Lisa Button
  • Accountancy
  • Class of 2018
  • Adel, IA

Lisa Button Works With Student Accountancy Group at Culver-Stockton College to Win National Award

2013 May 22

The Culver-Stockton student chapter of Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) has won the prestigious 2013 IMA Clark Johnson Achievement Award (CJAA). Only one winner in the country is selected each year, and the award is accompanied by a $5000 cash prize. This is the second time C-SC has been recognized with this award; Culver-Stockton's student chapter of IMA also won this award in 2007.

Lisa Button, junior accountancy and finance major from Adel, Iowa. is a member of the C-SC student chapter of IMA. Button is the president of the chapter.

To be considered for the CJAA, the IMA group had to submit an application outlining a group project that exemplified innovation, chapter development, teamwork, community partnerships and professionalism. The IMA group at Culver-Stockton applied for the award based on the Business and Criminal Justice Murder Mystery Visit Day, held Oct. 18, 2012 at Culver-Stockton. The goal of the event was to introduce area high school students to forensic accounting, one of the fastest growing fields of employment in America. C-SC's IMA group collaborated with eight student groups and professors from multiple divisions to host the event. Nearly 150 students from eight different schools participated in the visit day, and the C-SC IMA chapter used what they learned in the process of planning this event to apply for, and win, the Clark Johnson Achievement Award.

"The faculty members within the division are very proud that IMA has been recognized with the prestigious Clark Johnson Achievement Award for their contributions and assistance with the Business and Criminal Justice Murder Mystery Visit Day. The day was a wonderful, collaborative effort with many individuals and organizations across campus, and it is very gratifying to have this honor come back to our campus," said Dr. Kim Gaither, chair of the business division. Gaither is a faculty advisors for the Culver-Stockton student chapter of IMA along with Dr. Dell Ann Janney, associate dean of experiential education and professor of accounting, and Julie Straus, instructor of accounting.

The Clark Johnson Achievement Award is named after Clark Johnson, the former chief financial officer of Johnson & Johnson. The award is given to the student chapter of IMA that best reflects the characteristics of Johnson. Johnson's actions of outstanding leadership through innovation, organizational development and interdependent partnerships showed his tremendous devotion to ensuring successful business operations. It was through his continued vision and execution of strategic action plans that ensured Johnson & Johnson continued to reach outstanding performance in both the marketplace and within the organization. Johnson also held leadership roles within the IMA organization.

The CJAA will be presented at the annual IMA conference, held in New Orleans, La., June 22-26.

Culver-Stockton is a four-year residential college located in Canton, Mo.