Recognitions

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI

At the Century 21 St. Louis Regional Broker Council's annual Awards Banquet in March, several representatives of the Key and Ashland offices in Cape Girardeau received honors for gross commission on or number of closed units. The Ashland office received the Centurion Office Award for being No. 1 in both commission and number of closed units. In addition, Ken Inman and Dana Leming were inducted to the Centurion Honor Society for making Centurion -- or top status -- for five and six years, respectively. The two, along with Keith Inman, made Centurion status this year. Gary Turner, Kathi Fish and Doris Arnold achieved Masters Emerald status. Howard Alexander, Jeri Packard, LaDonna Dalton, Donald McElmurry and Shirley Gregory made Masters Ruby. Dolores Schultz got an Award of Excellence, while Ron Burger, Cheryl Huffman, Darren Ellis, Karla Marquart and Dottie Eaker got the Million Dollar Award. For the Key office, Jane Clark and Birdie Rader were named to the Centurion Honor Society for nine and 10 years, respectively. Clark also received Centurion status this year. Linda Essner got Masters Emerald. Rader received the Million Dollar Award, and Melissa Whitaker and Kyla Erlbacher won the First Year Million Dollar Award.

James Lawrence, program director of the Wound Healing Center at St. Francis Medical Center, was recently named Director of the Year by the National Healing Corporation.

Karen Rigdon was awarded the Platinum Club award for production in real estate loans for Bank of America for 2003. Rigdon is vice president and account executive for Bank of America in Cape Girardeau.

Mike Reminger of Chaffee recently placed second in the state in the Ridge Till Irrigated class of the 2003 National Corn Grower Yield Contest, sponsored by the National Corn Growers Association. Reminger used a Pioneer 32W86 hybrid to produce a yield of 263.7991 bushels per acre.

Two faculty members at Southeast Missouri State University have been named Donald L. Harrison College Business Faculty Fellows. Kang Hoon Park has been named Copper Dome Faculty Fellow, and David K. Smith Jr. has been named Teaching Copper Dome Faculty Fellow. Both will have two-year terms beginning July 1.

Jan McClanahan was recently honored in Springfield at the Missourian Association of Realtors' Honor Society. Each year, the association recognizes a small number of Realtors for their outstanding service. This is the third consecutive year McClanahan has received this honor.

Gov. Bob Holden recently announced that Stephen DelVecchio of Cape Girardeau has been appointed to the Missouri State Board of Accountancy. The board certifies accountants statewide.

Rental Service Corp., a leading equipment rental provider, has announced that Kathy Kraemer, territory manager for Rental Service in Cape Girardeau, has been awarded the 2003 Atlas Copco Annual Customer Care Award. Kraemer is one of only three of Atlas Copco's 5,000 employees to be so honored.

Richard Phillips, a Modern Woodmen of America insurance representative in Cape Girardeau, has attained the Fraternal Insurance Counselor designation. This is an educational honor given to representatives associated with fraternal insurance societies.

Gina Le Grand of Cape Girardeau recently became a consultant for Tastefully Simple Inc., a national direct sales company based in Minnesota. As a consultant, Le Grand will conduct in-home presentations and market the business' line of food and gifts at home taste-testing parties.

In recognition of his 36 years on its board of directors, Citizens Mutual Insurance Co. has appointed Gene Wills of Jackson as a director emeritus of the company for the rest of his life. The honorary status comes weeks after Wills retired from the company's board of directors.

Real estate agent Jan McClanahan of McClanahan Real Estate in Cape Girardeau was recently named to the Missouri Association of Realtors' Honor Society. The distinction is given annually to a few Realtors for their outstanding service. McClanahan has received this honor each of the last three years.

The American College of Medical Practice Executives has announced that Patty Schaefer has earned the designation of certified medical practice executive. She is the CPA, office manager of OB-GYN Specialists of Southeast Missouri, P.C.

Bud McMillan from Wieser Honda in Cape Girardeau was recently awarded America Honda's distinction of being No. 1 in customer satisfaction in its Council of Sales Leadership. He earned this distinction by amassing the highest customer satisfaction rating in this region.

Sikeston businessman Don Bedell has won an award from two professional organizations representing nearly 12,000 nursing homes. The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living have named Bedell as one of four recipients of the national Joe Warner Patient Advocacy Award. Bedell is founder and chairman of Sikeston-based Health Facilities Management Corp., which operates 33 nursing homes across the United States. The award is given annually by the AHCA/NCAL to affiliates who have worked to educate members of Congress about the needs of long-term care recipients and have worked to advance quality in the long-term care profession.

Former state representative Mary Kasten has been elected to fill a position on the Kasten Masonry Sales Inc. board of directors. The announcement was made at the company's recent annual shareholder's meeting. The position she will be filling was formerly held by her husband, Melvin Kasten.

William Schott, Melvin Van de Ven and Scott Van de Ven recently attended the advanced planning seminar in St. Louis. All three are certified public accountants with Schott and Van de Ven in Cape Girardeau. The two-day training event included courses on estate planning, compensation planning, education funding and irrevocable trusts.

Coldwell Banker real estate broker Sandy Helwege has received the Pinnacle Award from the Cape Girardeau County Board of Realtors. Helwege won the award by exceeding $5 million in production in 2003.

Century 21 Heartland was recently recognized with a number of accolades. The Cape Girardeau office recently won the Century 21 National Quality Service Award and the Gold Medallion national award for sales production. In addition, the office's Heartland sales team won the Centurion Team Award for outstanding production. Members of that team are Larry Cunningham, Dee Dee Dockins, Michelle Doughten, Susan Grant, Candi Hill, Tony Lape, Leslie Leimbach, Phyllis Seabaugh and Denise Stover. Also, Doughten was recognized individually as a quality service provider.

The Missouri Department of Transportation has recognized Penzel Construction Co. of Jackson with two Contractor Performance Awards. The company achieved the top ratings for contractor compliance, prosecution and progress.

Agents with Coldwell Banker Hamilton Realty in Cape Girardeau were recently honored for their sales in 2003. Sandy Helwege earned top honors for 2003 sales, exceeding $5 million. David Kieffer sold over $3 million, and Harriet Drusch and Sharon Gill both sold over $2 million each. In addition, Gill and Jerry Wilson were named Rookies of the Year by exceeding $1 million in the first year.

Jayne Schrader of Cape Girardeau, a financial associate with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, has earned the honor of membership in the Million Dollar Round Table, an international association of leading life insurance and financial services professionals.

Tom Novak was one of 60 investment representatives recently honored at a business management forum in St. Louis. Novak, the Jackson investment representative for Edward Jones, was recognized for demonstrating excellent business management skills.

Doris Jean Arnold, broker associate with Century 21 Ashland Realty of Cape Girardeau, has won the Award of Excellence for the Cape Girardeau County Board of Realtors. The award recognizes her for achieving over $5 million in sales for the past year.

At the recent Missouri Hearing Society educational conference in St. Louis, Dan Shandy received the Gold Award for Outstanding Educational Achievement for 2003. Shandy is an audiologist and a hearing instrument specialist with America's Best Center for Hearing Aids in Cape Girardeau.