Southwest Missouri News

Branson

Business Before Hours will be April 11

Business Before Hours, a program of the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, will meet at 7:30 a.m., April 11 at First Community Bank in downtown Branson. John Baltes, president of the Silver Dollar City Foundation, will speak on Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People."

Branson After Hours, sponsored by KY3 and the Starlite Theatre, will be 5:30-7 p.m. April 20 at the Starlite Theatre in Branson.

Decorating Den offers interior decor

Diane Barber is the new Decorating Den Interiors franchise owner and decorator for Branson, Ozark and Nixa. Barber held a grand opening ribbon-cutting and decorating workshop April 4 at Buckingham's Restaurant in Branson.

Decorating Den Interiors, established by Decorating Den Systems Inc., of Bethesda, Md., offers shop-at-home interior decorating service.

Barber, a former music therapist, studied interior design at Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, Pa.

Decorating Den Interiors, an international company, has decorated a wide range of projects including women's shelters, middle and upper income homes, corporate offices, the Presidential Suite of Donald Trump's Plaza Hotel and most recently, the Life magazine America Dream Home display in Legacy Park, Atlanta, Ga., according to Patti Coons, senior vice president of corporate communications for Decorating Den Interiors. Barber can be reached at 332-0664 in Branson for more information.

Branson Creek opens front nine

The Branson Creek Golf Club opened its front nine holes for play April 1. According to Monte Schisler, tournament coordinator for the golf club, the back nine holes of the championship course opened last August.

Schisler said the course, designed by Tom Fazio, will have its grand opening and ribbon-cutting May 19. Perry Leslie is facility manager and Tony J. Gill is the head golf professional of the course which is on 300 acres of the 7,500-acre Branson Creek Development south of Branson and east of U.S. Hwy. 65.

Financial workshops begin April 13

White River Valley Electric Cooperative, University Outreach and Extension and Edward Jones will offer a five-week series of financial workshops for individual investors beginning April 13 and running each consecutive Thursday at the cooperative's office in Branson.

The presenter is Ryan Stanley, an investment representative with Edward Jones.

Enrollment costs $20 per person and covers all workshop materials and refreshments.

For more information, those interested can call the University Extension at 546-2371 by April 10.

Hollister

Hollister chamber receives state grant

The Hollister Area Chamber of Commerce is matching a $1,450 grant from the Missouri Division of Tourism to pay for a Web site the chamber has shared with the city of Hollister since July 1999.

Tina Solari, administrator of the chamber of commerce, said part of the funding will be used for a visitor brochure that gives the history and a self-guided walking tour of the Historic District.

Joplin

Vision 20/20 to meet on health, education

Vision 20/20, part of the Joplin Area Chamber Of Commerce, will hold meetings to address community goals for improving health, education and job opportunities for Joplin residents over the next 20 years.

A session will be held from 6:30-9 p.m. on April 25, in Billingsly Student Center at Missouri Southern State College.

Another session will be held 6:30-9 p.m. May 23 in Billingsly Student Center.

Home Depot builds near Rangeline corner

Home Depot plans to begin building a Joplin store.

The store, which will go in near 20th Street and Rangeline, could open by late October.

Plans call for the store to be 116,000 square feet with a garden center of about 16,000 square feet.

It will employ 160 to 180 full-time and part-time employees.

Most Home Depot stores stock 40,000 to 50,000 items, including lumber, flooring, plumbing materials, tools and paint.

Home Depot, based in Atlanta, Ga., has 954 stores in the United States, Canada, Chile and Puerto Rico, and it is planning additional expansion into South America. Company officials have said they expect to be operating more than 1,900 stores in North and South America by the end of 2003.

Home Depot was 32nd on the recent list of Fortune 500 companies and is included in the Dow Jones 30 Industrial Index.