Newsmakers: Nov. 17-23, 2025

Banking & Finance
Arvest Bank hired Theo Oghide, Marcus Puryear and Ashley Riecke and promoted Luke Johnson. Oghide and Puryear have joined the company as commercial bankers at Arvest Bank’s Republic Road branch; Riecke is serving as a business banker at the Republic Road branch; and Johnson was promoted to business banker at the company’s Fremont Avenue branch. Oghide, who most recently worked at OakStar Bank, has a bachelor’s in exercise science from Southwest Baptist University and an MBA from Western Governors University. Formerly with The Bank of Missouri, Puryear has a bachelor’s in general finance from Drury University. Riecke has previous experience at Central Bank. Johnson has a bachelor’s in general finance from Southern New Hampshire University.

Simmons Bank Private Wealth hired Cathryn McNary and Candice Reed as senior wealth specialists. Formerly with Southwest Missouri Bank, McNary has a bachelor’s in political science from Missouri State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas School of Law. Reed, who has recent experience with U.S. Bank, has a bachelor’s from MSU.

Education
The Missouri State University Board of Governors inducted former staff members Kathy Davis and Don Simpson to the school’s Wall of Fame. The Wall of Fame now recognizes nearly 150 individuals. Davis led the university’s Academic Advising and Transfer Center for two decades. With more than 40 years of service at MSU, Simpson was the university’s founding leader of enrollment management and services.

The MSU board recognized faculty Gordana Lazic, Tayo Obafemi-Ajayi and Sarah Tipton and staff Campbell Keele, Alaina Smith and Bart Tibbs with the Board of Governors’ Award for Excellence in Public Affairs. The award recognizes faculty and staff for their work demonstrating the values of the university’s public affairs mission. Lazic is assistant professor of communication, media, journalism and film at the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities; Obafemi-Ajayi is an associate professor of cooperative engineering in the College of Natural and Applied Sciences; and Tipton is a clinical assistant professor of elementary education and director of the Internship Academy for the College of Education. Keele is coordinator of transfer initiatives for the Academic Advising and Transfer Center; Smith is assistant director of access and success programs for the university’s student support and opportunity services; and Tibbs is assistant director of transfer outreach and recruitment admissions for the office of admissions.

Health Care
Gabriel Cline, founder and lead psychologist at Psych Associates LLC, was elected to serve as a member at large on the board for the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards. Cline has a bachelor’s in psychology, criminal justice and computer information systems from Missouri State University, a master’s in counseling psychology from the University of Kansas and a doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Dr. Juris P. Simanis, a sports medicine physician with Citizens Memorial Hospital, was a featured speaker at the 2025 Wilderness Medical Society Winter Conference in Crested Butte, Colorado. Simanis gave a presentation on musculoskeletal injuries called “Subacute Treatment of MSK Injuries,” and he led a workshop on MSK ultrasound technology.

Restaurant
Destiney Klinkhamer, general manager of the McDonald’s restaurant in Nixa at 401 W. Mount Vernon St., received the company’s Global Ray Kroc Award. The award recognizes the top 1% of restaurant leaders nationwide. Klinkhamer has 11 years of experience at the Nixa restaurant, and she has served as general manager for the past four years.

Sales
The Kingsley Group hired Jeff Yoakam as a business intermediary. Yoakam previously spent more than 30 years with American Family Insurance in Springfield.