Business

Since her days as a waitress there, The Gallatin Street Grille has always been Angie Rhodes’ favorite place to eat. It also is near and dear to her heart because that’s where her husband, Rick, proposed to her

Pat Buscher of Real Living Vandalia Real Estate has received the Premier Service Diamond Award for providing superior customer service.
To qualify for the award, Buscher had to receive a minimum of 95 percent customer satisfaction rating.
"I'm absolutely thrilled to receive this award," Buscher said, "since it's an independent rating based on evaluations from those people who matter most – my clients."
The award was presented by mail to Buscher by Real Living Real Estate president Harley E. Rouda Jr.

First National Bank recently announced that Megan McCarty and Sam Stock, have been promoted to Junior Loan Officer. They started their new positions on April 17.
McCarty, a graduate of Vandalia Community High School, graduated from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 2010, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a specialization in management.  She began her career at First National Bank in October  2010 as a loan clerk.

The Leader-Union received seven awards for news, photography and advertising excellence in a recent contest sponsored by the Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
The results were announced at the association’s annual meeting on April 27 at Giant City State Park in Makanda. The Leader-Union competed against all large weekly papers in the southern half of Illinois.
In each category, prizes were awarded for first, second and third places, as well as honorable mention. All prizes were for entries published in 2011.