BUSINESS PERSONNEL

Jimmie Murrell Akers of Kennett received Southeast Missouri "Older Worker of the Year" honors.

Akers, who works with Riggs Building Supply and Home Centers at Kennett, attended the Missouri Older Worker of the Year awards ceremony at Jefferson City where he received a plaque as a regional winner.

Lorine Killingsworth of Galena, Spokane High School library assistant, was the 1977 state winner.

Judith Lyle, Virginia Hinman and William Linley, all of the Cape Girardeau area, were also nominees from the Southeast Missouri area. Lyle works at Gibson Recovery Center; Hinman works at the Missouri Division of Child Support Enforcement; and Linley works with the Missouri Department of Revenue. The local nominees received certificates.

Sponsors of the annual contest are the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Divisions of Employment Security, Missouri Department of Social Services Division of Aging, Missouri Department of Economic Development Division of Job Development and Training, U.S. Forest Service, Green Thumb Inc., American Association of Retired Persons, National Council on Aging, National Senior citizens Education and Research center and the Missouri Senior Employment Coordinating Committee.

Virgil Chirnside has been elected president of the Greater Cape Girardeau Development Corp.

The group has elected R. J. McKinney vice president and John Mehner secretary-treasurer.

The group also elected J. Ronald Fischer, Gary Rust, Harry Rediger, Bob Hendrix and Jim Limbaugh as directors.

The Greater Cape Girardeau Development Corp., which was founded by a group of business people more than 35 years ago, works to develop the Nash Road Industrial Park south of Cape Girardeau, which is home to several industrial and manufacturing concerns.

Rosalie LaPlant, an entrepreneur and school librarian from East Prairie, has been honored by the The Missouri Small Business Development Center with an "Excellence in Business Award."

LaPlant was nominated for the award by Buz Sutherland, director of the SBDC at Southeast Missouri State University.

The award recognizes LaPlant for her determination, diligence and entrepreneurship in the development and marketing of the Water Waddle, a floating device that allows people to sit chest-high in water.

LaPlant began developing the Water Waddle in 1990. A prototype was developed by the summer of 1991. She received a registered patent last May 15. To date, nearly 1,500 Water Waddles have been sold. LaPlant credits the SBDC with much of her success.

Donna M. Kerfes of Fruitland has joined Regional Eyecare Center Inc., 1749 Independence Square, as administrative coordinator.

Kerfes' duties will include administrative and financial responsibility. She has 14 years of experience in accounting.

Regional Eyecare Center offers vision examinations, contact lens services, vision programs for children and eyewear fashion.

Karla Adams of Jackson, a registered nurse, has joined the staff of Visiting Nurse Association of Southeast Missouri, working out of the Cape Girardeau office.

Adams, a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, has experience in oncology and post operative cardiac care.

In her new position, she will work with patients in the home environment, in Jackson, Cape Girardeau, Marble Hill and Patton.

Luanne Plackemeier of Frohna has joined Hill Realty as a sales associate.

Janet Hill Barnhart, broker-owner of the company, announced Plackemeier's appointment.

Plackemeier is a graduate of the University of Missouri-St. Louis and has worked as a registered nurse for 13 years.

She is a graduate of the Cape Girardeau School of Real Estate.

Dr. Paul A. Spence of Cape Girardeau has completed continuing medical education requirements to retain active membership in the American Academy of Family Physicians, a national association of family doctors.

AAFP members are required to complete a minimum of 150 hours of accredited continuing medical study every three years.

Spence has been an active AAFP member since 1975.

Randy Koenig of MFA Agri-Services of Chaffee has completed the Professional Applicator Institute course at Kansas city.

The two-day seminar was designed to increase efficiency of applicators who custom-apply crop protection materials and plant nutrients.

Participants in the PAI workshop, presented by Agriculture Retailers Association with cooperation of the University of Arkansas and University of Illinois, experienced the latest technologies in the application process. They also received continuing education units toward the Certified Crop Adviser program.