April: Movers and Shakers

Piyusha Singh
Singh was named Columbia College’s first vice president of online education. In the newly created position, Singh will oversee online course development, staff oversight and management systems for Columbia College’s extensive online campus. Singh was previously associate dean of the school of liberal arts at Excelsior College.

Brad Spears
MidwayUSA promoted Spears to logistics manager, inbound and outbound. He began his career at Midway in 2010 and has worked as a logistics supervisor in the years since. Spears served eight years in the U.S. Navy before getting his degree in political science from Rutgers University­-Camden in 2008. In the new position, Spears will oversee the performance of the Midway logistics team.

Mid-Missouri Restaurant Association
The Columbia-based restaurant group selected Rick Robertson and Charlie Kurre, owners of Booches, as the 2014 Restaurateurs of the Year. The group also named Terra Crane, convention services manager for the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, as the Allied Director of the Year. Crane was also named one of the 2015 MMRA officers. The others officers are: John LaRocca, University Club, president; Jeff Guinn, The Broadway by Doubletree, vice president; and Richard Walls, The Heidelberg, treasurer.

Marathon Building Environments
Marathon Building Environments announced the promotions of Mike Becker and Anne Farrow to director of operations and commercial furniture sales team member, respectively. Becker started at Marathon Building Environments in 2002, and Farrow is joining the company this spring.

Beth Taylor Dessem
The University of Missouri Truman School of Public Affairs honored Dessem’s efforts in the community with the fourth annual Mel Carnahan Public Service Award. Dessem is the executive director of the Heart of Missouri Court Appointed Special Advocates, an organization that serves abused and neglected children.

Brown Willbrand PC
The law firm formerly known as Brown, Willbrand, Simon, Powell & Lewis announced a name change on Feb. 3. The firm also announced two new shareholders, Karen Hajicek and R. Caleb Colbert. Both are graduates of the MU School of Law.

Boone County National Bank
BCNB announced seven new promotions: Adam Bozek, assistant branch manager at the Rock Bridge branch; Lindsey Peth, mortgage underwriter; Kiana Mason and Katelyn Shively, financial associates; and Rebekah Whitaker and Leslie Goehl, teller II.

State Farm Insurance
The Missouri Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a Department of Defense office, recognized State Farm Insurance for its support of employees in the Missouri National Guard. The MO ESGR honored claim team manager Mary Sullivan with the Patriot Award for State Farm’s support of claim specialist Staff Sgt. Scott Burks during his deployment to Kuwait and Afghanistan.

Scott Shelton
The Boone County Commission named Shelton as the new director of 911 Communications on Feb. 13. The job will return Shelton to his hometown of Columbia after a 36-year career in law enforcement, most recently as police chief at East Carolina University. Before his term at ECU, Shelton was police chief at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Jeremy Milarsky
Milarsky began working as executive director of the Missouri Symphony Society in February. He will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the group and serve as the principal fundraiser. In recent years, Milarsky held management positions in the health care industry; in 2014 he was name the Missouri Health Advocate of the Year by the Missouri Health Advocacy Alliance.

Lindsay Schulz
Promoted to assistant vice president at First State Community Bank, Schulz has worked at First State for seven years, most recently as branch manager. The First State Board of Directors approves promotions every January. Seventeen employee promotions were approved at the 2015 meetings.

Clay Atherton
Atherton was promoted to facilities management chief at Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital. He has served as supervisory general engineer at the hospital since 2008 and will now supervise various engineering and maintenance activities at the hospital.

Timothy Rich
The Columbia resident was appointed president and COO of the Texas-based I-Tech Development Corp. Rich resigned from his position as executive director and CPO of Heart of Missouri United Way, which he held for almost six years. During his tenure, he implemented the “Community Impact” model, a transformational change of the organization’s business and community practices.