Newsmakers: March 21-27, 2016

Accounting
Abacus CPAs LLC added certified public accountant Blaire Chrouser to its transportation team as the problem resolution supervisor. Chrouser earned a bachelor’s in accounting from University of Arkansas and a master’s in accountancy from Missouri State University.

Andy Williams was named a partner in BKD LLP’s Southern Missouri practice. He is a member of the BKD National Health Care Group and holds a bachelor’s in accounting from MSU.

Brandon Talty, a staff accountant with KPM CPAs & Advisors, completed the CPA examination and earned his CPA license. He has a bachelor’s in accounting and finance from Drury University.

BRS CPAs & Advisors hired Celynda Blackburn as supervisor of accounting services and Zachary Buxton as staff accountant. Blackburn has worked eight years in public accounting and 20 years in finance and accounting. Buxton recently graduated from MSU with a bachelor’s in accounting and master’s of accountancy.

Architecture and Design
Rene Wade joined Buddy Webb & Co. Architects as a project manager. A graduate of Drury’s School of Architecture, Wade is pursuing licensure in the state of Missouri.

Nathan Taylor of Obelisk Home was nominated for Traditional Home Magazine’s 2016 New Trads Rising Stars of Design. Chosen designers will be announced in the magazine’s July/August issue.

Banking and Finance
RPS Financial Group hired Andrew Cole and Doug Hungerford as financial representatives for Northwestern Mutual products.

Education
The Higher Learning Commission granted MSU full accreditation for another 10 years. The school passed a comprehensive self-study and evaluation visit.

Nixa Public School’s eXtended Learning Time program received a certificate of accreditation from Missouri Accreditation. The recognition is granted to programs with developmentally appropriate experiences for children.

Three Ozark School District employees and one volunteer were honored by the Finley River Community Foundation. Lisa Esch of North Elementary won the Helen Hawkins Award as Elementary Teacher of the Year. Esch has taught 26 years, mostly in Ozark. Terry Thompson of Ozark High School junior ROTC was named Secondary Teacher of the Year. Thompson’s 21-year teaching career has been spent in Ozark. Cathy Kindle, a library aide in the Upper Elementary, was named Support Staff of the Year. Kindle has worked 12 years for Ozark. Ralph Phillips was named Volunteer of the Year for his five years of service to East Elementary.

Engineering
Justin Gathright and Reed Norphy joined Interpres Building Solutions as project engineers.
 
With a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology, Gathright has nine years of industry experience. Norphy is a recent graduate with a bachelor’s in architectural engineering from Missouri S&T.

Dallas Carlisle joined Olsson Associates Inc.’s Springfield field-services team. With 50 years of experience in civil and architectural projects, Carlisle has worked at Olsson Associates’ Kansas City office since 2011.

Retail
Bass Pro Shops was named a top retailer in customer satisfaction by ForeSee, a customer-solutions publication, for its mobile, Web and in-store customer experiences. ForeSee conducted 40,000 anonymous surveys during the holiday shopping season.

Sales
Angela Hudson joined Reachmodo as director of sales. She oversees the strategic expansion of the text message marketing company’s national sales force.

Springfield Pool and Spa sales and service managers Scott and Kelly Thomas received a trip to Marbella, Spain, for hitting their sales goal for the second year in a row for Hot Spring Spas.

Service
Covington Holdings Inc. and Ashley HomeStore received an honorable mention for the Chairman’s Award from Ashley Furniture Industries for performance and commitment to community service. The top awards are given to the top two Ashley HomeStore licensees.

Ivan Eftink, owner of Bug Zero, was installed as president of Associated Pest Control Services at the organization’s February meeting in Austin, Texas. APCS is a national association of independently owned pest control service companies.