Newsmakers

Empire Bank announced several new hires.

Conor R. Haseltine joined the bank as commercial loan officer. He has previous experience with UMB Bank in Kansas City and Topeka, Kan. In his new position, Haseltine assists clients with loans and identifies banking needs.

Greg Marquart joined Empire Bank as vice president and banking center manager in the bank’s Ozark location. His responsibilities include lending, management of the Ozark banking center and business development. Marquart has 25 years of experience, including service as senior lender for Assemblies of God Financial Services Group.

Jamie Schmidt is the new banking center manager and loan officer at Empire’s James River banking center. With nine years of experience, he manages the center and facilitates consumer, commercial and residential loans.

Finance

The Payroll Co. recently added Anita Pence and Jennifer Ridinger to its client service department as payroll specialists. They manage client payroll accounts and offer human resource and technical support.

Kim Nichols, vice president and trust officer with Springfield Trust Co., has completed the certified financial planner requirements. She is now authorized by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards to use the CFP label. Nichols graduated from Drury University with a degree in business administration.

Sharyl Boyce was promoted to senior vice president for Commerce Brokerage Services Inc., a subsidiary of Commerce Bank. As a regional financial consultant based in Springfield, she is responsible for providing clients with personalized investment strategies. Boyce has 20 years experience in finance and business.

Health Care

Dr. Sanjaya Sooriarachchi, a board-certified family practitioner, joined the staff of Cox Senior Health Center. His areas of interest are geriatrics and dementia. Sooriarachchi attended medical school at Ross University in Edison, N.J., followed by residency at Northwestern University and a fellowship at Dartmouth University.

Manufacturing

Jerry Nichols was named president of Springfield-based KO Manufacturing. Nichols had served as the company’s vice president for two years, overseeing the company’s retail division, KO Pressure Supply. He has more than 20 years of operations management experience including stints with The Swisshelm Group and Barclay Enterprises Inc.

Real Estate

Bart Collins joined Murney Associates as a commercial broker and salesperson. Collins previously worked as a broker with Mellinger Commercial. He is a registered professional engineer with experience in commercial real estate, new developments, site redevelopment, site design and income properties.

Retail

Regina “Reggie” Howell, floral designer for Wickman’s Garden Village in Springfield, placed second in the sympathy design competition at the Ozark Florists Association’s annual convention and awards banquet. The competition, held in Joplin, was judged by floral educators on style, use of color and technique.

Security

Jenny Hancock was hired as marketing coordinator and security consultant for Federal Protection Inc. Hancock graduated from Southwest Baptist University in July with a degree in political science and communications/ public relations.

Technology

BKD Technologies, a division of BKD LLP, was named to the Microsoft Business Solutions Inner Circle. This designation is for firms whose sales achievement ranks them in the top 1 percent of Microsoft Business Solutions’ global network of value-added reselling partners.