Newsmakers: Feb. 17-23, 2025

Banking & Finance
Central Bank in Springfield promoted Terra Lenox and Karen Neff and hired Elaina O’Neal and Jessica Simmons. Lenox, who has been named training coordinator, has a bachelor’s in education from Southwest Baptist University. In her sixth year with Central Bank, Neff was promoted to retail officer and banking center manager for the company’s South National Avenue branch. The bank’s new professional development manager, O’Neal previously worked as a trainer at companies including Paddio and Veterans United Home Loans. Simmons was added as manager of loan operations and has a bachelor’s in business from Missouri State University.

Education
Tiffany Trogdon, who graduated from Strafford High School in 2018, joined the Ozarks Teacher Corps program that’s managed by Community Foundation of the Ozarks Inc. Currently studying education at Missouri State University, Trogdon plans to work as a middle-school mathematics teacher after graduation.

Health Care
Mercy Hospital Aurora and Mercy Hospital Lebanon made U.S. News & World Report’s list of the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care. The list ranked 414 hospitals nationwide on labor and delivery services.

Hospitality
Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale received Best in the Midwest honors in the Parents publication’s Family Travel Awards. Winners were selected based on factors such as accessibility, activities, location and hospitality.

Law
Omaha, Nebraska-based Kutak Rock LLP promoted Springfield attorneys Jeffrey W. Coffey, Paul D. Link and Ariel M. Sparrow to partner. A Kutak Rock employee since 2023, Coffey specializes in defense and litigation cases for health care clients, with a focus on issues such as insurance defense, medical malpractice and construction defense. With Kutak Rock since 2023, Link focuses on litigation for insurance carriers and corporate clients in state and federal courts, and he also represents numerous southwest Missouri cities in their day-to-day legal needs. Sparrow, a Kutak Rock employee since 2018, has a practice focusing on corporate and real estate transactions, and she has represented manufacturing, health care and technology clients in merger and acquisition transactions.

The Springfield Police Department promoted Lt. Annesha Umbarger to captain. Umbarger, who has 17 years of experience with the department, is the first female captain in its history. As captain, Umbarger oversees south Springfield patrol operations in the Uniform Operations Bureau.

Tatem DeWitt and Jake Estes were hired as lateral officers at the Springfield Police Department through the 23rd Lateral Police Academy, which provides paid training for experienced officers. Estes, who started his career with the Christian County Sheriff’s Office, most recently spent six years on the Combined Ozarks Multi-Jurisdictional Enforcement Team Task Force. With 25 years of local experience, DeWitt retired from the Springfield Police Department in 2024 and became an officer after first being rehired in an administrative role.

Music
Ernie Williamson Music promoted Amanda Rueter to president. An employee at the company since 2017, Rueter has a bachelor’s in finance and MBA from Missouri State University.

Nonprofit
Sarah Cook, vice president and human resources officer for OakStar Bank, joined the board of Fair Grove-based nonprofit Jobs for America’s Graduates Missouri. JAG Missouri helps students overcome graduation barriers and integrate into the workforce.