Nixa Police share renderings, plans for new HQ
The Nixa Police Department plans to break ground in August on a new headquarters, with construction expected to last 14 months.
The department released renderings and a site plan of the new facility, to be built on five acres off Leann Drive and Highway 14. The approximately 22,000-square-foot, single-story building is expected to cost about $15 million and is being funded by the 3/4-cent sales tax Nixa voters approved in April 2023.
Waldinger Corporation buys Springfield’s Trinity Electric
Des Moines-based Waldinger Corporation, a full-service mechanical, electrical and sheet metal contractor, has acquired Springfield electric service contractor Trinity Electric Company.
Founded by Mark and Brenda Bolin in 1999, Trinity Electric has 12 union electricians that perform commercial, residential, and industrial electrical service work for clients throughout southwest Missouri.
In 2021, Waldinger acquired Connelly Plumbing and CMI Mechanical in Springfield and in 2023, Waldinger acquired Horton Electric Service Company. With the addition of Trinity Electric, the company now offers a “full suite of mechanical contracting and service capabilities to clients throughout southwest Missouri,” said said Derek Hileman, president of Waldinger Service, in a news release.
All of Trinity Electric’s employees will be retained as part of this acquisition and the Bolins will continue to support the business during the transition period, retiring after that.
Johnny Morris, Paul Mueller Co. among manufacturing Hall of Fame inductees
The Missouri Association of Manufacturers will be inducting the 2025 Class into the Missouri Manufacturers Hall of Fame at an induction ceremony during the Midwest Manufacturers Trade Show & Conference in Branson on Feb. 25.
Individual inductees for 2025 include:
Johnny Morris, founder, White River Marine Group-Tracker; Jack Gentry, founder, Positronic; Gerard “Jerry” Klapp, founder, Missouri Equipment Company; and Langdon Barron, Sr., founder, Alpha Foundry Company.
The organizational inductee is Paul Mueller Company.
O’Brien joins Vital Farms as director of plant operations
Vital Farms announced it has added Missouri native Mike O’Brien to its Springfield leadership team as director of plant pperations at Egg Central Station. O’Brien brings extensive experience in manufacturing and operations, most recently leading operations and manufacturing transformation at Herman Miller. In his new role, O’Brien will oversee day-to-day production and supply chain operations at ECS.
In addition to planned upgrades at the Springfield facility, announced plans last year for a second egg washing and packing facility in Seymour, Indiana. The new facility is expected to break ground in mid-2025 and be fully operational in early 2027.
“With the continued strong demand for our eggs, these investments in our robust and resilient supply chain are critical to our mission of bringing ethical food to the table,” said Russell Diez-Canseco, Vital Farms’ president and CEO. “We have positive momentum going into 2025 to deliver another year of strong growth. Our consistent focus on our farm network and ECS operations positions us well to continue meeting the strong consumer demand for our products and help ensure more consumers can find Vital Farms eggs and butter on the shelves at their local grocery stores.”
OMB Bank promotes Foster
OMB Bank announced that Madison Foster was recently promoted to digital marketing manager.
Foster recently completed dual certifications through the Digital Marketing Institute, earning the distinguished Certified Digital Marketing Professional designation from DMI and the Professional Certified Marketer in Digital Marketing designation from the American Marketing Association. She has nearly a decade of industry experience, beginning her retail banking career in 2017 before joining OMB Bank in 2022 as a marketing coordinator. In her elevated role, Foster will oversee the development and execution of innovative digital marketing strategies, enhancing the bank’s online presence and consumer engagement across digital platforms.
Springfield financial advisor appointed to Department of Labor role
Springfield financial advisor Craig Wright was recently appointed to a three-year term on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council.
Wright is a founding partner at Strategic Financial and has 15 years of experience as a financial advisor. He received a master’s degree in business administration from Southwest Baptist University, is a Certified Financial Planner and holds a Chartered Financial Consultant designation.
As part of the 15-member ERISA council, he will provided advice on policies and regulations affecting employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
Arvest promotes Westerhold
Arvest Bank has promoted Andreea Westerhold to the position of consumer loan sales manager for the Springfield region.
Westerhold, who has more than 16 years of industry experience, previously worked as a real estate loan advisor for Arvest’s Springfield region. Prior to that, she served as the bank’s branch sales manager in Branson for more than 10 years. In her new role, Westerhold is responsible for overseeing the consumer lending team and providing expertise on loan policies, products and services.
Westerhold received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from Babes-Bolyai University in Romania. A resident of Kimberling City, she has served with multiple non-profit and community organizations, including the Table Rock Chamber of Commerce and Stone County Citizens in Action.
Deadline approaching for Nixa mural contest
The Nixa Downtown Revitalization Committee is seeking proposals for its next public mural, with a deadline of Jan. 31.
The planned mural, which will join others including the “Downtown Welcome” mural at Highway 14 and Main Street in Nixa, will be exhibited on the north‐facing exterior wall of the 200 Main Plaza building, at the intersection of Main and Elm. The surface of the wall measures 16 feet tall by 46 feet wide, or 736 square feet. The mural may be either structured in shape or free‐form and should cover a minimum of 15% of the surface area of the wall.
For more information or to make a submission online, email downtownnixa@gmail.com Attn: Mural Committee. The RFP document also is available online at https://downtownnixa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/NDRC-Mural-RFP-12-20-2024-.pdf.
Applications are due by 5 p.m. Jan. 31, with a final decision and notification to the selected artist or team on March 3.