Newsmakers: Oct. 16-22, 2023

Carly Taft

Jessie Rotton

Alyssa Hardy

Jessica Jennings

David Ransin

Hand-out

William W. Sachs

Gerrie Moore

Brent Sager

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Accounting
FORVIS LLP promoted Carly Taft to senior regional industry marketing leader and Jessie Rotton to regional industry marketing leader. Taft, who holds a bachelor’s in marketing management from Park University in Parkville, develops and executes marketing strategy and growth plans, primarily serving the northwest region. With a bachelor’s in organization communication and marketing from Missouri State University, Rotton develops and executes strategies for accounting information in the health care industry.

Banking & Finance
Guaranty Bank added Alyssa Hardy as treasury management officer. She has eight years of industry experience, previously as a bank manager at Mid-Missouri Bank, and holds an associate degree from Ozarks Technical Community College.

Beverage
Turkey Creek Brewery received a bronze award for its flagship beer, Common Folk amber lager, in the 12th annual New York International Beer Competition. It also was awarded the Gold Medal for Missouri Brewery of the Year.

Education
The Wall Street Journal named College of the Ozarks among The Best 2024 Colleges, based on tuition costs, learning environment, graduation rates and salaries upon graduation. Of the 1,700 U.S. colleges that met WSJ’s criteria, 400 earned the distinction, and C of O and C of O ranked No. 333 overall. It also ranked in the categories of Social Mobility, No. 124; Student Experience, No. 178; and Salary Impact, No. 372.

Health Care
Registered dietitian Jessica Jennings joined the Citizens Memorial Hospital Endocrinology Center as a diabetes educator. With a bachelor’s in dietetics from Missouri State University and a master’s in nutrition from Illinois State University, she provides diabetes self-management education and nutrition counseling for diabetic patients.

Law
The Missouri Bar honored Springfield attorney David Ransin with a 2023 President’s Award during its annual meeting in Kansas City. Ransin is among four attorneys statewide to receive the award for distinguished service, particularly for his contributions to advancing the knowledge and skills of Missouri lawyers statewide on new Supreme Court rules regarding expanded remote public access to court records and the intricacies surrounding document redaction requirements.
Aaron Sachs & Associates PC hired William W. Sachs as an associate, focusing on personal injury and workers’ compensation cases. He holds a Juris Doctor from University of Kansas and a bachelor’s in business management from Drury University.

Real Estate
Gerrie Moore, of Keller WIlliams Tri-Lakes Realty in Branson, was named Missouri Realtors 2023 Salesperson of the Year during the association’s fall business conference. The award recognized her commitment to real estate agent ethics and cooperation, activity in professional associations, advanced education and professional designations, community service and sales volume. A licensed Realtor since 2006, Moore currently serves as a state political coordinator and state director for Missouri Realtors – for which she’s the 2023 chair of the Risk Management Mission Committee and the president-elect for the Missouri Women’s Council of Realtors – and on the national level as a director for the National Association of Realtors.
Missouri Realtors elected Brent Sager, of Branson, as 2025 treasurer during the board of directors meeting in Springfield. A licensed Realtor since 2012 and currently a broker associate with Gerken & Associates, Sager will succeed Brian Jared, of Murney Associates, Realtors, in Springfield as treasurer.