Names in the news

NORDENIA HONORS EMPLOYEES Timothy Cecil, slitter operator of Cape Girardeau, was employee of the month for August at Nordenia USA Inc. He has been with the company since August 2006. Nordenia also recognizes the following employment anniversaries: David Cox, Donnie Smith and Jeffrey Oldson, 20 years of service; Paul Sides, 15 years; Dirk Sutherlin, 10 years; and Timothy Cecil, Monti Ferronato, Randy Heise, Johnathon Knudson and Robert Puckett, five years.

COLISEUM DIRECTOR HIRED POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Robert "Bobby" Godwin is the new director of the Black River Coliseum, reported the Daily American Republic. He has been manager of Ozark Ridge Golf Course in Poplar Bluff for nearly 17 years. Godwin replaces Randy Matthews, who announced his resignation in the spring after 22 months on the job. Godwin began his new duties Aug. 29.

WHITTEN, MCCOY LEAD C21 POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Terri Whitten was top producer for June at Century 21 American Realty, and Melba Jean McCoy was top lister.

MCMILLIAN IS NEW PRINCIPAL MALDEN, Mo. -- Ashley McMillian is the new high school principal in the Malden School District. He worked most recently as high school principal in Holcomb, Mo., for four years, and previously served as assistant high school principal in Malden. He has also been a social studies teacher and basketball and golf coach in the Malden School District.

WILLIAMS NAMED CHAMBER DIRECTOR MALDEN, Mo. -- Brenda Williams, secretary at the Malden Chamber of Commerce, was named director of the chamber after serving as acting director for several weeks. Before working at the chamber, Williams was a buyer and customer service representative at Parker-Hannifan in Kennett, Mo., and a bookkeeping supervisor and cashier at First National Bank in Malden.

ROPP PROMOTED AT EDWARD JONES Jayda Ropp was promoted to senior branch office administrator at the Independence Square branch office of Edward Jones in Cape Girardeau. Ropp has been with Edward Jones for nine years. She is now responsible for daily operation of the office, including client service, supporting marketing activities for the office and staying up-to-date on technology.

WALKER IS D.A.R.E. OFFICER OF THE YEAR A.C. Walker, a patrolwoman in Cape Girardeau, received the Missouri D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year Award on Aug. 4. The annual officer of the year award is given to outstanding D.A.R.E. officers in a community. Officers are nominated and voted on by members of the Missouri D.A.R.E. Officers' Association. Walker was Cape Girardeau's officer for two years and now volunteers as D.A.R.E. officer at Nell Holcomb grade school, which terminated its program due to budget cuts. She is also the incoming president of the Missouri D.A.R.E. Officers' Association. Patrolman Luther Bonds will take Walker's place as Cape Girardeau D.A.R.E. officer this fall.

TWO GET AWARDS FOR DOWNTOWN EFFORTS Two Cape Girardeau women received state awards for their downtown revitalization efforts at the Missouri Main Street Conference. Heather Brooks, assistant city manager, received the Missouri Main Street Outstanding Public Official award and Annie Laurie's Antiques, owned by Laurie Everett, received the Business Excellence Award from the Missouri Main Street organization. Staff and board members from Old Town Cape attended the Missouri Main Street Conference recently in Kansas City. Downtown redevelopment organizations statewide submitted nominees for the awards. This is the second year a Cape Girardeau business has won the business excellence award. Last year's winner was The Southeast Missourian/Rust Communications.

BIG RIVER STAFF CHANGES Big River Telephone added Niki Helmes to its staff and promoted Michelle Otte and Kandi Graviett to new positions. Helmes, originally from Sikeston, Mo., joined Big River as an accounts receivable analyst. Otte was promoted to senior billing analyst. She was hired with Big River more than six years ago as a billing analyst. Graviett was promoted to wholesale account manager. She has worked with Big River for more than four years in the provisioning department.

WELLS FARGO ADVISER TRANSFERS TO CAPE David Golliher joined the Cape Girardeau office of Wells Fargo Advisors. Golliher, a financial adviser, transferred from the Wells Fargo office in Atlanta. He has 30 years of experience in the brokerage industry.

COUNSELING OFFICE OPENS IN CAPE Patrick W. Tankersley, a licensed professional counselor, opened Faith Focused Counseling at 3095 Lexington Ave., Suite 200 in Cape Girardeau. He will focus on adult individual, marriage and family counseling as well as counseling people with depression and anxieties. Tankersley worked most recently as a minister at Cape Bible Chapel. He has also worked at the Community Counseling Center and for Ken Callis Counseling.

CAPE INSTALLER IN TOP 100 Danny McMillian, a mobile electronics installation professional at Stereo One in Cape Girardeau, was recognized as one of Mobile Electronics magazine's Top 100 Installers for 2010-2011. The list is compiled each year from nominations by factory and independent sales and customer service representatives from the mobile electronics industry. McMillian is now eligible for consideration for the Top 12 finalists and the magazine's Installer of the Year award.

BIG RIVER HIRES, PROMOTIONS

Big River Telephone recently added to its staff and promoted several employees in the network engineering and network operations departments. Nathan Bollinger was promoted to network engineer. He has been with the company for 12 years. Cory Seabaugh was also promoted to network engineer. He started with Big River as a field technician three years ago and specializes in porting services and installing equipment at the customer site. Sunil Kharyal joined the network engineering team at Big River. Trevor Pearman was promoted to network operations engineer. He has worked in many departments within Big River during his nine-year tenure. Luke White joined the network operations staff at Big River. He started with Big River in 2010 on the advanced technical support team. James Eakin was promoted to network operations engineer. He began with Big River in provisioning in 2008 and later became a supervisor in that department.

ANALYST COMPLETES TRAINING Nick Snyder, credit analyst with Alliance Bank in Cape Girardeau, completed a week of training at the Southeastern School of Commercial Lending in Nashville, Tenn.

KING IS TOP LISTER POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Kim King was top lister for June at Poplar Bluff Realty Inc.

WHITTEN GETS ABR TITLE POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Terri Whitten with Century 21 American Realty received the Accredited Buyer's Representation designation by the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council of the National Association of Realtors. To earn the designation, she had to complete a comprehensive course in buyer representation, an elective course on a buyer representation specialty and submit documentation verifying her professional experience.

BOWMAN JOINS BOLD MARKETING Katie Bowman of Charleston, Mo., joined BOLD Marketing LLC in Cape Girardeau as associate art director. She is responsible for graphic and creative design planning and execution of a wide variety of client projects.

RHODES GETS NEW RANKING FARMINGTON, Mo. -- The chaplain for the St. Francois County Sheriff's Department and several other area law agencies has obtained a new ranking. Darryl Rhodes, senior pastor of Solid Rock Family Church in Farmington, was awarded the rank of master chaplain while attending the International Conference of Police Chaplains' 38th annual training seminar July 11 to 15. To qualify for the ranking, Rhodes had to attend more than 500 hours of training, be an ICPC member for at least 10 years and serve the law enforcement community for at least 15 years. He has been chaplain for the St. Francois County Sheriff's Department since 1994. He also serves as chaplain for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the 911 Communications Center and the Mineral Area College Law Enforcement Academy.

PAXTON NAMED PROGRAM MANAGER POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Big Spring Resource Conservation and Development District selected Becky B. Paxton of Poplar Bluff as its program manager, effective July 1, reported the Daily American Republic. Big Springs RC&D is a not-for-profit corporation that addresses regional natural resource concerns in Butler, Carter, Reynolds, Ripley and Wayne counties. Paxton has a background in rural economic development and grants management. In her new role, she will focus on partnerships and networking with other not-for-profits and state and federal governments, with obtaining funding for RC&D as a major priority.

YOUNG IS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR BENTON, Mo. -- Patrick Young of Oran, Mo., is the new emergency management director for Scott County. He began his new role Aug. 8. He replaces Amber Scudder, whose resignation became effective at the end of August.

LITTLES IS TOP LISTER POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Brock Littles was top lister for July at Coldwell Banker.

BOLLINGER LEADS WOODMEN GREENVILLE, Mo. -- David Bollinger of Greenville, a financial representative with Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial, was New Member Leader in the Missouri East Region in July. He has been with the company since June. Additionally, Bollinger recently completed Kaplan Financial's Basic I and Ethics for the Insurance Professional courses. The courses outlined the parameters of a life insurance agent's ethical responsibilities and detailed an agent's responsibilities to insurers, policy owners and the public.

GROSSES ATTEND CONVENTION POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Michael Gross and Michelle Gross, co-owners of ServPro of Poplar Bluff, Dexter and Kennett, attended ServPro's 42nd annual national convention in St. Louis. Franchisees heard from keynote speakers, attended sessions with leaders in the insurance industry and participated in workshops on topics ranging from developing industry trends to marketing to local communities.

MASON APPOINTED RECORDER OF DEEDS BENTON, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon appointed Tara L. Mason of Scott City as the new recorder of deeds in Scott County. She replaces Thomas Dirnberger, who died Aug. 11. Mason has been senior deputy clerk in the recorder's office since 2002. Before that, she was assistant director and preschool teacher at a daycare in Benton.

GERAU RETURNING TO JACKSON CHAMBER The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce announced Aug. 19 that Brian Gerau will return to the chamber as director. He had previously left to pursue a job in the medical field. "After leaving the chamber I realized that I still had the drive to finish a lot of uncompleted projects," Gerau said in a news release.

KING, RESSEL JOIN SIKESTON CTC SIKESTON, Mo. -- Chad King is the new director at the Sikeston Career and Technology Center, and Crystie Drake Ressel is the new adult and community education supervisor. Both last worked as teachers at Sikeston High School.

MORTGAGE LENDER NAMES VP Ryan McClard joined Capaha Mortgage Lenders, a division of Capaha Bank, as vice president of mortgage lending. He has 11 years of experience in mortgage lending.

Tyler Cuba

CUBA GETS STRATEGIST CERTIFICATION Tyler Cuba of First Allied Securities in Cape Girardeau is among the first 2,000 professionals to obtain the Certified Wealth Strategist designation from Cannon Financial Institute. The designation recognizes Cuba for completing a study of the issues surrounding effective wealth advising to comprehensively address clients' wealth management needs.

SERVPRO OWNERS RECOGNIZED Richard and Sandy Hastings, owners of ServPro of Cape Girardeau and Scott counties, received the Director's Gold Award during ServPro's 42nd annual national convention held recently in St. Louis. The award recognizes franchisees for outstanding revenue performance and service to the company.

Mark Melloy

CARDA, MELLOY JOIN COMMERCE BOARD POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Greg Carda and Mark Melloy were appointed directors to the Commerce Bank Community Advisory Board, announced Bill Brandt, community bank president for Commerce Bank in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Carda has been CEO of Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center since 2009; Melloy has worked at Briggs & Stratton for 17 years, with the past eight as plant manager.

Greg Carda

JATEFF RECOGNIZED FOR SALES Jana Jateff of Cape Girardeau, future executive senior sales director with Mary Kay Cosmetics, recently returned from Dallas, where she was honored in the National Queens Court of Sales. Jateff has been with Mary Kay for 29 years and has earned the use of 17 free company cars.

MILLER COMPLETES TRAINING Kirk Miller, a Farmers Insurance agent in Cape Girardeau, completed the five-day Career Agents Course at the University of Farmers training facility in Agoura Hills, Calif.

Dennis Hale

BESS, HALE RETIRE FROM CITY OF CAPE Bob Bess, sewer maintenance worker II with the City of Cape Girardeau, retired after 25 years of service to the Public Works Department. Dennis Hale, wastewater treatment coordinator, retired July 8 after 34 years working for the city.

Bob Bess

FISHER GETS AG AWARD NEW MADRID, Mo. -- Jake Fisher, director of the University of Missouri Delta Center, received the Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award at the New Madrid County Farm Bureau's annual meeting Aug. 16. He has been part of the local agriculture research program for more than 50 years and will retire from his current post in October.

PEASE RECOGNIZED FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE FARMINGTON, Mo. -- Marcia Pease, an American Family Insurance agent in Farmington, was recognized for customer satisfaction excellence under the J.D. Power and Associates Distinguished Insurance Agency Program. Pease joins other American Family agents who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to customer service. She has been an American Family agent since May 1991.

THREE TIE FOR RE/MAX HONOR POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- JoNell Miller, Donna Fisher and Julie Spencer tied for top lister in July at RE/MAX Real Estate Group. Spencer was also top producer for July.

BERNIE WELCOMES RUCK, MATTHEWS BERNIE, Mo. -- Douglas Ruck is the new superintendent for the Bernie School District. A native of Iowa, Ruck has 10 years of experience in school administration. He served most recently as a principal and superintendent in Viburnum, Mo. Bryce Matthews is the new principal at Bernie High School. He previously worked in the Dexter, Mo., school system since 1985.

HOTOP IS VP AT COMMERCE Jeffrey Hotop was promoted to vice president of commercial lending for Commerce Bank's Southeast Missouri region. He is responsible for business development and relationship management for commercial clients. He has been with Commerce Bank since 2008 and previously worked at US Bank.

BURGFELD JOINS ELEMENT 74 Darren Burgfeld joined Element 74 in Cape Girardeau as project manager and client liaison. He will oversee design and custom development phases of each project and coach clients with their social media presence. He will also help produce copy that is search engine optimized. Burgfeld previously worked for three years as copywriter and part of the marketing team for Shoebacca.com, based in Irving, Texas. He was also the U.S. tour manager for Emergenza U.S. Entertainment.

FEATHERSTON JOINS P.B. REALTY POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Gary Featherston is a new real estate agent at Poplar Bluff Realty Inc. He previously worked as general manager of The Bread Co. and The Bread Co. Plus on the Three Rivers College campus.

POWELL APPOINTED CORONER JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon appointed James B. Powell of Malden, Mo., as the new coroner for Dunklin County on Aug. 30. The position became vacant upon the resignation of Jack Adkins. Powell has been a deputy coroner for Dunklin County since May 2005 and is the funeral director and embalmer for Landess Funeral Home in Malden.

CAPE CVB ANNOUNCES STAFF CHANGES After five years as director of sales for the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, Sarah Vickery accepted the position of sales manager with the Nashville Symphony Center in Nashville, Tenn. Dana Saverino, who previously served as the bureau's director of public relations, has taken the director of sales position. Stacy Dohogne Lane of Cape Girardeau is the new director of public relations. She previously worked as community liaison for Continental Wound Center.

BISHOP ATTENDS TRAINING DEXTER, Mo. -- Kevin Bishop, a member of the Dexter Board of Education, attended Essential Board Member Certification training Aug. 19 and 20 in Cape Girardeau sponsored by the Missouri School Boards' Association. The workshop series emphasizes improving student achievement by providing guidance to board members on ways to evaluate and influence student performance in their districts. Participation in the workshops fulfills Missouri's requirement of 16 hours of certification training for newly elected or appointed school board members.

Joey Hann

CAPE ADDS, PROMOTES EMPLOYEES Dean Woodard began working in the Cape Girardeau Public Works Department on Aug. 8 as solid waste worker II, and Greg Gross started July 1 as fleet mechanic II. Other new employees with the City of Cape Girardeau include Tyler Hahn, customer service representative at city hall, effective Aug. 8; Andrew Stone, survey technician I in the Engineering Department, effective June 29; and Christopher Newton, B platoon with the police department, effective July 18. Additionally, Jessica Sexton was promoted to full-time assistant public information coordinator Aug. 1. She has worked in the city's Public Information Office since July 2009. Chelsie Helms, a temporary administrative clerk, accepted a permanent part-time position as personnel coordinator in Human Resources. Patrolman Joey Hann was appointed community service officer with the Special Operations Division on July 2. He has been with the Cape Girardeau Police Department since 2006.

Andrew Stone

Greg Gross

Tyler Hahn

Chelsie Helms

Chris Newton

Dean Woodard