Newsmakers

Accounting
Richard D. Dugas joined the staff of Kirkpatrick, Phillips & Miller, CPAs PC as a supervising consultant. Dugas performs information technology audits and provide consultant services, including policy development, risk assessments and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act compliance for financial institutions.
Dugas has 18 years of experience with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., most recently conducting information technology examinations on banks and small data centers in southwest Missouri and western Kansas.

Advertising
Rachael Morrow joined ADsmith Communications as human resources specialist. Morrow is helping the company offer a new range of services, including strategic planning, new employee orientations, policy and procedure development, employee manual development, employee retention programs, organizational structure, performance evaluation, benefit tax and law audits, basic risk management and information of general labor and business law.

Agriculture
Howard Hardecke, of Bolivar, was elected president of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association during the group’s annual meeting and convention. Hardecke, a Greene County native who began ranching near Springfield, helped organize the Greene County Cattlemen’s Association and has served as its president. He owns and manages a commercial cow-and-calf operation on 370 acres south of Bolivar.

Communications
Alltel Corp. named Jay Porter as its new vice president of retail services for northwest Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma and Missouri. Porter manages retail and indirect channel operations with four sales managers covering an area from northern Missouri to Springfield and western Arkansas to eastern Oklahoma. Previously, Porter was manager of wireless retail operations for southern Arkansas, northern Louisiana and east and central Texas. He has been with the company for eight years.
Vodavi Technology Inc. named Springfield-based All Comm Technologies its top dealer for outstanding performance during the past year. In addition, All Comm earned induction into Vodavi’s 2005 President’s Club; it is one of only 20 authorized dealers in the United States to earn the honor. This is the second consecutive year that All Comm has been named a President’s Club member. All Comm serves southwest Missouri, northwest Arkansas, southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma.

Community
Springfield Fire Department Battalion Chief David Hall was named Fire Officer of the Year at the department’s annual Retirement and Awards Banquet on the campus of Ozarks Technical Community College. In addition, Hall, who has been involved in saving two lives, is the Fire Service Instructor of the Year for the University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute, and an Everyday Heroes award recipient, given by the American Red Cross Greater Ozarks Chapter and KY3.
Ozarks Food Harvest received the first place Summer Sunshine Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its Club FUN program. Club FUN, which stands for fitness, understanding health and nutrition, is a 10-week nutrition and physical activity training program to encourage healthy lifestyles and decrease childhood obesity. The Community Development Block Grant-funded program began last summer at the Springfield Community Center.

Education
Gary Gray, professor of chemistry at Bolivar’s Southwest Baptist University, was honored with the Excellence in Teaching award at the Governor’s Conference on Higher Education in Columbia. Gray was one of 74 teachers and faculty members from postsecondary schools, colleges and universities to be given the award. Recipients were selected by their respective institutions for their effective teaching and advising, service to the school community, commitment to high standards of excellence and success in nurturing student achievement.
U.S. Sen. Kit Bond received an honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla during the school’s fall commencement ceremony. The honorary degree is the first for Sen. Bond from the University of Missouri system. Bond also delivered the commencement address during the ceremony.
A. Steven Younger, Southwest Missouri State University lecturer of physics, astronomy and materials science, and Emmett Redd, associate professor of physics, astronomy and materials science, received a $49,626 grant from the National Science Foundation for their “Investigating Optical Hardware, Fixed-Weight Learning Neural Networks” project. The grant will help buy equipment to demonstrate optical computing – the process of using light signals to learn tasks.
SMSU named Gordon Elliott to its board of governors. Elliott of Elliott Lodging and accounting firm Elliott, Robinson & Co. is a 1965 graduate of the university. The Missouri Senate recently confirmed his appointment.

Employment
DiversityBusiness.com, a multicultural, business-to-business online magazine, named Penmac to two of the magazine’s lists. Patti Penny’s Penmac ranked third on the list of the top 50 diversity-owned businesses in Missouri and was No. 101 on the list of the top 500 diversity-owned businesses in the country.
The winning companies will be honored during a March 30-April 2 event at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn.

Finance
The Signature Bank named two new executives. Judy Spencer is president of the East Kearney Street location and Don Cowherd is president of the Sunset Street branch, located at 2655 S. Campbell Ave. Spencer has more than 30 years of banking experience and is also the president of Kiwanis North, board
secretary for Greene Haven Nursing Home, treasurer for North Springfield Betterment Association and a board member of the History Museum for Springfield and Greene County. Cowherd has more than 20 years of banking experience and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the University of Missouri.

Healthcare
Dave Friggle joined the board of the Skaggs Foundation as a community representative. Friggle, a semiretired businessman from Branson, will serve a two-year term to expire in August 2007. He is president of Streamwood Corp., a property management and development company.

Insurance
Nixon & Lindstrom Insurance named Trevor Crist, RHU, as its 2004 Agent of the Year. Crist is an employee benefit specialist concentrating on group health insurance for businesses. He is a graduate of SMSU and an active member in several industry and community organizations.

Law
Springfield Area Legal Support Profes-sionals presented several awards during its annual Bosses Night. The Outstanding New Member award went to Blanche Brasser of Daniel B. Johnson Law Office. Edie Collins, PLS, of St. John’s Health Systems, was named Legal Secretary of the Year. The Boss of the Year Award went to Gail L. Fredrick of Fredrick, Rogers and Vaughn PC.

Manufacturing
Karl G. Glassman, executive vice president for Leggett & Platt Inc. and head of its residential furnishings segment, recently spoke to the investment community at the UBS Home Building and Building Products Conference in London. Leggett & Platt manufactures engineered products for home, office, retail store and automotive use.
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