People In Business

United Way of Greater St. Louis (UWGSL) recently announced that Lal Karsanbhai, president and CEO of Emerson, and Andrew Davidson, managing partner for KPMG’s St. Louis office, will serve as chair and co-chair of its 2025 annual community campaign. “For over a century, United Way has positively contributed to the overall health and vitality of…

Marquis Who’s Who honors Taylor Justice for excellence in fundraising and development Taylor Justice has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who. Justice serves as Beverly Farm Foundation’s chief development officer. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position,…

Poettker Industrial Services, a woman-owned business specializing in utility construction, recently promoted five of its employees. “When Poettker Industrial Services looks for its next generation of leaders, we need not look further than our own team,” said Kimberly Luitjohan, president. “Through teamwork, camaraderie and an unmatched company culture, we place high expectations on our employees,…

The Southwestern Illinois Board of REALTORS® (SIBR) hosted its annual Celebration of SIBR Awards on Mar, 12, 2025, at the Regency Center in O’Fallon, Ill. This event gathered over 220 members for an afternoon dedicated to honoring exceptional individuals nominated by their peers for their outstanding contributions and achievements throughout 2024.   An official statement published…

S. M. Wilson & Co., a St. Louis-based construction management and general contracting firm, has promoted Kyle Gustafson to project manager, Jeremy Hutfles to project superintendent and Tyler Baumgarth to assistant project manager. Gustafson, who recently served as an assistant project manager, joined S. M. Wilson in 2021. Since then, he has worked on retail…

TWM Inc., a top engineering and geospatial firms in the greater St. Louis area, recently announced that Derek Twente, PLS, EI, has been awarded the Albert H. “Pat” Patterson Surveyor of the Year Award by the Illinois Professional Land Surveyors Association (IPLSA) . This recognition highlights Twente’s dedication, expertise, and contributions to the surveying profession. As…

  With advances in AI often outstripping the capacity of existing hardware, a researcher at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is looking at ways to leverage the existing computing environment to keep up with demands for training AI models. Xiaopeng Jiang, assistant professor of computer science, has received a $175,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s…

Employee credits his company first aid and safety training By BRIAN BRETSCH It’s a miraculous birthday celebration Antwoinne Vinson will never forget. Vinson, a natural gas supervisor for Ameren Illinois, and his family had just placed their drink orders at a steakhouse in St. Louis on Friday, March 14, when he noticed a woman and…

IMPACT Strategies Inc. recently announced the promotions of Scott Manning from director of Construction Operations to vice president of Operations, and Derek Hinrichs from controller to chief financial officer. In Manning’s new role, he will oversee the execution of all field construction activities to ensure timely, safe, and high-quality completion of IMPACT projects. In addition,…

Governor JB Pritzker recently announced the following appointments in his administration: Ed Hightower will continue to serve as a Member of the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees.* Dr. Hightower retired as Superintendent of the Edwardsville School District 7 in 2015 after 19 years in the role. Under his leadership, the school district grew from…