Business Notebook: Stooges for sale, saying goodbye to local legend Mike Shain

The Cape Girardeau office of the Better Business Bureau, serving Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, presented its annual TORCH Awards at a reception Thursday night at the Drury Plaza Conference Center in Cape Girardeau.

Two Cape Girardeau companies were recognized along with a not-for-profit charitable organization in Southern Illinois for what the Better Business Bureau described as their customer satisfaction and "commitment to exceptional business ethics."

Better Business Bureau's regional director Whitney Quick said these organizations "have truly joined BBB's mission of advancing marketplace trust in an exemplary way, and they are role models for other businesses and charities in the area."

TORCH Awards were presented to the Coalter Insurance Group of Cape Girardeau and Unique Ambiance LLC, a Cape Girardeau-based residential and commercial interior design and renovation firm.

Also recognized Thursday night was Marion Medical Mission. Founded in 1985, Marion Medical Mission is a Southern Illinois-based not-for-profit organization that seeks to eliminate waterborne diseases in Africa by providing sustainable sources of clean, safe drinking water.

Ashley Jackson, a senior at Thompsonville High School in Thompsonville, Illinois, was also honored Thursday night with a "Student of Ethics" award.

Congratulations to all honorees.

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Stooges, 507 W. Main St. in Jackson, is for sale.

Interested in buying a popular restaurant in Jackson? If so, you're in luck.

Stooges at 507 W. Main St. is for sale. Owner Rodney Barnes tells me although he's "having a blast and lovin' every minute of it," he's looking forward to retirement and moving on to the next phase of his life.

Barnes retired as a captain with the Jackson Police Department in 2017 and bought the restaurant soon afterward. "I always wanted to run a restaurant," he said. "It was a bucket list thing."

Stooges opened in 2001 and has been at its current location, a century-old building, since 2005. "It's a fantastic place," Barnes said. "Hopefully the right person will come along and continue this tradition for years to come."

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Speaking of restaurants, Chick-fil-A is donating 10% of its proceeds between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. today to the Home Fire Safety Survey program, which checks and replaces residential smoke detectors. Firefighters will be on hand to help serve meals and collect donations for the cause.

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No doubt you've heard by now that former KFVS12 news anchor Mike Shain died Friday at the age of 80. Friday, by the way, was also the station's 65th anniversary on the air.

Mike ShainSoutheast Missourian file

Mike was the face of the station's news operation for 36 years, joining KFVS12 in 1972 and manning the anchor chair for 36 years until his retirement at the end of 2008. A native of Sikeston, Missouri, Mike had worked in radio and briefly in print journalism, but when he came to KFVS12, he found his home.

I was fortunate enough to work with Mike for a couple of years in the mid-1980s, during my short tenure at KFVS12. Mike was a consumate news professional and knew how to tell a story regardless of whether he was reporting a major news event or interviewing the guy next door. "Everybody has a story," he once told me.

Mike also had a fun, mischievous side. I remember one particularly stressful night in the newsroom, Mike decided to liven things up by creating a giant paper wad out of a roll of teletype paper (that was back in the day when we would "rip and read" stories off the Associated Press machine). The paper wad Mike fashioned that night was at least three feet in diameter, and he gleefully threw it at everyone in the newsroom until we perked up.

We'll miss you, Mike.

Now on to the rest of this week's Business Notebook ...

Fast Track Workforce Incentive grants available

Adult learners returning to college this fall can take advantage of Missouri's new Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant program.

The program is available to adults age 25 and older who are either entering college for the first time or who have some college credit and ensures tuition and fees are fully covered when combined with other government financial aid. It can be used to pursue a certificate, degree or industry-recognized credential in an area designated as "high need" in Missouri.

In addition to the age qualification, other grant requirements are recipients must not have been enrolled in any school within the last two years, have not earned a bachelor's degree, must earn less than $80,000 if filing jointly or $40,000 if filing as an individual and must enroll at least half-time. Grant recipients must work in Missouri for at least three calendar years after completing their degree.

Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president John Mehner said the program should strengthen the state's workforce. "Many jobs go unfilled because employers cannot find skilled individuals to fill them," he said. "The Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant is a wonderful opportunity to increase those in the state's workforce with postsecondary education credentials while advancing the Missouri economy."

"We are extremely pleased to be a participant in this program," commented Southeast Missouri State University president Carlos Vargas-Aburto in a statement from the university. "Many individuals put their college dreams on hold while working or raising a family. It is never too late to return to school, but we understand that in order to be successful, these individuals must have access to financial resources to make this next step in advancing their education."

More information about the program is available through the Missouri Department of Higher Education & Workforce Development website, www.dhewd.mo.gov, or at www.semo.edu/fasttrack.

Awards and recognitions

Michael Ford

Jackson Junior High School assistant principal Michael Ford was named Principal of the Year at a Sept. 29 meeting of the Southeast Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals.

Ford joined the Jackson Junior High School faculty in 2004 and became the school's assistant principal in 2009. As assistant principal, he coordinates the school's building safety focus group and deals with student supervision, discipline and attendance and teacher evaluations.

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Doug Spooler

Farmers Insurance agency owner Doug Spooler recently received the company's Blue Vase award, recognizing him for his commitment to serving customers and building awareness of the value of life insurance as a part of a family's insurance portfolio.

The Blue Vase award is presented to a select group of Farmers Insurance agency owners who demonstrate exceptional service and sales in the area of life insurance.

"Helping families get smarter about their insurance options, is one of the most gratifying aspects of being a Farmers agent," Spooler said upon receiving the recognition.

His agency is at 75 Sheridan Drive in Cape Girardeau.

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Zachary Fayette

Zachary Fayette, president of First State Bank & Trust Co. North Market branch in Sikeston, Missouri, has received the 2019 Missouri Young Bankers Leadership Award from the Missouri Bankers Association.

The award is given annually to a Missouri banker age 45 or younger who demonstrates outstanding achievement. Fayette received the award last week during the Missouri Young Bankers Leadership Conference in Columbia, Missouri.

Fayette joined First State Bank & Trust Co. in 2014 as vice president/commercial loan officer. He was promoted to North Market president in 2016. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri in 2008 and graduated from the Louisiana State University Graduate School of Banking in 2014.

Mike Shain

People on the Move

Chris Crawford

Chiropractor Chris Crawford has joined Hudson Chiropractic in Cape Girardeau, which has also announced the recent acquisition of the chiropractic practice of Jack Ruopp.

A ribbon cutting will take place at 1 p.m. Friday to mark the ownership transition and Crawford's addition to the chiropractic practice at 3232 Independence St.

Crawford received his undergraduate degree from Southeast Missouri State University and went to chiropractic school in New York.

Ruopp and Seth Hudson have shared office space for several years. Ruopp will continue to practice with Hudson and Crawford as part of the Hudson Chiropractic practice.

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Don Davis

Another chiropractor, Don Davis, recently joined chiropractors Philip Pappas and Aaron Andrews at Jackson Healing Arts, 3130 E. Jackson Blvd.

Davis, originally from Sikeston, Missouri, received his chiropractic training at Logan College of Chiropractic in Chesterfield, Missouri. He also attended Southeast Missouri State University and Sanford Brown College in Collinsville, Illinois. He worked nearly 20 years as a physical therapy assistant, holds a degree in health care administration from Ashworth College in Norcross, Georgia, and a degree in life science from Logan University.

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Rebecca Compton

Nurse practitioner Rebecca Compton has joined Saint Francis Healthcare System and has become affiliated with Saint Francis Health Center-Poplar Bluff, 225 Physicians Park Drive in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

Compton earned a Master of Science in nursing from Frontier Nursing University, Hyden, Kentucky, in 2016. She is certified through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

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Patti Ranzini

Patti Ranzini, who has served as executive director of the SoutheastHEALTH Foundation since 2015, was recently promoted to the position of foundation president at Southeast.

Under Ranzini's leadership as executive director, the foundation has raised more than $7.4 million in gifts, pledges and investments to benefit patient care services at Southeast, as well as providing scholarship funds for students entering the health care profession.

"We also have increasing donor involvement with almost 2,100 donors in 2017," commented Angie Umfleet, who chairs the foundation board. "This would not have been possible without Patti's visionary leadership."

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Vern Griffith

After 28 years with Farm Credit Southeast Missouri, executive vice president and chief financial officer Vern Griffith retired effective Sept. 30. In announcing Griffith's retirement, the agricultural lending cooperative based in Sikeston, Missouri, also announced the organization's senior vice president of finance, Michelle Beacham, has been promoted to Griffith's position. Her promotion was also effective Sept. 30.

Griffith joined the lending organization in 1991 as the company's CFO when it still consisted of three separate institutions -- Sikeston Production Credit Association, Caruthersville Production Credit Association and the Federal Land Bank Association of Southeast Missouri. In his role as CFO, Griffith helped bring the three organizations together as Farm Credit Southeast Missouri.

Michelle Beacham

Beacham earned a degree in business administration/accounting from Southeast Missouri State University. She worked for an accounting firm in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, for three years and then had 19 years' experience in the controller and CFO positions at Twin Rivers Regional Medical Center and Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center.

Chamber notes

The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce's October Business After Hours membership gathering will be at 5 p.m. Tuesday, hosted by United Land Title, 1210 Greenway Drive in Jackson. The event is open to chamber members and guests.

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The Jackson chamber will conduct a ribbon cutting at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Str8 Edge Barber Shop, 521 W. Main St. in Jackson.

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