PERSONNEL: DEWITT RECEIVES STATES AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

Larry DeWitt of Sikeston, Mo., has received "Excellence in Business" award from the Missouri Small Business Development Center.

DeWitt started his landscaping business in Sikeston after earning degrees in horticulture and landscape design.

Over the years, DeWitt experimented with textiles and materials to develop a new "landscape fabric," later called "Dewitt's Weed Barrier," which stops weed growth but allows moisture and air to plants.

DeWitt products are used in more than 70 percent of commercial landscaping in the United States.

The DeWitt Co. recently moved into a new 300,000-square-foot facility at 905 S. Kingshighway in Sikeston and has expanded sales in both domestic and foreign markets.