Newsmakers: June 26-July 2, 2023

Accounting
The Whitlock Co. appointed certified public accountant Kami Bailey to partner. She joined the firm in 2013, primarily working with community banks on taxation and consulting matters, and holds a bachelor’s in accounting and a master of accountancy from Missouri State University.

Architecture
Hood-Rich Inc. hired Mark Belk and Isaiah Parod. Belk is an architectural intern at Drury University, and Parod is a project designer with a master’s in architecture from Drury.

Education
The Discovery Center of Springfield Inc.’s private school for pre-K through eighth grade students was accredited by the Missouri Nonpublic School Accrediting Association. The vote was unanimous and completed in a reported record time of eight months.

Health Care
CoxHealth promoted Trina Hargis to vice president of nursing for the community hospital group, succeeding the retiring Lynne Yaggy. Hargis, previously the administrative director of nursing, brings 27 years of nursing experience to oversee the nursing practices at CoxHealth’s hospitals in Branson, Monett and Barton County. She’ll also have clinical operations responsibilities at Cox Medical Center Branson.

Marketing
BigPxl LLC promoted Ila Vandel to general manager. She oversees sales and operations for the digital marketing and web design agency.

Nonprofit
Tina Christensen joined The Arc of the Ozarks as a recruiter of clinical talent. She has seven years of experience working in human resources for health care, government, legal and nonprofit organizations.

University of Missouri Extension and David Burton, a community development specialist, received the Best Neighborhood Program of the Year Award from Neighborhoods USA during a conference in El Paso, Texas. The program recognized was Missouri Good Neighbor Week, which documented 12,854 acts of neighboring in 63 counties statewide.

Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce added Kendra Bollinger as graphic design and creative project manager, Katie Cartwright as talent retention coordinator and Evander Gonzalez as research coordinator. With a bachelor’s in graphic design and illustration from MSU, Bollinger previously worked five years as a graphic design manager at FORVIS LLP. Cartwright previously worked six years for Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield Inc., most recently as a program director. She holds a bachelor’s in psychology from MSU. In a newly created role on the economic development team, Gonzalez brings a bachelor’s in economics from University of Missouri.

Leadership Springfield presented Mayor Ken McClure with the 2023 O. Franklin Kenworthy Award for Outstanding Leadership, its top annual award. Recipients are recognized for their commitment to Leadership Springfield’s mission, community service involvement, citizenship, leadership qualities and ethical standards. McClure was elected mayor in 2017 after becoming a member of Springfield City Council in 2015.

Sales
Kingsley Group Partner Gary Rogers received Platinum Club recognition at the M&A Source 2023 spring conference in Orlando, Florida. He was honored for completing sell-side and/or buy-side merger and acquisition deals totaling more than $15 million in enterprise value in 2022.

Technology
The Missouri Technology Corp.’s Advanced Manufacturing Resiliency Grant Program awarded $5.4 million to the Roy Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center at Missouri State University. The funds will go toward private-sector technology investments through competitive grants issued by JVIC emphasizing technology, infrastructure or workforce development to support and grow the state’s semiconductor industry.