Newsmakers: Oct. 12-18, 2015

Architecture
Stephanie Bedinghaus, a project manager at Buxton Kubik Dodd Creative, received her Missouri architectural license following completion of registration exams.  

A team of two Drury University students, an alumnus and a professor earned third place out of more than 500 entries in an international design contest sponsored by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. Current fifth-year students Junye Zhou and Tony Tai-An Yue and 2014 Drury graduate Nicholas Fish worked with visiting assistant professor Yong Huang on the competition.

Banking and Finance
RPS Financial Group Inc. hired Tim Piccarreto as a financial representative selling Northwestern Mutual products.

Education
Springfield Public Schools inducted three former students into its Hall of Fame: Steve Edwards, president and CEO of CoxHealth; Dr. Anthony Hlavacek, associate professor of pediatrics and radiology medical director of the Pediatric Cardiology Inpatient Unit at the Medical University of South Carolina; and Susan Everett Provance, community recreation administrator for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board.

Community College Week ranked Ozarks Technical Community College No. 40 on its list of Top 100 Associate Degree Producers. The publication analyzed data from 7,000 post-secondary institutions for the 2013-14 academic year. By discipline, the school was No. 7 for education degrees, No. 9 for communication technologies, No. 24 for family and consumer sciences, and No. 31 for liberal arts, general studies and humanities.

Drury’s Edward Jones Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation named John Taylor as director. Taylor is an associate professor with the Breech School of Business and an adviser to Drury’s Enactus team.

Missouri State University’s English Language Institute received renewed accreditation through August 2025 from the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation.

Phil Rohrer joined Southwest Baptist University as an instructor of psychology and coordinator of behavioral sciences serving the school’s Salem and Mountain View campuses. Rohrer holds a bachelor’s in psychology from McPherson College and earned a master’s in counseling and an education specialist degree in school psychology from Wichita State University.

Government
The Federal Reserve Board appointed Brian Fogle, president and CEO of Community Foundation of the Ozarks, to its 15-member Community Advisory Council to review policy matters.

The Battlefield and Logan-Rogersville fire protection districts received Life Safety Achievement awards for fire prevention efforts from the National Association of State Fire Marshals Fire Research and Education Foundation in partnership with Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co. Nearly 100 departments nationwide were recognized for recording zero fire deaths during the year or reducing fire deaths by at least 10 percent.

Health Care
Mercy Clinic employees raised $69,000 through a Force for Good campaign for a primary care clinic scheduled to open this fall on MSU’s campus. Mercy and MSU operate the clinic to serve uninsured adults not eligible for coverage under Medicare or Medicaid and to provide hands-on training for students in health sciences degree programs.

Insurance
Deryk Morelock joined American Family Insurance as a sales specialist. He previously worked in marketing for construction firm Morelock-Ross Cos. and Qdoba franchisee Burrito Concepts LLC.

Law
Attorney Charles “Nate” Dunville joined Neale & Newman LLP to practice civil and commercial litigation. He holds a law degree from University of Missouri, and an MBA and bachelor’s in logistics and supply chain management from Missouri State University.  

Thomas Carter, a partner with Carver, Cantin and Grantham, Attorneys at Law, was named Lawyer of the Year in Springfield by Best Lawyers in America for its Non-White-Collar, Criminal Defense category. Partner Shane Cantin received recognition in the categories of White Collar, Criminal Defense; Non-White-Collar, DUI/DWI Defense; and Family Law.

The Carver, Cantin and Grantham firm was named a first-tier selection on the 2015 U.S. News and World Report’s Best Law Firms in Missouri list.

Neale & Newman LLP attorney Bryan Fisher was selected into the Missouri Bar Association’s 2015-16 Leadership Academy. Fisher holds a law degree from the University of Arkansas.

Media
The Missouri Press Association elected Jeff Schrag of Springfield Daily Events as first vice president, Paul Berry of Springfield News-Leader as a director for a three-year term and Carol Stark of The Joplin Globe as second vice president.

Nonprofit
Jami Peebles was selected to serve as a delegate for Convoy of Hope at the Global Women’s Network/George W. Bush Institute.

She presented at a session, which included several first ladies from the United States and other countries.