General managers of McDonald's of both North Hays and South Hays were honored recently at a reception in Kansas City. Stacy McKennon of the north location and Jon Booth of the south location were recognized as outstanding store managers in the Heartland Region, an award that recognizes the top 10 percent of restaurant managers in the McDonald's system. The Heartland Region is made up of 510 restaurants in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Illinois. This is the seventh time Booth has been awarded this honor, and McKennon has received the award six times. Booth began his McDonald's career in 1981, and McKennon has been with the company since 1980.

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Steve Schmidt, Phillipsburg, has been named April field agent of the month for the Knights of Columbus Insurance Western Kansas Agency. Schmidt has been a field agent with the company since June.

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Mandi Dreiling and Shawn Legleiter have joined the staff of Nex-Tech Wireless team at The Mall kiosk location. Dreiling, a native of Hays, graduated from TMP-Marian High School and is attending Fort Hays State University. Legleiter, also a Hays native, graduated from Hays High School and attended Fort Hays State University.

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Rural Telephone/Nex-Tech has been named one of four finalists for the Governor's Award of Excellence, one of the two highest honors a business can receive from the state. The winner will be announced by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius at the annual Kansas Cavalry Encampment, the state's foremost business awards ceremony, June 17 at Emporia State University. The event is sponsored by the Kansas Cavalry, a volunteer organization of business and economic leaders who work to promote Kansas as an attractive location for business.

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Coffee Rules Lounge, owned by Jason and Valery Rule of Hays, has completed an expansion that has resulted in a new conference room and seating for approximately 40 more customers. The area, located in the renovated basement, is open to the public, has lounge area seating on one end, traditional booths and tables on the other, a steel-tip dart board, 50-inch plasma TV and Surround Sound. The Bryan Tyler Jobe Memorial Conference Room, separated from the main seating area for privacy, seats 13 and is equipped with a white board, LCD projector and wireless Internet.

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Hays Medical Center registered nurses Linda Glassman, Carey Lewis, Melissa Portenier and Alanna Zimmerman recently received their certificate nurse operating room credentials from the Competency and Credentialing Institute. CNOR credentialing represents a level of professional achievement and a demonstrated knowledge of clinical competence and practice standards. Just as important, achieving a CNOR credential demonstrates proficiency in support of quality patient care and sets a standard of commitment to the profession of operating room nursing. Glassman has been Associate of Hays Medical Center for 7 years, Lewis 19 years, Portenier 18 years and Zimmerman 8 years.

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Hubert "Arch" Archambo Jr. has been named chief of police and security at Port of Corpus Christi, Texas. Archambo has been acting chief since mid-January and was previously assistant chief of police and security upon joining the port in March 2006. He is the married to Ruth Rupp, whose father, Bill, is a Hays resident. Archambo is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in engineering and holds a masters degree in systems management from the University of Southern California. While in the navy, Archambo served 25 years as a helicopter pilot retiring with the rank of captain in 1994.

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Dr. Kendall Krug, Hays optometrist is the recipient of the Kansas Optometric Association's 2008 Distinguished Service Award.

He was presented this award April 25, at Kansas Optometric Association's Annual Convention, Topeka. Krug was recognized for his outstanding leadership and dedication to improving the quality of care for patients with low vision both in his community and across the state. Krug is involved in Kansas Optometric Association's Low Vision Committee and numerous organization serving low vision patients in Kansas.

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