Newsmakers in Banking & Finance

Byron Pierce was promoted to senior vice president and team leader of Commerce Bank's commercial banking division in the Springfield region. He has eight years of business lending experience with Commerce and has served as a vice president and commercial lender. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from McMurry University in Abilene, Texas.

Crystal Sharp was promoted to commercial real estate loan officer with Commerce Bank. She is a graduate of Missouri State University with a bachelor's degree in business finance and management.

David A. Richards, certified financial planner, was promoted to director of investment services at Pension Consultants Inc. He oversees daily operations of the company's investment services team, including research of money management firms and individual managers. He also is a member of Pension Consultants' investment committee.

Stephen Gintz, certified public accountant, joined Tucker & Co. CPAs as a staff accountant, perfoming tax services for businesses and individuals and preparing financial statements. He is a certified QuickBooks adviser and a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor's degree in finance and banking.

Penny Lacy was promoted to senior vice president, human resources manager and branch administrator for Arvest Bank's locations in Springfield, Branson and Hollister. She has 19 years of banking experience, 14 of them with Arvest. She is responsible for recruiting associates and coordinating training, benefits, incentives and advancement opportunities for Arvest employees.

Norm Bownds joined Metropolitan National Bank as vice president and chief technology officer, managing computer system technology for the bank to ensure the security of electronic information. He holds a bachelor's degree in computer information systems.

Darwin Bickford joined Arvest Bank as a commercial loan officer in Springfield. He previously was executive vice president and chief lending officer at OakStar Bank. At Arvest, he is responsible for generation, evaluation, processing, closing and servicing of commercial loans. He holds a bachelor's degree in agricultural business from Fort Hays University.

Marina B. Wiley, director of Employee Retirement Income Security Act services at Pension Consultants Inc., was named to PlanAdviser magazine's annual listing of The Most Successful Retirement Plan Advisers in the nation. The listing was published in the magazine's December 2008 issue. Wiley was one of three advisers named in the category for client plans that collectively total between $1 billion and $2 billion under advisement.

Renée Blackwell joined Metropolitan National Bank as cash management sales officer at the bank's center on South Glenstone Avenue. Blackwell is a graduate of the University of North Texas, and she has experience in banking and lending. She focuses on technology enhancements to support commercial deposit growth and on establishing new banking relationships.

Tuesday Blair was promoted to mortgage loan officer at Arvest Bank's Hollister location. Blair has six years of mortgage lending experience and joined Arvest in 2007.

Sheri Shaffer joined BancorpSouth as senior vice president and director of Premier Banking, BancorpSouth's private banking group. She has more than 23 years of banking, lending and relationship management experience and has completed several banking classes, including Wealth Management for Private Bankers, through Cannon Financial Institute.

Adam T. Eadens joined Waddell & Reed as a financial adviser serving the Springfield area. He is a graduate of Western Kentucky University and previously worked for three years as a copy editor at Springfield News-Leader. In his new role, Eadens helps clients develop customized financial plans and recommends investment strategies.

Commerce Bank's commercial banking services division was chosen for two 2008 Greenwich Excellence Awards for middle-market banking. Honorees were chosen through a national, research-based survey of nearly 17,000 businesses, and Commerce was honored in the Overall Satisfaction and Overall Satisfaction-Treasury Management categories.

Sue Butts, certified fraud examiner and supervisor with Elliott, Robinson & Co. LLP, earned the certified in financial forensics designation from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Carolyn M. Hoffman joined Walnut Capital Management LLC as an investment adviser. She has more than 11 years of experience in the Springfield financial community, working previously with Citi Smith Barney. At Walnut Capital Management, Hoffman provides client advice and offers investment options.

Arvest Bank hired Tammy Watkins as assistant manager at its Branson Landing location. She assists with the oversight of daily branch operations. Watkins has experience in retail and sales, including 10 years as a Disney employee, and also is a licensed Realtor.

BKD LLP Partner Angela Morelock and Senior Managing Consultant Jeffrey Roberts earned the certified in financial forensics designation. Morelock, a certified forensic accountant and certified fraud examiner, leads BKD's forensic accounting and investigations team. She is a 1993 summa cum laude graduate of MSU. Roberts also is a certified fraud examiner. He has more than 13 years of experience and is a 1995 cum laude graduate of MSU.

Glenda Bond has qualified for the 16th time to participate in Waddell & Reed's annual Circle of Champions conference, to be held in July in Philadelphia. The event recognizes the company's top financial advisers, based on an analysis of investments and generation of insurance and financial planning sales.

Jeff Jones joined Empire Bank as manager of the Hammons Tower location, leading retail operations and business development. He has supervisory, banking and military experience and is a magna cum laude graduate of MSU, where he earned a bachelor's degree in finance and a Master of Business Administration.

Brent Singleton was promoted to partner with Heim, Young & Associates Inc. A certified financial planner, Singleton has a bachelor's degree in business management from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a Master of Business Administration from Drury University. Singleton has been with Heim, Young & Associates for five years.

LFE Institute hired Joannie Miller as Certified Workplace Money Coach director. Miller has more than 20 years of banking and lending experience, including serving as a regional manager with Citibank. In her new role, Miller is responsible for program coordination and certification training for money coaches.

Commerce Bank promoted Brenda Snider to retail banking specialist. She coordinates Benefits Banking, Commerce's workplace banking program, and the Senior Partners program. She has more than 40 years of experience with Commerce.

Ron Penney, president of Penney, Murray and Associates, was recognized as a top financial planner by the Consumers' Research Council of America, a Washington, D.C.-based independent research company that evaluates professional services. The selection is based on a point-value system that gives points for education, years in practice and professional affiliations. Penney has been with Ameriprise Financial for 26 years, including serving as field vice president, division vice president, regional director of financial planning and financial advice/training manger.

He holds certified financial planner and chartered financial consultant designations.

Ron Rushing was named senior vice president and chief credit officer for Marshfield Investment Co., the holding company for Metropolitan National Bank. He has a bachelor's degree from Drury University and a Master of Business Administration from Lincoln University.

Rushing previously served as a safety and soundness examiner with the Missouri Division of Finance.

In his new role, he is responsible for establishing policies and procedures to monitor credit risk and overseeing the bank's loan portfolio.