Newsmakers: Dec. 15-21, 2025

Chambers of Commerce
The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce hired Conner Neal as member relations coordinator. With a bachelor’s from Missouri State University, Neal previously served as an area manager for Amazon.

Education
Junee Townsend, who serves as Ozark School District’s Kids in Talented Educational Studies elementary teacher, was chosen as the 2025 McDonald’s Outstanding Educator out of more than 480 nominations from 126 participating restaurants. An Ozark School District staff member has received the award for three consecutive years. 

Missouri State University’s Efactory, home to the Missouri Small Business Development Center, was honored with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s SBDC Excellence and Innovation Award for the Great Plains Region. The recognition honors impact on the growth of small businesses and regional entrepreneurship.

Health Care
The Fordland Clinic received the 2025 Gold Level Clinical Quality Award from the Missouri Primary Care Association. The honor recognizes community health centers statewide for quality improvement and patient care. The Fordland Clinic met eight out of 10 clinical quality measures established by the MPCA.

Law
The Greene County Sheriff’s Office named Deputy Jonah Beadles as public information officer. A law enforcement officer since 2017 who joined the Greene County Sheriff’s Office as a detention officer before becoming a patrol canine handler, Beadles is a graduate of the Drury University Law Enforcement Academy.

Brett Hodges, an attorney at Carnahan Evans PC, was elected to represent District 11 on The Missouri Bar Young Lawyers’ Section Council. A Carnahan Evans employee since 2024, Hodges earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri School of Law.

Nonprofit
Alexandria McLeod was promoted to chief operations officer by Barnabas Foundation Inc., operator of the Camp Barnabas summer camp in Purdy for individuals with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Previously the nonprofit’s data operations analyst, McLeod has a master’s in applied and resource economics from the University of Connecticut and a master’s in agricultural and extension education from the University of Arkansas.

Leadership Springfield added Ryan Morris to its board of directors. A graduate of Leadership Springfield’s Signature Class 43, Morris works as director of talent development at CoxHealth.

Sales
The Center for Sales Strategy hired Janelle Grove as vice president and managing director of The Growth Collective, a newly launched sales leadership initiative. With a bachelor’s in business administration and marketing from Drury University, Grove previously worked for seven years at SummitMedia LLC, most recently as senior vice president of sales development.

Sports
The Ozarks Lunkers hired Kristina Boyer as an account executive. With 26 years of experience in customer relations, relationship building and community engagement, Boyer most recently worked at Graddy Real Estate.

Utilities
White River Valley Electric Cooperative CEO Chris Hamon was inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame by the Missouri Institute of Cooperatives. With over 40 years of service at WRVEC, Hamon has served as its CEO since 1999. Hamon is scheduled to retire from WRVEC in September 2026.