Names in the news

__MONDI JACKSON HONORS EMPLOYEES__

Kent Zimmerman of Marble Hill, Missouri, was employee of the month for August at Mondi Jackson LLC. Zimmerman, a quality engineer, has worked at Mondi since September 2012. Mondi Jackson also recognizes the following employment anniversaries: David Cox, Donnie Smith and Jeffrey Oldson, 25 years of service; Dirk Sutherlin, 15 years; and Johnathon Knudson and Robert Puckett, 10 years.

__STATLER MARKS 50 YEARS AS A LICENSED ATTORNEY__

Judge Peter L. Statler is celebrating 50 years as a licensed attorney in Missouri. Born in Jackson to Judge Osler Statler and Erma Statler, Peter Statler graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia Law School and became licensed to practice law in the state in 1966. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he returned to Jackson and opened a private practice, Mueller & Statler, with Paul A. Mueller Jr., where he worked until 1994. Statler was appointed Jackson municipal judge from 1988 to 1994 and from 2011 to the present. He served as associate circuit judge in Cape Girardeau County from 1994 to 2010 and was the first drug court judge in Cape Girardeau County. Statler currently runs a private practice with his sons, Daniel and Travis, at Statler Lawyers in Cape Girardeau.

__HALTER COMPLETES SMALL BUSINESS COURSE__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Steve Halter completed the International Economic Development Council’s “Entrepreneurial and Small Business Development Strategies” course. The two-day course explored the core aspects of entrepreneurial and small business development, including value-add partnerships, technical assistance programs, financing, business incubation and more.

__MAY JOINS ELEMENT 74__

Element 74 in Cape Girardeau added a sixth project manager to its team. Jessica May was hired to communicate with clients to build websites and increase their overall online presence through strategies such as digital marketing and search-engine optimization. She moved from O’Fallon, Missouri, to Cape Girardeau in 2012 to attend Southeast Missouri State University and receive a degree in mass communication.

__DORAN NAMED CONSERVATION AGENT__

PERRYVILLE, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Conservation named Christopher Doran as the new conservation agent for Perry County. He previously was the conservation agent in Howard County for seven years. A Southeast Missouri native, Doran graduated from high school in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. He received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Southeast Missouri State University and a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Central Missouri.

__CARTER NAMED MANAGER AT PLAZA TIRE__

MALDEN, Mo. — Andy Carter was hired as manager at Plaza Tire Service in Malden. He has worked in the tire business since 1987 and has been managing tire stores since 2000, according to the Delta News Citizen. He managed two Plaza Tire Service locations in Arkansas before taking the helm at the Malden store.

__HUTCHISON, KNODELL LEAD P.B. REALTY__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Rhenda Hutchison was top producer for July at Poplar Bluff Realty Inc., and Kurt Knodell was top lister for the month.

__NEW CEO NAMED AT WOOD & HUSTON__

After 19 years of service to the bank and 37 years in the banking industry overall, Barry Randolph has retired as president and CEO of Wood & Huston Bank. Mark Thompson, the bank’s executive vice president and CFO, was appointed as Randolph’s successor. Wood & Huston has branches and service locations throughout Missouri. The bank has served Cape Girardeau since 1981 and Jackson since 2006. Randolph joined Wood & Huston Bank as president of the West Plains, Missouri, branch. After more than three years there, he moved on to become head of the Wood & Huston Cape Girardeau banking center. Six years later, he become president and CEO of the bank. Thompson joined the bank in 2008 with 30 years of experience in finance, serving as chief financial officer of portfolio companies Fortress Investment Group LLC and D.E. Shaw Group. In his new role, he will be based in Marshall, Missouri, where the bank’s headquarters are. He will visit Southeast Missouri regularly, he said, working with customers and with Clint Karnes, the Cape Girardeau and Jackson community bank president.

__UNERSTALL PROMOTED AT SOUTHEAST MISSOURIAN__

Erin Unerstall accepted a promotion within the Southeast Missourian and is serving as the paper’s digital editor and op-ed coordinator. Before accepting this position, Unerstall was a sports reporter for the paper, primarily covering Southeast Missouri State University athletics. Before joining the Southeast Missourian, she served as sports editor and editor of the Southeast Arrow and an intern at the Washington Missourian newspaper. Her new position follows the departure of Katherine Webster, who held many positions at the Southeast Missourian since 2005.

__KIMES-BAKER JOINS CENTURY 21__

SIKESTON, Mo. — Reida Kimes-Baker joined the staff of Century 21 Premiere Realty in Sikeston. She has spent the past 26 years working with the Missouri Division of Tourism.

__TWO JOIN REALTY EXECUTIVES__

Kelly Fallert and Megan Cavaness joined Realty Executives of Cape County.

__KNOPPE, CLINE LEAD MOSSY OAK__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Stephanie Knoppe was top lister for July at Mossy Oak Properties, and Ronnie Cline was top producer for the month.

__WHITTEN LEADS COLDWELL__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Terri Whitten was top lister and top producer for July at Coldwell Banker Ruth Holloway Realty.

__FAYETTE PROMOTED TO NORTH MARKET PRESIDENT__

SIKESTON, Mo. — First State Bank and Trust Co. Inc. recently promoted Zach Fayette to north market president. Fayette is a long-term Sikeston resident who has been with First State Bank and Trust for more than two years, according to a news release. He previously worked as a bank regulator at the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, then joined First State Bank and Trust as vice president/commercial loan officer. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri in 2008 and graduated from the LSU Graduate School of Banking in 2014.

__SEMO PORT NAMES ASSISTANT DIRECTOR__

After a monthslong search, the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority, or Semo Port, has selected a new assistant director. Cary Harbison took on the role Sept. 1. Until Aug. 26, Harbison was a project manager at Bowen Engineering and Surveying in Cape Girardeau, where he worked nearly 20 years, beginning as a staff engineer. He worked directly with Semo Port for much of his time with Bowen, providing construction and design services for the port. “He’s already been a valuable member of the team,” Dan Overbey, director of Semo Port, said of Harbison’s time with Bowen. “Cary is familiar with the facility and the construction aspects of the port,” he said. The initial job announcement indicated the new assistant director “will need to achieve a high level of competence to replace the current director within three years.” Overbey has served as director of the Port for more than 23 years, and has expressed interest in retiring, though he is in no rush.

__NEWELL-KOEHLER JOINS ASHLAND REALTY__

Tara Newell-Koehler, a Bollinger County resident, joined Century 21 Ashland Realty in Cape Girardeau after completing her licensing activities. She will focus initially on residential and farm properties in Bollinger and Cape Girardeau counties.

__SIX GRADUATE FROM DELTA LEADERSHIP ACADEMY__

Six Missourians were among the 50 community leaders to complete the yearlong Delta Leadership Institute Executive Academy, a program of the Delta Regional Authority. They are Margaret Yates and Kristopher Klaus of Perryville, Doug Friend of Fredericktown, Maude Harris of Benton, Rachelle Johnson of Charleston and Penny Davis-McGath of Poplar Bluff. The Executive Academy is a training program that brings together business and community leaders from each of the eight states of the Mississippi River Delta and Alabama Black Belt regions for a collaborative leadership development experience, emphasizing regional approaches to growing local economies and creating opportunities for people of the Delta region. Each graduate completed leadership development coursework and field studies in the yearlong program that included five sessions in Delta communities and one session in Washington, D.C.

__THOMAS PROMOTED TO KFVS GENERAL MANAGER__

A new vice president and general manager has been announced at KFVS12 and WQWQ-TV. Former director of sales Scott Thomas has stepped into the role full time, having served as interim general manager since mid-July. Thomas joined Raycom Media and KFVS in the spring of 2015 with many years of television broadcasting experience under his belt, most recently as the general manager of POP TV Inc. in Springfield, Missouri. He also served in management positions at KWES-TV in Midland, Texas, KALB-TV in Alexandria, Louisiana, KTAL-TV in Shreveport, Louisiana, and KOLR-TV in Springfield.

__VOLKERDING IS AGENT OF THE MONTH__

Ken Volkerding of Jackson, a financial representative with Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial, was named District Representative of the Month for August. He has been with the company since November 2004.

__MCCOY, KETCHERSIDE TOP C21__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Melba Jean McCoy was top lister for July at Century 21 American Realty, and Natali Ketcherside was top producer for the month.

__KNEIBERT ATTENDS CLINIC__

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. — Ann C. Kneibert, a licensed professional counselor and national certified counselor, recently attended an Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents clinic presented by licensed psychologist Dr. Christine Dargon.