TOP DRAWER

A listing of the honorable, noteworthy, new and what's ahead for businesspeople in Columbia.
ONWARD & UPWARD
Stacey Smith has joined Dierker Design as a landscape gardener. Her areas of expertise include historic gardens and wildlife gardens.
Brenda Woods has been appointed to the Columbia Mayor?s Council on Physical Fitness and Health. The council educates the public about the importance of regular physical fitness and sports programs in the community.
KUDOS
Ginger Scalise, interior redesign specialist and owner of Dress Your Home Designs, recently earned her designation as a certified interior staging specialist.
Douglas Grouws was honored with the 2007 Mathematics Education Trust Lifetime Achievement Award for distinguished service to mathematics education by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Grouws, a professor of mathematics education at the University of Missouri-Columbia, was selected in recognition of a lifetime of accomplishments in leadership, teaching and service to mathematics education.
James Ross, CEO of University of Missouri Health Care, was recognized with the Distinguished Friend of the School award by the MU Sinclair School of Nursing. Other awards given were Citation of Merit, Donna Otto; Alumnae of the Year, Edith Finke; Alumnae Achievement Award, Marti Cowherd; Humanitarian of the Year, Susan Asher; and Honorary Alumnae, Priscilla Koeplin.
Glenn Chambers and Odell Newkirk were recipients of the Boy Scouts? Silver Beaver Award at the Great Rivers Council annual recognition dinner. The national award recognizes individuals for distinguished service to youths.
Carolyn Skelton, co-director of Optimus: The Center for Health, received the Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year award for 2007 from the Missouri Dietetic Association.
George Gresham of the Boone County Sheriff?s Department was named Boone County?s employee of the quarter for the first quarter of 2007.
United Country, Missouri Land and Home has attained the following rankings for March performance within the Kansas City-based company: No. 1 in transactions; No. 2 in sales volume; No. 2 in number of transactions; and No. 5 in new listings. It was named the No. 3 office in nation by the company, which specializes in marketing country homes, historic estates and other rural properties.
At the Job Point annual awards banquet in February, Jeremy Barker, who works at Wee Ones in St. Peters, and Michelle Ridge, employed with the low-income housing program at Missouri Valley Community Action Agency in Marshall, were honored with awards of excellence. Job Point employees Nicole Gerdemann, intake specialist, and Tania Cook, skills training coordinator, were honored as employees of the year. Rod Casey, associate pastor at Woodcrest Chapel, was acknowledged as volunteer of the year. MU Campus Dining and McDonald?s-Nifong were selected as employers of the year. Job Point is a Columbia-based not-for-profit employment center and community development corporation serving traditionally disenfranchised community members.

LIVE AND LEARN
Phil Clithero, production superintendent for Kliethermes Homes and Remodeling, attended the National Association of Home Builders? National Green Building Conference in St. Louis. The conference presented remodeling educational courses for contractors on a variety of green topics.
Dan Kliethermes, president of Kliethermes Homes and Remodeling, participated in a Remodeler?s Advantage roundtable in Jekyll Island, Ga. The membership program brings together business owners from across the nation to examine problems and opportunities found in the remodeling industry.
Shelly Moran and Jessica Stovall, dental assistants in the office of Shelley Ann Lyle, have completed the dental assistants course of study at The Pankey Institute for Advanced Dental Education. The two-day class was designed to enhance assistant?s clinical, laboratory and communication skills.
Kurt Propst, divisional vice president and district manager of AXA Advisors LLC, has earned a certificate in retirement planning from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Ward Childers, manager of diagnostic imaging at Columbia Regional Hospital, and Jessica Hardy, a health-care recruiter at Columbia Regional Hospital, have graduated from the Missouri Hospital Association Center for Education?s Health Care Leadership Series. The course is designed to enhance hospital staff?s managerial skills.
GIVING
Hy-Vee shoppers in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota raised nearly $40,000 for the Coalition to Salute America?s Heroes, a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to providing assistance to troops severely injured and disabled in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Estate Publishers Limited in Columbia has expanded its operations into T-shirt sales to support those affected by the Virginia Tech University massacre. Proceeds from the sale of each shirt, which displays a specially designed logo, will be donated to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. The shirts can be purchased online at www.weremember41607.com for $9.99 plus shipping and handling. Donations can be made directly to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund at www.vt.edu/tragedy/memorial_fund.php.

BUSINESS CALENDAR
Hallsville Area Chamber of Commerce will have a citywide Showcase of Homes today. The event will feature all residential listings, businesses and planned developments in the city?s school district.

Beginning Monday, the Columbia Chamber of Commerce is hosting Small Business Week. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday events are free, but space is limited. Prices for other events are noted below.

Monday
Small Business Week will hold a ribbon cutting at 7:45 a.m. at the Thomas G. Walton Building, 300 S. Providence Road.
Small Business Legislative Challenges: From Jefferson City to Washington, D.C. will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Walton building. The seminar, presented by Kevin Frank and Brad Jones of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, will address legislative issues that affect businesses and highlight pending state and federal legislation.

Tuesday
Recruitment and Retention: The Small Business Advantage will be from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Walton building. Presented by Karen Touzeau, assistant vice chancellor for human resource services for the University of Missouri-Columbia, the seminar will focus on strategies small businesses can use to attract and retain high-quality employees. Touzeau will also discuss the city?s changing labor force.
Motivating for Great Performance will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Walton building. Bob Scribner of Executive Advantage will discuss how to help average performers achieve great results. Participants should bring their own lunches.
Wednesday
A Balanced Approach: The Importance of Your Business? Financial Statement will be from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Walton building. The seminar, presented by John Weaver and Jeanie Bloodgood of Williams-Keepers LLC, will cover a variety of topics, including tracking income and expenses, securing a small business loan and income tax reporting.
Telling Your Story: The Importance of Narrative in Mentoring and Managing will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Walton building. Presented by Sarah Reed of the Communications Center Inc., the program will focus on how sharing stories can help shape an organization?s culture. Participants should bring their own lunches.
Thursday
Resilience - Rebounding During Turbulent Times and Meeting the Challenges of Change will be from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at Stoney Creek Inn, 2601 S. Providence Road. The talk on adapting and thriving with change features Nancy Hightshoe, a business owner, corporate consultant and former police detective. The seminar costs $40.
Small Business Awards Luncheon will be from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Stoney Creek Inn. Finalists for the 2007 Small Business of the Year award are R. Anthony Development Group, Image Technologies, Les Bourgeois Vineyards, Paternity Testing Corp. and Sydenstricker Implement Corp. Lunch costs $15.

Additional information :

TOP DRAWER: from columbiatribune.com