Dick Erickson
Over 50 Years of experience in real estate, sales, customer / employee relations, and government compliance

John Fleming
John is the Chapter Chairman. John is also the founder of Enterprise Productivity Consulting. He has been involved in the design and implementation of lean enterprise solutions for the past twenty (22) years. He received his training in lean, in the US and Japan, as a result of learning through the GM / Toyota Joint Venture (NUMMI) in Fremont, California and by working with the founders of Shingijutsu, experts in the Toyota Production System. His last 17 years had been focused on the implementation of lean strategies for United Technologies Corporation. In that role, he has assisted UTC to significantly improve their overall performance in terms of customer relations, product quality, and overall productivity.

Jack E. Hubbs
Jack began his career in the food industry with Kroger. Some of the key positions Jack has served include

• President of a wholesale food division with an annual volume of $500M.
• President and COO of a Supermarket chain with over 3000 associates.
• Corporate Director of Supercenters for Target where he led the development and implementation of food marketing for the first Super Target.
• Owned and operated two supermarkets.

Jack's experience includes negotiating the buying and selling of businesses, labor contracts, supplier agreements and service agreements. Jack has experience in human resources, training, sales, marketing and operations. Jack has experience in developing "turn around" strategies for unprofitable businesses. Jack received his MBA from the University of Iowa, his BA from Kansas State College of Pittsburg and his AA from Kansas City Kansas Community College. Jack has served on various boards of retail and non- profit organizations. Jack is editor and writer of a business letter titled 'Food for Thought', which has readers from New York to Hawaii. It is also being distributed to readers in New Zealand, Canada and China. A number of Jack's letters have been published in trade magazines and posted on industry web sites. In addition to writing Jack provides speaking and consulting services.

Dennis Jones
Dennis has BSEE, MSEE and MBA degrees. He worked for IBM, Texas Instruments and Purolator Security. After leaving the corporate world he owned several franchise companies. Most recently he was employed as a business broker. He has been a volunteer with SCORE since 1999, having held several offices in the chapter including that of secretary and chapter chair. He is currently District Director for the Kansas City District.

Mike Maples
Mike Maples is a Certified Public Accountant that has been involved with a wide range of businesses from startups to successful local endeavors to substantial regional and national companies -- both public and privately held. Combining this experience with being a small business owner, he speaks with a unique view that is easily understood by others. Currently, Mike is a partner with B2B CFO(r) the nation's largest firm providing Chief Financial Officer services to small and mid-market companies.

Laura McCaskill
Laura McCaskill has spent more than 25 years dedicated to the healthcare industry. Laura is a medical technologist (ASCP, NCA boarded) with a Bachelors degree in Chemistry/Biology and a Masters in Communications. Her experiences include successful ventures in medical sales, marketing, training, research and education. In 2006, Laura founded a successful medical education company, Medavera, Inc. She is now devoting her passion for problem solving and creative messaging as a Managing Partner for The Medical Package LLC. Laura believes the traditional agency approach was not effective and it is necessary to fully understand the science and the audience before creating strategies and materials that can inspire.

John McKearney
John attended St John's University, NYU Stern School and the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. After twenty five years of financial administration and planning experience with large Corporations in New York and California, including positions as Chief Financial Officer, he founded and managed a commercial, digital technology based, printing enterprise serving business customers located in Northern California. John has been a SCORE Counselor in the San Francisco Bay Area, Las Vegas and Springfield.

Bill McNeill
Bill recently retired from Dow Chemical Company after a 32 year career in variety of commercial positions, including business management, marketing and sales management, investor relations, and mergers and acquisitions integration. During his career, Bill held a variety of sales and marketing leadership positons. He led the strategic evaluation and eventual divestiture of two businesses units (Generon and Cynara gas separations). Additionally, he led a team that completed the technology puchase that allowed Dow to enter the Acrylic Acid business in Europe. He also served as leader of Dow's global Commercial Expertise Center which planned and implemented corporate marketing and sales training activities. Bill graduated from Clemson Unitversity with a Masters Degree in Textile and Polymer Chemistry.

H. Ned Meyer, Jr.
31 years of government service primarily in the nuclear weapons industry. Has served in a consulting capacity to the Department of Energy; Holmes & Harver; Sumner and Associates, Inc.; and Lamb Associates, Inc. Has Executive level experience as the Director - Resources Management Division; and the Director of Weapons Development, Albuquerque Operations, Department of Energy. A member of the Senior Executive Service and the Energy Executive Service.

Jerry Myers
Jerry Myers specializes in the ownership transfer of main street and lower middle market businesses. Jerry brings a wealth of experience and education to each project from his broad background in marketing, finance, and operations. His over thirty years of experience has been in industries as diverse as manufacturing and distribution, construction services, food service, automotive, agriculture, retail, franchises, education and publishing. A Springfield, Missouri native, Jerry graduated from Drury University in that city with a B.S.B.A. in Marketing. He then earned an M.B.A. from the Executive Fellows Program at Rockhurst University in Kansas City. He began teaching for Rockhurst shortly after his graduation, and continued teaching for several years, in the subject areas of Marketing and Production/Operations Management. He also taught income tax law for H & R Block at their corporate headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri, as well as several courses for Keller Graduate School of Management including Quality Control, Strategic Planning, and Contract Management. In addition, Jerry served in various marketing and operations positions for the Faultless Starch/Bon Ami Company in Kansas City, Missouri for over ten years. He has also owned a number of businesses, which provides him with a personal understanding of the considerations and concerns of both buyers and sellers. Jerry has been awarded the designation of Certified Business Intermediary by the International Business Brokers Association. Held by fewer than 600 individuals worldwide, the CBI designation is granted to IBBA members who have met rigorous requirements in education, industry knowledge and experience, and ethical standards. Jerry is a graduate of the United States Business Brokers Advanced Course in Professional Business Brokerage, and is a licensed real estate salesperson in Missouri. He is an active member of the International Business Brokers Association, and serves on the Small Business Council of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. He is a SCORE volunteer, and is treasurer of the local SCORE chapter.

John Sanford
Graduate : Cornell University Dickinson School of Law GM Institute Situational Leadership School Manager, Motors Holding Div. of General Motors Corp. President, Volkswagen Interamericana, Mexico City & San Juan, P.R. Owner, Sanford VW / Mercedes, Jackson, MS Owner, Sanford Chevrolet, Flora, MS Owner, Intercontinental Services, SA, San Francisco, Mexico City, Hong Kong, London Owner, MissMex Trading Co, Jackson, MS Publications: Accounting principles for auto dealerships Business Management for Your Dealership Leasing Used Capital Equipment What Your Boss Thinks About at Night

Joe Sunseri
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Joe attended North Allegheny High School and then Gannon University, Erie Pennsylvania where he received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1980. It was here in college that he started his restaurant career by worked his way through college as Student Cafeteria Manager. Immediately upon graduation he accepted an entry-level manager position with Steak and Ale Restaurants and was quickly promoted to the position of General Manager. After two years with Steak and Ale, he accepted an offer with Chi-Chi's Mexican Restaurants. His career with Chi-Chi's spanned 10 years, as well as 10 states during which time he opened 18 new restaurants and was the Area Supervisor for the southeast region. Personal achievements include the breaking of the Guinness World Book of Records for the Largest Margarita, 938 gallons in 1991. In 1991 he joined On the Border, Mexican Cafe as Vice President and Partner of Central Florida Texas Cafes Inc. He was responsible for all new store operations and training. In 1993, Joe was the Vice President of Operations at Shooters Waterfront Cafe; in Ft. Lauderdale Florida and was involved in opening domestic and International locations. Shooters offered him the experience of working with independent Franchises in areas of the Southeast, Northeast, Mexico and Puerto Rico with sales volumes that exceeded $100k in a day and yearly volumes of 12+ million in sales. He was also employed with The Crab House Seafood Restaurant and held the position of Director of New Store Operations and was involved in the openings of 6 restaurants throughout the United States. The position that brought him to Springfield was Director of Food Services for Bass Pro Shops, Outdoor World. Responsibilities included the opening and daily operation of 3 high volume seafood restaurant with sales in excess of 22 million dollars and 9 specialty snack and coffee shop concepts. Currently he is the owner of Valentine's Restaurant which opened on April 29, 2002. Joe is married to Melissa Sunseri and in 2006 they had a son named Nicholas Valentine Sunseri.

Michael Wehrenberg
Michael Wehrenberg is President of Wehrenberg Design Company, an Internet development and marketing firm. Wehrenberg Design Company was founded by Michael Wehrenberg during his junior year (1997) at Drury University and has continued to serve his clients with web design, maintenance and marketing services. By providing these services, Wehrenberg has met with great success. His client list has quickly grown to more than 150 businesses, including Seagate Technologies, Lambert's Cafe, CJR Commercial Group, Bill Beall Co., Fingland Stables, United Way of the Ozarks, Dameron Color Labs and CoxHealth Foundation. In 2001, Michael Wehrenberg was named one of Springfield Business Journal's 40 under 40. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast and the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. Michael also serves on the business advisory board for the Drury University SIFE Team and the only student-run business incubator in the country, DSIFE, Inc.