People in the News

The Arts

Angie Whytlaw joined Springfield Little Theatre as development director. She coordinates ongoing fund-raising efforts for the theater. Whytlaw worked in the U.S. Senate for three years, followed by four years of political fund raising in Washington, D.C. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Drury University.

Education

Paula Hopkins joined Drury University as director of major gifts in the office of development. Hopkins formerly was executive director of the Springfield Public Schools Foundation. Her duties include fund-raising and management duties. She holds a bachelor of science degree in communication and English from Drury.

Hopkins was executive assistant to Drury president John E. Moore from 1991-1996.

Vatterott College-Springfield announced two staff promotions.

Jennifer Danzer was promoted to co-director of Vatterott College-Springfield. She is responsible for overseeing operations and ensuring effective educational delivery at the campus. Previously, Danzer held positions in the college's career services department and as a business instructor. She graduated from Central Missouri State University with a bachelor's degree in marketing education.

Cathy Wetzel was promoted to regional financial aid director. Wetzel is responsible for interviewing and training new financial aid administrators as well as overseeing financial aid personnel to ensure compliance with guidelines. Previously, Wetzel served as a financial aid administrator for the college.

Finance

Firstar announced five staff changes.

Mark Bybee was promoted to assistant vice president at Firstar. He has been with the bank's commercial loan department since 1997.

Ron W. Hawley joined Firstar Bank as senior vice president and senior lending officer in commercial lending. Previously, Hawley was senior vice president-client manager in commercial banking for Bank of America in the Springfield area.

Matthew J. Riley and Rick Windes were promoted to vice president. Riley has 12 years of commercial lending experience. Windes has 13 years of lending experience, including six years in commercial lending.

Becky Scorse was promoted to senior vice president at Firstar. She has 10 years of commercial lending experience.

Lisa Odom was promoted from staff consultant to consultant at Baird, Kurtz & Dobson's health care group. Odom provides Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement consulting services for nursing homes. She graduated from Southwest Missouri State University in 1993 with a bachelor's of science degree in accounting.

Roberts, McKenzie, Mangan & Cummings, Certified Public Accountants, announced four staff additions.

Kurt W. Krueger, CPA, David McPherson, CPA, and Dallas Stovall joined the firm as staff accountants in auditing. Krueger received a bachelor of science degree from SMSU in 1995; he has five years of public accounting experience in the areas of taxation and small business services. McPherson has 15 years of industrial experience. He received his bachelor of science degree in business administration and accounting from Drury College in 1998 and is currently working on his MBA there. Stovall previously worked in the field of consulting and technical report writing. She completed her master's degree in accountancy in 2000.

Nichole Larson joined the firm as staff accountant in the tax and small business services area. She is responsible for preparing individual, corporate, nonprofit and trust-estate tax returns, and assisting small businesses in maintaining financial records. She received a bachelor of science degree in accounting from SMSU in 1999.