Newsmakers: May 7-14, 2018

Agriculture
Anson Elliott, of Springfield, and Jim McCann, of Miller, were named to the state’s Agriculture Advisory Council. Elliott is an agricultural professor at Missouri State University, and McCann owns and operates a cattle ranch.

Banking & Finance
Arvest Bank promoted Melissa Box to mortgage lender in Branson. She previously worked in the bank’s business development division as a commercial lender.

Education
Special education teacher Jean Lawson was named Teacher of the Year by Springfield Public Schools for the 2018-19 academic year. At Truman Elementary, she leads a class centered on communication, socialization and sensor-integration.

MSU junior William Miller, of Sullivan, was named to the college’s Board of Governors. Miller, an administrative-management student, will serve a two-year term.

Health Care
Brooks Miller was appointed to the board of directors for the Missouri Foundation for Health. The president and CEO of Jordan Valley Community Health Center, Miller also served on the foundation’s community advisory council.

Legal
Attorney Adam Woody of the Law Office of Adam Woody LLC was elected to a one-year term as vice president of the Missouri Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, representing more than 450 attorneys.

Media
The National Association of Broadcasters presented a Crystal Award to KTTS-FM for its commitment to community service. The 2018 award is the second for the radio station in three years.

Municipal
The Smart Electric Power Alliance ranked the city of Nixa as No. 10 among cities nationwide for increasing solar-power watts per customer in 2017. With the city’s new solar farm, the largest in the state, Nixa added 831.1 solar-power watts per customer.

The city of Willard earned a Missouri Municipal League Innovation Award. It recognizes the skills-building children’s program called the Willard Drug Abuse Resistance Education/Police Athletic League Outdoor Character Camp.

Nonprofit
The Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast elected its 2019 officers and board members: Bill Squires, president; Patrick Harrington, president-elect; Bill White, secretary; Kelly Danielson, treasurer; Chelsey Bode; Brandon Dake; Robin Gann; Lisa Odom; and Rusty Worley.

Rachel Wood joined the Branson/Lakes Area Convention and Visitors Bureau as chief marketing officer. She was CEO of Outback Properties, before joining Branson Airport in 2008 to work as deputy director of air service development and marketing, as well as vice president of FlyBranson Travel.

Technology
CPI Technologies was chosen as a member of the HP Partner First Managed Print Premier Program, allowing the company and its customers exclusive access to HP products. About 200 companies nationwide are in the program.