Newsmakers

New board members were selected for the Springfield Regional Arts Council. New board members for 2005-2006 are Jerry Clark, Allen Kunkel, Brad Noble, Carl Price and Aurora Robinson. Officers are Jodie Adams, president; Jeanie Morris, vice president; Lisa Blumenstock, secretary; Jared Scott, treasurer; and Christina Drale, immediate past president.

Education

Ozarks Technical Community College hired Kristen Westerman as coordinator of marketing and promotion. Her responsibilities include creating and implementing an integrated marketing plan for OTC. She graduated from Drury University with a bachelor’s degree in public relations and advertising and a master’s degree in communication. Westerman was coordinator of membership services for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Ozarks Regional Campus of Webster University added Erin E. Langley as the academic advisory and community relations coordinator. Langley has a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Forest Institute of Professional Psychology. She is responsible for student recruitment, program planning and public relations.

Six former Southwest Missouri State University faculty and staff members were recognized for their services with plaques on the SMSU Wall of Fame in Plaster Student Union.

The Wall of Fame class for 2005 was: Herbert J. Arkebauer, Don Landon, Ed Pierce, Vernon Renner, Robert Scott and Bernice Warren.

Family

Anita Dockstader was named project coordinator for Webster County Better Beginnings Program. The project, administered through the Parenting Life Skills Center of Springfield and funded by the Children’s Trust Fund, provides families with health needs assessments, development of family care plans, crisis intervention, parent education and coordination of community services.

Susan McCall was named director of development for Parenting Life Skills Center, a nonprofit organization serving southwest Missouri since 1990. PLSC serves families by teaching life skills in an environment that promotes self-worth and quality of life while helping prevent child abuse and neglect to keep families together. Her duties include fund-raising, public relations, marketing and communication.

Finance

Dwight E. Rahmeyer, Trust Company of the Ozarks CEO, was appointed 2005 chairman of the probate and trust committee for the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association. The committee addresses legal issues regarding probate and trust matters and provides educational seminars for attorneys and the general public. This is not Rahmeyer’s first stint as committee chair.

Paula Dougherty, certified financial planner with American Express Financial Advisors Inc.’s Springfield office, successfully completed the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor Professional Designation Program. Individuals who complete the program pass a final exam and sign a code of ethics and disclosure form.

Health care

CoxHealth announced several additions to its staff.

Dr. Stephen Holmes joined the internal medicine department of Ferrell-Duncan Clinic. Holmes attended University of Missouri-Columbia medical school and completed an internship and residency at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in St. Louis. He is a member of the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Louis B. Hakan joined Northside Pediatrics. Hakan attended medical school at the University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine-Kansas City. He completed his residency at Iowa Methodist Medical Center. His areas of specialty include general pediatrics and asthma treatment. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. JonBen Svoboda joined the Center for Internal Medicine, specializing in endocrinology. Svoboda earned his medical degree and completed his fellowship at the University of Nebraska and completed his residency in internal medicine as chief resident at University of Missouri-Columbia. He is a member of the American College of Physicians and the American Society of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Jennifer Lynch joined the neurology department at Ferrell-Duncan Clinic. Lynch is board-certified in sleep medicine, psychiatry and neurology. Her areas of expertise are in sleep medicine and epilepsy. Lynch earned her medical degree and completed her internship at the University of Kansas.

She is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Epilepsy Society.