BUSINESS PERSONNEL

Cliff LaFond has accepted the position of quality assurance manager at Dana Corp., Spicer Axle Division in Cape Girardeau.

LaFond comes to Cape Girardeau from the Spicer Driveshaft Division at Atkins, Va., where he served as quality manager. He started with Dana at Spicer Heavy Axle's Morganton, N.C., plant, where he served in a number of capacities, line inspector, receiving inspector, warranty technician and quality supervisor before moving to Atkins in 1995.

He is an A.S.Q.C. certified quality engineer, quality manager and Dana certified supervisor. He has an A.A.S. degree in Industrial Engineering and Fire Science.

He served in the Marine Corp. and is a Vietnam Veteran.

Sheryl Farris of Cape Girardeau has joined Dana Corp., Spicer Axle Division in Cape Girardeau as a staff secretary.

Farris previously worked with Cape Girardeau public schools as A+ school coordinator and secretary/technology medical center bookkeeper.

She is experienced in computers, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and other software packages.

Three Cape Girardeau men -- John Braswell, Earl Braswell and Charlie Braswell -- have been honored as pioneers by the Missouri Water Quality Association.

The Braswells received lifetime membership awards during the MWQA conference, held Friday at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau.

Chuck Heady, who has been with Schaefer Water Center 17 years, is president of the Missouri Water Quality Association, a division of the National W.Q.A.

Duane Gerken, broker/owner of Century 21 Gerken & Associates in Branson, has been installed as the 1998 President of the Missouri Association of Realtors, the largest trade association in Missouri.

Gerken has been an active member in MAR for more than 20 years, serving as vice president, treasurer, district vice president, and state director. He also has served as chair and member of numerous MAR committees.

He has achieved the professional designations of Graduate, Realtors Institute, and Certified Real Estate Brokerage manager. He also was graduated from the Missouri Auction School in St. Joseph.

Gerken has been active in real estate in the Branson area, serving as president of the Tri-Lakes Board of Realtors in 1985. He was recognized for his efforts in 1986 when the board honored him as Realtor of the Year. He has also served on the Branson Planning and Zoning board, as charter president of the Branson Tri-Lakes Lions Club, as charter treasurer for Christian Action Ministries and as council member of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church. He serves as legislative committee chair for the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce.

Gerken, and his wife, Kay, have lived in the Branson area since 1972.

Jim Robinson of Pinhook has been appointed by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman to serve on the Missouri Farm Service Agency Committee.

Robinson and Alice Fairfax of Sedalia are new members on the FSA Committee. Other members include William Bruce, Robert Finley and Jerry Burch.

Robinson farms about 700 acres of grain crops -- corn, soybean, wheat. He is a member of the Mississippi County Water District, and served 10 years as a deputy sheriff.

Jim Marceau is new manager at the Briggs & Stratton Corp., manufacturer of small engines, at Poplar Bluff.

Marceau replaces Chris Kurz, who has transferred to the company's new large-engine production facility at Statesville, Ga.

Marceau, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, with a degree in finance, started with Briggs & Stratton in 1988, at the company's Milwaukee plant, as a plating technician.

The Poplar Bluff plant produces 3.1 million Quantum and Intek engines a year.

Richard Hightower is new airport manager at the Cairo, Ill., Airport.

Hightower, a native of Cairo, has returned to the area from the Dallas area.

Fifteen planes are based at the airport.

Hightower said the airport averages between 2,000 and 2,500 landings a year.

Tom and Teresa O'Loughlin of Oak Ridge are new members of the American Angus Association.

The Angus group, headquartered in St. Joseph, has more than 31,000 active adult and junior members and is the largest beef cattle registry association in the world. Its computerized records include detailed information on more than 12 million registered Angus.

Stephanie Burkhead, public relations representative with Lucy Lee Healthcare System in Poplar Bluff, has been named to the board of directors of Missouri Association of Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing.

Board members represent six districts in Missouri.

New MAHPRM officers were installed recently. They include Cathy Stahl, Ozarks Medical Center, West Plains, chairman; Sally Owen, Southeast Missouri Hospital, Cape Girardeau, past chairman; Cynthia Anderson, Missouri Hospital Association, Jefferson City, secretary. Directors include Michael Hurd, Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Larry Rogers, Northeast Regional Health System, Kirksville; Melissa Mellroy, Visiting Nurses Association, Columbia; Harvey Wildt, St. Joseph Health Center, St. Charles; and Burkhead.

MAHPRM, an affiliated organization of the Missouri Hospital Association, represents more than 150 Missouri hospitals.