, was appointed to Boys and Girls Town of Missouri’s statewide board of directors. He was a member of the Boys and Girls Town Board of Trustees for six years prior to joining the board of directors.

Education

Barbara Kraft, teacher at Springfield’s Carver Middle School, received the R-XII District’s Starcatcher Award for September. The award is presented monthly to a district employee who demonstrates a

commitment to the mission, belief and vision of the school district. Employees are nominated by principals and peers. Kraft, who teaches eighth-grade language arts and French, has taught in the Springfield district for eight years.

Ron Schie, an associate professor and chair of communication at Drury University, attended the American Advertising Federation’s Diversity Achievement and Mosaic Awards forum, titled “Yesterday’s Reflection, Tomorrow’s Reality,” Sept. 22 in New York. Schie is chairman of the AAF’s academic committee.

Bruce Clemens, Ozarks Technical Community College electronics instructor, received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and Performance Excellence in Education. Missouri Gov. Bob Holden presented the award at a luncheon held in conjunction with the 2004 Governor’s Conference on Higher Education.

Gary Liddle, Evangel University associate professor of theological studies, received the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at the 2004 Governor’s Conference on Higher Education. He has been an Evangel faculty member since 1997. Liddle’s areas of specialty include the Old Testament and Biblical languages.

Hooshang Pazaki, PhD, Drury University associate professor of sociology, received the Governor’s Award in Teaching. The award is presented annually to one faculty member from each of Missouri’s two- and four-year institutions. Pazaki has taught sociology at Drury

since 1991 and is a frequent lecturer on feminism and Islam. He is the director of Drury’s Middle East studies program and a member of the global perspectives general education planning committee.

Financial Services

Andrea McNabb-Batey, a financial consultant with Smith Barney’s Springfield branch office, earned the financial planning specialist designation from the firm. She completed Smith-Barney’s personal financial planning training program, which covers several topics, including retirement, education, income tax, estate tax and investment planning. McNabb-Batey also passed a three-hour final exam.

Jerrod L. Foresman joined financial services firm Eric K. Peterson, CFP, LLC. Foresman has worked as an independent financial advisor in Missouri since 1990. He attended Southwest Missouri State University and is completing his certified financial planner designation from The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pa. He provides comprehensive financial planning in several focus areas, including providing financial products and services to credit unions and their members.

Eric K. Peterson, CFP, recently returned from a three-day Oppenheimer Funds Inc. portfolio and investment conference in New York City. The event was attended by 150 independent professional financial advisors who shared best-practice management ideas and established networking groups. Topics addressed by economists and strategists included domestic and world economies, and portfolio development and management.