Business Notebook: ADDY Awards recognize advertising excellence; virtual job fair set

Rustmedia, Red Letter Communications and Creative Edge were among the big winners Friday during the American Advertising Federation's 28th annual ADDY Awards program, conducted virtually by AAF's Cape Girardeau chapter.

This year's competition drew 116 print, digital and multimedia advertising professionals, businesses and agencies between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020. The competition also included an additional 24 entries from marketing and advertising students at Southeast Missouri State University, bringing the total number of entries to 140.

More than 50 entries received Gold, Silver and Bronze ADDY recognitions in the professional and student divisions of the competition.

In addition, Best of Show awards were given in each of the competition's five creative divisions, three of which were captured by Red Letter Communications of Cape Girardeau:

• Print Division — Red Letter Communications for "STIHL Luxury Magazine Ad."
• Online/Interactive Division — Red Letter Communications for "STIHL 5-Star Dads Email."
• Cross Platform Division — rustmedia for "Scout Pass Cross Platform Campaign."
• Video Division — Red Letter Communications for "SFHS Every Moment Every Journey TV Commercial."
• Student Competition — Allison Otto, Miriam Gorecki and Lucas Ruesseler of SECreative for "Rainbow Coalition Logo."

Rustmedia, a sister company of the Southeast Missourian, also received a Mosaic Award for an entry titled "The Next Project 2020."

In addition to its three Best of Show recognitions, Red Letter Communications also captured 10 Gold ADDYs and 15 Silver awards, while rustmedia captured four Gold ADDY awards, along with five Silver awards and one Bronze recognition for various projects.

Creative Edge, a digital marketing and video production firm in Cape Girardeau, received 11 ADDYs for various projects in several categories, including one Gold, two Silver and eight Bronze awards.

A total of 14 ADDYs — four Gold, five Silver and five Bronze — were presented in the student division recognizing various projects created by Southeast marketing, advertising and mass media students

A complete list of AAF Cape Girardeau ADDY winners, including links to entries, may be found at www.aafcape.com/2021winners.

All entries that received either a Gold or Silver ADDY award are eligible to compete in the AAF's District 9 American Advertising Awards competition. Judging at the district level will take place in March and will include entries from throughout Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. District level winners will then advance to national ADDY Award competition, the advertising industry's largest and most representative competition recognizing creativity and excellence in various marketing projects.

Virtual job fair will feature Missouri government jobs

Missouri's Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development, in conjunction with the state's Office of Administration and MoCareers, will host a "Return Strong Virtual Job Fair" on Tuesday. The online event, scheduled for 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., will feature more than 100 open positions in various levels of state government.

"Missouri has a tremendous amount of career opportunities for invaluable positions located throughout the state," according to Zora Mulligan, Missouri's commissioner of higher education. "This partnership with the Office of Administration is a great way to connect job seekers with meaningful career opportunities, while also helping fill vacant positions across the state."

Tuesday's event is one of a series of virtual job fairs being coordinated this spring by the state's Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development in an effort to help Missourians "skill up" and get back to work following the economic downturn caused by layoffs from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additional job fairs will take place March 9, March 23 (highlighting manufacturing), April 6 (featuring health care), April 20, May 4, May 18 (focusing on information technology), and June 8 (featuring remote and part-time positions).

As of Friday, nearly 500 job seekers had registered for this week's job fair. To register for this week's event, as well as any of the upcoming job fairs, go to www.returnstrongmo.easyvirtualfair.com.

Employers interested in taking part in upcoming job fairs may register and set up a "virtual booth" at www.returnstrongmo.getyourbooth.com. The employer deadline to register for the March 9 virtual job fair is Friday.

Medical facilities picked for Delta Regional program

The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) has selected 10 health care facilities, including four in Southeast Missouri, to participate in the Delta Region Community Health Systems Development-Technical Assistance Program (DRCHSD). The program is intended to enhance health care delivery throughout the DRA region through intensive, in-depth and long-term technical assistance to rural hospitals and medical facilities.

"This program is making a positive impact on rural health care institutions all across the Delta region during a time when our citizens need it most," said Gov. Mike Parson, who also serves as DRA state co-chairman, in a news release last week to announce the addition of the 10 hospitals.

The four Southeast Missouri facilities added to the program are Perry County Memorial Hospital in Perryville; Delta Medical Center in Sikeston; and two facilities in Potosi, Washington County Memorial Hospital and Great Mines Health Center.

The other six facilities to join the program are three in Alabama — in Eutaw, Grove Hill and Monroeville — and three in Mississippi — located in Port Gibson, Tunica and Clarksdale.

DRA partnered with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the DRCHSD program in 2017. Technical assistance provided by subject-matter experts at the National Rural Health Resource Center supports capacity building for quality improvement, telehealth, and integration of social services to help health care facilities increase financial viability and operational efficiency.

Delta Regional Authority is a federal-state partnership created by Congress in 2000 to promote economic development of an eight-state region, including the lower Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt.

People on the Move

Dr. Bruce Jones

Thoracic surgeon Bruce A. Jones has joined the physician staff at Cape Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 3250 Gordonville Road in Cape Girardeau, a practice affiliated with Saint Francis Healthcare System.

Dr. Jones specializes in cardiothoracic and vascular surgery and was previously affiliated with Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri. His major interest is in minimally invasive valve surgery, of which he has performed more than 500 cases.

He earned his medical degree at the University of Nebraska in Omaha in 1989 and completed a general surgery internship at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville in 1990. In addition, he completed a residency at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, in 1996, followed by a fellowship at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston in 2000.

He is board certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.

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Kim Wittenborn

Kim Wittenborn has been named director of medical staff services and credentialing by Saint Francis Healthcare System.

Wittenborn joined Saint Francis in January 2017 as the health system's medical staff coordinator. Her promotion to medical staff services director became effective Jan. 17.

Awards, Recognitions & Training

Bethany Byrd

Bethany Byrd, a Dream Vacations specialist and agency franchise owner in Jackson, recently completed a training program to become a "travel safety verified" travel adviser, helping prepare her to help people travel safely in a COVID-19 world.

Byrd's training covered best practices for health and safety while traveling, travel protection health policies, safety protocols used at resorts as well as by airlines and cruise lines, and how to address customer concerns about travel safety.

More information is available online at www.travelwiththebyrd.com or by calling (573) 429-2998.

Chamber Notes

The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce will participate in a virtual ribbon-cutting for the new Southeast Behavioral Hospital, 639 S. Silver Springs Road in Cape Girardeau. The event, which is being held online because of social distancing guidelines and other health precautions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday and may be viewed on the hospital's Facebook page, www.facebook.com/SoutheastBehavioral.

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The Cape Girardeau chamber will also host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon Wednesday for Rufus Red Hots, a fast-food drive-in at the corner of Broadway and North Frederick Street in Cape Girardeau, the former location of Stevie's Steakburgers, 600 Broadway.

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The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce's February Business After Hours membership gathering, postponed from last week because of weather, is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday at First State Community Bank, 320 W. Main St. in Jackson. Attendees are asked to wear masks and abide by social distancing guidelines.

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The Jackson chamber's monthly membership breakfast, originally set for last week, is now scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Friday at the Jackson Civic Center. Because of social distancing guidelines, attendance will be limited and reservations are required. Face masks must also be worn inside the Civic Center.

Reservations may be made through the chamber's website, www.jacksonmochamber.org, and the chamber asks that no more than two people from any member organization attend the gathering.

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Tickets are still available for the Jackson chamber's annual banquet, which, in accordance with social distancing guidelines, will take place March 3 at the Rock 'N' Roll Drive-In on Highway 25 south of Jackson between Dutchtown and Chaffee. The drive-in gates will open to vehicles at 5 p.m., with the program starting at about 6 p.m.

The program will include a celebration of the chamber's 2020 accomplishments and recognize award winners on the drive-in's screen, followed by a showing of the movie "Tommy Boy" in place of the previously announced "Office Space." Snacks, including pizza, will be provided.

Tickets are $30 per person and may be purchased through the chamber's website, www.jacksonmochamber.org.

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