BUSINESS PERSONNEL

Liston Mitchell of Chaffee will retire as executive vice president of First Midwest Bank of Chaffee at the end of this month.

Mitchell, who joined the Chaffee bank in February 1968, has a total of 35 years in banking. He was with Bank of Oran eight years before joining First Midwest as executive vice president.

He will be honored for service during a special reception, to be held at the bank from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday.

During his years the bank has grown from $3 million to more than $28 million in assets.

Julie Metzger, a social worker and bereavement coordinator with Southeast Hospice, a service of Southeast Missouri Hospital, has completed requirements to become a certified bereavement facilitator.

She received the certification from the American Academy of Bereavement following a weeklong training session at Dallas.

Metzger and Southeast Hospital chaplain associate Connie Griswold lead two bereavement support groups in Cape Girardeau.

Air Evac Lifeteam flight nurse Sandy Lyles has been named "Flight Nurse of the Year" by the Missouri Chapter of the National Flight Nurses Association.

Lyles, a Jackson native, has been a member of the Air Evac Lifeteam at St. Francis Medical Center since 1991.

She earned her nursing degree in 1989 from Southeast Missouri State University and was a nurse on the neurosurgery floor and Critical Care Unit at the St. Francis Medical Center before joining Air Evac. She serves as lead flight nurse of Air Evac.

Glenn W. "Skip" Smallwood, customer service adviser in Union Electric's Little Dixie District at Mexico, has transferred to UE Division Marketing and will work out of UE's Southeast District headquarters here.

Smallwood will provide a range of energy-related services to new and existing industries.

He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Southeast Missouri State University, and masters' degrees in business and business administration from Webster University in St. Louis. He has also earned a certified manager designation from the Institute of Certified Professional Managers at James Madison University at Harrisonburg, Va., and is a candidate for the designation of certified economic development finance professional.

While in Mexico, he served as commissioner of the Mexico Planning and Zoning Commission, was a member of the Mexico Chamber of Commerce and served as chairman of Leadership Mexico.

Marcia Southard-Ritter, vice president of patient care at St. Francis Medical Center, has attained diplomate status in the American College of Healthcare Executives, an international professional society representing more than 30,000 healthcare executives.

Southard-Ritter became one of 7,000 healthcare executives to attain diplomate status.

Don Welland of Fredericktown, Stan Crader of Marble Hill and Duane Beussink of Cape Girardeau have been added to the Regional Commerce and Growth Association board of directors.

Beussink was elected president of the executive committee recently. Other officers include Martin Jansen, vice president, and Crader, secretary-treasurer.

The immediate past president was Ron McCulley.

Greg Williams is executive secretary for the group, headquartered at 102 Kingsway, Suite 6 in Cape Girardeau.

John Richbourg, city finance director, has accepted an award for the city for excellence in financial reporting.

The certificate of achievement, for the city's comprehensive annual financial report, was presented to Richbourg by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada and is the highest recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting.

Earlier this year, in July, Kimberly J. Dermott, internal auditor, received the financial reporting achievement award for her work as the individual primarily responsible for preparing the award-winning city report.

The GFO, with offices in Chicago and Washington, is a professional association serving more than 12,600 government finance professionals.

Jerry L. Reppert, publisher of the Gazette-Democrat in Anna, Ill., and owner of Reppert Publications, recently attended the national Newspaper Association Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington.

Reppert is the Illinois state chairman for NNA and also serves as the Illinois Press Foundation president.

The conference included a White House reception and presentations by presidential candidates.

David J. Wilhelm has been named chief financial officer of Max Media Inc. and will have financial responsibility for all Max Media properties.

The Max Media Group consists of Max Media Television Co., which includes KBSI-TV in Cape Girardeau.

Home health aides from Tip of Illinois Health Services Inc., recently attended the annual CNA Conference at John A. Logan College at Carterville, Ill.

Among Tip aides attending were Marie Butler of Tamms and Candy Tucker of Cache.

Joe W. Gooche of Sikeston will serve as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of First Financial Bank of Southeast Missouri and First Bank of St. Louis.

The two banks have combined assets of $165 million and are owned by Financial Bancshares Inc., which also owns banks in East Prairie, Dexter and Ste. Genevieve.

Gooche has been with First Finance Bank of Southeast Missouri since 1973 and has served as president since 1984.

J. Michael Pobst has been named president and chief operating officer of First Financial Bank of Southeast Missouri. Pobst, of Sikeston, is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, and has served seven years as executive vice president and chief lending officer seven years for First Financial.

Tim Morgan, a certified hypnotherapist, has received advance clinical hypnotherapist certification from the National Guild of Hypnotists.

He also received national certification as a certified instructor to train hypnotherapists for national certification in the United States, Canada and England. Morgan is also certified to teach advanced clinical hypnotherapist courses to certified hypnotherapists.

Morgan operates the Cape Girardeau Institute of Hypnosis, 1440 Kurre Lane.

Ryan Glass, customer relations coordinator at Auffenberg Chrysler Supercenter, recently completed Chrysler's "In-Dealership Facilitator Training."

Daryl Guffey, a representative of Chrysler Corp., presented Glass with a plaque during a recent "Customer Appreciation Night" at Auffenberg.