Springfield Business Journal_2020-06-15

SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 21 JUNE 15-21, 2020 A s a local community bank, we don’t just do business here – we live here, too. We encourage our employees to give back to the communities we serve. To back it up, we donate more than 2,000 employee hours a year through volunteering with our company-wide initiatives, or with their charity of choice. Because when it comes to serving our community, we are all about making a big deposit. Community Focus. 833.875.2492 / gbankmo.com A s director of community rela- tions at the Skaggs Foundation, Melinda Honey continually looks for initiatives that will help improve the health and wellness in Taney and Stone counties. In the spring of 2019, at the foundation, Honey helped propose a two-county proj- ect to integrate a mental health program with Burrell Behavioral Health to help prevent teen suicide. The program will affect an estimated 800 students, and in October, the foundation was awarded a $120,000 grant that will bring mental health providers into the school for stu- dents without insurance. Outside of the Skaggs Foundation, she currently is serving as president of the Branson Tri-Lakes Kiwanis Club. What is your best productivity hack? I love to get in the office early, leave my email closed, move the to-do lists out of the way and just dig into my most important projects. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?  I have been blessed to have Wil- liam Mahoney, the president of Cox Medi- cal Center Branson, as my mentor. The best advice he has given me is to take time for myself, my marriage and my family. How many times do you hit the snooze but- ton? A better question might be how many alarms do I set every morning – about six to seven. I set alarms for when I need to stop doing what I’m doing and get ready, when I need to be getting the boys up or when I need to be getting somewhere. —Karen Bliss, Contributing Writer J oel Hornickel is watching Branson develop right before his eyes. The city’s seven-year director of planning and development oversaw more than $100 million in commercial permitting for construction activity in 2019, which is more than double the average annual development investment. Projects include Aquarium at the Board- walk and the recently opened indoor amusement park WonderWorks. Hornickel also recently served as the staff lead to manage the public’s involvement in several municipal code updates to the city’s development requirements. For that work he received an award from the Missouri Chapter of American Planning Association. Hornickel has worked at the city since 2009, when he joined as a senior planner. Before that, he worked for an architecture firm in Toledo, Ohio. What did you learn the hard way? I had a professor in college that always told us the only way we were ever going to fully learn something was to screw it up. What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? When people used the excuse “but that’s the way we’ve always done it” with my dad, it never sat well with him. Now, I share the same feelings. What is your favorite hobby? Golf. I have been able to see many beautiful places around the world, enjoy some very unique experiences, and make some great friend- ships because of the game. A round of golf is the cure for all. —Kathryn Hardison, Reporter JOEL HORNICKEL, 39 Director of Planning & Development, City of Branson MELINDA HONEY, 40 Director of Community Relations, Skaggs Foundation JESSICA ROSA