BUSINESS PERSONNEL

Sarah Holt, administrator of Cape Girardeau Surgical Clinic, 10 Doctors' Park, has been honored for her past year of leadership as president of the Medical Group Managers Association for the State of Missouri.

Holt, who was honored during the group's annual conference at Lake of the Ozarks, will continue to serve on the board of directors as immediate past president. She will also chair its nominating committee.

The association, headquartered in Jefferson City, is a professional development organization for medical practice administrators and managers.

Todd Essner of Scott City has joined Brennecke Chevrolet in Jackson as an automotive technician.

Essner, a graduate of Shawnee Community College near Ullin, Ill., received an associate degree of in automotive technology.

Dan Seyer, a Cape Girardeau native, has been promoted to plant manager of Lewis Family Bakers-Vincennes, Ind., bakery.

Seyer started with Lewis in Cape Girardeau 19 years ago. He moved to Vincennes in 1988 as production supervisor and was serving as production superintendent prior to his latest promotion.

Chris Pekios, a registered respiratory therapist at Southeast Missouri Hospital, has received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Lung Association of Eastern Missouri.

The award was presented during the group's recent annual meeting.

Pekios was honored for her role in helping establish Camp Superkids. The camp, in its 15th year, provides youngsters who have moderate to severe asthma with the opportunity to enjoy summer camp, while improve their ability to manage their asthma.

Pekios, who joined the hospital in 1979, has attended Camp Superkids each year, functioning as co-director and clinical supervisor.

She has also worked to improve the lives of area people with asthma by helping to organize several family asthma festivals, implement "Open Airways" for schools in Cape Girardeau and work with a number of other hospital asthma educaiton programs.

Tom Kelsey, broker for Lorimont Place Ltd., has received the "Award of Excellence" designation by the Missouri Association of Realtors.

Kelsey received his award during a ceremony held by the Cape Girardeau Board of Realtors for producing multimillion-dollar volume for Missouri property sold in 1997.

Dr. Ramiro Icaza of Jackson recently attended the 50th annual scientific assembly of the Missouri Academy of Family Physicians, held at Marriott's Tan-Tar-A Resort, Osage Beach.

Workshops were held during the four-day session on sports medicine, computers in medicine, allergies, eye disorders and other topics.

Physicians attending the conference received continuing medical education credits.

Joshua Whitledge, formerly of Cape Girardeau, has accepted an appointment to the Pikeville, Ky., School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Whitledge, who attended elementary school in Cape Girardeau, is a graduate of the University of Indiana, with a psychology major and a biology minor. He was on the Dean's List at Indiana.

Whitledge is the son of Gary and Cassandra Whitledge of Bloomington, Ind., and the grandson of Glenn and Wilma Whitledge of rural Jackson.

Patty Williams of Carbndale has been named wine specialist for the Illinois Grape and Wine Resources Council and the Southern Illinois Manufacturing Extension Center.

She will offer advice and assistance to winemakers.

Williams owns Poorly Drawn Heads Productions, a company that offers business planning, financial analysis, marketing assistance and grant proposal development to a number of clients.

Williams, who has bachelor's and master's degree in agribusiness economics from Southern Illinois University, has also completed a micro-brewery and public brewery operations course at the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago and has assisted the Pomona Winer with production, bottling and marketing.

She will work out of manufacturing extension office at SIU's Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center.

Kent Crider of KEZS-FM has been named "DJ of the Year" for medium markets by the Missouri Broadcasters Association (MBA).

The Zimmer Radio Group, headquartered in Cape Girardeau, received 17 first-place awards and 17 certificates of merit during the MBA awards dinner at St. Louis.

First-place awards included best news series in a medium market (Cape Girardeau) and small market (Sikeston); most complete news in medium and small markets; best promotion in a small market; and various commercial and sports announcing awards.

The Zimmer Group owns or operates 25 stations throughout Missouri and Illinois.

Charles Gass and David Bangert have been promoted to Level III Maintenance Technician at Dana Corp. in Cape girardeau.

Gass has been employed by Dana since October 1994. He has been in the maintenance department since October 1997. Prior to being selected as a maintenance technician, he worked in Department 250.

Bangert began his career with Dana in December 1990, working in Department 200. He has been a maintenance technician since October 1996.

Fred Harrell, Mike Webb and Cindy Mayfield have been promoted to the newly created position of stores attendant. Harrell has worked for Dana since October 1997 and was promoted to cell elader of Department 250 in March. Webb has worked in Department 500 since he began his Dana career in July 1996. Mayfield has been with Dana since September 1996, working in Department 700.