Southwest Missouri News

Carthage

Insurance companies merge

Phil Garvin Insurance Corp. Inc. and Biemdiek Insurance Agency Inc., both based in the Carthage area, have announced a merger of the two firms.

According to a news release from officials with both companies, the new company will have offices in Springfield, Carthage, Joplin and Neosho.

Biemdiek Insurance Agency was founded in 1936 and is owned by G. Stephen Biemdiek. The firm offers insurance management services for personal and commercial clients and has 28 sales, support and administrative employees.

"This affiliation will be a big benefit to our customers. ... The excellent staff from the Garvin agency will be a tremendous asset to our company," said G. Stephen Biemdiek. "We will continue to develop other strategic partnerships with organizations that share our vision and offer specialized resources."

Phil Garvin Insurance Corp. Inc., founded in 1952 by Phil Garvin, offers personal, business, health and life insurance programs. Janet Garvin, an official with the Garvin agency, said the combined organization will "represent a larger group of insurance companies and offer more services to our policyholders. This merger allows us to stay abreast of the latest insurance products and technology available in our industry."

Joplin

Systems & Services adds jobs

A St. Joseph loan servicing company has plans to open an operation in Joplin that will eventually employ more than 100 people.

Systems & Services Technologies, which has been in business for five years, will occupy a 30,000-square-foot building on Illinois Avenue that was formerly the site of Harrington Benefit Services.

SST provides loan services such as payment processing, collection and customer service for banks, finance companies and other lending institutions. The company employs 400 people in St. Joseph.

Empire works with Girl Scouts

Nine members of Empire District Electric Company worked with the Hard Hatted Hannahs Unit at Girl Scout Camp Mintahama during the week of June 11.

The Hard Hatted Hannahs is a special camp unit for girls who like to work on projects.

The 10 Girl Scouts selected for the camp unit were specifically chosen to participate because they show talent for following through on projects and like to work as a team.

Together the Hard Hatted Hannahs and the Empire employees built a floating dock.

Empire representatives helped the Girl Scouts with the planning, safety issues and the physical work of constructing the dock. Participating Empire employees included Ann Butts, Bill Eichman, Karen Garver, Janice Wright, Julie Maus, Carl Daugherty, Kelly Chenoweth, Chris Schafer and Tom Kirsch.

IHOP to open in early October

The International House of Pancakes will soon be coming to Joplin.

The company has purchased the former site of Thunderbird Motel on Range Line. The 4,000-square-foot IHOP is scheduled to be open in early October.

The restaurant will seat 132 and will employ 40 to 50 part- and full-time employees.

Neosho

Premier wins chamber honor

The Neosho Area Chamber of Commerce has presented Premier Turbines with its Our Town Award.

The award is an acknowledgment of Premier Turbines having been named Missouri Industry of the Year by Associated Industries of Missouri in April.

Premier Turbines overhauls and repairs gas turbine engines. The company also manufactures the RM-6599 liquid rocket engine and some turbine engine components. Approximately 250 people work at the Neosho plant.

Stone County

State auditor reviews records

Missouri State Auditor Claire McCaskill announced June 14 that she had begun a limited scope audit of Stone County, centered on financial and compliance matters.

The state auditor is required by law to conduct audits only once every four years in counties that do not have a county auditor, as is the case with Stone County, according to a news release from McCas-kill's office. However, to assist such counties in meeting federal audit requirements, the state auditor also performs financial and compliance audits of various county operating funds every two years.

A team of auditors is now reviewing Stone County records as part of the fieldwork phase of the audit.