Newsmakers: Jan. 18-24, 2016

Accounting
BRS CPAs LLC added Cindy Hoop, Caitlin Golike and Ashley Anderson. Hoop, who has 20 years of experience in public accounting, was hired as a payroll specialist and accountant. With two years of nonprofit-administration experience, Golike joined as an audit associate, and Anderson joined the firm as a part-time intern.

Banking and Finance
Heather Ramsey joined Springfield First Community Bank as senior vice president of private banking and business services. Ramsey has 25 years of experience in private banking, lending and retail management.

Education
Gov. Jay Nixon appointed Anita Oplotnik, of Fair Grove, to the Missouri Southern State University Board of Governors. Oplotnik, who is branch manager for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in Springfield, holds a bachelor’s from MSSU and an MBA in finance from Missouri State University.

Mark Grabowski, Southwest Baptist University’s director of safety and security, was elected 2016 chairman of the American Society for Industrial Security of the Ozarks. Area security professionals are members of ASIS International’s regional chapter.

Government
Doug Bowerman, Lawrence County’s assessor since 2005, was named 2016 president of the Missouri State Assessors Association. A member of the MSAA executive board since 2013, he also is a member of the International Association of Assessing Officers and has led the 19-county Southwest Assessors Association.

Jay and first lady Georganne Nixon were named 2015 Bass Pro Shops’ Conservation Partners of the Year in recognition of their commitment to conservation and Missouri’s outdoor economy.

Rick Hess, city administrator for Battlefield, earned the Missouri Certified Municipal Official designation from the Missouri Municipal Governance Institute. Organized by the Missouri Municipal League, 12 officials recently completed the program and more than 185 are enrolled.

Health Care
Dr. Chetan Soni of Citizens Memorial Hospital in Bolivar was among 1,679 surgeons worldwide to be named a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. A board-certified ophthalmologist, Soni earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Baroda, India.

Dr. Robert Ford Jr., a family medicine physician with the CMH Osceola Medical Center and Walk-In Clinic, earned board certification by the American Board of Family Medicine. Ford attended medical school at the University of Arkansas.

The American Hospital Association presented Mercy hospital system with the distinction of 2015 Most Wired Advanced. In examining how information technology improves infrastructure, quality and safety, and clinical integration, advanced organizations also have demonstrated improved chronic disease management services for patients at home as well as care that is typically based on medical literature.

Law
Lori Rook, an attorney and managing member of Ozarks Elder Law, was selected as a 2015 Rising Star by Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers.
Rook joins roughly 2.5 percent of lawyers under 40 years of age who have practiced law for less than 10 years in Kansas or Missouri.

Marketing
Calibrate Marketing hired Obi Simpson as a search engine optimization and content specialist. He is co-owner of Take the Lead dance studio.

Nonprofit
Community Partnership of the Ozarks received a $703,332 grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health to make parent education available to all residents of Greene County over the next three years. Collaborative agencies plan to teach best practices, dubbed Triple P-Positive Parenting Programs.

Springfield-Greene County Library District hired Ingrid Bohnenkamp as manager of the Park Central Branch Library. She previously worked as reference manager at the Midtown Carnegie Branch.

Marty Willadsen was promoted to executive vice president of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Willadsen, who holds a bachelor’s from Missouri Valley College, has been on staff since 2004 and has directed operations and administration.

Ozarks Food Harvest earned four out of four stars from Charity Navigator evaluations. About a quarter of charities receive the four-star rating for fiduciary and governance responsibilities, and this is the fourth year in a row for OFH.

Real Estate
The Tri-Lakes Board of Realtors named Jon Holloway of Gerken & Associates Inc. as 2015 Realtor of the Year. He has served the board from committee member to president, including the role of vice chairman of the workgroup that formed the SOMO Regional MLS, and was Rookie of the Year in 2009.

Roofing
Brian Draper, superintendent for Queen City Roofing, completed the National Roofing Contractor Association’s ProForeman Certificate Program.
The program is designed to help foremen become better team leaders and representatives for their companies.

Sales
Copy Products Inc. was recognized as a 2015 Elite Dealer by ENX Magazine. The publication cited CPI’s handling of client issues and the addition of digital signage products.