SEMO Recognition

Beth McFarland of Monterey Mushrooms in Bonne Terre was recently elected parliamentarian of the Workforce Investment Board (WIB) of Southeast Missouri. McFarland is controller of process operations at Monterey Mushroom and is one of two St. Francois County representatives on the WIB. The other representative is Ron Gardner of U.S. Tool Grinding in Desloge.

Dr. David Feuerhahn has received diplomate certification from the American Board of Orthodontics (ABO). Criteria for the certification includes a minimum of two years residency in orthodontics, passage of an extensive eight-hour written examination, and presentation of specific categories of cases treated by Feuerhahn to ABO directors. He has practiced at #5 Doctors' Park with Dr. S. Edwin Noffel for 10 years. There are 1,900 orthodontists in the world who are diplomates.

Marcia Jokerst, manager of McDonald's Restaurant at Perryville, has received the Ray Kroc Award. The Ray Kroc Award is given to managers who are most successful in achieving superior results in operational excellence and business building. The Perryville McDonald's is one of only 127 McDonald's restaurants in the U.S. to receive the award. Jokerst will receive a $2,500 cash award, a trophy and an all-expense-paid trip to a banquet hosted by Alan Feldman, president of McDonald's USA, at Chicago.

NHC HealthCare of Desloge has received the Presidential Certification of Excellence, an award given to top nursing homes. This award takes into consideration the quality of patient care, patient satisfaction, state inspection records, and physical plant. The administrator is Don Johnston.

Consolidated Insurance Agency of Cape Girardeau has been named Underwriting Agency of the Year by United Fire & Casualty Company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for outstanding and consistent underwriting results. Alan Rausenberger received the award. The agency was established in Cape Girardeau in 1983 and specializes in all lines of commercial insurance.

Lutesville Motor Co. Inc. of Marble Hill has received the President's Award, the highest honor presented by Ford Motor Co., for the second time in the past three years. The award is for outstanding sales performance, customer satisfaction and business management by Ford dealers. Among this year's President's Award winners were 340 dealers out of more 5,500. Dave Thomas, Lutesville Motor Co. Inc. general manager, credits his staff for the award. Lutesville Motor observed its 65th anniversary under the same family ownership last year.

Ford Groves of Cape Girardeau and Jackson has received Ford Motor Company's Blue Oval Certification Award for outstanding sales, service and facility operations. LaToye Brown, Ford Motor Co. zone manager, recently presented the Blue Oval certificate to Stan Irwin, Blue Oval coordinator for Ford Groves, and Bob Neff, owner of Ford Groves, during a special celebration luncheon.

Eight members of Old Town Cape Inc., Cape Girardeau's downtown revitalization program, recently attended the National Town Meeting on Main Street, held in Indianapolis, Ind. Attending were OTC executive director Catherine Dunlop; OTC board president Greg Williams; Design Committee chairman Steven Hoffman; Promotions Committee chairman Marsha Toll; Organization Committee chairman Judith Anne Lang; OTC board members John and Jerrianne Wyman; and OTC graduate assistant Angela Miller. About 1,600 people attended the four-day conference. Workshop topics included heritage tourism, promotions and reuse of old buildings.

Loyd and Jayne Ervin of Jayson Jewelers Ltd. in Cape Girardeau recently visited a diamond mine in South Africa. The Ervins participated in the underground tour of the Bultfontein Diamond Mine in Kimberly, as guest of DeBeers Consolidated Diamond Mines, which mines and markets 80 percent of the world's diamonds.

Eric Neubert of Cape Girardeau has been elected to the Arkansas Asphalt Pavement Association Board of Directors. Neubert, of Delta Asphalt of Arkansas, will serve as the National Asphalt Pavement Association representative on the board. The Arkansas Asphalt Pavement Association, headquartered at Little Rock, Ark., represents hot mix produces, paving contractors, oil companies and other material and supplier firms. Mark Lamberth of Atlas Asphalt, Batesville, Ark., is chairman of the group.

Geraldine Stone, owner of Professional Fashion Uniforms in Cape Girardeau, was named Employer of the Year by the River City Business and Professional Women's Club. Professional Fashion Uniforms was founded in 1982. The company specializes in fashion uniforms for men and women, and carries fitting bras and prostheses for mastectomy care.

Citizens Mutual Insurance Co. is observing its 100th year in business. The company was founded April 27, 1901, in the Grange Hall of Apple Creek Township in Cape Girardeau County. When Citizens was founded it consisted of 300 policyholders and insured $285,000 worth of assets. Today, the company insures more than $395 million in property. The company joined the Columbia (Mo.) Insurance Group in 1982. Gene E. Wills is executive vice president of Citizens Mutual. Robert J. Wagner is president of the Columbia Group.

Genesis Transportation Co. Inc. of Cape Girardeau and Hull Trucking Inc. of Old Appleton have received National Fleet Safety Awards from the Great West Casualty Co., which has headquarters in South Sioux City, Neb. Carriers were recognized for achieving a low preventable accident frequency per million miles of operations. Carrier results were compared to results of similar carriers and presented one of four awards -- Platinum, Gold, Silver or Participatory. Genesis Transportation and Hull each received Gold Awards. Great West Casualty is a provider of property and casualty insurance for the motor carrier industry. Dan Hotop is agent for C.M. Brown & Associations Inc. of Carbondale, Ill., which provides Great West insurance in this area.

Dr. Ed Masters has been elected to the speaker of the house for the Missouri State Medical Association. Masters was elected during the association's annual meeting recently held at St. Louis. Masters, also an officer of the local Cape Girardeau County Area Medical Society, has offices at Regional Primary Care in Doctors Park in Cape Girardeau.

State Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, was one of seven members of the Missouri Legislature to receive "Voice of Missouri Business" awards recently. The awards, presented by the Associated Industries of Missouri, are given to legislators who support pro-business legislation and the position of Missouri employers. Other winners included: state Sens. John Loudon, R-Ballwin, and Sarah Steelman, R-Rolla; and state Reps. Catherine Hanaway, R-Warson Woods, Blaine Luekemeyher, R-St. Elizabeth, Mark Abel, D-Festus, and Tim Van Zandt, D-Kansas City. This year's awards were based on votes on AIM priority legislation during the 1999 and 2000 session of the Missouri General Assembly.