Subscriber exclusive — Business Notebook: Christmas wishes of 1984; Realty Executives of Cape County named 'market leader'

As many of you know, especially those of you who subscribed to this publication for more than 30 or 40 years, this isn't my first "tour of duty" with the Southeast Missourian. I worked for the paper in the late 1970s through the mid-'80s, spending part of that time as business editor after G.D. Fronabarger filed his last business column.

One day last week, retired Missourian photographer Fred Lynch uploaded an article I wrote 35 years ago in the "Cape Rewound" Facebook group about a "Santa" at West Park Mall. Because this is my last column before Christmas, it seems appropriate I reprint it here along with the photo I took of that Santa with a "repeat customer" on his knee.

(As a side note, Warren Strack, the focus of my Santa feature, died in 2002 at age 80.)

From the Dec. 16, 1984, Southeast Missourian:

Longtime Santa reflects

Warren Strack won't even venture a guess when asked how many people have sat on his lap. But if you're under 40 years old and grew up in this area, you probably did.

You see, every December for the past 32 years, Strack has been Santa Claus to thousands of youngsters in Cape Girardeau. He's been the featured attraction in parades, and at parties and shopping centers. For the past four years, he has been one of the full-time Santas at West Park Mall.

But don't tell the kids that he's one of several Santas. To them he is THE St. Nicholas. After all, the 63-year-old Strack certainly looks the part ... right down to the twinkle in his eyes. And although you can't see his smile because of his beard, those eyes tell you he's a jolly old fellow.

"I've heard a lot of kids when they pass me say, 'Mom, that was the real Santa Claus!'," Strack chuckled.

He began his career as Santa to appear at a Christmas party. Since then he's worn out several Santa suits.

And over the years, Strack believes he's learned the secret to being a good Santa. "You've got to be friendly with the kids," he explained. "You've got to laugh and cut up with them."

Have children changed over the years? "It seems like children are about the same," he said. That is, they're about the same in that they tend to believe in Kriss Kringle until they reach age 6 or 7. However, there isn't much similarity between what children asked for 32 years ago and what they want for Christmas today.

"Used to be it was a wagon or a tricycle," Strack recalled. "Now you get kids wanting electronics and Cabbage Patch dolls." Other popular requests this year have been He-Man and Michael Jackson dolls. "Oh, that Michael Jackson is big this year."

After a career as Santa that has lasted more than half his life, Strack points out that several generations of kids have sat on his lap. "I'm getting parents in here now who say they used to sit on Santa's lap," he said, adding this reporter. "You may have sat on my lap, too."

He might be right.

Although the real Santa knows the names of every boy and girl, Strack admits he's a little weak in that department. But even if Strack couldn't remember her, there's at least one person who certainly remembers him.

It was 19 years ago that a little girl named Lisa climbed on Santa's lap at Town Plaza Shopping Center here and asked for a doll for Christmas. Her brother and sister asked for pogo sticks.

Although she was only 3 years old, Lisa knows exactly what she and her brother and sister asked for because she has a photograph record of their conversation with "Santa" Strack.

The reason that little girl is worth noting is that now, 19 years later, Lisa McMillan has become the "Santa supervisor" at West Park Mall, in charge of scheduling Santas like Strack who sit in the mall's center court.

Miss McMillan confirms that Strack has been one of her most popular Santas. "I have a lot of people call and ask when he would be here," Miss McMillan noted.

Strack retired seven years ago after a 25-year career with the Cape Girardeau Fire Department. For 14 years, he was the city's fire inspector.

Now, he's facing retirement again. Because of a bad back, Strack is under doctor's orders to hang up his beard. He'll continue to make appearances at parties and various other special occasions, but he'll be unable to continue working as a full-time Santa. "It's a semiretirement," he explained. "I'm gonna let the elves take over."

Although he has to slow down some, he isn't letting the semiretirement dampen his Santa sense of humor. "You know why Santa has a garden, don't you?" he asked. "So he can Ho, Ho, Ho!"

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Big changes will be underway soon at the Cape Girardeau Target.

Store director Matt Gossage told me last week work will begin "toward the end of January or in early February" to redesign several areas of the store on Siemers Drive.

He said the apparel area will have a "totally new look," the beauty area will be expanded and "we will have a new baby and toddler area called 'Swaddle.' We're excited about it."

In addition, the customer-service area will have a fresh look and the exterior signage and paint will be updated to conform with Target's current brand identity.

Gossage said most of the work will take place during nonbusiness hours so as not to interfere with shoppers.

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The Andrew Jackson Bridal Company will move soon from its current location at 1733 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau to 835 Broadway, the former location of Howard's Athletic Goods on the corner of North Pacific Street and Broadway in Cape.

According to a post on the store's Facebook page, the move will happen in January.

Watch for more details in my column as they become available to me.

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Now on to the rest of this week's Business Notebook ...

CCC earns CARF reaccreditation

The Community Counseling Center in Cape Girardeau has received reaccreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehab Facilities (CARF) International, an independent, not-for-profit accrediting organization of health and human services.

CARF establishes consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services.

The Community Counseling Center, 402 S. Silver Springs Road, was first accredited in 2003. The new three-year accreditation extends into the fall of 2022.

As part of the accreditation process, a team of six CARF surveyors spent three days reviewing more than 2,000 standards at the counseling facility. Upon completion, the surveyors found the Community Counseling Center was 99.4% in compliance with CARF standards, thereby verifying its programs and services were of the highest quality, measurable and accountable.

The Community Counseling Center offers more than 40 programs, has more than 400 professional and support staff and serves nearly 6,000 unduplicated patients annually.

Youth coders earn prizes at party

Christmas came early to hundreds of Youth Coding League participants at the Terry W. Kitchen Jr. High School in Cape Girardeau earlier this month as students from throughout Southeast Missouri gathered to celebrate a semester of hard work and coding competition. Prize winners in a variety of categories took home cash, Chromebooks, tech prizes and more.

The Youth Coding League is a weekly after-school program that introduces computer programming to middle and junior high students. The league is sponsored by the Marquette Tech District Foundation and adds a competitive, sportslike element to Google's CS First curriculum. Throughout the semester, students earned points and milestones and shared their achievements at www.YouthCodingLeague.com, where a list of fall 2019 winners can also be found.

"This is the third semester of the Youth Coding League, and we've grown to 36 schools," according to Stacy Dohogne Lane, the Marquette Tech District's public relations director. "Participating schools range as far south as Richland R-1 in Essex, as far north as Oak Ridge and everywhere in between. We are committed to bringing critically important computer science skills to kids, especially kids who might not otherwise have access to the skill set. Logic, problem-solving and the ability to think systematically will prepare them for the jobs they'll have someday, many of which don't exist yet."

Pmac Music to relocate, rebrand

Pmac Music, a Cape Girardeau retail music staple for 23 years, is moving from its West Park Village location along William Street to a new space in the Merchants Walk building, 225 S. Plaza Way across from the Town Plaza Shopping Center.

The new store will have a slightly larger footprint than its West Park Village space and will feature a "listening lounge" where customers can sample music before buying it.

Founded in 1996, the business was recently acquired by employee and longtime customer Dawn Field. Along with the ownership change, Field will rebrand the store as Discovery Records & CDs, offering an inventory of thousands of new and used vinyl albums, DVDs and CDs.

Chris Cole of Lorimont Commercial Real Estate brokered the lease transaction.

In addition to her brick and mortar location, Field will continue to run an online retail operation under the Pmac Music name, offering inventory through Amazon, Discogs and other e-commerce marketplaces.

CTC to offer additional med. assistant program

The Cape Girardeau Career & Technology Center will offer an additional medical assistant program beginning Jan. 13. Enrollment is underway now for the program that will meet from 8:20 a.m. until 3 p.m. weekdays through August.

Students enrolled in the program will be trained to prepare lab specimens, draw blood and maintain medical records. They will also be trained in medical administration, medical terminology, medical law and ethics, patient education, hospital admission procedures and coding, billing and insurance form completion.

More information is available at www.CTC.CapeTigers.com or by calling (573) 334-0826.

Awards and recognitions

Realty Executives International has designated Realty Executives of Cape County, headquartered in Cape Girardeau, as a "market leader" among all Realty Executives franchises. The recognition is awarded to franchisees with at least 100 agents, at least 1,000 transactions or 20% or more market share, based on transactions in the Multilist Service (MLS).

Now in its 16th year of business, Realty Executives of Cape County has a market share of approximately 48%. The firm has five offices, two in Cape Girardeau, two in Jackson and one in Perryville, Missouri. The brokerage has grown from four agents to nearly 100.

People on the Move

Nathan Bullock

Nathan Bullock, executive director of academic program development in the School of Graduate and Professional Studies at Delaware Valley University, has been named dean of Extended Studies at Southeast Missouri State University.

Bullock will begin his duties on the Cape Girardeau campus Feb. 1 in the newly created position. He replaces Marsha Blanchard, dean of Southeast's regional campuses, who is retiring this month after nearly 20 years with the university.

A native of Wardell, Missouri, Bullock served as director of off-campus and outreach programs at Rutgers University-Camden (New Jersey) before assuming his current position. He has also held positions as director of adult credit programs at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, as operations manager of executive MBA programs at Columbia University and as coordinator of the weekend college and academic adviser at Dallas Baptist University.

He holds an undergraduate degree in religion from Williams Baptist University, a Master of Arts in organizational management from Dallas Baptist University and a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University. He is also working on a doctoral degree in applied learning sciences through the University of Miami.

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Randy Lueder was named fire chief of the East County Fire Protection District during a meeting of the district's board last week. As part of his swearing-in ceremony, Lueder was given a new, white fire chief's helmet by board secretary Becky Wolsey.

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Gabrielle Sierman

Advanced practice and family nurse practitioner Gabrielle R. Sierman has joined Advanced Orthopedic Specialists, a practice affiliated with Saint Francis Healthcare System.

Sierman earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Management from Southeast Missouri State University in 2012, an Associate in Nursing from Southeast Hospital's College of Nursing and Health Sciences in 2014, a Bachelor of Science in nursing in 2016 and Master of Science in Nursing in 2019, both from Southeast.

Her five years of nursing experience includes time in orthopedic surgery and the recovery room. She is certified through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

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Jeannie Knotts

Jeannie Knotts has joined the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau as a board-certified advanced practice registered nurse and family nurse practitioner.

Knotts earned her associate degree from Southeast Hospital's College of Nursing and Health Sciences in 2005, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Southeast Missouri State University and a Master of Science in Nursing from Cox College in Springfield, Missouri.

Before joining the Lutheran Home, she was a nurse practitioner at Southeast Hospital. Throughout her career, she has worked in various specialties, including cardiology, orthopedics and neurology as well as in skilled nursing and long-term acute care settings.

Chamber notes

The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications from those interested in being part of the chamber's 2020 Leadership Cape class.

Nearly 800 community leaders have participated in the program over the past 30 years. Program director and chamber vice president Kim Voelker said the program's timeline will be adjusted in 2020 to better accommodate weather and scheduling concerns.

"We have also incorporated additional leadership components to better develop leadership skills of each participant," she said.

The application deadline is Jan. 31. Tuition is $545 for Cape chamber members, $595 for non-members and covers supplies, meals, transportation and speakers during the program's seven sessions and retreat.

More information is available through the chamber website, www.capechamber.com, or by calling (573) 335-3312.

Business license applications

Josh Lynn of Cape Girardeau has filed a business license application to operate Top Talent Services LLC at 33 N. Ellis St. in Cape Girardeau. The talent booking and media production services business will be owned by Lynn along with Teresa Hammond of Cape Girardeau and Derek White of Goreville, Illinois. According to the license application, Top Talent Services will open in early January.

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Dawn Field of Cape Girardeau has applied for a business license to open Discovery Records at 225 S. Plaza Way in Cape Girardeau. In her application, Field said the business will open Jan. 6 and will offer retail sales of new and used CDs, records, DVDs and related products.

Commercial building permits

Southeast Hospital has submitted a building permit application for a $1.1 million remodeling of a retail pharmacy at 1701 Lacey St. in Cape Girardeau. Kiefner Brothers Inc. is the project's contractor.

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