Raising funds

Cape Girardeau has lost one of its best fund-raising experts, and another is moving from one side of town to the other.

Bill Kiel, vice president of development at Saint Francis Medical Center, has taken a similar position with Foote Health System in Jackson, Mich. In his 11 years at Saint Francis, Kiel helped raise $7.5 million for the Saint Francis Foundation.

Moving to Saint Francis is Wayne Smith, who will become vice president of development and administration services. For the past four years Smith has made significant progress at Southeast Missouri State University, where he is vice president of university advancement and executive director of the Southeast Missouri University Foundation.

In his new position at Saint Francis, Smith will oversee more than half a dozen departments: management of fund development, human resources, employee health, leadership development, Education Center, pastoral care and volunteer services.

Saint Francis, a 258-bed facility that serves parts of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas, conducted a nationwide search to fill its post and was fortunate to find the best candidate right here.

Smith will play an integral role in fulfilling Saint Francis' mission of providing "a ministry of healing and wellness inspired by our Christian philosophy and values," according to its website. The medical center has doubled in size in the last five years.

Cape Girardeau is fortunate to have had the professional skills of the likes of Kiel and Smith. Two of the city's major institutions have benefited from their expertise, and Smith will continue along these lines in his new job.