SSE's Lucas Case to Serve the Branson Community

Lucas Case
SSE Public Relations

Schultz & Summers Engineering would like to congratulate Lucas Case on being elected to serve the downtown Branson community on the Downtown Branson Main Street Association (DBMA) Board of Directors. SSE hired Lucas Case to handle Public Relations and Social Media for the firm earlier this year with the goal of enhancing communications with existing and future clients. “Being involved in our local communities is important to our company and we plan on continuing to play a crucial role in improving the lives of people in the Branson/Tri-Lakes area,” said SSE Owner, Stan Schultz.

Stan Schultz, SSE Owner

“I am honored to be elected by downtown Branson business leaders to serve on this board,” said Case. “The DBMA promotes the downtown area from the top of Hwy 76 all the way down to the Branson Landing and areas in between. The DBMA brings the community some of the most sacred and popular events such as the annual Fiddle Festival, Plumb Nellie Days, Autumn Daze and so much more,” stated Case.

Historic Downtown Branson is considered the “Heart of Branson” to most people who hear of or visit the Branson Tri-Lakes area. Downtown Branson is home to more than 250 small and large businesses that offer anything from attractions and lodging to professional services, restaurants, shopping and more. The DBMA provides the Free Trolley Service to and from one destination to the next with more than seven trolley stops in the downtown area.

Cris Bohinc
DBMA Exec. Director

DBMA Executive Director Cris Bohinc stated, “I am pleased to have Lucas on our board to help bring new creative ideas to better serve our downtown community, while preserving the heritage that downtown Branson offers to our patrons and businesses. Welcome aboard, Lucas.”

Tammy Thurman
Owner, Lock Smith Salon

Owner of downtown business Lock Smith Salon, Tammy Thurman, also stated, “It’s a pleasure to have Lucas on our Board of Directors. We have enjoyed getting to know him over these last few years and I am looking forward to seeing him more here in historic downtown Branson.”

For more information about Downtown Branson please visit www.DowntownBranson.org.

LARGE TURNOUT IN HANNIBAL FOR TRANSPORTATION MEETING

AUDIO LINKS:

Rod Jetton on importance of building roads and improving infrastructure

Click HERE for the full interviews

The Missouri Department of Transportation told participants in Hannibal Monday that the current budget of $700 million will be just enough to maintain Missouri's existing system.

An additional $500 million a year would be needed to get the state back to budget levels of recent years but still shy of what's required.

Former House Speaker Rod Jetton controlled the gavel from 2005-2008
(file photo courtesy of House photographer Tim Bommel)

Click here to learn more about Schultz & Summers Engineering

Schultz and Summers Engineering Receives 2012 Best of Kenner Award

Schultz and Summers Engineering has been selected for the 2012 Best of Kenner Award in the Civil Engineers category by the Kenner Award Program committee. Each year, the Kenner Award Program identifies companies they believe have achieved exceptional success in marketing within their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and the Kenner community. Those companies help make the Kenner, Louisiana area a great place to live, work and play.

SSE Owner Stan Schultz added, “We have worked hard to serve all our Louisiana customers in our efforts to rebuild the levee system and house-raising around New Orleans. Having the Best of Kenner Award committee recognize our efforts is very satisfying.”

Stan Schultz, Owner

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2012 Kenner Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Kenner Award Program and data provided by third parties.

Schultz and Summers Engineering is a Missouri based Civil Engineering Company located in multiple locations around the Midwest and is based out of Poplar Bluff, Missouri. In 2008 they opened a branch office in Kenner Louisiana to focus on providing surveying and materials testing service on the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) flood control projects. They have a large state of the art USACE validated testing lab and are one of the select companies that have been approved for Blanket Purchase Agreement with the USACE. To date, SSE has provided QC testing services on 20 different projects for companies such as Tetra Tech, AWC, Aquatera, Conti, WR Compass, Southern Services and LS&CKY to name just a few. 

SSE Kenner manager Thomas Hudson concluded, “This recognition is the result of all our employees hard work. They take seriously our job of supplying the best material testing and surveying services to our customers. We will continue to do all we can to help rebuild the levee’s protecting New Orleans.”  

INTERVIEW: Jetton: Missouri Must Invest More In Transportation

Rod Jetton

SSE Marketing Director, Rod Jetton, co-chairs the Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee on Missouri Transportation Needs. He joined KWIX Radio reporter Brian Hauswirth for a live interview on June 26, 2012. Click here to listen to Brian's full interview with Mr. Jetton:

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL RADIO INTERVIEW

About 100 attend transportation meeting in Cape Girardeau

Sunday, July 1, 2012

By Robert Overmann ~ Southeast Missourian

About 100 local business owners and concerned citizens attended a Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee on Transportation meeting on Missouri's transportation needs Friday at the Show Me Center. The event allowed citizens to speak about both their concerns for Missouri's transportation system as well as offer solutions to a Missouri Department of Transportation funding crisis.

Organized by Missouri House Speaker Stephen Tilley, R-Perryville, the committee consists of prominent business owners around the state and is headed by former House speaker Rod Jetton and Senate president pro tem Bill McKenna.

MoDOT director Kevin Keith talked about the substantial funding loss MoDOT has experienced. Keith explained that Missouri transportation needs are financed by fuel taxes, vehicle licensing and sales tax on motor vehicle purchases. Missouri's 17-cent state fuel tax has not changed since 1992, according to Keith, though MoDOT expenses have risen substantially. MoDOT revenue, as a result, has decreased by 2 percent for four years in a row due to more fuel efficient vehicles and people tending to drive less.

MoDOT's budget is below $700 million, about $500 million less than what it has been in recent years, according to a Missouri House of Representative transportation facts document available at the committee meeting. Five years ago, MoDOT identified statewide transportation needs that would require an additional $20 billion, according to the same document. Keith also spoke about the importance of a well-maintained and efficient transportation system to the economy.

Concerned citizens, business owners and government employees voiced their suggestions for road improvements and offered solutions to the low funding situation.

Matt Seiler, assistant district engineer for MoDOT's Southeast district, discussed the importance and high cost of keeping roads in good condition.

"The stretch of I-55 between Scott City and Fruitland needs to be six-lane," Seiler said.

Dan Heil, logistics manager at Nestle-Purina pet care near Bloomfield, Mo., emphasized the importance of public awareness about the lack of transportation funding.

"The General Assembly needs to prioritize highway maintenance. Before trying to pass even a modest fund increase, the public needs to be educated about the problem," Heil said.

Lester Goodin, a farmer in Mississippi County, spoke about the importance of minor roads to agriculture, an important industry to Southeast Missouri's economy.

"My suggestion is that, as a farmer, the diesel trucks that cause the most damage to both secondary and major roads should pay more in fuel taxes," Goodin said.

Goodin argued that an increase in the diesel tax is one of the fairest ways to pay for updates to Missouri's transportation system because diesel vehicles, specifically large trucks, consume the most of what MoDOT provides.

Brittany Holmes, a Bollinger County teenager, expressed her thanks to MoDOT for their timely and thorough update of dangerous roads in her area. Holmes had a friend who was killed on poorly marked and poorly maintained roads in Bollinger County. Holmes wanted to emphasize the importance of proper signage and thoroughly maintained roads to road safety. 

Committee members allowed each speaker five minutes to speak, after which the committee members asked questions of the speakers. Friday morning's committee meeting was the fourth of seven such meetings around Missouri. The committee meets next July 9 in Columbia, Mo., at the ARC City Activity Center. Two other meetings of the committee are scheduled for July 23 in Hannibal, Mo., and Aug. 6 in Lee's Summit, Mo.

LINK TO THIS STORY: http://www.semissourian.com/story/1865761.html
LINK TO OFFICIAL MODOT PHOTOS: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43000037@N05/sets/72157630393238118/with/7489758784/