TRAINING/SEMINARS

Ann Swanson, manager of Gulliver's Travel Agency Inc., recently returned from a 10-day trip to South America.

In Bolivia, she visited La Paz, the city with the world's longest airport runway and highest tennis and golf courses.

She visited Cuzco, Peru, once the capital of the Inca empire. Many of the buildings in Cuzco are constructed on top of Inca foundations dating back to 1200 A.D.

Swanson also visited the lost city of the Incas, Machu Picchu, which is on a mountain peak in a remote area, and Lima, Peru, where she visited a famous gold museum containing artifacts from pre-Inca, Inca and Spanish times.

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Sheri Dost of Jackson has won the use of a 1992 Pontiac Grand Am as a result of her accomplishments as an independent beauty consultant for Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc. The firm awards cars to top achievers each year.

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Julia J. Bricknell has earned a Certified Hand Therapist designation.

The advanced therapy certification is a newly-created designation based on eligibility requirements of the Hand Therapy Certification Commission.

Hand therapists combine upper extremity training with specialized skills in assessment and treatment to prevent dysfunction, restore function, or reverse the advancement of pathology in the upper extremity.

Bricknell is co-owner of The Hand Center, 48 Doctors' Park. She has been a registered occupational therapist for 13 years and has specialized in rehabilitation of the hand for the past seven years.

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James W. Wente, administrator of Southeast Missouri Hospital, has been named president-elect of District VII of the Missouri Hospital Association. He will assume presidency of the district in 1993.

District VII includes 19 hospitals in the southeastern portion of the state. Pat Bira, administrator of Perry County Memorial Hospital at Perryville, will begin duties as district president in January.

Before becoming Southeast's administrator in January, Wente served as associate administrator. Prior to that he was an assistant administrator and chief financial officer. He has been affiliated with Southeast since 1975.

Wente also serves as vice chairman of the Missouri Hospital Association's Finance and Budget Committee, a position he has held for seven years. He has also served on MHA's Energy and Environmental Committee.

Wente holds membership in the American College of Healthcare Executives, advanced membership in Health Care Financial Management Association, and membership in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants.

MHA consists of approximately 160 member hospitals.

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Charlene Jones, executive secretary of the r ehabilitation department at St. Francis Medical Center, recently earned her Train the Trainer certification for arthritis aquatics.

She has taught a local aquatics class for the past three years and is also a People with Arthritis Can Exercise instructor.

She received her latest certification from the Arthritis Foundation in St. Louis. The new designation qualifies Jones to train instructors in arthritis aquatics.

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Dr. Victor E. Isaacs of Scott City recently attended a regional fall symposium sponsored by the Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons and the William L. Wetzel Education and Research Foundation.

Scientific programs on a variety of medical topics were presented. Isaacs also visited scientific exhibits offering information on pharmaceutical products, supplies and equipment. He will receive continuing medical education credits for participation in the program.

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Melvin Van de Ven, a partner in the accounting practice of Schott and Co. Certified Public Accountants, recently participated in the Missouri Association of Mutual Insurance Companies annual meeting in Columbia.

Van de Ven addressed the 715 participants at the meeting on the topic of tax and accounting questions as related to the mutual insurance industry. He also participated in a workshop for office personnel.

Mutual Insurance Companies provides services to its member companies from offices in Sikeston.

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POPLAR BLUFF Alvin H. "Buddy" Bess, president of Bluff City Beer Co. in Poplar Bluff, has been elected to serve on the board of directors of the National Beer Wholesalers Association. Bess will serve a three-year term as director.

NBWA is a trade association representing the nation's beer distributors. The association lobbies on their behalf on federal legislative and regulatory issues.

Bess, a graduate of Westminster College at Fulton, has been working for Bluff City Beer since 1955. Following the death of his father in 1968, he became president of the company.

Bluff City Beer operates five warehouses in Southeast Missouri at Cape Girardeau, Herculaneum, Bonne Terre, Kennett and Poplar Bluff. A new warehouse is under construction in the Cape West Industrial Park in Cape Girardeau, and is scheduled for completion in January.

Bluff City distributes Miller Brewing Co. products.

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Melvin H. Schmidt recently attended a seminar entitled Protecting Your Client's Life Savings from Catastrophic Illness and Nursing Homes.

The course covered phases of the Medicaid law and financial and moral issues involved in planning for long stays in hospitals and nursing homes.

Schmidt, a certified public accountant, has offices at the corner of Clark and Independence, and offers a full line of accounting, auditing and consulting services.

He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.