Alumni speak of their real-life experiences

The Harrison College of Business Executive Forum last Monday drew about 350 students and guests to a discussion of business issues and career strategies at Southeast Missouri State University.

The forum, held each semester, featured three alumni who have established themselves as leaders in their fields. The purpose of the forum is to present real-world experiences to supplement the academic studies of the business students, said Gerry McDougall, dean of the business college.

The panelists were Tina Klocke, Tom Hendrick and Dan Mohorc.

Klocke is a 1982 graduate of Southeast and chief financial officer at Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. since 1997. Klocke is also the company's treasurer and secretary. Klocke was named one of the 2006 "CPA Women to Watch" by the Missouri Society of CPAs and will receive the Southeast Missouri Chapter of Zonta "Woman of Achievement Award" for 2007.

Hendrick, 1968 Southeast graduate, was named executive vice president of acquisitions and development in 2006 for Kor Group, a real estate investment, development and management firm headquartered in Dallas. Hendrick oversees hotel and resort acquisitions and previously was vice president of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, where he directed the company's business development in the Americas.

Mohorc, a 1977 graduate, is founder of Galactic Marketing Incentives in Arlington, Texas. Started in 1993, Galactic specializes in motivational meetings and events, incentive programs and communications services to strengthen the relationship between companies and their employees. Galactic was named the "Best Employer of the Year" for 2007 in Arlington.

"These prominent executives shared with the students the importance of making good decisions in an honest, ethical manner," McDougall said in a prepared statement.

• Tanning studio changes hands: Kelly Glueck, a surgical assistant, will be trying her hand at business when she takes over the "Sun on the Run" tanning salon at 1115 Broadway. Glueck will change the name to "Tanacious" after she completes the purchase of the salon, currently owned by Todd Goodson.

Glueck expects the transition to be complete by Oct. 1. "I enjoy tanning myself, using it as a relaxation and to get a nice, healthy glow," she said. "I think this will be a good business."

There will be no interruption of service, Glueck said, and patrons can expect to see the salon open for longer hours. When the transition is complete, she said, the salon will be open from 8 a.m. to about 10 p.m.

"I am going to try to make cosmetic improvements to begin with, and in the future I would like to add a nail salon to offer that service as well," Glueck said.

Kelly Glueck is the daughter-in-law of Brenda Glueck, owner of Brenda's restaurant on Morgan Oak Street.

• Autorama: It took some work, but the first multidealer autorama took place last week at West Park Mall, organized by the Southeast Missourian after our advertising department was approached by Coad Toyota's Shane Morris and Ford Groves' Heath Lucas, said Elmer Schetter, advertising salesperson.

"It was a major undertaking," Schetter said.

In the end, eight of the 10 new car dealers in Cape Girardeau took part -- Ford Groves, offering Ford, Lincoln and Mercury, Coad Toyota, Crown Nissan Cadillac, Bening Mazda, Saturn of Cape Girardeau, Auffenberg Chrysler, Cape Girardeau Honda and Coad's GM operation.

Auto sales are slumping, and the Autorama was designed to bring customers and cars together in one location to provide maximum opportunities for comparison shopping, said Adam Burnham, advertising director for the Southeast Missourian.

"The dealers tell us this is kind of a way to do something different," Burnham said. "We had a very aggressive marketing schedule, and we'll have to wait to see how it goes."

No figures were available over the weekend on how well the dealerships did at the sale.

• Growing concern: Jim Schuette's True 32 Custom Cabinetry and Closetworks was named as one of the 100 fastest-growing woodworking companies, according to a recent edition of Wood & Wood Products magazine. True 32 makes fine European cabinetry at its manufacturing facility at 6796 State Highway 25 using a flow manufacturing system.

It is the second consecutive year for the distinction. For 2007, True 32 was ranked 48th fastest growing, following a No. 3 ranking in 2006.

The company posted a 26 precent increase in sales during 2006. The company changed its name from Schuette Custom Woodworks in 2004, and added the line of European cabinetry to its existing lines of commercial cabinetry, countertops and architectural millwork.

Rudi Keller is the business editor of the Southeast Missourian. Contact him at 335-6611, extension 126