Newsmakers: May 11-17, 2026

Banking & Finance
Arvest Bank’s Springfield region promoted Sarah Lowe, Summer Massey and Zion Spurgeon. An Arvest employee since 1996, Lowe was promoted to vice president and business banking manager. Massey, who was named executive vice president and loan manager, has been with Arvest since 2012. Promoted to senior vice president and commercial loan manager, Spurgeon has 14 years of industry experience.

Strategic Financial added Gage Smart to its team as the company’s newest adviser. With a bachelor’s in financial planning from Missouri State University, Smart owned and operated a residential painting business before joining Strategic Financial.

Paula Dougherty, a financial adviser with Achieve Private Wealth/Ameriprise Financial Services LLC, was named by Forbes to the Best-In-State Wealth Advisors List. The list recognizes financial advisers for their ethical standards, professionalism and business success. Dougherty has 31 years of experience at Ameriprise Financial.

Education
Drury University sophomore Lauren Coleman was named a finalist for the Delta Scholars Award. The program is a summer collaboration between Harvard University and Mississippi State University’s Shackouls Honors College and features students from the Delta Region, which includes Missouri. Coleman is a music therapy major with a minor in exercise physiology.

Evangel University students earned five first-place finishes in the Missouri Future Business Leaders of America conference in St. Joseph. The students will participate in the 2026 Collegiate National Leadership Conference in Las Vegas in June.

Entertainment
Palen Music Center appointed Trey Hathcock as director of marketing and e-commerce. An alumnus of Missouri State University, Hathcock’s work experience includes Clear Creek Golf Car, University Heights Baptist Church and Opfer Communications Inc.

Healthcare
Justin Bryant received Citizens Memorial Hospital’s 2026 Patient Safety Award. Bryant, who is supervisor for CMH plant and facilities, was honored for his commitment to patient and staff safety.

CMH hired Vickie Pence to its medical staff. With 28 years of experience, she sees patients at CMH’s emergency department. Pence has a master’s in physician assistant studies from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, and she is certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

Law
Joseph S. Passanise, managing partner of Wampler & Passanise Law Office PC, received the Bernie Edelman Tradition Award from the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The award, presented at the association’s annual conference in March, recognizes a criminal defense attorney for mentorship of young attorneys.

Nonprofit
The Foundation for Springfield Public Schools selected the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce as its 2026 Corporate Partner of the Year, and it recognized Peter Lai and Jackie Fu with the Advocate for Education honor.

Trucking
Never Satisfied Builds, a division of J&L Contracting LLC, received first-place honors in the Mid-America Trucking Show’s Big Rig Build-Off. Custom builds were evaluated on creativity, craftsmanship and overall execution.