Kathleen Nelson/PD

The Missouri Partnership signed on as a Tour of Missouri sponsor and has been trumpeting the Show-Me State as a good  place to do business.

Its slogan: Real People. Real Opportunity.On Tuesday, Partnership reps introduced Andrew V. Lear, a CPA and partner in BKD LLC — one of the top 10 CPA firms in the country and a Springfield-based business with plans to build a headquarters downtown rather than relocate elsewhere. (Lear’s an avid cyclist, too!)

The Partnership also introduced around Springfield businessman Doug Pitt, the head of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce whose brother works in the arts.

The group’s logo and slogan also appears as a backdrop at the postrace press conferences, and Team Columbia owner Bob Stapleton noted how well “real people” conveys the affection between Mark Cavendish (above) and cycling fans in Missouri who have taken to Columbia’s charismatic sprinter and the ToM’s yellow jersey through two stages.

” ‘Real people’ fits,” Stapleton said, motioning to the sign behind Cavendish at Tuesday’s postrace interview. “He connects with people.”

–30–