Rural Enterprises names Neal development director

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Jan 27, 1997

Henry Neal has been named director of the business development division at Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma Inc.

Neal will oversee the staff and activities of REI's industrial business incubator program, the home-based business assistance program and the equipment pool for both business incubator participants and manufacturers with 25 or less employees. In addition, he will coordinate REI's resources to increase membership through more direct marketing and recruitment programs throughout the state.

Neal has 21 years of experience in manufacturing field work and has worked with small manufacturers in seven counties, assisting in areas of finance, marketing, advancing technology, human resources and business relationships to help them become more competitive. Communications Sharon "Shari" Faye Marker and Dana Michelle Clifton have been hired as retail store supervisors for VoiceStream Wireless. Marker was previously employed with TDS Paging, Mary Kay Cosmetics and as a real estate agent. She has both a real estate and cosmetology license and is affiliated with the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce. Clifton previously worked as a high value customer representative for AT&T Wireless. She has sexual harassment training as well as service excellence and quality service skills training. Sprint PCS has appointed several employees to the Oklahoma City- based regional office. Jeff Weber has been named director of marketing, responsible for advertising, public relations and competitive analysis for Oklahoma and Ar-kansas. The 10-year industry veteran was previously with Southwestern Bell, where he served as director of new product development. Greg Truitt has been appointed district manager. He will oversee all sales distribution channels and service support operations within the central Oklahoma market. Also named were four corporate account executives. Michael Hallmark has six years of experience in this capacity and was previously with Westel Communications Inc. Jeanne Harang joins Sprint with previous experience as an account executive with Data Times. Jeffrey M. Jay brings four years of sales experience to the firm. He was formerly a sales executive with American Paging Inc. Russ Koch joins Sprint after serving as northwest region manager for Data Times. Architecture J. Don Keen has been promoted to associate at the firm of Miles Associates Inc., an architectural, planning and interior design firm. His new duties will focus on overall office management with emphasis on daily project/staff management. Keen, who has been with the firm since 1993, has more than 20 years of experience in architectural design and construction administration. Finance Lester L. "Bud" Tollie has joined Commercial Insurance Services Inc. as a producer. He previously was president of Tollie Freightways, a 48-state truckload carrier running 300 tractors and 600 trailers. Tollie is past chairman of the Kansas Motor Carriers Association, the Interstate Truckload Carriers Conference and the Professional Truck Driving Institute of America. He has also served as state vice president and vice president at-large of the American Trucking Association and currently serves on the foundation board of Mid- America College and as a member on the board of trustees of Lakeview Retirement Community. North American Group has added two members to its risk management and insurance team. Keith Adams has been named account executive. He previously worked with American Fidelity Insurance Co. before opening his own independent agency in 1988. Adams is a past recipient of the top agent award from United States Fidelity & Guaranty and has in-depth experience in the field of risk management. Henry Dumas has joined North American as project manager in the group's Norman office. Dumas has served as the chief financial officer and agency manager for Winn & Co. Insurance in California, where he developed systems for client communication and effectively increased growth. He was also an executive consultant for Bernard Haldane Associates. Jeff Benson of Property Insurors was the top producing agent for the agency in 1996 and the top growth agent for the second consecutive year. He has also been selected as a charter member of Property Insurors' President's Club. Joshua R. Jenson has joined the firm of Peters & Chandler CPA's, Inc. He will be involved in the areas of taxation and financial reporting. Jenson is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and of the Texas and Oklahoma Society of Certified Public Accountants. Community Jeanie C. Palmore, a Jones elementary school teacher, is the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board's first student education coordinator. She will develop energy curriculum for several grade levels and will encourage state science teachers to participate in OERB-developed programs. Palmore has been active in earth science education in the Oklahoma City area for the past six years and has developed original environmental and energy-related activities for elementary school students. Adrian DeWendt has been named executive director of Oklahoma Special Olympics. He has served as vice president of development at Kansas Special Olympics since 1992. DeWendt has been involved in the National Society of Fund Raising Executives, the Kansas Recreation and Parks Association, the National Coaching Education Advisory Committee and the Overland Park South Rotary Club. He has been involved with Special Olympics nationally by evaluating the work of other state chapters and chairing the Special Olympics General Rules Advisory Council from 1993-95.