People on the move 08/26/02

Big River Telephone hires customer engineer

Lisa Doza has joined Cape Girardeau-based Big River Telephone, a local telecommunications company, as a customer engineer. Doza comes to Big River Telephone with many years of sales and telecommunications experience in the industry.

She has worked with customers throughout the region solving business issues with information technology tools. Doza will work extensively with Big River Telephone's business customers throughout the area.

Big River Telephone brings network service solutions to Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and western Kentucky. The company operates a regional fixed wireless network that delivers local, long distance, data, and Internet services to the region.

Mayberry joins Bo Shantz Insurance

Thomas J. Mayberry has joined State Farm Insurance Co./Bo Shantz Insurance Agency Inc., at 1213 B. N. Kingshighway.

Mayberry has been in the industry for several years, selling life and health insurance as well as specializing in long-term care and Medicare supplement protection.

Cape lawyer re-elected to Missouri Bar board

Cape Girardeau lawyer James Laramore of Cape Girardeau has been re-elected to the Board of Governors of the Missouri Bar. The lawyers of Missouri, voting in districts across the state, voted to retain Laramore and 14 other incumbents as well as vote in four new members.

The newly elected and returning members will take office at the conclusion of the 2002 Missouri Bar annual meeting, scheduled for Sept. 11 through 13 in Kansas City.

Taylor retires from patrol after 30 years

Tom Taylor, a lieutenant with the Missouri State Highway Patrol for 30 years, has retired. Taylor is a Cape Girardeau resident who was appointed to the patrol in July 1972. He was first assigned as a road trooper in Clay and Platte counties. He then transferred to the group now known as the Governor's Security Unit.

In 1977, he transferred to the Cape Girardeau County zone in Troop E. Most recently, he had worked in the Division of Drug and Crime.

Local Red Lobster manager promoted

Lonnie Griggs, the general manager of Red Lobster in Cape Girardeau, has been promoted to director of operations for Smokey Bones restaurants in the St. Louis area, Southern Illinois and Kentucky.

Darden, the Orlando-based company that owns Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Smokey Bones restaurants, announced the promotion last week.

Griggs had recently been awarded the company's Diamond Club Award for his duties as manager of Red Lobster, an award that recognizes managers who achieve outstanding restaurant success.

The award honors those Red Lobster managers whose restaurants rank in the top 5 percent of both company restaurant revenue and guest satisfaction scores during the previous fiscal year when compared to all 660 Red Lobster restaurants across North America.

About 38 managers in all get the award. In appreciation for their work, Griggs spent four days at the Hytatt Regency Lake Tahoe. Griggs still lives in Jackson, Mo.

Irvin named director of Alliance Exchange

Ivan Irvin, a commercial real estate broker in Cape Girardeau for 37 years, has been appointed regional director for Alliance Exchange Group. Irvin has been a leader in commercial and industrial real estate since 1965. He also has served as real estate commissioner in Missouri for six years.

Alliance Exchange Group has been doing tax-deferred exchanges since 1975. Irvin was appointed after he attended one of the seminars hosted by Alliance in Nevada.

Alliance handles all types of real and personal property exchange transactions ranging from delayed, reverse and build-to-suit exchanges to more technical percentage transactions and partnership distributions.

Irvin will continue to run his private commercial real estate firm.

Heartland Care workers attend annual meeting

Two workers at Heartland Care and Rehab Center of Cape Girardeau attended the Health Facilities Management Corp.'s annual meeting.

Glenda Cato, administrator, and Robin Inman, director of nursing, attended the meeting at the Landing in Van Buren, Mo., July 30 to Aug. 1.

The corporation is a nursing home management company based in Sikeston, Mo., with 31 nursing care facilities in Missouri, Arkansas and Arizona. The company brings the administrators and directors of nursing from all the facilities and corporate staff together for education, communication and awareness of our industry issues.

KAGMO announces new personnel

Beckie Johnston of Jackson, Mo., has been named the new power transmission manager of KAGMO Electric. Johnston brings 14 years of experience to the company.

Gregg August of Scott City, Mo., also has joined KAGMO. August specializes in drives, softstarts and panel fabrication. August graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he received an electrical and mechanical engineering degree. He will be responsible for applications, customer training, field service and design and future expansion into the electrical and mechanical markets.

KAGMO Electric currently services Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Illinois with distribution of Electric Motors and P.T. Products.

Suhre named finalist for Union Planters award

Union Planters Bank has named Debra Suhre as a 2002 UPBest award finalist. Suhre is one of 25 finalists in the Midwest Banking Group who were nominated by co-workers for exemplifying Union Planters' core values.

Union Planters Midwest Banking Group represents offices in the states of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. Suhre was chosen from among the 2,500 employees in this geography.

Suhre is a financial sales representative at Union Planters. Her office is at 407 North Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau.

Suhre has been with Union Planters for 28 years and has held positions of teller, bookkeeping and new accounts, and consumer loan officer.

Union Planters Bank has 17 branches in Southeast Missouri and is actively involved in various community programs.

Plassman completes employment benefit class

David M. Plassman, a certified public accountant with Schott & Van de Ven, has completed a class on employee benefit plan compliance requirements. The training was on reporting and disclosure requirements.

Schott & Van de Ven serves as an independent third-party administrator for employee benefit plans and Section 125 deferred compensation plans.

Schott & Van de Ven is a full-service public accounting firm at 1020 N. Kingshighway, Suite D, Cape Girardeau. Founded in 1959, the firm has satellite offices in Marble Hill, Mo., and Marion, Ill.

Cape student passes fundamentals test

Jeff LeFan of Cape Girardeau, a graduating senior at Southeast Missouri State University, recently took and passed the Fundamentals of Engineering test, the first required step in the process of becoming a registered professional engineer.

LeFan's degree is in engineering physics.

-- From staff reports