St. Charles County Business Record, MO articles from August 2003

St. Charles County Business Record, MO archives from August 2003

Women's Fair at SCC provides a good resource for businesses, community.
August 1, 2003... Byline: Joan Elliot If a trip to Hawaii is not in your budget right now, perhaps you can get a portion of your Hawaiian fix right here in St. Charles this fall with a Hawaiian luau, leis, even a hula dance lesson.The Women's Fair,...

Community spirit thrives among WingHaven businesses.
August 1, 2003... Byline: Joan Elliot WingHaven takes work seriously.That is evidenced by the 2 million square feet of office space and another 2 million square feet of space devoted to research and development, according to Paul McKee, chairman of McEagle...

Coldwell Banker Gundaker wins recognition, welcomes agents.
August 1, 2003... Byline: Staff At its July sales rally, Coldwell Banker Gundaker announced that the 94 @ Mid Rivers office was No. 3 in the company with $29 million in written sales and No. 3 in the company with $18 million in listings for June. Susie...

Ganninger joins SSM Clinic Medical Group.
August 1, 2003... Byline: Staff The SSM St. Charles Clinic Medical Group is pleased to announce the addition of Paul R. Ganninger, M.D., effective Aug. 1. A family practice physician, Ganninger joins the family practice department at the recently opened SSM...

American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery elects new member.
August 1, 2003... Byline: Staff Mark T. Boschert, M.D., of Renaissance Plastic Surgery in St. Charles, was recently elected to membership in the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery at the organization's annual meeting in Boston. ASAPA is the only...

O'Fallon chamber welcomes new members.
August 1, 2003... Byline: Staff Recently joining the O'Fallon Chamber of Commerce is Aggie's Closet and Tea Room, Aggie Huels/Joanne Sousan; Apropos Hair Design, David Rabon; Berger St. Louis, Martin Vah; Best-Pack Corp., Linda Janisse; Bourgeois &...

Gov. Holden appoints one to Independent Living Council.
August 1, 2003... Byline: Staff Gov. Bob Holden appointed John Bourgeois III of St. Charles to the Statewide Independent Living Council. Bourgeois is currently a technology assistant for KPG Inc. located in St. Louis. He earned a bachelor's degree from...

St. Charles County planning division receives award.
August 1, 2003... Byline: Staff The Association of State Floodplain Managers has recognized St. Charles County government with the gold level of the James Lee Witt Award for local excellence in floodplain management. The county was acknowledged for its...

State Highway Patrol announces August promotions, retirement, transfer.
August 1, 2003... Byline: Staff Col. Roger D. Stottlemyre, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, announced the following promotions, retirement and transfer effective Aug. 1. Lt. J. Bret Johnson will be promoted to captain and remain in his...

St. Peters-based store owner sees support of diving competition as civic responsibility.
August 4, 2003... Byline: Mike Trask Pat Hamilton is a natural saleswoman, and not just of shoes. She also sells her community, be it St. Peters where she operates Aaron's Birkenstock Sales & Shoe Repair with her husband, Dave, or St. Charles where the...

St. Louis-based Crooked Tree Coffee House receives Golden Cup Award for brewing excellence.
August 4, 2003... Byline: Kathleen Brady Crooked Tree Coffee House on First Capitol may now be able to claim it has the best cup of coffee in town.On July 29, the coffeehouse was notified that it won the Golden Cup Award for brewing excellence from the...

Unconventional approach equals success for entrepreneur.
August 5, 2003... Byline: Dan Turpin What would you think if your boss came to work every day wearing Hawaiian shirts, shorts and sunglasses? Everyday is a party, right?Well, not necessarily. The casual dress code rather boosts productivity and efficiency,...

St. Charles salon recognized second time for fast growth.
August 5, 2003... Byline: Joan Elliot For the second year in a row, Salon De Christe was honored as one of the top 200 fastest-growing salons in America by Salon Today magazine.Competing against 225,000 salons nationally, Salon De Christe had to show that...

St. Charles hotels court big sporting event organizers.
August 7, 2003... Byline: Kathleen Brady Visiting tour buses, group conferences and corporate conventions are some of the many events that generate revenue for St. Charles County, especially the hotel industry.The Olympic Diving Trials, scheduled to take...

Ameristar marks one-year anniversary of new facility.
August 7, 2003... Byline: Mike Trask It took about a decade and a new proprietor, but the casino on the St. Charles riverfront finally is delivering on the promise made by gambling proponents back in 1992 when voters first gave their approval to floating...

Zimmerman looks back on 23 years as county assessor.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Joan Elliot For the past 23 years, Gene Zimmerman has thrived on the challenges inherent in being assessor of the fastest-growing county in the state. During his tenure, St. Charles County's population increased from 144,000 to...

Congressman obtains federal funding for St. Charles County sewer project.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Staff U.S. Congressmen Kenny Hulshof, R-Mo., announced last month the Duckett Creek Sanitary District is on track to receive $300,000 in federal funding for the continued development of a sewer system in the Peruque Creek watershed...

St. Charles County receives finance award.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Staff The Government Finance Officers Association recently announced St. Charles County government as recipient of the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. According to the association, the award is a reflection of the county's...

One appointed to St. Charles Lewis & Clark Commission.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Staff Frank Megargel, CPA, member of Brown Smith Wallace Business Advisors, has been appointed to the St. Charles Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Commission. Mayor Patti York, who made the appointment, said, "We're pleased Frank could...

Dr. Steven Livingstone temporarily relocates.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Staff In the aftermath of the fire that destroyed his medical office, as well as several other offices at 1821 Sherman Drive on Aug. 1, Dr. Steven Livingstone and staff have temporarily relocated to 2850 West Clay in St. Charles....

St. Peters Rotary, SCC Foundation award scholarships to SCC students.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Staff The St. Peters Rotary Club and the St. Charles Community College Foundation awarded two $500 scholarships earlier this summer at the Rotary Club luncheon at the Holiday Inn Select-St. Peters. The SCC Foundation matched the...

Habitat executive attends Harvard conference.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Staff Arlene Hogue, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of St. Charles County, recently attended an executive leadership conference at the Harvard Business School. The four-day conference was aimed at promoting excellence in...

Cuivre River Electric provides school supplies to Crisis Nursery.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Staff Children whose lives have been touched by Crisis Nursery St. Charles will begin the school year with a new backpack full of supplies thanks to the generosity of Cuivre River Electric Cooperative members. A recent $500 grant,...

Local students attend Missouri Chamber leadership program.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Staff More than 130 high school students from across Missouri recently attended the Missouri Chamber of Commerce Leadership in Practice program at the Missouri Military Academy in Mexico, Mo. Leadership in Practice was a three-day...

National Cart one of few manufacturers to expand.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Mike Trask Not all of the news about the current state of manufacturing here and elsewhere in the country is bad. National Cart Co. Inc. of St. Charles is expanding its operation and may add a few workers once the expansion is...

First Bank expands along with St. Charles County community.
August 11, 2003... Byline: James Monahan As St. Charles County grows, so do many businesses within the county. One good example is First Bank in St. Charles.Over the past 20 years, First Bank has expanded from one location in the county to seven. These...

St. Charles to look at redevelopment possibilities.
August 11, 2003... Byline: Mike Trask O'Fallon and Wentzville are not the only municipalities in St. Charles County interested in the redevelopment of its older sections. St. Charles officials are expected to begin discussions on redevelopment possibilities...

Patents protect the rights of inventors.
August 12, 2003... Byline: Amy Armour Millions of people invent things everyday. And for budding entrepreneurs, finding and protecting the "right" invention is instrumental to their future business success.Patenting is the first protection inventors look...

Ameristar Casino St. Charles outshines competitors in July.
August 12, 2003... Byline: Mike Trask Ameristar Casino St. Charles and the President Casino on Laclede's Landing were the only two St. Louis area casinos to report both increased revenues and admissions in July compared to figures from July 2002.Ameristar's...

O'Fallon drops downtown redevelopment project.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Amy Armour O'Fallon Mayor Paul Renaud shocked residents, staff and Main Street Ventures when he announced Monday night that the city would not go forward with the downtown renovation project that has caused controversy since its...

Festival of the Little Hills brings business to downtown St. Charles.
August 13, 2003... Byline: Amy Armour The Festival of the Little Hills will celebrate its 32nd year in St. Charles this week. The festival is one of the biggest events for the city and draws an excess of 250,000 visitors to downtown St. Charles every...

St. Charles County's office vacancy rate drops to 22%.
August 14, 2003... Byline: Amy Armour High vacancy rates in office space are slowly decreasing as the economy is inching its way back up.According to the second quarter 2003 St. Louis Market Profile, provided by Coldwell Commercial Group, St. Charles County...

St. Charles County Econ. Development Center president speaks at chamber luncheon.
August 14, 2003... Byline: Kathleen Brady For years new development has dominated news in St. Charles County. Now redevelopment has attracted a considerable amount of attention, and that's something that is going to generate more interest as developable land...

Lawsuit against St. Charles cools interest in bidding for city property.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Mike Trask At present, there doesn't seem to be much interest on the part of developers in a tract of land owned by the city of St. Charles.City officials recently requested bids for the 26.5-acre tract and got only one bid by the...

Mass Financial Group associates to attend leaders' conference.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Staff Fourteen associates at Mass Financial Group Inc., a financial services firm providing a full spectrum of products and services, have qualified for the MassMutual 2003 Leaders' Conference. Associates qualify for the MassMutual...

St. Charles Community College receives grant for geriatric training.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Staff The Foundation for Geriatric Education and Lake St. Charles Retirement Community recently awarded a $1,470 grant to St. Charles Community College for continuing education in health occupations. The grant will assist in the...

MO Highway Patrol announces promotion.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Staff Col. Roger D. Stottlemyre, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, announced that effective July 27 Trooper James A. Bennett was promoted to the rank of corporal and designated officer-in-charge at the Ameristar...

B&B Retail Automotive Marketing Services adds new manager.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Staff Dan Borgmeyer announced the addition of Susan B. Weaver to the staff of B&B Retail Automotive Marketing Services Inc. Weaver will serve as manager of the accounting department for the retail automotive agency. Her...

St. Charles developer seeks commercial zoning near Wolfrum Center.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Joan Elliot If developer Don Collier has his way, the northeast corner of Highway 94 and Westwood Drive in St. Charles County will be enhanced with an 80,000-square-foot retail center called Triad Crossing by the fall of 2004. The...

Missouri state tax credits approved for Friend of Moms Inc.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Staff State tax credits will help fund a youth program in St. Louis and St. Charles called Friend of Moms Inc., a nonprofit agency designed to provide home health care to pregnant and parenting teens. The Missouri Department of...

RideFinders experiences increase in employer participation.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Staff From July 2002 through June 2003, RideFinders boosted employer participation by nearly 50 percent and netted almost a 10 percent increase in the number of carpoolers registered with the program. During the past year,...

Ribbon-cutting ceremonies held for new retailing shops and restaurants.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Staff On Wednesday, May 21, the St. Peters Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Salvatore's Pizza & Pasta, located at 4134-45 Old Highway 94 South.On Wednesday, July 2, the city of O'Fallon held a ribbon-cutting...

Cuivre River Electric members choose directors.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Staff More than 6,200 people who receive electricity from Cuivre River Electric Cooperative turned out for the annual meeting and picnic at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds Aug. 8. The large crowd enjoyed the evening picnic and...

St. Louis-based Gateway Blood Services withdraws employees' paychecks shortly after direct deposit.
August 15, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon "I just answered the phone because it was ringing. I'd like some clarification myself. That's why I'm here," said an employee of the Gateway Blood Services from the company's Maryland Heights office that declined to give...

Jones Co. wants to purchase St. Charles Golf Course.
August 18, 2003... Byline: Mike Trask Golfers who favor St. Charles Golf Course may soon have to go elsewhere to play their rounds. The Jones Co., a leading home builder in the St. Louis metropolitan area, is close to buying the golf course, according to...

Office/retail center designed for mature tenants.
August 18, 2003... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady Ten architecturally intriguing buildings set up for pedestrian traffic is the concept of the new office/retail center to be developed by MGI Properties.The $15 million project, called Jungermann McClay Station, is...

Twenty county businesses to share in job training funds.
August 19, 2003... Byline: Mike Trask St. Charles County businesses have fared well in obtaining job-training funds from state government. A total of 19 county businesses will get more than one-eighth of the almost $4 million during this first round of...

O'Fallon Brewery's stock offering closer to goal.
August 19, 2003... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady Six months into a semipublic offering, the O'Fallon Brewery is close to raising $142,000. By then, the company will have distributed 28,400 shares of stock to hundreds of shareholders in Missouri.So far, the...

Venture capital possible funding source.
August 20, 2003... Byline: James Monahan Start-up companies typically look to banks for a loan or possibly to family members or friends if the initial investment is not large. But for some entrepreneurs, particularly those developing proprietary products...

Midwest BankCentre names regional president.
August 21, 2003... Byline: Mike Trask Midwest BankCentre has named Fred C. Dyer III as regional president-St. Charles. Dyer replaces Darrell Roegner, a longtime fixture of the St. Charles County banking community. Roegner, who served as Midwest BankCentre's...

Commercial lending down for some county banks.
August 21, 2003... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady For months, economists have predicted that the nation would see some relief in the later part of 2003 from the recession. And while second-quarter earnings for some companies have improved, economists say that in...

Cuivre River grant helps fund St. Charles-based Delta Center for Independent Living.
August 22, 2003... Byline: staff Thanks to a $1,000 Cuivre River Electric Community Trust grant, the Delta Center for Independent Living of St. Charles was able to transport disabled persons to learn more about services available to help them become more...

St. Charles Community College-sponsored Lewis and Clark event spans generation gap.
August 22, 2003... Byline: staff Young and old alike discovered new and interesting tidbits of Lewis and Clark history at "Lewis and Clark: The St. Charles Connection," an intergenerational event held Aug. 13 at St. Charles Community College.Nearly 100...

Missouri lawyers elect board of governors, YLS council.
August 22, 2003... Byline: staff The lawyers of Missouri, voting in districts across the state, have elected six new members to the board of governors of The Missouri Bar and retained 13 incumbents for new terms. Voting at the same time, members of the state...

O'Fallon-based The Blitz provides a fitness facility designed for men-only.
August 22, 2003... Byline: Amy Amour Women have New Lady Fitness, Curves for Women and Contours Express. Now men have a fitness facility available in O'Fallon designed specifically to meet their needs.The Blitz, located in Triad Plaza on Mexico Road, was...

St. Charles County's jobless rate continues to climb slightly.
August 22, 2003... Byline: Mike Trask St. Charles County's unemployment rate continued to climb, albeit slightly, in July. The jobless rate rose to 4.5 percent in July, one-tenth of 1 percent higher from the previous month, according to figures released...

Amer. Bar Assn.'s conduct/ethics rules attempt to balance interests of client, lawyer, and society.
August 22, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon The standard question occasionally thrown toward criminal defense attorneys is how they can represent someone whom they know is guilty. The normal response is that the attorney is simply there to ensure that the judicial...

Whistle-blowing decision leaves lawyers looking at loyalties.
August 22, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon The standard question occasionally thrown toward criminal defense attorneys is how they can represent someone whom they know is guilty. The normal response is that the attorney is simply there to ensure that the judicial...

Austin Machine quadruples its size in O'Fallon.
August 25, 2003... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady Our country was built on the success of small business, and St. Charles County seems to be producing its fair share of success stories lately.The latest small business to flex its muscles is Austin Machine in...

Proposed zoning district prompts concerns in St. Charles.
August 25, 2003... Byline: Mike Trask A new zoning classification under consideration by St. Charles officials may help improve the city's aesthetics but also would discourage commercial and industrial development, says a well-known commercial real estate...

Commentary: Scoliosis can be detected in the early stages of development.
August 25, 2003... Byline: Dr. David Wallace It seems like everyone knows what scoliosis is these days, but are we getting the proper care? Early detection is great, but action needs to be taken. Allow me to explain.All children should be examined for...

Job fair expected to attract more job seekers.
August 26, 2003... Byline: Mike Trask A job fair scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 26, in Bridgeton is expected to draw approximately double the number of job seekers who usually attend these events."We're expecting way over 1,000 people to be there," said Sharon...

New Frontier Bank to open second location.
August 26, 2003... Byline: Amy Armour New Frontier Bank just closed on a 2.7-acre piece of ground in O'Fallon's WingHaven development for its second location.The new bank branch is the first step toward the bank's future plans of opening a total of four...

Real estate agency holds free recruitment seminars.
August 27, 2003... Byline: Amy Amour The home real estate industry continues to boom as interest rates remain low and property values continue to increase. And unlike most businesses, real estate companies continue to recruit workers while many companies are...

Interest rate rise affects mortgage companies.
August 27, 2003... Byline: Amy Amour As interest rates continue to climb, some mortgage companies are getting back to the basics. According to Dan Phlipot, owner of Consumer Mortgage Solutions in St. Charles County, the increase in rates has caused mortgage...

Frontenac Bank taps 20 for advisory board.
August 28, 2003... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady Frontenac Bank, which will be opening its first bank branch in St. Charles County this fall, has chosen more than 20 prominent members of the county's business community to serve on its advisory board.Frontenac...

Jewelry store's image designed to captivate new type of clientele.
August 28, 2003... Byline: Amy Amour A St. Charles jewelry store on North Main Street got a new image, a new name and a new partner all in the hopes of drawing in new customers.Captivations, formerly known as T. Brian Hill Jewelry, kicked off the new name...

Kazi named recipient of Pepose-MTS Fellowship Program.
August 29, 2003... Byline: staff Mid-America Transplant Services of St. Louis, in conjunction with Dr. Jay S. Pepose, medical director for Pepose Vision Institute and founder of the Midwest Cornea Research Foundation, has named Dr. Kazi Reshed Agaz as its...

St. Charles's new convention center groundbreaking set for Sept. 3.
August 29, 2003... Byline: Mike Trask Finally. . . . after more than a dozen years of failed attempts, political intrigue and numerous attempts to find a hotel developer, St. Charles City and St. Charles County Convention and Sports Facilities Authority...

St. Charles-based MetaStable Instruments inks licensing agreement for new product.
August 29, 2003... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady A newborn business is taking its first steps.Incubator company MetaStable Instruments Inc. signed its first licensing agreement with New Jersey-based Special Optics Inc. this month.The agreement will allow Special...

Commentary: Recall trend fails an inspection by Midwestern common sense.
August 29, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon One of the strongest traits of the Midwestern culture is its down-to-earth approach to issues and basic common sense. It is part of a heritage that comes from the land of honest Abraham Lincoln and home of plain-talker...