Newsmakers

Advertising

OnMedia Ad Sales, the cable advertising division of Mediacom, announced two promotions in the Springfield office.

Toni Marra was promoted from senior account executive-team leader to regional senior account executive. She has been with the company for 17 years.

Terri Hall was promoted from senior account executive-team leader to local sales manager. Hall has been with the company for 14 years. Both Marra and Hall are graduates of Southwest Missouri State University.

Carnahan-White Inc. has retained Schilling/Sellmeyer & Associates Inc. as its advertising agency of record. Schilling/ Sellmeyer serves as a full-service agency to Carnahan-White, assisting in all areas of advertising and marketing.

The Branson Board of Aldermen unanimously approved a resolution naming the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau the official marketing agency for the community.

The three-year contract is funded by about $2.5 million each year in tourism tax funds from the city of Branson's 4 percent tax on ticketed attractions and lodging, and the one-half percent tax on restaurant food.

Roger Wasson, owner of Elite Promotions, was selected to the Cutter & Buck Corporate National Advisory Board. Cutter & Buck Inc. designs and markets premium quality men's and women's sportswear and outerwear under the Cutter & Buck brand name. Elite Promotions, a promotions specialty company, has had the license for the Cutter & Buck brand since 1998.

Environment

Holly Neill was named executive director of James River Basin Partnership. She is a graduate of SMSU, where she earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in natural and applied science. She served in the Peace Corps in Jamaica at Discovery Bay Marine Lab, where she assisted with reef fishery research. She also was part of a National Science Foundation Fellowship program at SMSU, which worked to integrate scientists into the public schools. She has volunteered for several organizations, including the James River Basin Partnership and the Watershed Committee of the Ozarks.

Farming

Aaron Owen of Brookline was reelected to the 16-member board of trustees of the American Simmental Association, a Bozeman, Mont.-based organization that maintains the breed registries for the Simmental and Simbrah breeds of cattle. Owen is owner-operator of Osage Orange Farms and Owen Bros. Cattle Co. He runs a registered Simmental herd of more than 60 head.

Lodging

Springfield's Country Hearth Inn received the Excellence in Quality Assurance Performance Award from the Country Hearth Inn lodging system. The Springfield Country Hearth Inn, 3930 S. Overland, is owned and operated by Overland Partners LLC. The lodging system is owned and operated by Buckhead America Corporation.

John Q. Hammons Hotels Inc. received the Murray Award from the Society for Accessible Travel and Hospitality, in honor of its outstanding service to the disabled community. Specifically, the company is being recognized for is its initiative in placing grab bars in every bath and shower at all of its properties. Also, John Q. Hammons Hotels has installed disability-friendly assistance bars in bathrooms of approximately 10 guest rooms at every property, representing about 700 rooms overall.

Restaurant

The Springfield-Branson chapter of the MRA also installed its officers for 2004. They area: Robert Stricklin of Big Cedar Lodge, president; Hank Huitt, Southwest Missouri State University, vice president; Abigale Ehlers, SMSU, secretary; and Doug Hughes, Pepsi-Cola, treasurer. Rick Mulheron of Best Refrigeration received the chapter's Purveyor of the Year Award for his outstanding support of the chapter.