CEO Roundtable w. Fred Parry

Historic William Woods University in mid-Missouri’s Fulton has an acting president. Former UPS executive Romaine Seguin worked at UPS for 38 years before retiring in 2021. She graduated from what was then William Woods College, earning a full scholarship and pitching on the softball team. The acting president joined host Fred Parry in-studio for the hour Saturday morning on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable” to discuss her role and her priorities. Romaine Seguin grew up in St. Louis and graduated from Hazelwood East high school in Florissant. After graduating from William Woods, she started at UPS unloading trucks at 3:30 in the morning and loved that job. She worked her way up in management at UPS, moving nine times and doing two stints in Europe. She praises the institution and the outstanding education students receive at William Woods:

American Outdoor Brands, Kraft Heinz and EquipmentShare are just of the few of the companies that have utilized Chapter 100 bonds in Columbia/Boone County for major job projects over the years. Columbia Regional Economic Development Incorporated (REDI) president Paul Eisenstein joined host Fred Parry in-studio Saturday morning on 939 the Eagle's "CEO Roundtable" program. Mr. Eisenstein tells listeners that there's been $750-million in new investment in Columbia/Boone County in the past 20 years, thanks to Chapter 100. Mr. Eisenstein also discussed air service at Columbia Regional Airport during the one-hour interview, including the return of United Airlines to COU and the popular daily Denver flight. Paul grew up in the St. Louis area and earned degrees from both St. Louis University and Washington University. He worked for the state Department of Economic Development (DED) in Jefferson City for about eight years before taking the REDI job seven months ago:

You noticed another visible law enforcement presence in downtown Columbia this weekend. It’s the second straight weekend of additional law enforcement downtown, following late September’s deadly triple shooting that killed a Stephens College senior nursing student. City manager De’Carlon Seewood discussed downtown safety and crime in-studio with host Fred Parry Saturday morning on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable.” They also discussed the Columbia Chamber’s recent leadership visit to Columbia South Carolina, which Mayor Barbara Buffaloe and Mr. Seewood attended. Downtown safety and crime were key issues discussed on the trip. “It kind of reinforced that a lot of things that we’re dealing with, they have been dealing with. And they’re probably two or three years ahead of us. But it’s lessons learned and you can see some of the things that they’ve done that worked and some of the things they’ve done that didn’t work,” Mr. Seewood tells listeners. He and Fred Parry also discussed the horrific 2019 murder of a USC student in South Carolina who was kidnapped and stabbed more than 100 times and killed after she thought she was getting into her Uber. They also discussed Columbia recycling and the new budget:

Last weekend’s deadly triple shooting in downtown Columbia and UM System President Dr. Mun Choi’s Monday press conference on downtown crime have dominated news headlines in mid-Missouri since the shooting. Networks of Mid-Missouri general manager Curtis Varns joined host Fred Parry in-studio for the hour on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable” on Saturday. One of the main topics was Channel 17’s coverage of the deadly shooting and what has happened since. Mr. Varns notes the murder victim, Stephens College senior nursing student Aiyanna Williams, was well-known in the community. Curtis notes ABC-17 interviewed her three years ago at Battle’s graduation. Mr. Varns also says President Choi’s press conference on crime generated major headlines. President Choi says crime downtown is at a crisis point. CPD is temporarily reassigning a patrol sergeant to focus full-time on overnight downtown operations. Police chief Jill Schlude says that on most Friday and Saturday nights, nearly half of CPD’s on-duty officers are reallocated downtown. Chief Schlude says CPD plans to reestablish a dedicated downtown unit in the summer of 2026. The chief says the deadly triple shooting marks the fourth, fifth and sixth uninvolved bystanders struck by gunfire downtown since March 2024. She also says violent crime is disproportionately higher downtown compared to previous years. Host Parry and Mr. Varns discussed that in-detail. Curtis Varns grew up in rural western Missouri’s Drexel, a town of about 950 residents. He graduated from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and was hired as KMIZ assignment editor in 1995 by then-news director Teresa Snow. KMIZ will celebrate its 54th anniversary in December: it went on-air in 1971. KQFX, MeTV and KZOU are also part of the Networks of Mid-Missouri. Mr. Varns also discussed KMIZ’s coverage of Mizzou Sports and the Kansas City Chiefs, and discussed his relationship with the Columbia Area Career Center:

Columbia pastor Christopher Kurtz is a local pastor at Anthem church on Paris road. He also is an entrepreneur and an innovator who is involved with what is known as the Pillar Project. Pastor Kurtz joined host Fred Parry in-studio for the hour Saturday morning on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable” program. Pastor Kurtz works with many college students in the Columbia area and tells listeners that there is a growing hunger now for college students and others to attend church. He says some are attending church for the first time ever, while others are attending for the first time in 30 years. Pastor Kurtz grew up in rural northwest Missouri’s Trenton, a town of about 5,600 in Grundy County. Trenton is best known for its Main Street and for excellent hunting/fishing in the area. Most of Pastor Kurtz’s family live in northwest Missouri’s Jamesport, and many are Amish. He emphasizes the importance of education, noting his parents only finished eighth grade. He and host Parry also discussed details about the Pillar project, the topic of school choice and his life as a father:

Former Mizzou quarterback Alex Demczak of Columbia is a best-selling author and speaker. He’s the co-author of a book called “The Sale” with Jon Gordon. Mr. Demczak joined host Fred Parry in-studio for the hour Saturday morning on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable” program. Mr. Demczak tells listeners that the book is about leading with integrity. He grew up in Illinois and walked-on at Mizzou, where he played for then-Coach Gary Pinkel for four years. Mr. Demczak describes that time as an amazing experience. He and host Parry also discussed communication tips and strategies and talked about Alex’s speaker school as well. Mr. Demczak graduated from Mizzou with a degree in communication and a minor in business:

9-16-2025: Wake Up Missouri with Peter Thiele, Jen Bukowsky, John Marsh, and Producer Drake

9-16-2025: Wake Up Missouri with Peter Thiele, Jen Bukowsky, John Marsh, and Producer Drake

Monday marks the end of a 16-year era in the Columbia area for the Central Missouri Honor Flight (CMHF). Their final flight to Washington leaves Lambert Field in St. Louis early Monday morning. The CMHF has flown about 5,500 veterans to Washington in 16 years to reflect at their memorials. The first flight was in 2009. Central Missouri Honor Flight director Steve Paulsell joined Fred Parry in-studio Saturday morning on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable.” Mr. Paulsell tells listeners that this is sad. He also tells listeners that the CMHF had many veterans and little money in 2009. “Now we find ourselves 16 years later where we’ve got money but we don’t have veterans. We normally take anywhere from 75 to 95 veterans on a flight and I haven’t been able to do that. In fact this flight’s not totally full,” Mr. Paulsell tells listeners. There will be about 120 people on Monday’s charter flight from St. Louis Lambert. They’ll leave Columbia’s Courtyard by Marriot at 1:15 on Monday morning and will bus to Lambert. Mr. Paulsell says 74 are Vietnam-era veterans, one is a Korean War veteran and the rest of caregivers and staff. He thanks Zimmer Radio and our listeners, the numerous businesses that have donated over the years and volunteers who have worked countless hours. The final Central Missouri Honor Flight radiothon with 939 the Eagle and Zimmer in 2023 raised about $127,000. Mr. Parry interviewed CMHF director Paulsell on the second and third segments of the show. He also interviewed two Mizzou students with “Columbia for Christ” for the first segment about an event happening Wednesday on Mizzou’s Traditions Plaza. One student is a Mizzou track athlete and the other is from Bridgeton and says the Holy Spirit led him to Mizzou:

Missouri's special session on congressional redistricting and initiative petition changes continues Monday in Jefferson City. Award-winning reporter Rudi Keller of the "Missouri Independent" newspaper joined host Fred Parry in-studio for the hour Saturday on 939 the Eagle's "CEO Roundtable" program. They discussed the special session in-detail, including the impact of new congressional maps on Boone County and on the debate over IP reform. They discussed the issue of property tax reform as well. One of the other main issues they discussed was the work the Independent is doing and newspapers that have reduced or eliminated their Missouri Capitol coverage. Mr. Keller notes the "Springfield News-Leader" no longer has a bureau in Jefferson City and says the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" and "Kansas City Star" now have one-person bureaus. Mr. Keller served two stints at the "Columbia Daily Tribune" before joining the Independent. He and host Fred Parry also discussed the late former "Columbia Daily Tribune" publisher Hank Waters: