Newsmakers

Community

Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame plans to contribute $13,671 to 15 youth organizations this year, according to board chairman Tom Mast. Funds were from the proceeds of April's induction banquet and will be used to purchase sports equipment. Agencies benefiting from the contributions include: A Sporting Chance, Boys & Girls Club, Boys & Girls Town, Boy Scouts of America, Champion Athletes of the Ozarks, Families for Children, Girl Scouts of Dogwood Trails, Junior Golf Foundation, Northside Express Track Club, Salvation Army Youth Programs, Springfield Community Center, Springfield Family YMCA, Springfield-Greene County Park Board, Springfield Junior Volleyball Club and Special Olympics.

The City of Branson was named a Tree City USA award winner by the National Arbor Day Foundation for the eighth consecutive year. Branson also received the Tree City USA Growth Award for the fifth year, demonstrating progress in its community forestry program and recognizing environmental improvement and higher levels of tree care.

Construction

Judy Fick joined Metro Builders Supply as director of marketing. She is responsible for all aspects of advertising and marketing. She has 20 years of experience in sales and marketing and has a degree in business communication from Southwest Missouri State University.

Kirberg Roofing Inc. was one of 253 roofing firms in the United States and Canada to achieve 2003 Firestone Master Contractor status. This is the sixth year the company was honored. Master Contractor status is earned annually based on quality points and inspection ratings.

Design

W. Taft Atkins of Taft Design Studio was awarded second place in Category I by the Missouri Jewelers and Watchmaker's Design Competition. The award-winning piece was a two-carat blue sapphire wedding ring surrounded by yellow diamonds set in platinum and 18-karat yellow gold. Taft has been awarded more than 18 national and international design awards during his career.

Education

Bob Cumley, assistant city manager for the city of Springfield, was recognized for teaching at Webster University for 20 years. He has been an administrator with the city of Springfield for 30 years. Cumley has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Wichita State and a master's degree in business administration from SMSU.

Julie Mahaffey, librarian at Pleasant View Middle School, received the Linda Luke Librarian of the Year award. She received an $800 cash award. The honor is awarded annually by Springfield Public Schools Foundation in memory of Linda Luke.

Nineteen students graduated from Webster University - Ozarks Regional Campus' master's degree programs. Graduates honored were Charlie Batutis, Chad Breshears, Tim Caldwell, Jeff Chism, Julia Chism, Jana Collins, Scott Evans, Lynn Feagan, Bud Fitzpatrick, Jan Gann, Paul Gies, Kevin Gipson, Rebecca Gunn, Jason Holcomb, Toni Miller, Kevin Montgomery, Debbie Ream, Jonna Tarr and Travis Tent.

For the eighth year, General Council Credit Union and Liberty Mutual Insurance Group awarded $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors who are members of the credit union. Recipients of the General Council Credit Union scholarships were Joshua Allen, Hillcrest High School; Joshua Thomassen, Christian Schools of Springfield; Megan Rooney, Kickapoo High School; Robert Turnbull, Central High School; Paul Griffin, Hillcrest High School; and Elizabeth Smith, Lebanon High School.

Two Southwest Baptist University staff members received awards.

N. Lee Weeks, student services coordinator, received three awards at the 87th annual Missouri Writers' Guild conference. She won first place for Best Nostalgia Article, second place for Best Humorous Article and third place for Best Religious or Inspirational Article. This is the seventh consecutive year Weeks has received awards from MWG for submissions from her column "Fifty Something," which is published in Today's Woman magazine.

SBU's office of public relations received first place honors in the design division for SBU Life magazine at the Baptist Communicators Association's 39th annual Wilmer C. Fields Awards Competition. Tamera Heitz-Peek, director of public relations and editor of SBU Life, received first and second place honors for editorials in the news writing division.

College of the Ozarks' Students in Free Enterprise team was named regional champions at competition in St. Louis. The SIFE team comprises Crystal Barker, Ronda Barner, Nathan Lewis, Becky Murat, Lindon Newberry, Ryan Quiring, Jeremy Braden, Micah Tiegs, Jeremy McNeal, Matt Helmering and Courtney Newman.

SMSU's Ad Team won first place in the 9th District American Advertising Federation National Student Advertising Competition and will compete in the national finals in Los Angeles in June. This is the fourth time in 11 years SMSU has advanced to the national competition. The Ad Team comprises Kim Buckman, Marques Bussey, Trisha Coleman, Sarah Courtney, Amber Dawson, Amanda Hillis, Julie Hanssens, Bill Hoag, Sarah Jackson, Katie Kiefer, Audrey Kimes, Scott MacDonald, Jen Maples, Alan Onnen, Russ Poush, Nathan Shorb, Cory Simmons, Lynne Strickland, Carey Vaughn and faculty advisor Melissa Burnett.

Health care

Christi Wilson, RN, BC, FNP, joined Cox Medical Associates of Lebanon. She has 25 years of experience as a registered nurse and worked for three years as a school nurse in Conway. She graduated from SMSU and is board-certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Burrell Behavioral Health received the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare's Community Provider Award of Excellence. The award was presented at the National Council's annual training conference and recognizes outstanding service.

Missouri Hospital Association has appointed new trustees. Gary D. Duncan, president and chief executive officer of Freeman Health System in Joplin, was appointed to the board of trustees, and Donald G. LaFerla, board chair of McCune-Brooks Hospital in Carthage, was elected as an at-large trustee.

Industries

Associated Industries of Missouri elected new officers. Mark Garnett, vice president and general manager of Garnett Wood Products in Brandsville, was elected to the executive committee. Elected to the board of directors were Troy Robertson, manager of marketing and human resources with Contract Freighters Inc. in Joplin, and Billy Meyer, human resources manager for La-Z-Boy Midwest in Neosho.

Insurance

Chad Connell of Connell Insurors Inc. earned his license to sell securities and is a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers. He has a bachelor's degree from St. Louis University and has eight years of experience in insurance.

Law enforcement

Springfield Police Department held an awards ceremony to honor civilians and officers. Certificates of commendation were presented to civilians Roni Lewis and Wayne Johnson. Lewis was honored for continued efforts in the community and Johnson was honored for saving the life of a victim with CPR. Officers receiving Meritorious Service Awards were Kelly Patton, Richard Noble, Dawn Duncan, Joey Kyle, Mark Sears, Jason Rust, Jason Kitta and Brent Beckley for their assistance at dwelling fires.

Pharmaceutical

Lynn Morris and Jerry Kling attended the mid-year conference and exhibition of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists in Tampa, Fla., earning 17 hours of continuing education. Both are fellows of the ASCP and specialists in geriatric pharmacy. Morris owns Family Pharmacy Inc. and Family Pharmacy Healthcare Services. Kling is the pharmacist manager of the long-term care pharmacy and primary consultant pharmacist.

Sports

Missouri Sports Hall of Fame held its 2003 enshrinement ceremonies. Receiving the annual Missouri Sports Achievement Awards were Al Hrabosky, Dennis Leonard and George Kissell, baseball; Christian Okoye and Conrad Dobler, football; Gil Rector, football coach; Jack Fette, NFL official; Al Waller and Jack Bush, basketball coaches; Bill Laurie, contributor; Rita Hoff Scott, racquetball; Marty Prather, Missouri sports fan; Charlie Campbell, fishing; and the 2002 Frontier Casino Players Softball Team. Ozarks Coca-Cola/Dr. Pepper Bottling Company and its owners Edwin C. "Cookie" Rice and Virginia R. "Tookie" Heer received the inaugural John Q. Hammons Founder's Awards. Six teams from Missouri received Sports Achievement Awards. Honored were Central Bible College men's basketball team, 2002 NCCAA national champions; Evangel University men's basketball team, 2002 NAIA Division II national champions; Lindenwood University wrestling team, 2002 NAIA national champions; Southwest Baptist University men's doubles tennis team, 2002 NCAA Division II national champions; Truman State University women's swim team, 2002 NCAA Division II national champions; and Webb City Little League baseball team, 2002 Little League World Series participant.

Trucking

Robert Low, president and owner of Prime Inc., was named top CEO in the category of refrigerated carriers by Transport Topics magazine. The company was also selected as one of the top five best-run trucking companies in the United States, according to the study conducted by Transport Topics.