Maurer, Broadway Prescription take home awards at Cape Chamber banquet

Editor's note: The following story has been edited to correct Maurer's business association.

The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual dinner Friday evening at the Show Me Center and honored standout businesses and businesspeople of the Cape Girardeau community for the year 2013.

Jim Maurer of Cape Girardeau received the Rush H. Limbaugh Award. The annual award is given to a businessperson who has "expended an exceptional effort on behalf of the community for a sustained period of time," according to a news release from the chamber.

Maurer is a Cape Girardeau native who graduated from Notre Dame High School and Southeast Missouri State University.

Maurer serves on the board of directors of PAJCO, the holding company for Rhodes 101 Stops. He also is involved in church and community groups, including St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, the Southeast Missouri State University Foundation Board and Old Town Cape. He recently has volunteered to help establish the Discovery Playhouse and a Community Improvement District in downtown Cape Girardeau, according to the release.

"I'm just overwhelmed by this," Maurer said after he was announced the recipient of the award.

After growing up close to downtown, Maurer said he felt like he owed the community and it was very special for him to be a part of the revitalization of downtown.

Kevin Wood, left, and Lee Schlitt of Broadway Prescription Shop receive the Small Business of the Year award of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce at its annual dinner Friday, Jan. 31, 2014 at the Show Me Center. Next to Schlitt are Thomas M. Meyer, state Rep. Kathy Swan and state Sen. Wayne Wallingford. (Amity Shedd)

"Cape Girardeau is a very special place to me," he said.

Small Business of the Year was given to Broadway Prescription Shop in Cape Girardeau, which was founded in 1932 and family-owned for 75 years. The honor is given to a business with a minimum 51 percent local ownership, has been in business more than five years, and employs no more than 50 employees, according to the release.

The Broadway Prescription Shop is owned by Lee Schlitt and Kevin Wood, who bought it in 2011.

Since the purchase, Broadway Prescription Shop has experienced significant sales growth and invested in facility improvements, technology and customer service techniques, the release said.

The business was described as a "tight-knit team of 18 employees," and good customer service also plays a part in its success, Schlitt said after accepting the award.

The chamber also presented the 2013 Ambassador of the Year honor to Jeanne Muckerman of Banterra Bank, who called herself a "natural networker."

Muckerman began her career as a part-time drive-through bank teller and now is a senior mortgage consultant with more than 10 years of experience in the industry. The award is given to a volunteer chamber ambassador who brings new members to the organization, works to retain current members and represents the chamber at various functions, the release said.

Jeanne Muckerman of Banterra Bank received the Ambassador of the Year Award from the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce at its annual dinner Friday, Jan. 31, 2014 at the Show Me Center. From left are Thomas M. Meyer, Muckerman, state Rep. Kathy Swan and state Sen. Wayne Wallingford. (Amity Shedd)

Muckerman recruited 19 members to the chamber, attended ribbon-cuttings and ground-breaking ceremonies and worked more than a dozen chamber functions, according to the release.

Outgoing Thomas M. Meyer of Exit Realty-Thomas Meyer Associates, who is the outgoing chairman of the board, was recognized for his service to the chamber.

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