Robbie Guard has joined the board of directors for Gibson Recovery Center in Cape Girardeau.

As board member, Guard will work to carry out the Gibson Center's mission to provide recovery services to and fostering healthy behaviors in residents.

"Having had friends and family struggle with addiction, I am eager to serve the Gibson Center board, its employees and its patients," Guard said in a press release.

Guard is vice president with MRV Banks in Cape Girardeau, is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University and was elected Ward 4 council representative in Cape Girardeau in 2016. He is involved with several community organizations, including the Cape Girardeau Jaycees, Cape Noon Lions, Order of Elks and Chamber Young Professionals and is a 2005 graduate of Leadership Cape.

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Julie Weathers, associate professor of agriculture at Southeast Missouri State University, has been selected to be a member of Missouri's Agriculture Leaders of Tomorrow, which provides advanced leadership experience to people in the field.

"I am honored to be selected for ALOT," Weathers said in a news release, "and excited to continue learning and broadening my horizons in agricultural knowledge."

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State Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, has been chosen as chairman of the Missouri Senate's Small Business Committee.

The committee considers and reports on bills and matters relating to the ownership and operation of small businesses.

Workforce and economic development, tort reform and unemployment insurance are among the issues considered likely to go before the committee this year.

"I look forward to working with committee members to ensure the passage of meaningful legislation," Libla said. "Remember, if there is a bill that you are passionate about, the best way to make a difference is by visiting your State Capitol and testifying at the committee hearing."

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Cindy Blacklidge, a Perry County native, has been named Perry County Mental Health liaison.

She earned a master's degree in social work at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and has worked with several mental health agencies in Perry County.

Among her first priorities, she said, is to "facilitate community outreach and develop a mental-health website."

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Les Vannasdall of Portageville, Missouri, will serve as Missouri's State Jaycee President for 2017.

-- From staff reports