Newsmakers

Craig E. Dunn joined Citizens National Bank of Springfield as senior vice president of commercial loans. He has 11 years of lending experience. His duties include commercial, real estate and agricultural lending. Dunn holds a master of science degree with a concentration in business from Southwest Baptist University. He is enrolled in the Graduate School of Banking in Madison, Wis.

For the second consecutive year, Bank of America has been named Bank of the Year in the United States by The Banker, a UK-based publication of the Financial Times group. The awards were announced at a banquet in London, and they are featured in the September issue of the magazine. The bank was honored for milestones reached in 2003 and 2004, including the acquisition of FleetBoston Financial Corp., a record number of new checking accounts and its 10-year, $750 billion community development and philanthropic program.

Chamber

Chris Tuckness, vice president of community development/special events for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, recently completed his third weeklong professional development program with Institute for Organization Management at Colorado College. Tuckness received training in leadership, chamber and association management competencies, and targeted curriculum in membership, technology and financial management.

City

Mary Mannix-Decker was named director of Finance for the city of Springfield. She succeeds Fred Fantauzzi, who retired in October after 26 years with the city. Mannix-Decker served as acting director of Finance since May 2002, when Fantauzzi was assigned to oversee implementation of the city’s new accounting system. Mannix-Decker joined the city in 1999 as budget administrator for the Finance Department. Prior to that, she was the budget officer for Greene County. She is a graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where she earned a degree in economics.

As Finance director, Mannix-Decker oversees the city’s $220 million operating budget and directs a department that includes the city’s accounting, budget and evaluation, licensing, print shop and purchasing sections. The annual salary for Springfield’s Finance director is $95,284.80.

Construction

Nabholz Construction Corp. has named two project managers. Jeremy Hill and Christie Dade joined the firm as project managers for Nabholz Client Service in Springfield. Hill and Dade are responsible for estimating projects and coordinating and overseeing projects through to completion. Hill has 15 years of experience in the construction industry, and Dade has 18 years of experience in the construction industry.

Andy Jenisch and Gidget Donovan of National Home Products recently attended the Schulte Distributors Conference in Cincinnati. Jenisch and Donovan attended seminars to learn computer design of storage systems, efficient installation of custom closet systems and the sales features and benefits of Schulte products. Donovan is the company’s production manager; Jenisch oversees outside sales. National Home Products is a supplier for building contractors.

Education

The Southwest Missouri State University Center for Resource Planning and Management received a $22,500 grant from the State Emergency Management Agency for the center’s “Polk County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation” project. Diane May, CRPM director and assistant professor of geography, geology and planning, and Debi Richardson, CRPM community development coordinator, helped plan the project and are responsible for administering the grant funds. The project is designed to assess community hazards and risks, and provide strategies and actions to help reduce the impact of future natural disasters.

Robert Pavlowsky, PhD, SMSU associate professor of geography, geology and planning, and Richard Biagioni, PhD, professor of chemistry, received a $33,509 grant from the city of Springfield and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the professors’ “Jordan Creek Baseline Water Quality” project.

The grant is helping to fund the monitoring of water chemistry, nutrients and urban runoff pollutants along Wilson and Jordan creeks for the next two years.

Health care

CoxHealth announced that 27 of its physicians from southwest Missouri were named Quality Partners by MissouriPro, the state health care improvement organization under contract to Medicare. The quality partner distinction recognizes health care providers who have demonstrated a commitment to improving the quality of health care. Quality partner physician offices have created teams that plan, implement and evaluate changes in daily practices to improve patient care, specifically for those patients with diabetes. CoxHealth is one of 12 participating institutions in the statewide alliance Community Care Connection for Diabetes. Participating CoxHealth physicians are: Drs. John Waites, William Moore and Steven Daugherty, Ferrell-Duncan Clinic; Drs. Larry Halverson, Susan Graves, James Duff, Benjamin Leavitt, Michael Shoemaker and Jason Spurling, Family Medical Care Center; Dr. Kerry Randolph, Regional Services Clinic; Dr. Jess Lyon, Seymour Family Health Care; Dr. Michael Good, Oak Tree Medical; Drs. Ambur Economou and Bobby Pittman, Family Practice and Obstetrics of Monett; Dr. Eric Davis, Buffalo Family Health Care; Dr. Damon Thomas, Crane Medical Care; Dr. Melissa Altom, Cox Health Center-Aurora; Dr. K. Duane Cox, Shell Knob Family Medicine; Dr. Stephen Hawkins, Medical Clinic of Cabool; Dr. Robert Shaw Jr., Medical Clinic of Willow Springs; Drs. Raymond C. Lewandowski, Lauri Clarkston and Kendell Clarkston, Medical Clinic of Willow Springs; Dr. Lori MacPherson, Cox Family Medicine of Mountain Grove; Drs. Mark Costley, Steve Newbold and Barbara Pierce, Monett Family Medicine; and Dr. C. Stephen Harriman, Cox Medical Associates of Lebanon.

Media

Julie Jackson Wiseman joined the staff of ACR Nally Communications, working in the company’s media department. Wiseman is a graduate of Southwest Missouri State University, where she earned a degree in entertainment management. In her new position, her emphasis is on media research, negotiation and buying, as well as promotion planning.

Missy Shelton Belote, senior governmental affairs producer at KSMU and Ozarks Public Television; Jason Ferber, co-producer at Ozarks Public Television; and Robert Linder, videographer and editor at Ozarks Public Television, received the first-place award for Broadcasting Excellence in Special Programs at the Missouri Broadcasters’ Association Awards Banquet in St. Louis. Belote also received a first-place award for Broadcasting Excellence in Documentary/Public Affairs for a KSMU radio story, “Troops and Technology.”

The Vacation Channel and TVC Productions announced several awards from the Missouri Broadcasters’ Association. The Vacation Channel received a first-place award in the Documentary/Public Affairs category for a capital campaign piece, “Imagine,” produced for the YMCA. In the same category, the station received a certificate of merit for a video produced for Parents As Teachers.

The Vacation Channel received dual honors in the Station-Sponsored Community Event category. A certificate of merit was received for the “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” program sponsored by White River Valley Electric Cooperative and CenturyTel. A second certificate of merit was received for The Vacation Channel’s involvement in Veterans Homecoming week and its broadcast of the annual Veterans Homecoming Parade. The Vacation Channel also was awarded a certificate of merit in the Public Service Announcement category for a Parents As Teachers PSA.

Former KSPR-TV anchor John Brown was named “The Daily Buzz” co-host, alongside Andrea Jackson and Mitch English. The three-hour morning TV talk show, nationally syndicated to more than 100 markets, is a non-traditional news program targeting a younger audience; it is a joint venture of Acme Communications Inc. and Emmis Communications Corp. produced in Orlando, Fla. In addition to his TV experience, Brown’s background includes radio broadcasting. “The Daily Buzz” debuted Sept. 13 on UPN 15.