Newsmakers

Jill Morrison joined Kirkpatrick, Phillips & Miller, CPAs, PC as a staff accountant to assist with general tax and accounting work. Morrison previously served as a staff accountant in the corporate offices of Waterway Gas & Wash Co. in St. Louis. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Missouri Southern State University.

Architecture

Greg Mitchell joined H Design Group as a project architect. Mitchell earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Drury University in 1996. He is licensed in 13 states and has 10 years of experience with a primary focus on religious and civic design.

Automotive

Reliable Superstore named Tom MacDonald general sales manager. He is responsible for overseeing the Toyota, BMW, Lexus and Scion sales staff. MacDonald was most recently with Midway Auto Team Group in Phoenix. He has more than 25 years of experience in the automotive industry, including 15 years as vice president with Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

Community

Christenson Transportation Inc. was named top fund-raiser of the year for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Southwest Missouri. Company associates, owner-operators and fleet drivers raised more than $5,200 for NAMI through fund-raisers such as dress down Fridays, a raffle and participation in the Springfield Walk for Mental Health.

Kerri Duncan of Rivendale Institute of Learning II received the 2005 Women Mean Business Award from the Business and Professional Women of Missouri Association. Duncan was one of three women honored at the Jefferson City event. The awards were given for outstanding leadership, business savvy, community involvement and educational opportunities for women in the field.

Education

Southwest Missouri State University President Michael Nietzel named Paul Kincaid as his chief of staff, a new position for the university. Kincaid is SMSU director of university relations and coordinator of governmental relations. If approved by the SMSU Board of Governors, the chief-of-staff job would be effective July 1 and Kincaid would retain his existing duties.

Evangel University was recognized by Christianity Today magazine as the No. 1 Place to Work in the category of Christian Higher Education. The results of the survey were published in the May 2005 edition of Christianity Today. Best Christian Workplaces Institute solicited self-nominations from qualified employers nationwide and conducted a confidential online survey last fall.

Springfield Hillcrest High School senior Emily Miles received the 2005 John Cannon Memorial Scholarship from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Miles was chosen from 245 high school seniors nationwide for the $40,000 scholarship, awarded to a student planning a career in television or a related field.

Evangel’s yearbook, The Excalibur, received an All-American award from the Associated Collegiate Press Association and was named a finalist in the ACP Pacemaker competition. Evangel is one of 14 finalists chosen from 62 colleges that submitted yearbooks for the competition. The winner will be announced Oct. 27 in New Orleans.

Government

Missouri Public Service Commission appointed Wess Henderson as its new executive director. He is responsible for the overall administrative functions and policy direction of the PSC staff, as well as serving as the primary liaison between the commissioners and the staff. Henderson has served as interim executive director since January.

Sherita Henderson received one of 11 Lieutenant Governor’s Service Awards from Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder at a May 10 ceremony at the State Capitol. Henderson’s award, given for her efforts in service learning, was part of the celebration of Missouri Service Day, in which nearly 500 national service participants and directors from across the state gathered in Jefferson City.

Health care

The Missouri Senate approved Springfield surgeon John Buckner III to the State Board of Health for a four-year term. Gov. Matt Blunt appointed Buckner, a general surgeon at Ferrell-Duncan Clinic. He also serves on the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks’ board and Ferrell-Duncan Clinic’s executive board.

CoxHealth was the recipient of the 2005 Cure. Care. Commitment Award from the American Diabetes Association. Recipients must have made a significant difference in the lives of people affected by diabetes and support the mission of the American Diabetes Association to prevent and cure diabetes. The award was given at the ADA’s May 13 Red Ball gala at University Plaza.

ProEthic Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Montgomery, Ala.-based prescription product marketer, appointed Andrea Elliott as its sales representative for the Springfield area. Elliott markets all 15 of ProEthic’s proprietary lines of prescription products to physicians and pharmacies in the Springfield area.

Lynn Morris and Ron Duncan of Family Pharmacy Healthcare Services recently attended the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists Mid-Year Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Fla. The conference included more than 35 hours of clinical sessions, which covered diseases and conditions affecting seniors including diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, breast cancer, HIV and AIDS.

Insurance

Paula Goodin, vice president of Barker-Phillips-Jackson Inc., was promoted to manager of the commercial lines department for all Barker-Phillips-Jackson locations. Goodin is a BPJ veteran of 11 years and serves as assistant secretary of the BPJ Board of Directors.

Pat Connell of Connell Insurance Inc. recently attended Institute of WorkComp Advisor’s Symposium in Chapel Hill, N.C., and received a certified workcomp advisor designation. Since October 2001, 176 insurance brokers have earned the designation, given to those with a depth of knowledge about workers’ compensation insurance.

Jewelry

Jewelers Jay Casey and Rick McElvaine of Maxon’s Jewelry recently completed training in California, where they received certification to use LaserStar welder workstation. The system gives Maxon’s the ability to repair jewelry that can’t be repaired with a traditional jeweler’s torch. Laser welding is faster and cleaner than traditional soldering techniques.

Law

Millie Donohoe was awarded the Equal Access to Justice Award by the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association and Legal Services of Southern Missouri. The award recognizes the commitment of volunteer time to Legal Services of Southern Missouri clients by a private attorney. In 2004, Donohoe donated 410 hours to legal aid clients.

Farris Law Group recently added Troy M. Bear as an attorney in its Branson office. Bear is a graduate of the University of Tulsa College of Law and received a master’s degree in criminal justice. He is licensed to practice law throughout the state of Missouri. Prior to joining the firm, Bear was a legal assistant for the Tulsa County Public Defenders Office at the Juvenile Bureau.

Law Enforcement

The Missouri State Highway Patrol honored 17 employees at its annual awards banquet May 7 in Jefferson City. Local award winners were Trooper Clinton S. Mason of Troop D, who won a Lifesaving Award for saving a drowning man in Butler Creek, and Troop D Sgt. Dale B. Hemphill, who successfully performed the Heimlich maneuver on a choking man at a restaurant in Collins.

Branson Assistant Police Chief Caroll McCullough was selected as Branson’s new police chief, effective July 1. McCullough replaces Steve Mefford, who is retiring June 30 after 21 years with the department. McCullough has been with the Branson Police Department since 1988, when he started as a patrolman. He has been assistant police chief since 1990.

Promotional products

Instant Imprints named Craig Funk store manager. Funk has been in the advertising specialties and promotional products industry for 11 years, the past five years with Ozark-based ad agency The Team, where he founded the Trail Gear promotional products division. Instant Imprints offers ad specialties, embroidery, banners, signs and screen printing services. Funk is in charge of all aspects of the business.