Newsmakers: Oct. 26-Nov. 1, 2015

Broadcasting
Jeff Houghton, host of Springfield late night talk show, “The Mystery Hour,” won a Mid-America Regional Emmy Award for the category of On-Camera Talent-Performer/Host. The Mid-America Emmys cover Missouri and Arkansas, and parts of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky and Louisiana.

Education
Evangel University’s communications department inducted three alumni to its Wall of Fame: Dave Davis, journalism teacher at Hillcrest High school, has won the Journalism Education Association’s Distinguished Adviser Award and is founder of HTV Magazine; Krista Sederwall Casey is Christian Broadcasting Network’s managing producer for TV programming in India, Nepal, China and Hong Kong; and Norman Mintle serves as dean of the School of Communication & Creative Arts at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.

Ozark Public Schools representatives delivered presentations at the Missouri School Boards’ Association annual conference. Assistant Superintendent Craig Carson’s session, “Try Before You Hire,” was on Ozark’s approach to performance-based tasks prior to hiring candidates. Operations Director Chris Bauman co-presented with CoxHealth on the district’s pilot telemedicine program. Technology and Communications Director Curtis Chesick, along with the district’s tech librarians, presented on Libraries Without Boundaries.

Ozark earned third place in the Early Childhood Education Program of the Year Award for the Tiger Paw Early Childhood Center, presented by Director Lori Lewis.

Government
The Missouri Technology Corp., a public-private partnership to foster entrepreneurship, selected Springfield Innovation Inc. to receive a $350,000 grant. The grant will help Missouri State University’s innovation center provide mentorship, facilities and co-working spaces, and access to capital to assist the region’s startup community.

Gov. Jay Nixon appointed Joe Carmichael, president and law firm manager of Carmichael & Neal PC, to the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System Board of Trustees.

Carmichael also serves on the MSU Board of Governors and the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission.

Nixa received a Missouri Municipal League Innovation Award honorable mention for its crime-free multihousing program on attracting and retaining higher-quality renters in a problem area.