Nine local business leaders made the annual list of the
50 Missourians You Should Know by Ingram’s Magazine.
Chosen by staff members of the Kansas City publication, the seventh-annual list brings the total of Missourians honored to 350. The list recognizes business, education, nonprofit, sporting, cultural and entertainment leaders for their ideas, products and services that are impacting Missouri, according to the report.
The nine locals who made the list are below, in alphabetical order:
Shawn Askinosie, CEO, Askinosie Chocolate
A former defense attorney, Askinosie founded his Springfield chocolate company in 2005.
“I had no idea that chocolate came from a bean,” Askinosie told Ingram’s of early hurdles.
An occasional blogger at The Huffington Post who was
recognized by Oprah in a feature titled "Meet 14 Guys Who Are Saving the World," the chocolate maker has formed a socially conscious model where overseas growers share a stake in the profits.
Steve Edwards, president and CEO, CoxHealth
At Springfield-based CoxHealth, Edwards oversees an over 10,000-employee health care system.
He carries on a family legacy at CoxHealth that includes his father serving as CEO and mom working as a nurse.
“If I added up the total years my childhood family spent working in health care at CoxHealth, it would exceed 150 years,” he said in the Ingram’s feature.
Jim Ferguson, president, Heart of America Beverage Co.
Last year, Ferguson helped oversee Heart of America’s merger with Premium Beverage Sales and the relocation of their combined headquarters to Republic.
An attorney, Ferguson began to drink Coors in college and later got the opportunity to sell the product. It started with a 24-question application, according to Ingram’s.
“Like any good attorney, I answered those 24 questions in five volumes of about 80 pages apiece,” he told the magazine.
Howard Fisk, owner, J. Howard Fisk Limousines Inc.
Fisk runs the 40-year-old limo, luxury vehicle and shuttle rental company, and his wife Jan is a member of Springfield City Council.
The Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau’s
2014 Pinnacle Award winner, Fisk believes in giving back to the community that’s created success for his business.
“I grew up understanding that you’re not an asset to your community unless you give more to it than you take,” he told Ingram’s.
Michael Garrett, retired Monett attorney and judge
Garrett worked 12 years as an associate circuit judge and seven years as a city judge until he retired last year, according to the Ingram’s report.
“I felt that my primary job was to be sure that everybody was treated with respect,” he told the magazine. “If they can’t find respect anyplace else, they need to find it in the courtroom, and that’s what I always strived to do.”
Garrett now has a limited private practice he operates from his home office, according to the
Monett Chamber of Commerce.
Chris Hamon, CEO, White River Valley Electric Cooperative
Hamon leads a Branson-based electric cooperative whose members range from struggling residents to affluent customers.
“One of my bosses took me to a house that has a dirt floor,” Hamon said in an interview with Ingram’s of early lessons learned in the industry. “The lady had one light bulb. When she got to the end of the hours she was getting with her monthly fee, she would unscrew the light bulb.”
Hamon and his wife Deanna also support the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which helps provide coaches to fill fatherly roles in children’s lives.
Ron Hill, owner, Euro World Design
A former paramedic, Hill launched Artec Elegant Designs in 1990 in Nixa. In 1999, he started Ron Hill Design, which became Euro World Design in 2003, according to the company’s
website.
His firm creates homes similar to those in European chateaus, Tuscan villas and cottages, according to Ingram’s.
The firm’s homes range from small structures to manors of 5,500 square feet.
Brooks Miller, president and CEO, Jordan Valley Community Health Center
Jordan Valley Community Health Center’s first CEO, Miller has led growth to 120,000 patient encounters per year.
“I found in Springfield an environment that was progressive, supportive of business and health care systems, with a real interest in improving the health care of the community,” he said in the report.
It’s a family affair for Miller, whose mother and three of seven sisters were nurses.
Richard Ollis, CEO, Ollis/Akers/Arney
In 2015,
Ollis helped lead a merger with Branson-based Akers & Arney to create a 100 percent employee-owned firm dubbed Ollis/Akers/Arney.
He’s also been active with the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, helping to recruit and endorse school board candidates.
“You’ve got to have great people on your school board,” Ollis said in the Ingram’s article. “If you can have a best-in-class public system, it’s a huge economic driver for your community.”
Previous Springfield-area leaders included on Ingram’s 50 Missourians list include Springfield City Manager Greg Burris, Mother's Brewing Co. owner Jeff Schrag, Hamra Enterprises founder Sam Hamra and Springfield Public Schools Superintendent John Jungmann.
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