Punkindoodles opening; New faces
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Punkindoodles opening
A ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Friday will celebrate the grand opening of PunkinDoodles, 725 Commercial St. Additional grand-opening events will continue at the store on Saturday.
Owned by Shalla Bennett, the store gets its unique name from the nickname Bennett’s mother called her children when they were small. Bennett’s two daughters now carry the same affectionate moniker.
The store will carry clothing for children for girls through 10 years old and for boys through size 4T, as well as gifts and accessories. Store hours will be 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.
Punkindoodles was funded by Emporia Main Street through the Incentive Without Walls loan program and Trusler Loans.
New faces
Emporians Jodi Heermann and Roy Mann joined the staff at Newman Regional Health last month. Heermann started July 20 as the Foundation Manager and Mann began on July 6 in Medical Staff Development.
Heermann received her bachelor’s degree in home economics education from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln . She moved to Emporia from Nebraska in 1994. Heermann has worked at Lowther North teaching through a language arts mentoring program and most recently at the Flint Hills Technical College as their foundation director for more than seven years.
Heermann enjoys working in a Foundation role.
“As you meet with prospective donors, you learn about their interests and the impact the organization has had on their lives,” says Heermann.
Jim Wayman, president of Emporia State Bank and president of the Newman Regional Health Foundation board adds, “We are pleased to have someone with Jodi’s experience and professionalism to help us raise the bar in funding the healthcare needs of our community.”
Roy Mann began July 6 in medical staff development for Newman Regional Health. Born and raised in Emporia, Mann received a bachelor’s degree in music education followed by a master’s degree in educational administration, both from Emporia State University. Mann’s main focus is recruiting new physicians to Newman Regional Health. Mann was previously the director of alumni relations at Emporia State University for 13 years.
Living most of his life in Emporia has helped Mann in his new role.
“It’s all about building relationships and showing prospective physicians the benefits of moving to Emporia. Newman Regional Health and Emporia have a lot to offer,” says Mann.
“The medical staff is pleased to have Roy join Newman Regional Health in his new position,” said Dr. Scott Smiley, Internal Medicine, president of the medical staff. “We recognize the importance of being able to recruit and retain quality physicians to our area. By providing a direct liaison between prospective physicians and our community, we are hoping this will give Emporia an advantage in today’s competitive market.”
Honor roll
Sen. Jim Barnett of Emporia and Rep. Peggy Mast have been named to the 2009 Pro-Business Honor Roll by the Kansas Chamber of Commerce.
“The 2009 Pro-Business Honor Roll members supported the efforts of the Kansas Chamber more than 80 percent of the time with key votes on core business issues such as: the omnibus and mega appropriations bills, tax policy, energy, environment and regulatory affairs, business development, and campaign finance,” the organization said in a news release.