Newsmakers

Community

John Wagner joined The Salvation Army as a planned giving counselor. Wagner, a graduate of Southwest Missouri State University, has experience in sales, marketing and advertising.

Education

Jay Chism joined the University of Missouri Extension as an agronomist in Bolivar. He works with farmers in Cedar, Dade, Dallas, Hickory and Polk counties. Chism's previous experience includes 13 years operating Harvest Farm, a 12-acre greenhouse/horticulture business. Chism holds a master's degree in horticulture from the University of Missouri. He also has a bachelor's degree from SMSU.

College of the Ozarks' radio station KCOZ was listed among the nation's top 20 Great College Radio Stations by the Princeton Review. The Princeton Review, a nonprot organization, publishes an annual guidebook of the best colleges in the nation and what they have to offer. KCOZ's listing was based on information gathered from student surveys.

Financial services

Don G. Smillie, CPA, CSA, participated in a focus group sponsored by John Wiley & Sons Inc., publishers in Phoenix. Twelve educators from around the country met with Paul Kimmel, lead author of Wiley's best selling undergraduate nancial accounting textbook, and members of Wiley's editorial staff to review the text and to discuss possible enhancements for the next edition. The book is used at SMSU in its school of accountancy, where Smillie is a lecturer.

Whitlock, Selim & Keehn LLP announced several staff additions. Mike Carroll joined the rm as a senior accountant and Dennis Coulter II, Jane Reier and Ben Sutherland joined the rm as staff accountants.

Carroll previously worked as a tax services consultant and senior associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Kansas City. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a juris doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. In his new position, Carroll focuses on tax research and credits.

Coulter previously worked for another CPA rm in the Springeld market as a staff auditor and tax preparer. He holds a master's degree in business administration and a bachelor's degree in accounting from Drury University. In his new position, Coulter conducts audit eldwork and prepares tax returns.

Prior to joining Whitlock, Selim & Keehn, Reier was a senior accounting associate with CBIZ Accounting, Tax & Advisory in Leawood, Kan., where she performed outsourced accounting and built client relationships. Reier holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia. In her new position, Reier focuses on accounting services, including nancial statement preparation, payroll taxes and other bookkeeping functions for Whitlock, Selim & Keehn clients.

Sutherland, who previously served the rm as an intern, worked in public accounting for three years while completing his education. He is a cum laude graduate of SMSU, where he earned a bachelor's degree in accounting. He completes his master's degree in accountancy this month. Sutherland performs audit eldwork and prepares tax returns.

Health care

Dr. Jerome P. Lisk joined the neurology department of Ferrell-Duncan Clinic. He earned his medical degree at the Medical College of Virginia and completed a fellowship in movement disorders at the University of Texas at Houston.

Oxford HealthCare was ranked No. 1 in the Telehealth Quality Report, conducted recently by Strategic Healthcare Programs LLC, an independent national database service for health care. The report included information collected from 195 agencies. Oxford HealthCare ranked No. 1 in controlling hospitalizations, controlling emergent care use and improving activities of daily living.

Dr. Kevin Wallace was elected as the legislative and regulatory committee representative to the Missouri Dental Association Board of Trustees. Prior to his appointment, Wallace served as Greater Springeld Dental Society trustee. The Missouri Dental Association is a nonprot professional organization with more than 2,200 members statewide.

Tony A. Casey Jr., PhD, was appointed interim director of the Division of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, succeeding Ann Deaton, who announced plans to retire at the end of the year. Casey, who resides in Herculaneum, retired in 2003 from his position as the executive director of the Jefferson County Developmental Disabilities Resource Board, which he served for 23 years. The Department of Mental Health serves Missourians, working to prevent mental disorders, developmental disabilities and substance abuse by treating, habilitating and rehabilitating people affected by those conditions and by educating the public about mental health.

Human resources

Denise Lofton was named human re-sources manager for Penmac's corporate ofces in Springeld. Lofton is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Boston, where she earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology. She also received her master of arts degree in human resources management from Webster University this year. Prior to joining Penmac, Lofton served as employment coordinator for Greene County. In her new position, she is responsible for recruitment, benets and unemployment issues.

Law

Thomas D. Peebles, a shareholder of Carnahan, Evans, Cantwell & Brown PC, was elected a fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel at its fall meeting. The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel is a national association of more than 2,600 attorneys who have made outstanding contributions to the eld of trust and estate law. Peebles earned his bachelor of science degree from SMSU and his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He practices in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration and probate.

Media

TV station KY3 received an Emmy Award from the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences. KY3 received the award, which recognizes achievement and encourages excellence within the TV industry, at the 28th annual Emmy Awards in St. Louis. KY3 reporter Cara Restelli and photojournalists Katrina McCann and Jeff York all participated in the series, which investigated drivers in the Ozarks not being ticketed when they failed to obey school bus stop-arm laws.

Restaurant

Missouri Hardee's franchisee Mike Shay was re-elected to the Independent Hardee's Franchisee Association Board of Directors. In his second term, Shay will serve as board secretary. He is owner and president of Hardee's of Southwest Missouri, which operates 15 restaurants in and around Springeld and Joplin, and in Arkansas.