Newsmakers: May 15-21, 2023

Art
The Springfield Art Museum’s 2023 Art In Bloom contest issued eight prize awards among three categories. The juried winners for floral design are Jennifer Herman of Countryside Gardens, Best In Show; Rcena Maness of Flowerama, Best Creative Arrangement; and Neletha Fuemmeler of Hickory Hills Country Club Floral, Best Traditional Technique. The juried winners for fashion design are Katie Jankovitz of Norman’s Bridal, Best in Show; Nate Branscom of Moon City Tailoring and Alterations, Best Creative Design Concept; and Sara Gonzalez of Ensembles of the Past, Best Traditional Use of Materials. The people’s choice winners are Cherrelle and Samuel Hitchcock of Flora & Forge, for floral design, and Kashena Star Northrip of The Fools Gladly, for fashion design. Cash prizes awarded totaled $11,500.

Banking & Finance
OMB Bank hired Oksana Kigilyuk as vice president and mortgage loan officer. In nearly 20 years of working in lending, she’s held posts with Home Mortgage Group and Bank of Little Rock Mortgage.

Health Care
Citizens Memorial Hospital added physician assistant Glenn Gardner to the staff at the El Dorado Springs Medical Center and Walk-In Clinic. Certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, he holds a bachelor’s in biology and general science from John Brown University in Arkansas and a master’s in physician assistant studies from Missouri State University.

CMH hired three registered nurses to leadership positions: Maeghan Kidd as director of clinic nursing and quality, Memory Curry as clinic educator and Kim Presley as the long-term care educator for CMH Foundation’s facilities. Kidd previously worked five years in clinic operations for Mercy Women’s Services. Curry is a former clinical instructor at Missouri Southern State University’s School of Nursing. Presley has worked 24 years for CMH, most recently as director of clinic nursing and quality.

Three Springfield-area health care systems received grades ranging from an A to a C for hospital safety standards in a report by The Leapfrog Group. Based on over 30 national performance measures involving patient safety, Mercy Hospital Springfield received an A grade, followed by CMH with a B and Cox South with a C. Mercy Hospital Springfield scored best in the categories of infections, safety problems and hospital staff; CMH rated best in preventing safety problems, performing better than the average in the areas of harmful events, dangerous bed sores, patient falls and injuries, falls that cause broken hips, collapsed lungs, dangerous blood clots, and air or gas bubbles in the blood; and Cox South’s high scores were in safety problems, with better than average scores in patient falls and injuries, collapsed lungs, dangerous blood clots, and air or gas bubbles in the blood.

Law
Carnahan Evans PC shareholder Joseph D. “Chip” Sheppard III was named to the 2023 Missouri Lawyers Media Power List as a Top 30 Mergers & Acquisitions attorney. The publication’s editorial team selects recipients based on attorney interviews, outcomes of significant cases and past reporting. Sheppard chairs Carnahan Evans’ cannabis/marijuana law group and is a member of its transactional practice group.

Nonprofit
Convoy of Hope hired LeAnne K. Krell as chief legal officer to oversee its global legal strategy beginning in August. She has nearly two decades of experience working for Casey’s General Stores Inc. (Nasdaq: CASY) for which she held the roles of vice president, deputy general counsel and chief compliance officer. Krell holds a Juris Doctor from Drake University and a master’s in strategic leadership from North Central University, and she is a U.S. Army veteran.

Technology
PCnet LLC earned an information technology security certification called the Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements No. 21 SOC 2 Type II. The system and organization controls standards are audited by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and recipients are continuously monitored to maintain security performance levels.