WATKINS PROMOTED TO EDUCATION DIRECTOR

Leslie Watkins was promoted to education director at Metro Business College. She will be responsible for regulatory compliance and regulations, class scheduling, curriculum development and faculty supervision. She has a degree in business administration from Southeast Missouri State University and has worked with the college as a computer instructor since 2000. She is also a certified administrative professional.

SIEBERT ATTENDS PRINCIPALS CONFERENCE

BENTON, Mo. -- Tracy Siebert, principal of Thomas W. Kelly Elementary School in Benton, was among administrators from around Missouri who attended the New Principals Conference on July 23 and 24 in Columbia, Mo. The training was sponsored by the Missouri Association of Secondary School Principals and the Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals. Training at the conference was designed to assist new building administrators to begin their careers in a positive manner.

MONDI JACKSON HONORS EMPLOYEES

Angela Seabaugh of Jackson was employee of the month for August at Mondi Jackson Inc. Seabaugh, a purchasing buyer, has been with the company since July 9, 2012. Mondi Jackson also recognizes the following employment anniversaries: Darin Revelle, 20 years of service; Keith Welker, 10 years; and John Ruch, five years.

SATTLER EARNS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CERTIFICATION

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Scott Sattler, executive director of the Perry County Economic Development Authority, received certification as an Economic Development Finance Professional from the National Development Council. The certification courses provide individuals working in the field of economic development with training in credit analysis, real estate financing, loan packaging, deal structuring and negotiation, and the creation and implementation of development programs. Each course is five days long and ends with a written review that must be passed before a candidate can continue in the program. A comprehensive exam is given at the end of the series.

EVERETT JOINS COLDWELL

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Bret Everett completed the Missouri Real Estate Salesperson's exam to receive his salesperson license for the state of Missouri. He is the newest member of the team at Coldwell Banker Professional Associates. He will provide service for residential, commercial and agricultural property. He has 20 years of experience in management and sales.

TG NAMES EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The following individuals were honored as employees of the month at TG Missouri: April -- Jennifer Shuh of Ste. Genevieve, Mo.; May -- Rick Hoehn of Perryville; June -- Joann Gross of Ellis Grove, Ill.; July -- Terry Cooper of Fredericktown, Mo.; and August -- Rodney Bloom of Ste. Genevieve.

BRICKHAUS ATTENDS FLOORING SEMINAR

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Glen Brickhaus Architect attended a flooring seminar sponsored by Richardet Floor Covering in Perryville. He also attended a Cape Girardeau seminar on relative costs of masonry wall systems sponsored by Irwin Products.

BLATTEL GETS IDEAS UNLIMITED AWARD

PORTAGEVILLE, Mo. -- Portageville agriculture teacher Sara Blattel received the Ideas Unlimited Award during the Missouri Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association conference in Springfield, Mo. Her application was selected based on originality, usefulness and how the idea could help other teachers.

SCHEETER RECEIVES TAXIDERMY AWARDS

Bruce Scheeter, owner of Showcase Taxidermy Studio in Cape Girardeau, received taxidermy awards at the 2013 Missouri Taxidermists Association convention in Lake Ozark, Mo. Scheeter won Best of Category with a bluegill in the fish category and an Eastern wild turkey in the turkey category; the Best Overall Professional categories with an Eastern wild turkey, bluegill, gray fox and whitetail deer; and the Taxidermist Choice award in the mammal category with a gray fox. Scheeter also won the "Woody" award from Taxidermy Today magazine; the National Wild Turkey Federation award; the Lifetone award; the Research Mannikins Professional award; and the Matuska Competitor's award.

HANLIN NAMED COMMON CORE COORDINATOR

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- Angie Hanlin was appointed Common Core coordinator to oversee implementation of the new standards in the New Madrid County School District. A veteran teacher in the district, she has been working with out-of-state districts for the past four years as a Common Core facilitator.

CECIL JOINS COLLEGE MUSIC DEPARTMENT

PARK HILLS, Mo. -- Harry Cecil of St. Louis joined Mineral Area College as director of choirs. He comes to the college from Harris Stowe State University in St. Louis, where he was an adjunct faculty member. He was also a vocal music teacher at Jennings Senior High School in St. Louis. He holds a master's degree in music-choral conducting from University of Missouri-Columbia, a bachelor's degree in music-vocal performance from Truman State University and a bachelor's degree in general concentrations of music from Truman State.

MOORE HONORED AS DEPUTY OF THE YEAR

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Detective Della Moore with the Bollinger County Sheriff's Office was named Deputy Sheriff of the Year by the Missouri Sheriff's Association. The MSA chose her after reviewing submission letters from sheriff's offices all across the state. Moore was selected for her strong work ethic, strong investigative skills, commitment to assigned cases and the victims of those crimes, and her commitment to the community. She is the first female deputy sheriff to receive the award statewide.

WPSD ADDS TWO EMPLOYEES

PADUCAH, Ky. -- WPSD Local 6 in Paducah added meteorologist Tori Shaw and anchor/reporter Mychaela Bruner to its news team. Shaw joins WPSD as weekend meteorologist, while Bruner is the new anchor of WPSD's weekend morning newscasts and a member of the reporting staff.

RUARK NAMED INTERIM PRINCIPAL

Saxony Lutheran High School in Jackson hired Mark Ruark as interim principal. Ruark has 31 years of experience in education, most recently as principal at Jefferson High School in Festus, Mo., where he was awarded the Jefferson County School Counselors' Advocate of the Year. He was previously an assistant principal, athletic director, teacher and coach in the Cape Girardeau School District.

HAMBLIN, RIEGER EDIT ESSAY VOLUME

Dr. Robert Hamblin and Dr. Christopher Rieger, English professors at Southeast Missouri State University, are the co-editors of a volume of scholarly essays on Nobel Prize laureates William Faulkner and Toni Morrison. "Faulkner and Morrison" was published for the Center for Faulkner Studies by the Southeast Missouri State University Press. The volume includes selections from the presentations made at the Faulkner and Morrison Conference sponsored by the Faulkner Center in 2010. Contributors to the volume include scholars from France, Taiwan, China and Japan, as well as 12 American states. Rieger is the newly appointed director of the Center for Faulkner Studies, replacing Hamblin, the founding director, who has retired.

WINTERS, DIERKS COMPLETE LEADERSHIP TRAINING

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Matt Winters, associate director of Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission in Poplar Bluff, and Charles Dierks, a city council member in Malden, Mo., were among five community leaders from Missouri to complete the Delta Leadership Institute Executive Academy, the Daily American Republic reported. The leadership development program for regional leaders was sponsored by the Delta Regional Authority and administered by the University of Alabama.

Others from Perryville and Cape Girardeau?

RASBERRY NAMED EDITOR AT KENNETT NEWSPAPER

KENNETT, Mo. -- Michelle Rasberry, who has served as interim editor since George Anderson's departure in May, was named editor of the Daily Dunklin Democrat, the newspaper reported. Rasberry is a Kennett native who lived away from the community for nearly 20 years. She has held various reporter, public affairs specialist and associate editor positions across the country.

QULIN FARMER TO CHAIR RICE PRODUCERS GROUP

QULIN, Mo. -- B.J. Campbell of Qulin was named chairman of the United States Rice Producers Association, the Poplar Bluff Daily American Republic reported. He will hold the position for two years. The organization represents producers in five states. Campbell has been farming rice since 1980.

POLICE CHIEF ATTENDS MISSING CHILDREN TRAINING

Wes Blair, chief of the Cape Girardeau Police Department, completed the Missing Children Seminar for Chief Executives hosted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This seminar, typically held at NCMEC headquarters just outside Washington, D.C., was held as a pre-conference course in conjunction with the 25th annual Dallas Crimes Against Children Conference. Police chiefs, sheriffs and 911 emergency managers were invited to attend the seminar Aug. 11 in Dallas. It was designed to provide attendees a better understanding of the issue of missing and sexually exploited children, how to deal with the situation of a child who's been reported missing when time is critical, and how to access resources available to assist in these cases.

DOBBINS APPOINTED TO EDUCATION COMPACT POST

Kenneth W. Dobbins, president of Southeast Missouri State University, was appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon as a commissioner for the Midwestern Higher Education Compact. MHEC is one of four interstate compacts in the nation devoted to advancing cooperation and resource sharing in higher education, with headquarters in Minneapolis, Minn. The member states of the compact are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

STAHLY NAMED YOUNG AGENT OF THE YEAR

Jon Stahly was named 2013 Young Agent of the Year by the Missouri Association of Insurance Agents at its annual leadership banquet at Lake of the Ozarks. The annual award recognizes an independent insurance agent under age 40 who has demonstrated dedication through involvement in state or local associations' activities, through personal efforts to advance as an insurance professional, and through involvement in community activities. Stahly is a commercial lines broker with W.E. Walker-Lakenan in Cape Girardeau. He has worked with the agency since 2004.

RAGSDALE EARNS SAFETY AWARD

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- Richard Ragsdale, base pilot supervisor for the Farmington Air Evac Lifeteam base, earned the company's 2013 Region 1 Safety Award. The region consists of Air Evac Lifeteam bases in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.

SQUIRES PROMOTED AT ELITE TRAVEL

Keegan Squires was promoted to customer service manager at Elite Travel Inc. in Cape Girardeau. He graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, with special emphasis on sales management and psychology.

MCPHEETERS JOINS MRV BANKS

Steve McPheeters joined MRV Banks as senior vice president at the Cape Girardeau branch on North Kingshighway. McPheeters previously worked as community bank president at First State Bank & Trust in Sikeston, Mo. MRV Banks is headquartered in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., and moved into the Cape Girardeau market in 2011.

THURMAN NAMED ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT

PARK HILL, Mo. -- Kevin Thurman of Farmington, Mo., joined Mineral Area College as assistant to the president. Thurman, who attended Mineral Area College, Wayne State College in Nebraska and Southeast Missouri State University, has a bachelor's degree in health management and a minor in promotional management. He previously worked as behavioral health services director at Mercy Hospital Jefferson and director of marketing and real estate at Mineral Area Regional Medical Center. He has served on the Mineral Area College Foundation Board of Directors since 2006 and was president of the foundation from 2010 to 2013.

GILLARD PUBLISHES BEEKEEPING ARTICLE

Grant Gillard, a Jackson beekeeper and honey producer, published an article titled "Has Beekeeping Become a Game of Attrition?" in the September 2013 issue of The American Bee Journal. The article is an effort to address a response to the continual die-off of honeybees, according to Gillard. Gillard is also past-president of the Missouri State Beekeepers and a vendor at the farmers markets in Jackson and Cape Girardeau.

KNEIBERT ATTENDS ANGER SEMINAR

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Ann C. Kneibert, licensed professional counselor and national certified counselor in Poplar Bluff, attended a seminar on "Anger Control Made Easy." The seminar was led by Dr. Israel Kalman, a school psychologist and instructor in anger control, bullying and relationship problems.