Newsmakers: Nov. 18-24, 2024

Education
College of the Ozarks and Ozarks Technical Community College were named on The Chronicle of Higher Education’s 2024 list of Great Colleges to Work For. College of the Ozarks was recognized in the categories of job satisfaction and support and mission and pride, while Ozarks Tech got the nod for job satisfaction and support, mission and pride, confidence in senior leadership, shared governance, supervisor/department chair effectiveness and faculty experience.

Former Central Bible College President H. Maurice Lednicky was presented with the inaugural Legacy Award in Preaching during the Cordas C. Burnett Center for Biblical Preaching’s Lectureship on Homiletics. Lednicky led Central Bible College from 1980-2001.

Fitness
Achieving Your Best LLC employees Ryleigh Clark and Adrianne Hughes earned industry certifications. A registered and licensed dietitian with a bachelor’s in nutrition dietetics from College of the Ozarks, Clark became a certified personal trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine. Hughes, who became a certified pregnancy and postpartum corrective exercise specialist, has her degree in exercise and movement science from Missouri State University and is a certified exercise physiologist.

Food service
Springfield-based Hiland Dairy Foods Co. LLC won eight first-place honors at the 2024 World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest. The company’s chocolate milk, buttermilk, yogurt smoothies and other dairy products were recognized for their quality.

Government
Springfield Mayor Ken McClure received the Missouri Municipal League’s Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes contributions to the MML and Missouri cities. McClure was first elected to office in 2017, and he was reelected in 2019, 2021 and 2023.

Marketing
Jackie Haldiman joined Supper Co. as director of communications. She previously served as vice president of integrated communications at the Marlin Network.

Nonprofit
Camp Barnabas appointed Brenda Brandt as camp director and Matthew McDavid as assistant camp director. With a bachelor’s in social work from Missouri State University, Brandt has been a full-time staff member of Camp Barnabas since 2019. A full-time employee since 2019, McDavid has served as programs director and retreat coordinator for the organization.

Eden Holt succeeded Bob Headlee to become chair of the SCORE Southwest Missouri chapter. Holt also is the owner of a professional training and coaching business, The Connection Effect LLC.

Real Estate
Development company The Vecino Group LLC hired Andrew Jacobs as vice president of asset management. Jacobs has more than 11 years of professional experience, including nine years in commercial real estate. He most recently worked as vice president of asset management at Aspen Heights Partners in Austin, Texas.

Transportation
Rick Painter, of Aurora, was among eight OATS Transit drivers statewide recognized with Transit Champions Awards at the Missouri Public Transit Association annual conference. Painter and the other drivers were nominated by their managers for their commitment to OATS Transit and to public transit.