Stop the Presses: French promoted to Business Journal editor

All of the staff at the Springfield Business Journal are pleased, proud and grateful that Clarissa A. French has accepted the position and responsibility of editor of this publication.

Clarissa is already well-known to SBJ readers, her colleagues in journalism and the southwest Missouri business and professional community. A graduate of Southwest Missouri State University with a degree in writing and a Business Journal staff member for more than seven years, her columns, photos, news and feature stories, as well as her "Inside Business" special sections have been fixtures in each edition.

She has served in every capacity in our newsroom, from Xacto-knife wielding paste-up artist to hypertext-uttering Internet guru. She also served as editor of our sister publication, Springfield Parent & Family for two years concurrent with her SBJ work. She is best known, perhaps, as Clarissa the Copy Goddess.

She is a member of the West Central Neighborhood Alliance, volunteers with AIDS Project of the Ozarks and is an advocate of center city revitalization. In addition, she comes from a newspaper family the French clan were publishers and editors of The Current Wave newspaper in Shannon County, and she continues to count many relatives throughout the Ozarks.

Working mostly behind the scenes in the early years, Clarissa continues to play an integral role in the seemingly endless evolution of this newspaper. Her relationships with readers, with contributing writers, with community leaders and with her fellow staff members are numerous and invaluable.

Day after day we turn to Clarissa for answers. We say "Clarissa knows all," and we mean it.

My favorite story about her is from when she first joined the company in 1993, and it brings a smile to my lips every time I repeat it.

I wasn't taking notes, so I loosely quote her as saying, "I can't believe I'm working for a business newspaper when I don't know anything about business!" Now I call her our "biz whiz" because she can talk knowledgeably about so many aspects of business, especially local business.

If she doesn't know the answer, she knows where to find it.

Clarissa's commitment to Springfield, the Springfield Business Journal, SBJ readers, her profession and her coworkers is inspiring.

I will rest well at night knowing she is taking care of things in the editorial department, that we can trust her judgment, and that you as readers will benefit from the increased knowledge and insight she will bring to her position. Her guidance as a member of the SBJ management team will help this company grow in the days and years ahead.

Please give Clarissa a call (or e-mail her at cfrench@sbj.net) to congratulate her and let her know how she can help SBJ better serve your needs. She will be glad to hear from you.