People on the move 2/25

Local orthodontist attends MERIT meeting

Dr. Shanon Kirchhoff attended the 2002 MERIT meeting at the State Emergency Management Agency facility in Jefferson City, Mo. MERIT is the acronym for Missouri Emergency Response Identification Team. MERIT serves as Missouri's dental forensics team when identification of victims is necessary. With the recent tragic events in New York and Washington, D.C., the team's importance becomes even more relevant. The speaker was Dr. H. Gill-King, current director of the Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology and Human Identification at the University of North Texas.

SBC announces new account manager

Jim Bauer has just joined the Select Accounts Team with SBC Southwestern Bell as a new account manager in Cape Girardeau. Bauer joins account manager Mike Ogel, who has been working with business customers in Cape Girardeau and other parts of the Southeast Missouri region.

A Ste. Genevieve, Mo., native, Bauer brings 14 years experience in telecommunications and office automation product sales to the SBC Southwestern Bell team. Both he and Ogel provide customer service for telecommunications, data, and other advanced business phone services.

Bauer, a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University with a degree in business administration, lives in Cape Girardeau with his wife, Terri, who is the director of the Cape Girardeau Visitors and Convention Bureau.

Floodplain administrator gets national certification

Janet Sanders, the floodplain administrator for the city of Jackson, Mo., has successfully passed the Association of State Floodplain Managers Certification Examination, which means she is now a nationally accredited Certified Floodplain Manager. This certification is granted only to those professionals who have met the requirements and completed a comprehensive examination of programs and standards to reduce flood losses in the nation.

Volkerding ranks fourth in life insurance sales

Kenneth E. Volkerding, FIC, a district representative in Jackson, Mo., for Aid Association for Lutherans/Lutheran Brotherhood, was recently recognized as one of the organization's top sales leaders for January 2002.

Volkerding ranked fourth nationwide in the amount of Lutheran Brotherhood life insurance issued last month.

Coldwell Banker hires new Realtor

Ken Phelps has joined Coldwell Banker Abernathy Realty in Jackson, Mo. Before entering real estate, Phelps worked at Proctor & Gamble and previously owned The Way Books & Gifts in Jackson. He is past president of the Jackson Merchant's Association and was on the board of directors for the Chamber of Commerce. Phelps has lived in Jackson 27 years.

Photographer attends Arizona symposium

Pat Patterson of Pat Patterson Photography was invited to the 2002 Presidential Circle Symposium Jan. 12-15 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Presidential Circle is comprised of the nation's most elite professional portrait and wedding photographers; of which only 275 studios nationwide have been inducted as members. The symposium focused on business building programs to enhance the photographic studio's operations, as well as discussions on the latest digital and Internet technologies taking place in the industry today.

-- From staff reports