JOPLIN, MO (SNS) - Formal dedication ceremonies for the Edward Jones Investment Center took place today, Friday, March 17 in Cornell Auditorium in Matthews Hall on the campus of Missouri Southern State University.

The Center, which opened in February, allows for a controlled investment experience that will provide students access to the dynamics of financial markets and risk management.

It includes 30 computers with LCD monitors, an electronic ticker tape for equity indices, two television monitors with cable programming, a projector and Smartboard screen and dedicated workstations for financial databases, such as Bloomberg and Reuters.

Students in the School of Business Administration use state-of-art financial management software to invest $300,000 of real money made possible by a grant from the Missouri Southern Foundation.

The Edward Jones Investment Center was dedicated to Jim Goodknight, a pioneer investment representative for Edward Jones in the Four-States region. He is a 1963 graduate of Joplin Junior College, the predecessor of Missouri Southern State University.

Goodknight served as an Edward Jones investment representative for 32 years, a general partner for 15 years and a regional leader for 15 years. In 1997, he received the company's prestigious Touchstone Award for outstanding service to Edward Jones.

The Goodknight training plan he developed has been used throughout the firm and the industry to help enhance client service. Jim is married to the former Barbara Truesdell and they have two children and six grandchildren.

Present at the dedication was Douglas E. (Doug) Hill, Senior Partner at Edward Jones. Hill joined the firm in 1968, was named a principal in 1974 and soon began to oversee the firm’s activities in Kansas and Oklahoma. In 1978 he moved to St. Louis to help develop and implement a formalized training program for Edward Jones investment representatives. He was named Chief Operating Officer (COC) in 1998.

Hill served as the firm’s managing partner from 2004-2006. Today, he serves as a senior partner of the firm and assists leadership in Canada and the United Kingdom. He is a 1968 graduate of Kansas State University and a 1984 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School’s Securities Industry Institute.

The Edward Jones Investment Center at MSSU is made possible, in part, by contributions from more than 50 Edward Jones investment representatives and home office general partners.

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