Limbaugh award goes to RM Coco owner

When David Limbaugh took the stage to announce the winner of the annual award named after his grandfather, the temptation to have fun with the recipient, a longstanding friend, was too much to resist.

In the buildup to naming James A. Rust, owner of RM Coco, as the winner of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce's Rush H. Limbaugh Award for community service, Limbaugh noted that the two had been on the Cape Girardeau City Council at the same time, "where we served together for four years of mutual hell."

And after naming the lengthy roster of community service organizations where Rust has been a member or an officer, Limbaugh noted that "he remains active in those many organizations because it is his only chance of having an active social life."

Setting the ribbing aside, Limbaugh said Rust deserved the award, handed out annually for a lifetime of making Cape Girardeau a better place to live and work, because of his dedication to the community and strong moral compass.

"He walks the walk even more than he talks the talk," Limbaugh said.

Rust, a 1963 Cape Girardeau Central High School graduate and holder of a bachelor's degree in business administration from Southeast Missouri State University, is a past chairman of the chamber board of directors. In his introduction, Limbaugh described Rust as a tireless fundraiser for endeavors such as the Southeast Booster Club and Cape La Croix Church and as someone whose time on the council set a course for the city.

"He was a forward-thinking leader whose ideas led to a great deal of progress," Limbaugh said.

When it was Rust's turn to take the microphone, he said he was "a little taken aback" and expressed surprise that his wife, Beverly, was able to keep the secret. He said his business often takes him away from Cape Girardeau, and each time he returns he realizes "it truly is a remarkable place. The more you travel, the more you like it."

After the dinner, Rust said the needling was an expected part of his friendship with Limbaugh. "That's all right," he said. "I am the same way. I love kibitzing."

And he was a little humbled by the praise, Rust said. "He makes me sound a whole lot better than I am."

The chamber confers two other awards each year and names new officers.

The Small Business of the Year Award was presented to Lang Jewelers, 126 N. Main St., which has been owned by the same family since 1916. The owners are Roger and Judith Ann Lang, the third generation to operate the store.

The secret to keeping a business in operation for that long, Judith Ann Lang said, is a "good German work ethic, but it is also the customers, the people and the relationships built over all those years."

The chamber's Go-Getter of the Year award was presented to Becka Hollis of Montgomery Bank, chairwoman of the chamber ambassador's committee, for her efforts to recruit new members.

Rex Rust, co-president of Rust Communications, was named chairman of the chamber's board of directors for 2008.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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