Accounting Brooke Meier, staff accountant at Tucker & Co. PC, earned the certified public accountant designation. Meier holds a bachelor’s in business administration from Drury University and a master’s in accountancy with a forensic accounting emphasis from Missouri State University.
Banking and Finance Trust Company of The Ozarks hired Beth Koppang and Molly Riddle as administrative assistants focusing on client service. Koppang previously worked at Ernst & Young LLC, and Riddle is a Drury University graduate with a bachelor’s in advertising and public relations.
Metropolitan National Bank promoted Kandice Higdon to associate vice president-online services manager and Megan Neyer to associate vice president-customer service center manager. Higdon, formerly assistant online services manager, began her career with Metropolitan in 2010. Neyer joined the bank in 2008 and previously served as assistant customer service center manager.
Metropolitan National Bank named Jamie Esch community bank president of the Tri-Lakes market. Esch has 18 years of banking experience, having worked most recently as senior vice president and chief lending officer for Peoples Bank. Esch holds a bachelor’s in business administration from West Texas A&M University.
Distribution MillerCoors honored Heart of America Beverage Co. with the President’s Award at its distributors convention in San Diego, Calif. The award recognizes top distributors across five U.S. sales regions, and the Springfield company received the honor based on its performance in Arkansas.
Education MSU made several personnel moves in the president’s office with the impending retirement of Chief of Staff Paul Kincaid. MSU legal counsel Ryan DeBoef was named chief of staff and assistant to the president for governmental relations, and Jim Baker added federal governmental relations to his position as vice president for research, economic development and international programs. Suzanne Shaw was named vice president for marketing and communications. Shaw most recently worked at Purdue University as assistant vice president of strategic marketing and market research.
MSU General Counsel Penni Groves was appointed legal counsel, and Rachael Dockery, previously the assistant general counsel at CoxHealth, took the school’s general counsel position.
Springfield Public Schools’ finance department was recognized for excellence in financial reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association. The department was selected by a panel of judges based on its reporting practices and transparency.
Government The Missouri Department of National Resources awarded the city of Springfield a $715,000 grant for the South Creek Restoration Project. The project will remove the concrete channel and restore the creek in a one-mile section along Sunset Street between Campbell Avenue and Kansas Expressway.
Gov. Jay Nixon appointed Charlotte Haden as public administrator for Cedar County. The office manager for Jenkins Financial Group in Stockton, Haden previously served as the Cedar County public administrator in 2012.
Health Care Phoenix Home Care promoted Susan Bohning to corporate training coach. Bohning has experience implementing workplace strategies and owned a business in Lenexa, Kan.
Insurance Robbie Marks joined HM Employee Benefit and Risk Management Specialists as vice president of benefits. A former producer with Cox HealthPlans, Marks has 15 years of management and sales experience, and he holds a bachelor’s in sales and marketing from MSU.
Nixon & Lindstrom Insurance hired 20-year insurance industry veteran Luanna Halley as a personal insurance customer service representative.
Croley Insurance & Financial hired Austin Hamlet and Derek Pon as insurance advisers. Hamlet, who worked previously as an underwriter for Gresham & Associates Inc., has seven years of experience, and Pon is an MSU graduate with a bachelor’s in business administration.
Law Former Husch Blackwell LLP partner Richard Russell joined Ollis and Co. as general counsel and risk adviser. With a law degree from Rutgers University and a bachelor’s in accounting from Arizona State University, he handles strategic risk planning for individuals and organizations.
Media Gannett Co. Inc. named Paul Berry executive director of news and engagement of the Springfield News-Leader and The Baxter Bulletin in Mountain Home, Ark. Berry worked previously as digital editor/engagement editor at The Coloradoan in Fort Collins, Colo.
Technology Jack Henry & Associates Inc. promoted David Foss to president after serving as president of the firm’s ProfitStars division. Russ Bernthal succeeds Foss in the ProfitStars division, after joining the company in 2005 through the acquisition of Tangent Analytics Inc., where he served as president and CEO.
Jack Henry & Associates also promoted Greg Adelson to general manager of payments and Dennis Gorges to general manager of enterprise risk management.
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
