 | BUSINESS PROFILE: Leggett & Platt ~ Innovating future success
CARTHAGE, Mo. – The ability to be dynamic used to separate the elite corporations from the common; the cream from the crop. Companies now must evolve just to stay alive, as change is imperative in today's business climate.
Author: Joshua Babb, Associate Publisher
| | BUSINESS PROFILE: The Hunte Corporation ~ Transforming the industry
GOODMAN, Mo. — Andrew Hunte had been in the show dog industry since he was 10 years old. He began working at a pet retail store in Florida over twenty years ago, and he didn't like what he saw. Though many share Hunte's discomfort and even disdain for the industry's infamous characteristics (cramped living conditions, malnutrition, inhumane transportation methods), few have done as much to change the industry as Hunte has.
| | BUSINESS PROFILE: American Bank, Galena
GALENA, Kan. — American Bank of Baxter Springs blankets Cherokee County with three offices, but it serves a broader customer base. "We pull from a three state area, maybe 50 miles away," said Lyn Mallory, vice president and manager of the branch office in Galena.
Author: Robert L. Roach, Journal Senior Staff Reporter
| | BUSINESS PROFILE: Blitz U.S.A. ~ Creative and growing
MIAMI, Okla. — "We've got a good bunch of folks here that work hard," said Rocky Flick, chief executive of Blitz U.S.A. "It's a fun place to work. We try to focus on what we can learn and try to stay open to that. And it's been working for us."
Author: Robert L. Roach, Journal Senior Staff Reporter
| | BUSINESS PROFILE: Kerr Millwork
LOCKWOOD, Mo. — John D. Kerr joined his father at Kerr Millwork Corp. in 1983 after traveling the country with various construction crews. The business specialized in cabinetry at the time, but John soon expanded its operations into millwork: doors, windows, stairs, and other custom woodwork.
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| | BUSINESS PROFILE: Welch State Bank - Customized service
MIAMI, Okla. — Many bankers refuse to hand out their cell phone number, much less their home phone. Welch State Bank officers put them on their business cards. That is just one clue that this bank is unusual.
"Ours is a community bank, owned locally and managed in a prudent way to take care of the needs in the community," said Charles L. Stoner, chairman. Arthur W. Cousatte, chief executive, agreed, "And at the core, it gets back to matching a customer with a product that fits them right."
Author: Robert L. Roach, Journal Senior Staff Reporter
| | PROFILE: Jeff Hale, Ph.D - president of NEO A&M
MIAMI, Okla. — Jeff Hale, Ph.D., the new president of Northeast Oklahoma A&M, hasn't spent all of his life in academia, just most of it. A product of the Oklahoma junior college system, Hale is a firm believer that a quality education will pave the way towards a productive and promising career.
| | PROFILE: Jonathan Davis, Mount Carmel Regional Medical Center
PITTSBURG, Kan. — When Jonathan Davis came to work the first day as the new chief executive officer for Mount Carmel Regional Medical Center, he brought with him his experience as a care giver, and his passion for providing quality service to the patients and community.
| | BUSINESS PROFILE: Suzanne's - Natural Success
JOPLIN, Mo. — Suzanne started in her living room in 1991 with a handful of products requested by her customers. Now thousands of products line the shelves in her custom-built store at 3106 S. Connecticut Ave.
Author: Robert L. Roach, Journal Senior Staff Reporter
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| | Frickenschmidt Foods: Processing into a bigger business
A national recession does not seem to have affected Frickenschmidt Foods. "We grow a little bit each year," Thomas said, "and this year is definitely going to be bigger than last." Last year totaled more than 800,000 pounds of wholesale and retail meat processing, plus deer and buffalo sales.
Author: Robert L. Roach, Journal Senior Staff Reporter
| | PROFILE: Dan Hayworth, BKD
JOPLIN, Mo. — The value of growing up in a small town is often underappreciated as Fort Valley (Ga.) Mayor John Stumbo asked in a September 2008 article for the Georgia Municipal Association. "Can the beacon they (small towns) send forth tell the world of the quality of life, commitment of its people and that tomorrow will be better for those that come after us because of our efforts?" More succinctly, Stumbo inferred that small towns are the ones producing the caliber of people that become tomorrow's leaders.
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