City of Nixa hires new director of communications
The City of Nixa has announced the hiring of Summer Rascoll-Jones as the new director of communications, according to a press release. Rascoll-Jones will begin her role in Nixa on Aug. 5. She will be tasked with leading Nixa's communications departments through public information, media relations, community engagement and marketing.
A native of New Orleans, Rascoll-Jones has been in the Ozarks off and on since 2009. Her family moved as Hurricane Katrina refugees, which sparked her passion for crisis communication and city government.
Rascoll-Jones holds a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism and political science from Missouri State University. After five years in TV news as a reporter and news anchor, she earned her master's degree in communications from Drury University in 2019. She has worked in healthcare, training and development, recruitment, internal communications and marketing. She has also taught public speaking at Ozarks Technical Community College.
Springfield Police Department honors three promotions
On July 17, the Springfield Police Department recognized the promotions of three professional staff members.
Promoted to Investigative Services Specialist were:
- Dawn McGrath
- Deborah Simpson
Promoted to Crime Research Analyst was:
Free SBDC business workshops coming to Stone County
The Early-Stage Business Boot Camp, designed with aspiring entreprenuers and new small business owners in mind, has successfully graduated nearly 130 entrepreneurs across southern Missouri since December. Now, the program is coming to Stone County Sept. 19 through Nov. 14.
“This program is so impactful to our participants as they navigate how to start and grow their business,” said Sandra Smart, business consultant and technology and commercialization specialist at the Missouri SBDC at MSU.
Participants will:
- Join a peer network of small business owners;
- Learn from successfuly entrepreneuers and guest speakers;
- Discover resources that they'll need to start and grow a business;
- Find best practices for business planning.
In the program, participants learn foundational knowledge and skills about starting and growing a business. Topics include:
- Market research and analysis;
- Protecting your business and intellectual property;
- Financial management and protections;
- Marketing channels and reaching customer segments;
- Building, compensating, and managing your team;
- Accessing capital.
This program will be held on Thursday nights at the Table Rock Chamber of Commerce in Branson West at 16407 State Highway 13. You can sign up for this Early-Stage Business Boot Camp online by visiting efactory.missouristate.edu/bootcamp .
Lake Regional welcomes CFO Littleton
Lake Regional Health System has welcomed Paula Littleton to serve as the organization's chief financial officer, effective July 22.
Littleton, a CPA and certified health care professional, has 20 years of health care experience. Before joining Lake Regional, she served as CFO of critical access region for Saint Luke's Health System, overseeing the financial operations of four nonprofit hospitals. She previously worked for 14 years for MU Health Care, earning the role of senior director of finance and controller.
“Health care finance requires leaders who have strong critical thinking skills and the ability to pull teams together to work toward common goals,” said Kevin McRoberts, CEO of Lake Regional. “We are pleased to have Paula join our leadership team as we work to meet our mission to provide exceptional health care while ensuring a sound financial future.”
Three retire after serving long careers with SPD
After long careers serving the Springfield community, three officers are retiring from the Springfield Police Department.
Those retiring are:
- Lt. Tonya Price . Price retires with more than 25 years of service at SPD. She began her career with SPD in 1998 as an intern and then as a police services representative before joining the 45th police academy in May 1999. She was promoted to corporal in 2008, where she served on patrol as a Major Crimes Investigator, in the Financial Crimes Unit, and as Special Events Coordinator in the Community Services Section. In 2014, Price was promoted to sergeant. She returned to patrol and then moved to supervise the Professional Standards and Crime Analysis Unit. Price was promoted to lieutenant in 2020.
- Lt. Jeremy Anderson . Anderson began his career as an officer with the Webb City Police Department and the Newton County Sherriff’s Department before joining SPD’s 50th police academy in 2002. Before promoting to corporal in 2010, Anderson served eight years on patrol. As corporal, Anderson was assigned to the Property Crimes Unit and selected to the Traffic Section’s Leaving the Scene of an Accident Unit. When he was promoted to sergeant in 2015, he was selected as the Traffic Section supervisor. In 2020, Anderson was promoted to lieutenant where he briefly served as a patrol commander before being selected as the Traffic Section commander. Anderson retires with more than 22 years of service at SPD.
- Cpl. Kevin Brown. With two years of experience as an officer in Aurora, Brown was hired by SPD as part of the 48th police academy. Graduating in 2001 as class valedictorian, Brown spent five years on patrol training officers and frequently worked as a Major Crimes Investigator. Brown was promoted to corporal in 2007. He has served in the Financial Crimes Unit, as a member of the Homicide Response Team, as well as a member of the Secret Service Task Force, and as a hostage negotiator. He was assigned to the Internal Affairs Unit in 2015, where he would spend the remainder of his time at SPD. Brown retires with more than 23 years of service at SPD.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Nixa hires new communications director; Springfield police honor promotions, retirees
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