Hirings

Knorr Marketing Communications hired Haley Schwarz as the director of communications strategy. She is responsible for strategic marketing solutions for clients including writing, design, media relations and event management. Schwarz was recently a resource specialist and state liaison for United Way 2-1-1, where she provided centralized access to community services throughout Missouri.

Scott Christian is the new director of digital marketing for Woodruff Sweitzer. He joins the agency

with more than 10 years of digital marketing experience, most recently as director of digital services at Nicholson Kovac Inc. Woodruff Sweitzer has offices in Columbia, Kansas City and Canada.

Nancy Alton is the new office coordinator for administrative services at Columbia College. Among other things, she will be maintaining the master calendar, scheduling events, paying bills and tracking project and utility expenses. Sarah Smith has also joined the college staff as an administrative assistant for the online campus. She will be helping prospective online students through the application process.

Bucket Media has opened a location in St. Louis and hired Von Scales as the business development specialist for the St. Louis area. Scales has more than 17 years of experience in sales and marketing and will be responsible for managing accounts and developing business in the new location.

Promotions

Matt Moore was named the director of business programs for Missouri USDA Rural Development in February. He joined the Rural Development team in 2004 as a community and business programs specialist. He is now responsible for directing several programs for the state, including rural business enterprise grants, renewable energy loans and grants, energy audit grants and rural economic development loans and grants. He graduated from MU with a degree in finance in 1997.

Mike Watson has been appointed as the community bank president,

northern region managing officer by Boone County National Bank. He has 13 years of financial service experience and started with the bank in 1998 as a loan collector. In this position, Watson will oversee the operations of the northern bank branches, including banks in Centralia, Hallsville and Sturgeon.

Local telephone and Internet service provider Socket promoted Kurt Bruemmer and

Nicholas Peña. Bruemmer has been named the director of business improvement and control. He will be implementing the Lean Six Sigma business methodology to improve processes and eliminate waste within the company procedures. Bruemmer has been with Socket for more than 10 years. Peña is the new outside plant coordinator. He will be assisting with the rollout of the company’s Callaway County fiber-to-the-home project. Peña has worked for Socket for more than eight years.

Appointments

Richard King and Lili Vianello are the two newest members to the Missouri Symphony Society Board of Directors. Cindy Mustard was also re-elected to the board for a second term. King is the owner of The Blue Note and Mojo’s and has been in the entertainment business for more than 30 years. Vianello is a longtime member of the Society and is

the president of Visionworks Marketing & Communications. Mustard has served as the executive director of the Voluntary Action Center for more than 20 years and has been on the local Commission for Cultural Affairs for more than 13 years. The Missouri Symphony society was founded in 1970.

Awards

Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Chris Belcher has been honored by the Missouri School Public Relations Association as Administrator of the Year. Belcher was selected for his outstanding community engagement efforts

and emphasis on open and transparent communications.

Dispatcher Robbie Johnson has been honored by OATS Inc. for 15 years of service. A former local NASCAR crew chief for almost 20 years, Johnson spent his first six months with OATS as a driver and has worked as a dispatcher ever since.