Business briefs

Ameren Missouri

Ameren Missouri took a major step toward completion of a $12.5 million "smart grid" upgrade in Cape Girardeau July 23 with the installation of two massive transformers at a new substation in the city's north side.

"It's a big deal for Cape Girardeau," said Mayor Bob Fox, as he watched an Ameren crew position one of the twin 45-ton transformers at the new Cape Rock substation at the intersection of Cape Rock Drive and Lexington Avenue.

"It's giving us more capacity and much more reliability," the mayor continued. "And with this new 'smart grid' technology, it enables Ameren to identify outages almost immediately, tell where they are and reroute power to those areas and correct outages a lot quicker."

Saint Francis

Saint Francis Medical Center has been named to the list of Fortune/IBM Watson Health's 100 Top Hospitals for 2020. According to a statement released by Saint Francis, this is the first time the hospital has been recognized as one of the top-performing large community hospitals in the United States and is the only large community hospital in Missouri to be so recognized.

Drury Hotels

Drury Hotels has been rated "Highest in Guest Satisfaction Among Upper Midscale Hotel Chains" in the J.D. Power 2020 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, according to an announcement recently by Drury Hotels.

Plaza Tire

Plaza Tire Service, headquartered in Cape Girardeau, recently donated a building and land in Charleston to the Charleston School District.

The property, on South Main Street in Charleston, includes a 2,500-square-foot structure on about a half-acre. The combined value of the building and land is approximately $250,000.

Mark Rhodes, Plaza Tire president, said the school district plans to use the building as a maintenance facility for district vehicles.

"The Plaza Tire Service building donation is a welcome addition because it allows us a space to store equipment and provide maintenance on special projects," said Bobby McKenzie, the district's director of facilities and transportation.

Awards & recognitions

Alyssa Phares-Fee, senior director of sales and strategy with Visit Cape, has earned the Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) credential from Destinations International, an association of travel and tourism professionals based in Washington, D.C.

Destinations International's CDME program prepares senior executives who want to advance their careers to blend theory with experience and application of knowledge to help industry leaders thrive in a constantly changing environment. The program focus is on vision, leadership, productivity and business strategy implementation.

"The accreditation of CDME will signify to potential planners that Visit Cape has an experienced professional taking care of them," said Visit Cape executive director Brenda Newbern. "Alyssa's accomplishment improves the marketability of Cape Girardeau and represents that she will provide the highest quality of service possible."