Overheard

Former DeWitt and Associates project manager Elise Crain has taken on a new role at downtown’s Ronald and Nancy Reagan Center, where she has been involved in several years of renovations and restorations. Crain has left DeWitt and Associates to become facilities director of the Reagan Center, 325 Park Central East, comprising the Jim D. Morris Building and the neighboring Gillioz Theatre. As a DeWitt project manager, Crain helped lead recent renovations to the Morris building and the Gillioz’s two-year restoration, completed in October. During that project, those involved dubbed Crain “the angel of the Gillioz,” according to a news release from the theater. The Springfield Landmarks Preservation Trust hired Crain on March 1. “We’ve birthed this baby, and now I get to see it through,” Crain said. “It’s a great opportunity.”

Hammons at the Lake

John Q. Hammons has officially unveiled plans for a waterfront hotel at Lake of the Ozarks, set to open in spring 2010. The 15-story, 320-room hotel, which Springfield Business Journal first reported on in December, will be called Chateau on Lake of the Ozarks, located in Osage Beach. It will be situated on 30 acres near the Grand Glaize Bridge. The property will feature a spa and more than 100,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 40,000-square-foot ballroom and 22 smaller meeting spaces.

“We’ve been considering Lake of the Ozarks as a prime destination for many years,” Hammons said in a news release. “The time is right to build a luxury, convention center hotel to meet demand and supplement the current supply for potential economic growth to the area.”

This will be Hammons’ 14th Missouri property and will be managed by Springfield-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts LLC. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2008.

Slice of Nice

After two cancellations due to weather, the “Guns vs. Hoses” Charity Basketball Tournament is rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 17. Springfield Police officers and Springfield firemen will play a basketball game in the Glendale High School Gym to raise money for local charities Project H.O.P.E and Cops for Casey. Tickets will be sold at the door for $5 and children under 5 are free. Tickets purchased previously are still good.

Project H.O.P.E is an interdenominational Christian service organization that provides assistance to meet the physical needs of individuals living in impoverished countries. More information is available at www.pjhope.org.

Cops for Casey assists local police officers, firefighters and emergency medical services workers who are battling terminal illness. For more information, call (417) 224-9903.[[In-content Ad]]