COMO | August 2021

AUGUST 2021 | T HE DIVERS I TY & I NC LU SION ISSU E | A PU B L ICATION OF TH E B U SIN E SS TIMES COM PAN Y

"If we come together as a city, we can really start to make a difference within the homeless population."

Darren Morton Managing Director of Turning Point

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AUGUST 2021

Letter from the Publisher

Keep doing better.

K

eeping inclusion and diversity at the heart of our editorial has remained a priority to us at COMO Mag for quite a long time. In fact, we have decided that our commitment remains so strong to it that we don’t want to “need” a specific issue for it in the future as we have done in the past. We want it to be so core to who we are — a value we raise and keep so high — that it’s a part of our everyday lives rather than needing a special set aside issue. However, when we planned this issue last fall, we hadn’t put those words to it yet. So, here is our offering to the community.

We have worked really hard to make sure that we have looked at the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion from all angles.

We have included stories ranging across ethnicity, physical and mental abilities, gender, and income. I am 100% sure that we have left something or someone very deserving out. This is just too important of a conversation, with too many relevant ways to frame, it to capture it all in 108 pages.

However, if COMO Magazine can help move even a few of these conversations forward, we will consider it a win.

We have had our own opportunities to address our shortcomings with diversity.

We’ve been guilty of having (quite unintentionally) an all white 20 Under 40 class before. We have gotten to the end of planning an issue and realized we didn’t have any Black or Brown people in it. Where we have fallen short, we have acknowledged it and done better next time. Our “doing better next time” includes asking people to join our advisory board to help us see our blind spots.

These advisory board members represent different ethnicities, geographical areas of our city, income brackets, areas of industry, social sectors, and gender. We ask them to hold us accountable and show us the stories. Our goal

ART DIRECTOR'S DOCS In my opinion, the best way to get to know a culture is to live in it. The second best way is to watch a documentary about it. Here are a few stories that helped me to think more inclusively.

This is just too important of a conversation, with too many relevant ways to frame it, to capture it all in 108 pages. is to have them connect us further to parts of the community unknown to us so we may show a more complete picture of Columbia.

Please enjoy the stories in this issue and join us in celebrating a wonderfully diverse community that we love enough to name our businesses after it. As always, please feel free to contact me at Erica@comomag.com to share with me how you experienced the issue. I look forward to hearing from you every month.

Summer of Soul If you missed Questlove’s documentary on the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival at True/False this year, check it out on Hulu.

The performances are powerful and FUN. I also really enjoyed getting a Black perspective on the breaking news of the time period: landing on the moon.

Thule Tuvalu - Investigating Climate Change This documentary (on Kanopy) puts you in the homes of people who are losing farmland to rising sea levels. I know climate change is happening, but it hits harder when listening to the prime minister of a Polynesian island say things like, “We have nowhere to run to.

We don’t want to disappear from this Earth.” And that was rhetoric from 2009.

Crip Camp If you still haven’t gotten around to it, watch this one tonight. Filmmaker James Lebrecht takes you into the tight-knit, jovial, disabled community that was responsible for a revolution in accessibility legislation.

ON THE COVER Get to know Darren Morton, managing director of Turning Point, as he shares his love for the job and passion for providing for the homeless community. Pg. 89 Photo by Anthony Jinson

AU G U ST 202 1 | T H E D IVE R S I TY & I N C LU S I O N I S S U E | A PU B L I CATI O N O F TH E B U S I N E S S TI M E S CO M PA N Y

"If we come together as a city, we can really start to make a difference within the homeless population."

Darren Morton ERICA PEFFERMAN PUBLISHER

Managing Director of Turning Point

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AUGUST 2021

President Erica Pefferman

Erica@comomag.com

Senior Vice President Fran Patrick Fran@comomag.com

EDITORIAL Publisher | Erica Pefferman Erica@comomag.com

Editor | Kim Ambra Kim@comomag.com

Copy Editors | Beth Bramstedt, Hannah Keuck, Matt Patston

DESIGN Art Director | Cassidy Shearrer

Cassidy@comomag.com

Senior Graphic Designer | Jordan Watts Jordan@comomag.com

Director of Photography | Sadie Thibodeaux Sadie@comomag.com

Graphic Designer | Kate Morrow Kate@comomag.com

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Keith Borgmeyer, Charles Bruce, Anthony Jinson, Sadie Thibodeaux, Getty Images

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Kaitlyn Bailey, Lauren Sable Freiman, Liz Goodwin, Jules Graebner, Jon Hadusek, Amanda Long, Mary Caitlyn Polovich, Quincy Sinek, Jennifer Truesdale, Tara Vossenkemper

Director of Operations Amy Ferrari Amy@comomag.com

MARKETING REPRESENTATIVES Account Executive | Charles Bruce Charles@comomag.com

OUR MISSION

To inspire, educate, and entertain the citizens of Columbia with quality, relevant content that reflects Columbia’s business environment, lifestyle, and community spirit.

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Magazines are $5.95 an issue. Subscription rate is $39 for 12 issues for one year or $69 for 24 issues for two years. Subscribe at comomag.com or by phone.

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Reproduction or use of any editorial or graphic content without the express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

Photo by Carly Buntin Photography

ON T HEM E

How are you working towards being more inclusive?

Dr. Ashley Emel DC, CACCP, Webster Certified

Beth Bramstedt Advisory Board Member

Sadie Thibodeaux Director of Photography

Kristofor Husted Advisory Board Member

Chris Horn Advisory Board Member

Personally, I love to meet and learn the stories of people who are different from me. Professionally, I love being on staff of a multiethnic church that strives to bring diverse voices to leadership.

I’m adjusting how I use pronouns, whether or not I know which pronoun someone uses. If I don’t know, instead of assuming, I try to incorporate neutrality by using, of course, their name, or “person,” “they,” or “them.”

By seeking out and giving the microphone to people who typically don’t get to hold one, listening to what they have to say, and sharing their story.

By acknowledging and embracing diversity and being intentional on finding ways for people to meaningfully participate and contribute.

Dr. Jennifer Sutherland DC, FASA

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AUGUST 2021

of the cases we helped close ended in permanent homes, either reunited with family or adopted by relatives or non-relatives.

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IN THIS ISSUE

48 STYLE Make your next event pop with balloon sculptures from Airmagination.

AUGUS T 2021 | The Diversity & Inclusion Issue

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42

76

Publisher’s Letter

GOURMET Elevating Tradition at Casa Maria’s Mexican Cantina

79

LIVING 21 ART & CULTURE Singing for Social Justice

23 PET FRIENDLY The Healing Power of Horses

25 WELLNESS Meeting Clients Where They Are

27 TARA TALKS

28 HOMES A Backyard Designed for Making Memories

48 STYLE Bringing the Party with Airmagination

55 FRIENDS & FAMILY Cooking from Her Heart

69 COUPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW Barbie Banks and Beth Shepard

WORKING 75 CLOSER LOOK

BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS

FEATURES 59

80

CELEBRATIONS Fighting to Improve Lives

CHANGING LIVES FOR THE BETTER, FOREVER Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Missouri provides a vital mentorship program for youth in our community.

82

64

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT Pillars of a Recovering Community

CULTIVATING FUTURE TEACHERS How COMOEd helps students reach their dreams of becoming educators.

85

92

MOVERS & SHAKERS

BUSINESS UPDATE Putting People First

89

PERSON YOU SHOULD KNOW Darren Morton

106

THIS OR THAT Terry Nickerson

REIMAGINING MU’S SOCIAL JUSTICE CENTERS Building student academic success through a three-phase plan.

97 READY FOR HIRE Individuals with disabilities provide an untapped labor market for local businesses.

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Living

23 THE HEALING POWER OF HORSES Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center has been providing horseback riding therapy to people with disabilities for 33 years.

42

ELEVATING TRADITION Casa Maria's is quickly becoming known for its authentic yet modern cuisine.

64 CULTIVATING FUTURE TEACHERS How COMOEd helps students reach their dreams of becoming educators.

Living

ART & CULTURE

Singing for Social Justice The Quorus advocates for change and brings a safe space to Columbia’s LGBTQQA+ community.

BY KAITLYN BAILEY

I

n addition to being a full-time jazz vocalist, songwriter, pianist, and music teacher, Audra Sergel — the founder and artistic director of the Quorus — spends countless hours in the name of its mission: to be a positive, caring, and dynamic organization comprised of diverse advocates providing a safe space, growth, and social justice for the LGBTQQA+ community.

“We are a non-auditioned, community choral ensemble that is made up of people from the LGBTQQA+ community, meaning for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and allies,” Audra says.

The idea to create the choir came out of a national tragedy, when 50 people were killed at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub in 2016. “I realized that just being out wasn’t enough to serve my community,” Audra recalls. “The idea didn’t come to me until I attended the vigil, and there wasn’t a choir to mourn what had happened.”

Five months later, the Maryville native founded the Quorus. “It all came together very organically. I called certain friends that I knew I could trust and were choral composers or artists to see if they wanted to be on the board. I also had a friend that was interested in being the accompanist for the choir — so, once that fell into place, I knew I could step in to be the director.”

The ensemble was initially funded through Audra’s private music studio, and members paid dues. In its second year, the Quorus experienced tremendous growth, in part because of its partnership with The Center Project, a local nonprofit organization and community center designed to meet the needs of LBGTQ individuals and families. “We were able to apply for grants, reach more people, and have a lot more visibility in the community by working with them,” Audra says.

Today, the 30-member choir holds four concerts each year and feature music written by queer artists, such as Grammy-winning musicians like Stephen Sondheim and Elton John and local musicians like Violet Vonder Haar, whose work aligns with the broad spectrum of choral literature. The Quorus has also performed at Columbia churches, universities, Pride Prom, and the Mid-Missouri PrideFest.

Centered around music, the choir brings a safe space to Columbia’s LGBTQQA+ community. “We’re using the power of music to sing for a different purpose,” Audra says. “We’re singing to bring about social justice and change, which is why it’s so incredible to see like-minded people in the community come together to sing.”

Audra says she finds herself overwhelmed with the support she has received since founding the Quorus. “I didn’t realize how much I needed a safe space, and I know that my friends feel the same way. We’ve found such a great community through this group,” Audra reflects.

As for the future, Audra hopes to continue evolving the ensemble to meet the group’s needs. “Because the pandemic canceled a season, it’s important that we regroup to decide what type of musical ensemble we want to create now,” Audra says, mentioning that there is interest in doing both choir and rock band. “There are other things on the horizon, but they’re all in response to our members asking for them.”

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Living

PET FRIENDLY

The Healing Power of Horses Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center has been providing horseback riding therapy to people with disabilities for 33 years.

BY KA ITLYN BAILEY

It’s no surprise that animals can have healing powers.

Karen Grindler founded Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center in 1988. The theater and communications alumna from MU arrived at the idea for Cedar Creek after noticing a sort of absence in Columbia.

“There were no therapeutic riding centers in Mid-Missouri,” Karen remembers.

With a need in the community and the help of a riding instructor certified in equine therapy, Karen opened Cedar Creek.

Located on 60 acres of land just south of Columbia, Columbia’s Cedar Creek Therapeutic Riding Center provides lessons and equine therapy to kids and adults with mental, physical, or emotional disabilities.

The nonprofit group is accredited with the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, a nonprofit formed in 1969 to promote equine-assisted services for individuals with disabilities.

Cedar Creek began its fi rst year with 12 riders and four horses. Nearly 34 years later, Cedar Creek’s staff, volunteers, and 19 horses provide nearly 100 individuals in Mid-Missouri with the benefits of riding each week.

Equine-assisted therapy can promote physical growth in people with various disabilities. “The movement of a horse is the same movement of the human walk: it’s a fourdimensional movement,” Karen says. “For a person who has an impediment to mobility,

the movement of a horse will mimic the movement of a human walk, strengthening the muscles in the back, legs, arms, and stomach.

Because you’re on a moving apparatus, the whole body is engaged.” Th is movement helps improve balance, coordination, strength, and muscle tone.

The motion created through riding can also promote cognitive and emotional growth. “For someone with a mental disability, riding gives them a sense of independence and confidence, improving self-esteem,” Karen says. “For someone with an emotional disability, creating a bond with the horse and establishing a relationship is substantial.”

Cognitive impairments are also addressed through learning horsemanship skills and stable management.

The group’s work transcends the clinical benefits of providing equine therapy to kids and adults. “Children often speak their fi rst words on the back of a horse or take their fi rst steps at Cedar Creek,” Karen says.

Cedar Creek is run by a staff of five: two certified instructors, an office manager, an occupational therapist, a mower, and an equine manager. However, Karen says the help of many dedicated volunteers keeps Cedar Creek in the saddle.

Volunteers work with riders for eight-week sessions in the spring, summer, and fall.

Those with horse experience are used to lead the horses through the classes, while those with less experience help by being “sidewalkers” who walk alongside the rider. Volunteers can also help prepare the horses for lessons, grooming, special events, and farm projects.

Looking toward the future, Karen says Cedar Creek aims to continue “lifting spirits of kids and adults with mental, physical, or emotional disabilities in Mid-Missouri by providing equine therapy,” adding that she is passionate about what work is being done at Cedar Creek. “Nothing beats improving the quality of life for a person through the healing power of a horse.”

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Living

WELLNESS

Meeting Clients Where They Are The Heriford House Counseling Center offers diverse services to alleviate mental health stigma.

BY KAITLYN BAILEY

H

aving worked for a few local companies and organizations as a licensed professional counselor, Melissa Williams knew she wanted to see something different happen in Columbia.

After all, for those from a minority or underrepresented background, seeing a therapist who identifies with your lived experiences can make all the difference. But the lack of diversity in therapists discourages Black, Indigenous, and people of color from reaching out.

Founded in 2019, The Heriford House Counseling Center incorporates a cultural understanding to diversify mental health services. The private practice employs therapists from marginalized backgrounds to work primarily with minorities and families. “Even though we can meet the needs of most of the community, we have found that it’s important to have an outlet available for a client if the request is to have a therapist that looks like you, talks like you, and has similar lived experiences,” Melissa says.

Melissa adds that accessibility is another common factor in deciding who can reach out about receiving mental health services.

To make therapy more fi nancially accessible, The Heriford House accepts some insurance and Medicaid. The counseling center also offers a sliding scale fee for those uninsured or underinsured. According to Melissa, a client may pay anywhere between $15 to $125 per

“We have found that it’s important to have an outlet available for a client if the request is to have a therapist that looks like you, talks like you, and has similar lived experiences.”

session. “A person’s income and the number of dependents will determine how much a client pays,” Melissa says.

Those who don’t want to meet in person or live farther away can access a therapist by teletherapy. According to Melissa, nearly 90% of the counseling center’s clients are seen virtually. “Most are seen via Zoom, but for those without internet access, we can meet over the phone,” Melissa adds.

Part of the high demand for teletherapy is because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Melissa says teletherapy is also beneficial for those who live in communities with a stigma around receiving mental health services. “We will meet with people that are sitting in their car, walking at a park, or wherever else they feel they are the most comfortable and have the most privacy,” Melissa says.

Placing the counseling center in a house located on Heriford Road is another way they achieve their mission of removing the stigma around receiving mental health services. “The clients that meet with us in-person see the center as a home, which is important in creating connections between the client and the therapist and destigma-

— Melissa Williams tizing accessing mental health services,” Melissa says.

Melissa hopes to continue meeting the needs of the community by providing accessible, diverse counseling services. “The amount of people we’ve served in the short amount of time we’ve been open is tremendous,” she says.

And Melissa credits her employees with being able to serve and support individuals and families well. “We have an awesome team of people that believe in our mission,” Melissa says. “Our team works cohesively, but also brings something unique to the table. Without them, The Heriford House wouldn’t be able to serve and support individuals in the way that we do today.”

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AUGUST 2021

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Living

I am struggling with my mental health.

How do I ask my boss to have time off for mental health days?

Do you have any tips for managing mental health in the workplace?

I

’m so sorry to hear that you’re struggling.

I have zero idea what the specifics of your struggle are, but I can confidently say that this year has been especially trying and that you are not alone in that struggle. That’s not to say this year is the only reason you’re struggling; rather that this year added additional pressure in a widespread fashion, and it’s pretty difficult not to be impacted on some level.

So the first question is simple. Sorta. My immediate two thoughts are, “Is there a policy already” and, “Ask directly.” That’s what I mean by simple. I don’t know what company you work for, but they may already have a policy around mental health days. It’s definitely worth looking into and even discussing with HR, if possible. Either way, that would be my first go-to, and it feeds directly into my second thought — to ask directly.

I would schedule a meeting with my boss and ask them directly about time off for mental health. To make it even easier for them to say yes, I would share the results of my HR policy search and maybe even bring a proposal for them.

In case you need language, asking directly might look something like this: “Hi, boss. Here’s why I’ve asked to meet with you. I love [my job/this company/our working relationship/fill-this-in-with-whatever-is-

true], but I’m struggling. I’d like to take some time off for my mental health. I spoke with HR and I searched our employee handbook and I found [XYZ information or lack thereof]. I’d like to propose [lay out details of your proposal]. Are you open to this?”

For the record, the proposal would be something about how many days off you need, whether this is ongoing or limited, and how it will impact your work and the company. Your boss hopefully cares about you as a person, period. However, good bosses have to perpetually strike the balance between the people they oversee and the health of the company (which then impacts the people they oversee). If they care about you, then my hope is that they’ll try to work with you while also making sure you’re taking care of the logistics of taking time off for mental health days.

Your second question is surprisingly difficult to answer.

There are so many unknown variables. Your boss may be supportive or unsupportive.

You might have a flexible position and schedule or one that is very static. You might be able to decrease hours and not feel the strain or you might need to work the exact hours you’re currently working in order to meet your financial needs.

My point is this: My tips for managing mental health are both coping-related and circumstance-related. By “coping-related,” I mean to say that there are things you can do if you have little to no control over your circumstances. By “circumstance-related,” I mean to say that there are suggestions and tips I have that might lead to changing your situation, which could then alleviate some of the stress of mental health issues.

Some coping-related tips and suggestions for during the workday would be: • taking quick, daily walks (less than 10 minutes each, preferably outside) • meditating (even for five minutes) • streaming soothing music • briefly connecting with a trusted colleague or friend • jotting down five things this job allows you to do in your life

TARA TALKS

These are all intended to be quick things that you can do in the middle of your day or during a break.

If you’re able to implement some circumstance-related tips and suggestions, then I might try some of the following: • flexing hours to work fewer days per week • flexing hours to fewer hours on specific days and more hours on other days • working remotely • decreasing workload or hours • changing offices or location to get an outside view or to change up people around you I have no idea if the circumstance-related tips are even possible, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t throw some out there.

All that said, it would behoove you to stay tuned in to what’s working and what’s not by doing simple tracking. This can be done with an app, the Notes section of your phone, a Google Sheet, or by keeping it old-school and jotting things down in a notebook. When we track basic things, we can actually look and see what has changed for us (or what hasn’t).

If you decide to take 10 minute walks each day, jot down how you’re feeling before and after the walk over the course of the next month, and then start to assess whether you see any trends or patterns in mental health changes.

Walking is just an example, of course. You can do this very thing with any tip you try.

You know this already, but there isn’t one quick fix, regardless of how much I wish there was. And it probably goes without saying, but mental health is damn important. I’m sincerely hoping that you have a work environment where you can approach your boss, ask for what you need for your health, and be heard and responded to accordingly. Good luck with this!

My point is this: My tips for managing mental health are both copingrelated and circumstancerelated.

Tara Vossenkemper is the founder and owner of The Counseling Hub. She practices Gottman Method Couples Therapy.

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Living

HOMES

A B A C K YA R D DESIGNED FOR

MAKING MEMORIES The Spillmans turn their backyard into a comfortable, contemporary oasis.

BY J E NNI FE R T R U E S DA L E PHOTO S BY K E I T H B O R GM EYE R

W

alk out the back door of Jeremy and Jessica Spillman’s 4,000-square-foot house, which Jeremy built in 2016, and you’ll feel like you’re at a high-end resort with an enormous swimming pool, bar area, and high-end finishes. Jeremy knows a thing or two about building amazing spaces. As the owner and operator of Studio Spillman, which specializes in remodeling, renovation, and design, as well as the division president of Lombardo Homes of Columbia, a luxury home building company, Jeremy is big on design and shows us what the pros do to their own homes.

During the summer of 2020, Jeremy, like a lot of contractors, found that he had more time on his hands and more time to spend at home. So, he decided it was time to do something with the untouched backyard. Plus, the neighborhood pool was closed, and they really missed using it.

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Living

HOMES

“I wanted it to feel like a modern hotel back here — luxurious but timeless.”

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AUGUST 2021

Living

HOMES

PL ANNING THE PERFECT HANGOUT SPOT “[Jessica and I] have three children — twin girls who are rising seniors in high school, and a son in middle school. I really wanted a place where we could all spend time together in this last year that the girls will be home with us,” Jeremy explains.

“I wanted it to feel like a modern hotel back here — luxurious but timeless,” Jeremy says about his design process. Having been fascinated by architecture since he was a kid, Jeremy looked for pictures of outdoor spaces that captured the look and feel he was going for.

From there, he dissected the details to figure out specifically what made those designs work.

“A lot of people can tell you what they like, but they may not know exactly why they like it,” he says. Jeremy likes to know. Is it the clean lines, or that particular tile, that makes this design unique?

From there, Jeremy went to work, which started with a lot of excavation. There was an 18-foot increase in elevation from the front yard to the back. Getting the backyard level to receive the pool required removing 185 truckloads of earth and boulders from the site.

Because of his background in construction, Jeremy was able to pitch in and do some of the work himself.

It took two cranes to install the 38-foot-long, heated, saltwater pool, which runs parallel to the back of the house. The backside of the pool is edged with a rock wall, which is accented by a line of water spouts that empty back to the pool. At the far end is a raised wood patio deck lined with lounge chairs.

Between the house and the pool is a sunken patio space that is home to a hot tub. The downstairs bedrooms look out into this area, which is accessible to the pool area via steps made of enormous stones, which he also used to landscape the front yard for continuity.

IT ’S ALL IN THE DETAILS When the house was built, it included a covered patio off the back large enough to house a big table, a fi replace, and a big-screen TV. Just outside the patio, to the right of the pool, is an open patio

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with ample lounge furniture and a large fi re pit table. Beyond this area is the cabana — a structure that houses the pool pump, but also offers a bar with seating on two sides. Complete with a built-in grill, refrigerator, ice machine, a ceiling heater, and its own bigscreen TV, the bar has four stools on the front, and three hanging rope swing seats on the side. At the back of the bar is a bathroom and an outdoor shower at the corner of the cabana to complete the space.

When Jeremy was brainstorming what to do with the backyard, a pool was not in his initial plans. He says pools are expensive and don’t offer much return on investment — maybe only 10 to 20% in this part of the country. But he decided a pool was about creating memories with his family, and that’s something you can’t put a price on.

All of the little details of the space make it unique. For example, the wood patio on the far end of the pool is constructed of ipe hardwood decking, which Jeremy chose because it doesn’t get too hot in the sun.

He chose the slate-look porcelain tile around the pool for the same reason. And he was thinking ahead in case of the unforeseeable. “It’s also a floating tile, so if a pipe bursts, I can just pop up a tile or two instead of having to destroy it,” Jeremy says.

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Jeremy adds that the water feature spouts along the back of the pool are cool because they are powered by the pool’s pump instead of a separate device.

A retractable movie screen mounted to the back of the house, along with built-in speakers throughout the space, offers cinema-quality viewing from the pool.

Altogether, it took about five months to complete the project last summer. Jeremy says the outdoor bathroom was a must as it keeps wet feet out of the house. Plus, the house is air-conditioned. “Once people go inside, they get cold, and they leave. The party is over,” Jeremy says.

He adds that the ice machine in the outdoor kitchen turned out to be an awesome idea — the convenience makes it a must-have. The only thing Jeremy wishes he had thought of was adding a linear drain in the kitchen area, saying he was surprised by how much water ends up back there from bathing suits.

The Spillmans are undoubtedly the go-to place for friends and family who want a place to have fun and relax. They host pool parties with music pumping, and their twin daughters sit on the rope swings at the bar to eat breakfast. Their goal of building a luxury outdoor space that builds family memories was not just met, but exceeded.

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WHAT THE

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NATE ANDERSON

ROST LANDSCAPING

ANNE TUCKLEY

ANNE TUCKLEY HOME

AMBER WOOTEN TIGER HOME TEAM

JAKE BAUMGARTNER

BAUMGARTNER’S FURNITURE

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FIVE OVERLOOKED AND UNDERAPPRECIATED PLANTS

NATE ANDERSON

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ROST LANDSCAPING

By Nate Anderson Find more at rostlandscaping.com

Nate Anderson has been a resident of Columbia for seven years, and he has been working in the landscape industry for just as long. Nate is a designer and estimator for Rost Inc. While working on his degree in plant science and landscape design, he also worked as a foreman at Rost Landscaping, where he oversaw landscape construction projects.

He credits much of his inspiration to his “early years” where he got to be a part of the construction of many beautiful landscapes.

W

hen it comes time to think about which plants you are going to use for your upcoming landscape project, you may be surprised at how many options are out there.

Most homeowners are familiar with many of the classic plantings such as roses, hydrangeas, maples, etc., but there are a lot of lesser known trees and shrubs that can add interest and variety. Utilizing these plants can give your landscape that little touch of something unique to help set it apart from everything else.

WITCH HAZEL: This is a large deciduous shrub with yellow to orange blooms. They like full sun to part shade. There are Missouri native varieties, and they are very low maintenance.

The unique thing about them is that they bloom in winter, and they make for a beautiful show when they are blooming with snow on the ground. So often when people think of winter interest plantings, they think of evergreens, but what about a flowering shrub!

573-445-4465 ROSTLANDSCAPING.COM

and gorgeous colors when blooming. They have a white bloom, but what catches my eye more than the blooms is when the blooms fall off to reveal bright pinkish red bracts. They are also a tree that blooms in summertime, which contrasts with so many of the spring blooming tree varieties out there.

ARIZONA CYPRESS ‘BLUE ICE’: This is an upright pyramidal evergreen tree with blueish green foliage. The foliage is not a needle-like foliage that many think of when picturing an evergreen, but rather has a soft appearance.

This is a great way to add another color and texture to your landscape that you’re not going to find with other plants. Because of its upright habit, this tree also works well in places where you need height, but don’t have a lot of space.

SNOWBERRY: This is a shrub with a blueish green leaf that I am using more and more because it helps fill a niche when thinking about seasonal color. The unique thing about snowberry is that they have pink berries that they put on in fall. A lot of homeowners overlook fall color when planning their landscape. Some great options for varieties are ‘Candy’, ‘Amethyst’, and ‘Proud Berry’.

SEVEN-SON FLOWER: These multi-stem trees are prized by plant lovers but not known by most. They have a unique exfoliating bark,

VITEX: Blue is one of the hardest colors to find in plants. My

favorite Vitex get a rich blueish purple panicle bloom, but there are also pink varieties. They have a unique, highly dissected leaf shape.

Vitex can be planted in masses, but they really shine when used as a specimen plant.

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box when considering plants for your garden. Talking to the staff at Superior Garden Center or hiring a qualified designer is a great way to get guidance on your plant selections.

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PERSONAL SPACE

By Anne Tuckley Find more at AnneTuckleyhome.com

W

hat would life be without stories?

As humans, we crave connection, experiences, and memories. Whether it is a tattered postcard from a childhood vacation, a delicate locket from a loved one, or the smell of fresh baked goods triggering memories of past holidays, our histories, culture, and the loved ones with whom we surround ourselves shape our lives.

When it comes to decorating, it isn’t simply about what looks good. It is also about what matters to you. A house becomes a home when you pull those elements of yourself and your experiences and you embed them into your surroundings. There is something so exhila-

rating about the curiosity that comes with walking into someone’s home. A person’s space can tell you so much more about who they are and where they come from. Family photos adorning the wall, an antique clock chiming on the hour, an extensive collection, or a luxurious, hand-stitched blanket are all revealing. Whether you are redoing an existing space or starting fresh in a new home, pick what elements matter to you the most. Determine what stories you want to be reminded of daily and which ones you want to share with your guests.

Once you know what matters and you build and design your space around it, a house will quickly become a home.

ANNE TUCKLEY

HOME

PROS KNOW

ANNE TUCKLEY HOME Anne has been in the interior design industry for more than 20 years and has resided in metropolitan cities ranging from NYC to Houston while honing her skills. Her specialties are interior design and home staging with a focus on unique perception. Anne graduated with a BFA in fine art with a concentration in design and illustration. She has extensive experience in designing new construction as well as remodeling and conceptualizing out-of-the-box ideas. She ensures cutting-edge design and superb customer service.

108 CORPORATE LAKE PL. COLUMBIA, MO 65203 (573) 639-1989 ANNETUCKLEYHOME.COM

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WHAT’S NEXT FOR REAL ESTATE?

AMBER WOOTEN

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TIGER HOME TEAM

Amber joined Tiger Home Team in 2020 with 10 years of experience helping Columbia area buyers and sellers with their real estate needs. Amber and her husband, Will, moved to Columbia in 2004 with their two sons, Whitten and Jett. Their family was completed with the addition of their daughter, Ovella, in 2011.

She always strives to make your priorities her own because when you’re buying or selling your home, the experience matters.

By Amber Wooten Find more at tigerhometeam.com

573-289-4440 TIGERHOMETEAM.COM

A

fter experiencing an unprecedented start to 2021 for our local housing market, many people are asking the obvious question: What happens next? While none of us can predict the future with certainty, there are some things that tend to follow the old saying “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Every economist seems to be indicating that there is no real estate crash in the foreseeable future. No bubble burst either, if that is your label of choice.

What we see in pricing right now may just be the new normal! We do expect to see a slowing down of the sharp jump in values that arose from the frantic competition for available properties this spring. Home values are still expected to climb — just not at quite the same pace.

Also, we do tend to feel our local market settling just a bit — which

is actually pretty normal for late summer. It is possible this may give buyers a slight reprieve — meaning a little more of a normal home shopping experience over the next few months.

When it comes to listing your home — your property’s condition is still of utmost importance if you want to get top dollar. In addition, it is critically important to work closely with your Realtor when prepping & pricing your home.

With the speed of our market in recent months, buyer tolerance for “days on market” is minimal.

In the past, 60 days on market (or more depending on price range) may have been completely normal, but today’s buyers tend to start asking why a property hasn’t sold, and if there is something wrong with a home, much more quickly — even before the 30-day mark. Rely on an experienced professional to guide you in pricing your home right the first time!

The moral of the story, hesitancy is not your friend in this market! According to Columbia Board of Realtors statistics, our local average home price is up 22% in June 2021 compared to June 2020.

That can be a tough pill to swallow if you are like some buyers I’ve talked to who started looking for a home in 2020,

and decided to press pause when prices started climbing late last year. Unfortunately, as that statistic shows, they found no relief whatsoever (the opposite in fact) when they started looking again this spring.

Interest rates are still historically very low. If you are considering buying or selling a home, there is no time like the present!

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WHICH LA-Z-BOY IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

JAKE BAUMGARTNER

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BAUMGARTNER’S FURNITURE Jake essentially grew up in the furniture industry, as he is the fourth generation involved in Baumgartner’s Furniture. Working very closely with his father, Alan, Jake has been devoted to the stores full-time since 2004. His greatest enjoyment, however, still comes from working closely with the customers. He is married to Sarah, and they have two active boys, Noah and Laine. Jake received his degree in finance from Saint Louis University.

By Jake Baumgartner Find more at baumgartners.com

(573) 256-6288 BAUMGARTNERS.COM

L

a-Z-Boy is one of the most famous names in furniture, most notably for the recliner that bears the company’s name. But La-Z-Boy is a producer of a broad assortment of furniture, including sectionals, ottomans, and sofas, just to name a few. At Baumgartner’s Furniture, we have an expansive La-Z-Boy Gallery—so that leaves us with the burning question: Which La-Z-Boy furniture pieces are best for you?

SECTIONALS There is no denying it. Together, sections are large pieces of furniture. However, the configurability of sectionals makes them easy to place in any size room, small or large. Because arm units, armless units, corner units, and wedge corner seats can be joined or pushed together into dozens of different shapes and sizes, sectionals are a great fit for spaces that are asymmetrical or not well-defined. Fabric selection also plays into what you find the most comfortable—and practical.

Fortunately, La-Z-Boy sections come in several styles and fabrics— so you’re sure to find a sectional to fit your decor, budget, and lifestyle.

OTTOMANS Most people mistake ottomans for a footstool, but they are more than just that. Sure, you can extend your legs out and rest your feet on them, but ottomans have several more uses.

Take the Leo Ottoman, for example.

This ottoman, sold at Baumgartner’s Furniture, provides ample storage space and comes with a reversible top—one side is a tufted fabric to provide additional seating and the other converts to a wooden cocktail table. Customize the ottoman with your choice of fabrics.

SOFAS Sofas, which typically seat three to five people, are often the most common piece of seating in a living room. If your newest piece

of furniture needs to be something that ties the room’s interior design together and helps you and your guests feel at home, a La-Z-Boy sofa is the right choice for you.

Baumgartner’s Furniture offers La-Z-Boy sofas in various designs and fabrics, giving you the ability to make the best choice for your home.

RECLINERS We’ve come to the La-ZBoy classic: a recliner. At Baumgartner’s Furniture, we offer recliners with both a sidemounted handle and a 4-button control panel. Whatever you choose, recliners are an excellent choice for those who

want to alleviate stress by offering the utmost comfort and support. Plus, the comfort class La-Z-Boy has elevated itself to the top of affordable, stylish comfort. With modern silhouettes and designer details and the ability to add personal touches with fabrics, finishes, and trim, there’s no reason to sit in an uncomfortable chair to maintain your home’s aesthetic ever again.

We know how much you love your home. Visit our showrooms in Columbia and Auxvasse and let our knowledgeable in-store professionals find you just the right pieces.

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SUMMERTIME

SHAUN HENRY

PROS KNOW

ATKINS

By Shaun Henry

A Columbia native, Shaun Henry found a home at Atkins in 2000 when he started his career as a turf technician.

Shaun holds a commercial applicator’s license through the Missouri Department of Agriculture and is a member of the National Association of Landscape Professionals, the Mid-America Green Industry Council, and the Missouri Green Industry Alliance. Shaun strongly believes in the importance of a great customer experience, where the Atkins staff knows the clients and anticipates their needs accordingly.

Shaun is an MU alumnus and has a degree in plant science.

Find more at AtkinsInc.com

W

hat a start to summer we have had! Extreme heat and drought early, then torrential downpours and mild temperatures. You really do never know what our Mid-Missouri weather has in store for us from one year to the next and often from one day to the next. Quite the weather rollercoaster we’re on!

Here are some interesting tidbits about lawn care, landscape maintenance, and irrigation for the summer months.

TURF CARE Often times we find ourselves trying to manage weeds and fungal disease this time of year.

Weeds: From crabgrass to nutsedge to lespedeza to dandelions, many of our weed control issues can be reduced with good mowing and maintenance practices. Mow tall. Sharpen those mower blades. Water when needed to keep your turf dense and healthy.

Anything you can do to reduce stress on your turf will help to also reduce pressure from undesirable plants popping up where you don’t want them. Then, spot spray for weeds when appropriate and necessary.

Fungus: Brown Patch is our leading fungal disease for cool season turf in our area and nearly every lawn in town has it at some level

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573-874-5100 ATKINSINC.COM

every season. Once our overnight temperatures stay above 60-65 degrees, this soil-borne fungus begins to feed on our susceptible turf species. Again, maintaining the overall health of your lawn will help it to survive.

ORNAMENTAL LANDSCAPE PLANTS There are soooo many things going on over the summer in our landscapes. A lot of the tree and shrub disease and insect damage that began in the late spring starts showing its symptoms over the summer. Cedar Apple Rust, Fireblight, spider mites, bagworms, anthracnose, etc., all start in the spring, but damage shows up or is exaggerated by temperatures during the summer months. Some can be managed now, but others need to be headed off next spring.

Japanese Beetles are still feeding.

Populations vary year to year, but they still show up every summer in droves and feed on around 400 different plant species!

All of that plus heat and drought stress too.

What the heck! Water when needed. Even those 80-foot-tall oak trees need a drink every now and again. Getting to know your plants and their water needs is always a good idea.

Keep in mind that too much water can have the same effect as no water at all.

IRRIGATION SYSTEMS If you’re fortunate enough to have one, keeping it in good, effective working order can often be a challenge.

System Checks: The process of running through each of your sprinkler zones to make sure all of the irrigation heads are functioning properly and your are covering all areas of the lawn and landscape appropriately.

Seasonal Adjust: Most newer irrigation controllers have the ability to adjust the time of operation simply by increasing or decreasing the percent of time on the schedule (0% = won’t run at all. 150% = the controller will add 50% more time to the watering cycles).

Wi-Fi Controllers: Like most everything else, if you want to control your irrigation system from your phone, you can! Pretty cool stuff out there now to help you manage your water usage.

Summer can be brutal, but all in all, we love what we do even with the challenges we face during a Mid-Missouri summer. We hope that your lawn and landscape survive the season!

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ELEVATING

BY AMANDA LONG | PHOTOS BY ANTHONY JINSON

TRADITION at Casa Maria’ s Mexican Cantina 42

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Q QUICKLY becoming known for its authentic yet modern cuisine, colorful array of cocktails, and eye-catching interior, Casa Maria Mexican Cantina is blazing new trails in Columbia’s Mexican restaurant scene.

Originally from Gonzalez, Tamaulipas, Mexico, chef and co-owner Jesus Mendoza came to the United States in 1996 and moved to Columbia in 2013. Growing up in a family that was passionate about food, he spent most of his life working in kitchens. With many years of experience under his belt, Jesus dreamed of opening his own establishment with a menu of his creation.

“After 25 years, I was eager to do something on my own,” he says. “I wanted to fuse all of the techniques that I’ve learned into modern Mexican cuisine.”

THE START OF A PARTNERSHIP Co-owner Crystal Umfress moved to Columbia in 2000 to attend Columbia College and subsequently fell in love with both the town and community. After 10 years of teaching at Columbia Public Schools, Crystal decided to pursue her passion for nonprofits, including marketing and event planning for organizations such as Serve It Up CoMo, Primrose Hill Teen and Adult Challenge, and Tigers on the Prowl. In 2014, she started Charitable Solutions, an establishment created to provide resources for nonprofits.

At a fundraising event, she met Jesus and discovered his talent in the kitchen. She began regularly hiring him as a chef for events, and the two became friends, and then partners. Realizing they made a great team, they began to plan the opening of their own restaurant, making Jesus’ dream a reality. “We are both really hard workers and always on the go. We have always worked well together from collaboration

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to execution,” says Crystal. “Jesus strives for the same level of excellence that I push for, whether working with restaurants or planning events.”

For nearly a year, they created and tested recipes for sauces, marinades, and drinks, working to craft a one-of-a-kind menu featuring flavorful and original Mexican delicacies with an innovative flare. In November, they signed a lease for the 136-seat location on Grindstone Parkway (formerly Babbo’s Italian Eatery) and opened Casa Maria’s Mexican Cantina just four months later, in early February 2021.

“We did a soft opening that weekend and sold out. It’s been nonstop ever since,” Crystal says.

A MENU TO MAKE YOUR MOUTH WATER Named after Jesus’s mother, Maria, Casa Maria Mexican Cantina has quickly become known for its variety of one-of-a-kind dishes.

Drawing inspiration from two generations of family recipes combined with native delicacies from Mexico, Jesus was able to create a flavorful and unique menu.

The menu is studded with traditional Mexican fare such as the pozole, a soup with hominy, seasoned pork, and a tangy broth served with lettuce, radishes, onion, jalapenos, and limes. The succulent Mexican street corn is grilled and smothered in mayo, lime juice, salsa, and cojita cheese. The tres enchiladas features tinga chicken, steak, and cheeses smothered in Jesus’s mole sauce.

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"

We could not have created Casa Maria’s culture without [Cindy Scott's] vision and talent.

Fresh ingredients and bright flavors are used to make popular dishes such as the colorful tinga tacos, a combination of smoky shredded chicken with an avocado mash topped with red cabbage queso fresco, or the fiesta bowl, with spiced shredded barbacoa, cilantro lime rice, black beans, lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, and corn salsa.

The full-flavored and popular queso fundido showcases melted white cheddar cheeses with spicy Mexican chorizo over poblano rajas, sprinkled with cilantro and served with flour tortillas for dipping. The barbacoa tacos include three corn tortillas stuffed with shredded, seasoned beef and garnished with fresh chiles, radish, cilantro, and onions, all topped with homemade avocado salsa.

Casa Maria’s also offers an array of seafood dishes. The stuffed poblano pepper is overflowing with grilled shrimp, scallops, and crab, drizzled with a creamy chipotle sauce, and served with grilled seasonal vegetables.

The arroz Cozumel pairs grilled shrimp with scallops, zucchini, squash, and peppers on a bed of rice topped with creamy queso.

“We are excited to provide Mid-Missouri with a more upscale Mexican dining experience,” says Crystal. “Casa Maria’s offers modern Mexican cuisine created with authentic,

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”

—Crystal Umfress bold flavors while using fresh ingredients in a vibrant, festive atmosphere.”

In addition to the tantalizing menu, Crystal and Jesus teamed up with local bartender Isamel Mendez to create an innovative cocktail list. Casa Maria’s creative margarita list includes more than 20 varieties of traditional and specialty margaritas, served either frozen or on the rocks. The award-winning mango habanero margarita is perfectly sweet yet surprisingly spicy, and the triple berry margarita is infused with fresh fruit. Both are crowd pleasers. On Tuesdays, customers can try one (or two) jumbo margaritas during the all-day happy hour for only $5.

A FIESTA FOR VIEWING Upon entering the restaurant, guests are pleasantly mesmerized by the vibrant murals adorning the walls of both the main and side dining areas painted by local artist Cindy Scott. The paintings include what Crystal refers to as the “fiesta version” of Columbia’s famous Big Tree, as well as flowery depictions of the agave plant, an important export of Mexico.

During Casa Maria’s first Cinco de Mayo celebration, Cindy also live-painted three large canvases depicting the exciting events of the evening, which now hang inside. The

finished works include lively, painterly vignettes of bartenders handcrafting multi-colored cocktails, diners enjoying their fare and conversation, and the sparkling patio filled with happily celebrating customers.

Crystal and Cindy met while co-chairing Tigers on the Prowl, a local fundraiser that brings together Mid-Missouri charities, sponsors, and local artists. Cindy was one of the artists chosen to paint a five-foot fiberglass tiger to be auctioned off to benefit select charities in Columbia. Their shared passion for helping others and supporting the community created a lasting friendship.

“Cindy and I worked on numerous charitable causes together, and Jesus and I fell in love with her art. We could not have created Casa Maria’s culture without her vision and talent,” says Crystal.

Casa Maria’s also boasts a small but adorable light-strung patio for outdoor seating as well as a private event space inside. They also offer curbside pick-up. Having only been open for three hectic and busy months, Crystal says they are ready to expand. “Catering events has been an area that Jesus and I both love, and it allows us to stretch our creativity,” she says. “We are excited to work with the community and be a part of bringing individuals together!”

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ST YLE

Bringing the Party with Airmagination How to make your next event pop.

BY KA I T LYN B A I L EY PHOTO S BY A NT HO NY J I NS O N

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C

rafting and styling balloon arches, garlands, backgrounds, neon signs, and event set-ups is an artform at Airmagination — a balloon styling and decoration company. The main allure of the business remains the “organic” balloon installations. Various shapes, sizes, and colors of balloons turn a bar, doorway, or wall into something unearthly. “Naturally, balloons elevate the mood of any occasion,” co-founder Destiny McKnight says. “But this is more than just balloons. Our displays bring attention and can make any event pop.”

As a Texas native, Destiny explains that balloon art is a big deal around the state, so she and her husband knew that this was something the community of Columbia needed. The couple began learning the art of the industry last year during the stay-at-home orders that wreaked havoc on events. “It was the perfect time to learn the art of balloons and plan the business before events began to pick back up again,” Destiny says.

With eight months under their belt, Destiny says she is proud of the work she and her husband have done. “Airmagination is a space where I can dream, be inspired, and bring a different form of art to Columbia’s event scene,” she says. “We’re helping others turn their ideas into something incredible.”

CRAFTING THE PERFECT DISPLAY Airmagination has made a name for itself — in both the residential and commercial worlds. Look over their list of clients, and you might see a few names you recognize: Veterans United Home Loans, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mid-Missouri, Missouri Women’s Business Center, ACA Business Club, and Regional Economic Development Incorporation (REDI), to name a few. “As much as we do balloon installations for commercial business, we are also creating displays for events at people’s homes. We’ve created balloon displays for bridal showers, birthday parties, and gender reveal parties,” Destiny explains.

The process begins with a consultation.

“We discuss inspiration, whether the event is indoors or outdoors, how many people will be at the event, and the size of the space the event is being held,” Destiny says.

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The way Destiny crafts and styles a balloon installation differs from project to project. A 12-foot balloon garland hoop — such as the one featured in the pictures — can take as long as three hours and as many as 100 to 250 balloons, depending on the scale of the design the client desires. “What we’re doing isn’t a step-and-repeat process with the same size balloons and colors,” Destiny explains, adding that their balloons are blown up with air and hand-tied. “We use professional-grade balloons that are as small as five inches up to balloons as big as 36 inches.”

Destiny’s favorite balloon display has been a “too-bright” graduation party for three high school graduates. “We created a very over-the-top backdrop that incorporated a whiteboard from Sawdust Studios and lime green, yellow, orange, hot pink, purple, and teal balloons,” she says.

Other notable balloon installations, Destiny says, have been a pastel-colored unicorn backdrop for a child’s birthday, a pink champagne bubbly balloon garland display, and a boho-chic backdrop for a bridal shower.

LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE Destiny and her husband already had the future in mind when the couple launched Airmagination in January. “We could have easily named the business ‘Destiny’s Balloons,’ but because we didn’t know where it would take us, we wanted to establish a brand,” Destiny says.

The CEO at InCast Marketing in Texas, and mother of two, explains that she sees the business continuing in three possible ways. They could keep Airmagination as a side-gig, add more people to their team, or sell it. “There’s a lot of next steps that we’re considering because we want to do what’s best for the future of our business,” Destiny explains.

Whatever those next steps are, Destiny thanks the community for the overwhelming support. “As a startup, it’s not easy, especially when my husband and I didn’t know anyone when we moved to Columbia,” she says. “But we’ve hit some crazy milestones in the last few months.

It wouldn’t be possible without the support of the community.”

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AUGUST 2021

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Living

FRIENDS & FAMILY

Cooking from Her Heart “Miss Kim” makes lunch and lifetime memories for the students of Christian Fellowship School.

BY J UL E S N. GR A E BNE R

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They say that the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach.

Th is is certainly the case for Kim Hornes, better known as “Miss Kim,” who has captured the hearts (and stomachs) of the students and staff alike at Christian Fellowship School.

“I knew from the moment she walked in the building that there was something special about her,” says Mia Rudisaile, a 2021 graduate of CFS. She describes Miss Kim as being “a beautiful soul” who cares deeply for every student, from preschoolers to high school seniors, giving as much love and care to the kids as she does her cooking.

In addition to Miss Kim’s fantastic skills in the kitchen, she is always there when the students need a shoulder to lean on. “I have learned that she cares more about others than herself and is willing to put herself in harm’s way to ensure that everyone around her is happy,” Mia says. “Without a doubt, every time she gave me a warm hug, my day would instantly get better.”

Miss Kim works for 4 Points Catering, cooking meals for the students and staff at Christian Fellowship School. However, she wasn’t always playing lunch lady for K-12 kids. When Josiah Williams began 4 Points Catering, along with Amaya Williams and Travis Rudloff, he turned to Miss Kim, who had previously worked for his father, knowing her prowess in the kitchen.

Miss Kim worked with 4 Points Catering at MU as a cook for fraternity houses. When Josiah offered her the opportunity to work at the Christian Fellowship School, she says, “I was like, ‘okay, well, what about the frat boys?’

I had been cooking for them for so long and I knew all of them. I said ‘who’s gonna take care of my babies?’”

Little did Miss Kim know; she would be going from having 50 or 60 “kids” to having hundreds.

“I have a ton of kids,” she says. “I have, like, 344 more children! Praise God!” Since then, Miss Kim and her kitchen counterpart, Kelvin Bush, have been working together at the school. “He bakes a whole lot,”

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she says about Kelvin. “He does so much, and we help each other. It’s not just me, it’s us two.

We do this together!”

“Businesses like 4 Points Catering are woven into the fabric of our community and become part of our family,” says Max Vikhter, head of school. “In a time of such division, our student population is blessed to cross paths with minority-owned businesses and diverse vendors. Most importantly, it is vital that our students of color see themselves represented through positive role models within our school environment.”

“It’s just beautiful,” Miss Kim says about Christian Fellowship School. “I just love it over there. The kids run up and hug you and kiss you and say, ‘Oh, Miss Kim, what’s for lunch? What are we gonna do today? Can I help you?’”

“When I come in the door, everybody screams and hollers, ‘Hey Miss Kim! Hey Kelvin!’” she continues. “The little preschoolers and kindergarteners are just the cutest little things—when we’re cutting up fruit, they say,

Living

‘Hey, Miss Kim, can I have some fruit today?’ and I just give them some fruit while they talk to Kelvin and me. It’s just — everything. Walking down the hall and getting hugs from all the kids, and people telling you all day long ‘we love you; we love you, thank you so much.’ It brings joy, and that makes the food taste better!”

“Oh, they’re keeping me young! I can feel the love every day,” Miss Kim continues. Unlike a lot of people, Miss Kim cannot wait for summer vacation to end. “Even now, I was talking to Kelvin this morning, and he said, ‘I just can’t wait to get back to work! Don’t you miss all of our kids?’ And I just said, ‘Yeah, I know!’ It’s just beautiful people over there, from the bottom to the top. Even the maintenance crew. Everybody eats, and it’s just beautiful. I can’t wait to get back!”

The love Miss Kim feels for students and staff is more than reciprocated.

“Miss Kim will go to the ends of the Earth to make sure you are not hungry. When she finds out you didn’t have time for breakfast it is the equivalent of a toddler finding out they got coal for Christmas,” Mia jokes. “You will be handed food of some sort and asked to enjoy the rest of your day.”

“I could go on for ages talking about the many great interactions she and I have had,” says Mia, who has witnessed Miss Kim’s cooking feats fi rst-hand. “I went through an obsession with sweet potato fries. When I realized 4 Points had an option of that as a side dish, I jumped for joy. I mean, literally.”

After Miss Kim found out how excited Mia was about the sweet potato fries, she took matters into her own hands and made Mia a fresh batch of crispy, golden, sweet potato fries the very next morning.

Mia remembers this fondly, saying, “That is by far a memory that I will hold onto for a lifetime.”

Mia says that Miss Kim’s wonderful attributes are more than could ever be described.

“Moral of the story, Miss Kim is an amazing human being that everyone should get to know,” she says. “Her cooking is something to look forward to — Miss Kim is for sure the next Gordon Ramsay.”

Despite Miss Kim’s delectable food, she insists that she is a cook, not a chef, because she never went to culinary school.

Instead, she learned her skills from her loved ones. “I learned to cook from my mom and grandmother, aunts and cousins.

I’ve been cooking all my life,” she laughs as she says. “You know, I just cook!”

Additionally, Miss Kim is one of the remarkable few that doesn’t need a how-to when it comes to the kitchen.

“Honey, I don’t have any recipes,” she says. In fact, neither she nor Kelvin use recipes of any sort, saying, “I have nothing written down. I just cook, taste the food, make sure I would want to eat it before I serve it, and that’s it!”

However, Miss Kim does have a not-so-secret secret recipe, which becomes evident when you see her interact with the students.

“I cook straight from my heart. It’s just love, that’s it. That’s the recipe.”

FRIENDS & FAMILY

“I cook straight from my heart.

It’s just love, that’s it. That’s the recipe.”

- MISS KIM

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SHORT FILMS

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Changing Lives for the Better,

FOREVER Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Missouri provides a vital mentorship program for youth in our community.

BY JO N H A DU S E K

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Big Brothers Big Sisters is the nation’s largest volunteersupported mentoring network. After being founded in 1904 as an alternative to the juvenile justice system, BBBS now operates in 13 countries and all 50 states, including Mid-Missouri.

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“We’re a very formalized, monitored mentoring program,” says Executive Director Ann Merrifield. “We focus on making those meaningful, monitored matches.”

Mentors (Bigs) are “matched” with a child (Littles) after a thorough vetting and interview process that considers the compatibility of both parties. Bigs also undergo a background check. As Ann explains, nothing about the matching process is haphazard.

“We take the time to interview both the mentor and the Little, so we can make the match that’s the best for both parties,” Ann says. “I’ve known matches where the Little was 9 years old when they entered the program and now, they’re 18 with the same Big, and about to age out of the program. Having this positive role model in a person’s life makes a huge difference.”

Many Bigs will fi rst interact with their Little in the school-based program prior to moving toward a more community-based mentorship. At fi rst, a Big might eat lunch or play at recess with their Little. They might also help with homework or with virtual learning.

Eventually, they can participate in activities together in the community, whether it be playing sports or simply going to the grocery store together. As Ann states, many of the children in the program are what BBBS deems “at-risk youth.” The mentor often becomes a source of stability in the life of their Little.

“Ninety percent of our Littles receive free or reduced lunch,” Ann says. “Sixty seven percent live in single-parent households. Of those, the majority are headed up by a female or a mother figure or grandmother figure. Seventy eight percent of our families make less than $35,000 a year, so they’ve got some disadvantages going into things.”

Helping Littles avoid and overcome “adverse childhood experiences” — divorce in the family, parental incarceration, sexual, physical, and verbal abuse — is another major goal of the mentorship program.

“If youth experience four or more of those experiences, and if those aren’t balanced out with a positive childhood experience, that can lead to trouble in adulthood,” Ann says.

For Ann, becoming the executive director of BBBS of Central Missouri — a job she took

during the pandemic — was an inspiring career change. She has already seen the impact the program has on both Bigs and Littles, and she has the numbers to prove it.

“Ninety percent of our Littles are sure they’re going to fi nish high school,” she says.

“Eighty six percent say they’re going to continue on after high school into post-graduate [studies]. There’s positive proof that we’re making a difference.”

THE PERFECT MATCH Elyse Luecke was matched with her Big at the age of 9. After her mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness, Elyse — who came from a single-parent, single-child household — would form a familial bond with her Big over the years.

“It was just my mom and I in the house; I don’t have any siblings or much family,” Elyse says of how she became a Little. “My grandma had just passed away, so my mom really wanted to find an outlet for me, just to have someone to go out with and have as support.”

Courtesy of Elyse Luecke

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Courtesy of Jacob Kreutz

Elyse says that being with her Big helped her “break out of a shell” during a difficult time.

“She was so helpful with school,” Elyse says. “She always offered to give me rides to places. She helped me with algebra and chemistry. I could always call or text her if I was having a bad day. It also helped that she lives five minutes away from me, both then and now.”

Elyse stayed in the program as a Little for 11 years, graduating in 2018 from both high school and BBBS. Elyse’s mom passed away in 2017, and her Big maintains a significant presence in her life. Elyse has now gone on to be a double major at MU, studying journalism and political science.

“People think it’s a mentorship program, but it’s so much more than just hanging out with someone,” Elyse says. “It’s a life changing program. Without Big Brothers Big Sisters, I wouldn’t have the financial and emotional support system that I have, and emotional academic support from my Big Sister.”

For Jacob Kreutz, the community engagement specialist for BBBS of Central Missouri, he has literally watched his Little, AliJah, grow up over the past four years. Jacob became a mentor fi rst in the school-

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based program, visiting AliJah during lunch and recess. Their relationship grew over the years, especially after they moved on to community activities — usually centered around AliJah’s love of sports.

“Once we got out of the school-based, we got a chance to do one-onone and talk about things that were going on in his life,” Jacob says.

“His mom will contact me sometimes and say he’s struggling with this or that, and I’ll talk to him about it. My role is to be there and be consistent in his life. His dad’s not in his life, so it’s important to always be consistent in that aspect.”

On any given day, the two might shoot hoops together, go to a sporting event, or relax and play video games. Once, when Jacob was working for the St. Louis Cardinals as an intern, he took AliJah to a ballgame with VIP access to the broadcast booths and field level.

“If you came up to him and we were together, and you asked him, ‘Who’s this guy that’s with you?’ He would say: ‘That’s my brother,’” Jacob says. “He wouldn’t say, ‘That’s my brother with this program.’”

Jacob became a Big to fulfi ll a community volunteer requirement for a class. “I wanted to do something that would make more of an impact than just get the credit for the semester,” he says.

Having this positive role model in a person’s life makes a huge difference.”

He would soon make it the beginning of his career path. After getting his master’s degree from MU in 2020, Jacob took over as community engagement specialist for BBBS of Central Missouri.

“It’s something that really does make a difference,” he says of the program, “and it’s enjoyable for both the kid and the mentor.”

HOW TO GET INVOLVED Jacob stresses that the common misconception with BBBS is that it’s a major time commitment. However, the program only asks for one hour a week for the school program and eight hours a month and a one-year commitment for community-based mentoring. Even these few hours of interaction each month are vital.

“It’s important for people to know that it’s not a huge time commitment,” Jacob says. “We ask our Bigs to meet up with their Little twice a month minimum.”

Those who would like to become a Big can apply via the BBBS of Central Missouri website. Financial donations also go a long way, as each match takes valuable resources to facilitate.

Like Jacob, some of the individuals involved in the program as a Big or Little also go on to work with the organization in other capacities, as well. Elyse, for example, spent two years as the philanthropy chairperson for BBBS of Central Missouri as a means of raising money and recruiting new Bigs. Though she is not in that position anymore, considering her college workload, she is still in contact with the program and occasionally does stuff on the side.

“Changing the life of someone in so many different ways, it’s like you want to help, you want to be involved somehow,” Elyse says.

- Ann Merrifield, Executive Director COMOMAG.COM

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CULTIVATING FUTURE TEACHERS How COMOEd helps students reach their dreams of becoming educators.

By Mary Caitlyn Polovich

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c

OMOEd is a program that is committed to recruiting and retaining locally educated and culturally competent educators — educators that are aware of all cultures and know how to be sensitive to that.

COMOEd came to be because of Monica Naylor, former multicultural coordinator; continued because of Dr. Peter Stiepleman, Columbia Public Schools superintendent; and exists day-to-day because of Nicolle Adair, COMOEd supervisor.

The Beginning of COMOEd “My role in the COMOEd Program began when I became the multicultural coordinator for the Columbia Public School district,” Monica says. “The Minority Intern Program, as it was called at that time, was one of the programs under the umbrella of the Multicultural Department. As coordinator of the Multicultural Department, it was my responsibility to also coordinate the Intern Program. Eighth-grade students with a GPA of 2.5 or better were given an opportunity to fill out an application and go through an interview process to be selected to serve as an aide in summer school.”

Monica firmly believes that to live and work in a diverse society, students must experience and be exposed to the cultural differences that are a part of everyday life. By placing teachers in buildings that represent the makeup of the student population, students are given the opportunity to learn about and respect diversity.

The Minority Intern Program was dropped in 2014 due to budget cuts, and Monica retired. However, talks of what happened to the program even-

Quenia Butler reads to students at Parkade Elementary School.

tually started back up in 2015, bringing Monica out of retirement. At the time, 40% of CPS kids identified as people of color, while only 14% of professionals identified as people of color (for teachers, specifically, it was

more like 7%). A program that started as a summer internship became so much more in the years to come.

“Monica had a visionary blueprint, and we worked to build upon that vision,” Peter explains. “Teacher organizations, Worley Street Roundtable, and colleges were all represented this time around. Together, we created a pathway to becoming a teacher in the CPS district. Lo-

cal colleges (Stephens College, Columbia College, and MU) began providing full-ride scholarships, including room and board, and MBS stepped up with donating textbooks.”

How It Works Students can get involved with COMOEd as early as their freshman year of high school. The summer internship aspect of the

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program is still in place — during the summer, students intern in the classrooms at various schools throughout the CPS district where they are challenged with supporting teachers in the classroom.

“We want students to be able to explore if they have a passion for teaching,” Nicolle explains.

“But we also want them to determine pretty quickly if they may not love this as much as they thought they would love this, which is okay, too.”

By the second or third summer, student interns are pretty confident in the classroom. By the time students get to college, they know how to create lesson plans, classroom expectations, as well as how to create and provide boundaries in the classroom.

COMOEd goes beyond internships and scholarships, though.

The program’s leader, Nicolle Adair, is not just leading the program — she is a mentor and supporter for each of the students involved.

“I love helping students find their voice,” Nicolle begins, “And learn to be okay with not being perfect at everything. It’s never about GPA or ACT scores — it’s more than that. When I see a student that could barely make eye contact start standing up for themselves, then I know we, as a program, are getting somewhere.”

Nicolle herself is not formally trained as an educator. She has a background in nonprofit administration.

“But my God-given talent is that I’m really good at helping people cross the finish line and meet their goals,” Nicolle says. “The thing about people who want to be educators is they have always wanted to be teachers. I interview these kids and they tell me they have wanted to be a teacher since they were five years old. The coolest part of my job is the fact that I get to help match students with their dreams.”

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Supporting COMOEd Students During the school year, high school students are checked on and always supported, but it is really the college-aged students in the program who get an overflow of support from Nicolle.

“College is hard,“ Nicolle states.

“My students have faced challenges. They’ve been through a pandemic. Some of them have lost roommates and friends to gun violence. Some of them have been homeless. I mean, collectively as a group, they have been through a lot and are still standing.”

When the pandemic started, the students involved in COMOEd immediately felt an immense amount of pressure and felt very isolated from each other, but Nicolle’s motto continued to ring true even through the toughest times: We don’t quit.

“My students have always had to be resilient in life. You can knock my students down 10 times and they will stand up 11. That’s just who they are,” Nicolle explains. “They have had to navigate life that way. So they don’t quit. It may not be graceful, it may not be pretty, but they get back up.”

Success for the Program Tyus Monroe graduated from Columbia College in Spring 2021 — the first graduate to make it full circle in the COMOEd program.

Tyus is currently teaching at Cedar Ridge Elementary School.

“I’m super proud of her. The joke was that when she walked across that stage, I was walking with her. To actually see her do this,” Nicolle pauses. “I mean there were so many tears and frustrations leading up to it. College is a unique journey for many

students, but college is different for students who have other challenges in life. It’s sheer determination.”

At every point during her job, Nicolle circles back to one question: How are we retaining and developing the students we are supporting?

There is not another program like COMOEd in the state of Missouri. This program has been through a series of trial and errors, pivots, and bumps along the way — all of which is a part of the process when creating a system that is committed to supporting these students in a way that has never been done before.

“If we are interested in combating the shortage of educators in this country, we must do things differently,” Nicolle says.

“It has to look innovative. We have to challenge ourselves to

Anya Cain teaches students at Mary Paxton Keeley Elementary School.

Quenia Butler teaches students at Parkade Elementary School.

look at our system and ask, ‘Are there barriers in place that we need to confront and figure out?

Are we valuing educators? What do we need to do differently? Are we supporting them in the manner we need to support them?

What do we need to do differently?’ COMOEd addresses that.”

COMOEd recently added Whitney Moore to the team. She will work to support graduated COMOEd teachers as they begin teaching in schools. Additionally, they have talked about how the program can be better, potentially looking at who is in the system as a paraprofessional or an aide and helping them get their teaching degree.

There are also hopeful conversations about how COMOEd can be a national model.

“MY STUDENTS HAVE ALWAYS HAD TO BE RESILIENT IN LIFE. YOU CAN KNOCK MY STUDENTS DOWN 10 TIMES AND THEY WILL STAND UP 11. THAT’S JUST WHO THEY ARE. THEY HAVE HAD TO NAVIGATE LIFE THAT WAY. SO THEY DON’T QUIT. IT MAY NOT BE GRACEFUL, IT MAY NOT BE PRETTY, BUT THEY GET BACK UP.” — NICOLLE ADAIR COMOMAG.COM

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Living

COUPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW

Barbie Banks & Beth Shepard HOW DID YOU MEET?

Barbie: We met at a bar and Beth used a very cheesy pick up line on me.

Beth: I walked up to Barbie at a bar and smoothly asked her if her name was Summer because she was hot.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST DATE?

Barbie: We went to Murry’s on our first date.

It was my first time at Murry’s, and I’m not sure what impressed me more — the pesto or Beth.

WHAT KEEPS YOU BUSY DURING THE WEEK?

Barbie: We are kept busy with work and entertaining our friends. We love our house and love to have our friends over for dinner, games, and TV watching.

Beth: I like to ride my bike, and Barbie is involved in the local theater scene. Those activities keep us busy most of the time during the week, along with work. We try to get together with our friends regularly as well.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR FREE TIME?

Beth: I love riding my bike. I usually ride a few times a week and I take full advantage of Columbia’s extensive trail system. We love to entertain our friends. Barbie keeps her finger on the pulse of all the cool happenings in town, so she always has fun suggestions for activities for us.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ART/CULTURE ACTIVITY IN COLUMBIA?

Barbie: There are so many! Ragtag, T/F, Columbia Entertainment Company, but my

favorite is Cranktivus. Beth created this amazing event and I love it. It is a food drive on bikes! It’s a blast.

Beth: Barbie is very involved in the theater in Columbia, and with that, she has introduced me to several theater companies in town, including GreenHouse Theatre Project, Columbia Entertainment Company, and Talking Horse Productions, where I have seen productions that I know I wouldn’t have sought out without her involvement.

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP?

Barbie: Unlike the lesbian stereotype, we didn’t live together for the fi rst five years of our relationship.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR THE TWO OF YOU?

WHAT IS THE KEY TO A LASTING AND HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP?

Beth: It’s my dream to be fi rst lady of Columbia.

Barbie: Laughter and clear expectations.

Beth: Having clear expectations, but also being able to be flexible when things may not go as planned.

WHAT IS THE BEST QUALITY OF YOUR PARTNER?

Barbie: How could I possibly narrow it down? Beth is a helper to everyone she meets. I benefit a lot from it, but I am equally in love with how many other people, even strangers, benefit from it.

Beth: Her laugh. It feels like you win the lottery when you say something and she gets so tickled and can’t stop laughing.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PROJECT TO WORK ON TOGETHER?

Barbie: Th is past winter, we helped with the laundry at Room at the Inn. It was a great experience. We got to hang out together and support an essential service to our unhoused community.

Beth: Cranktivus. It really is a team effort to put the event on, and I couldn’t do it without Barbie’s help. She manages the home base for the event while I am out riding my bike with the participants. Not only do we work well as a team, but we also get to take part in a fun event that helps provide food to our local community.

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AUGUST 2021

Fran Patrick

Senior Vice President & Co-Owner

Joe Machens Dealerships are honored to give back to our community by investing in education.

Every month of the school year a Mid-Missouri high school senior is awarded a $2,500 scholarship.

High school seniors can apply at

MachensDrivesEducation.com Congrats to our recent scholarship recipients!

Terrell Williams Mexico High School Major: Engineering Technology

Alexis Johnson

Harrisburg High School Major: Business

Brady Whelihan

Douglass High School College: Westminster

Beeler Lile

Hickman High School College: Washington State Major: Interior Design

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Working

82 PILLARS OF A RECOVERING COMMUNITY Phoenix Programs creates a citywide art project to raise awareness and support for recovering addicts.

97 READY FOR HIRE Individuals with disabilities provide an untapped labor market for local businesses.

92 REIMAGINING MU'S SOCIAL JUSTICE CENTERS Building student academic success through a three-phase plan.

Put fun back in the driver’s seat.

T H E A L L- N E W V O L K S W A G E N TA O S

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Working

CLOSER LOOK

AUGUST 2021

The retail store sells products ranging from hair care and styling tools to at-home spa treatments, makeup, and accessories. But that’s not all — Shop Blanc also sells home décor, jewelry, and much, much more.

“We’re also trying to pull in a sustainability aspect by offering a shampoo and conditioner refi ll station stocked with best sellers and a rotating favorite,” Hayley says.

In addition to shopping, Salon Blanc offers events like father-daughter hair class, styling tool tutorials, and professional product seminar nights bi-monthly.

ALLEY A, THE DISTRICT (573) 673-4900 918SHOPBLANC.COM

Big Mama’s Cafe

Lotus Hot Yoga

After exploring different business opportunities in the yoga and mindfulness industry, Brandy Bremer and her fiancé, Josh Turner, found their perfect opportunity: a commercial space located on Green Meadows Road.

The duo decided to explore this endeavor in December 2020 and opened Lotus Hot Yoga in May. “I have always had a love for the lotus flower,” Brandy says. The flower’s roots anchor in the mud, but the flower still rises about its murky environment and blossoms open one petal at a time. “My love for the flower, coupled with the events of 2020, made it clear for me that when the reality of opening a studio came to fruition, Lotus had to be the name,” Brandy says.

Lotus Hot Yoga offers several class options, ranging from heated “flow” and “26 and 2” classes to non-heated “yin” and “slow flow” classes. Even with the diverse array of class options for students, the studio always maintains the best parts of practicing yoga. “Yoga is a form of exercise that stimulates your

mind as well as your body, providing a unique opportunity for internal growth and self-expression. With that in mind, we set out not just to teach a variety of yoga classes, but to promote values of truthfulness, mindfulness, and wellness,” Brandy says.

550 E. GREEN MEADOWS ROAD, STE. 107 (573) 442-6940 LOTUSCOLUMBIA.COM

Shop Blanc

From the owners of Studio Blanc comes Shop Blanc, the retail offshoot of the hair salon.

Hayley Quinlan and Victoria Araujo arrived at the idea after noticing a need for a “local destination for all things self-care.”

“We noticed that most people had to go to Target or Ulta — those big box stores — to get their self-care and beauty products,” Hayley says. “We thought downtown Columbia would be the perfect area to sell localized selfcare and beauty products.”

In a tucked-away strip on I-70 Drive SE, you’ll find Big Mama’s Cafe, owned and operated by husband-and-wife duo BJ and Stephanie Kelz.

The restaurant opened its doors in April with a menu of comfort food classics.

For breakfast, Big Mama’s Cafe menu boasts various diner breakfast staples, including eggs, hashbrowns, biscuits and gravy, and waffles.

They’re also serving up their spin on breakfast country fried steak, tenderloin with gravy, and country ham. With evening hours Wednesday through Saturday, Big Mama’s Cafe is taking its approach on classics like fried chicken, breaded tenderloin, roast beef, fish sandwich, and breaded shrimp. Homemade cream pie and cobbler are available for dessert. “Everything served is made fresh, in-house, which makes our menu unique,” BJ says. “Everything we have is good. There’s nothing under our roof that isn’t.”

Within the next few years, the pair is looking to open more locations across Columbia.

“Currently, we’re looking for a commercial space to open a second location on the other side of town,” BJ says.

3510 INTERSTATE 70 DR. SE (573) 554-5984 BIG-MAMAS-CAFE.BUSINESS.SITE

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Briefly in the News

AU G UST 2021

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ED UCATION

Columbia College Announces New Partnership with MidwayUSA Columbia College will offer MidwayUSA’s 725 employees a 15% discount on tuition for online and evening classes. The newly announced partnership strengthens MidwayUSA’s current tuition reimbursement program, which offers employees up to $1,500 per year in tuition reimbursement. Students who complete classes through the college’s online or evening programs will have access to the tuition program, eliminating all fees and providing books for free.

Employees who utilize the program could earn their associate’s degree in 20 months, a bachelor’s degree in three and a half years, and a master’s in 12 months.

Working H EALTH CA R E

Boone Hospital Given Top Honor for Bypass Surgery Boone Hospital has earned a threestar rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons for its patient care and outcomes in isolated coronary artery bypass grafting procedures. The rating was calculated using a combination of quality measures for specific procedures performed by an STS adult cardiac surgery database participant.

Out of 917 participants, only 6 to 10% of providers receive the three-star rating. The top honor places Boone Hospital Center among the elite for heart bypass surgery in the U.S. and Canada.

such as a safe temporary shelter, transitional housing, affordable housing, meals, basic daily needs, and wraparound services. A press release says the project is likely to happen in multiple phases.

WELL NESS

Healium Lands U.S. Air Force Contract

AWARD S

Missouri Businesses Awarded $165,000 in Safety Grants Missouri Employers Mutual awarded a total of $165,000 to 24 Missouri businesses to implement new safety equipment to promote safer workplaces. Two recipients were local businesses: McCary Builders Inc. will receive a tractor to help with loading and unloading trucks, reducing the risk of lifting injuries to employees, and Midway Arms Inc. will receive a robotic picking system to reduce lifting, bending, and twisting among employees. MEM has awarded a total of $1.9 million in safety grants since 2016 and has helped more than 7,900 employees.

COM M UNITY

Opportunity Campus to Help End Homelessness in Columbia With the help of the Faith Voices Housing Justice team, Room at the Inn, Turning Point, and Loaves and Fishes, the Voluntary Action Center is moving forward with opening an Opportunity Campus. The Opportunity Campus supports those who are homeless by providing them with various amenities

BRIEFLY

“Education is the stem from which everything else grows. What we want to be able to do with our legacy is ensure that students who may be interested in pursuing education don’t feel discouraged due to potential financial barriers.”

— GARY COLES, MU ALUMNUS AND DONOR

As suicide rates among U.S. military service members continue to rise, Healium wants to make mental fitness products more accessible to members of the armed forces. The U.S. Air Force is partnering with Healium to provide therapeutic products to service members at home and in the field. Healium uses virtual and augmented reality technology and biometric data to produce a “digital drug” that allows the user to learn to self-regulate their focus and calm by giving them the ability to see their EEG brain pattern in nearly real time.

The portable solution immerses the user in beautiful, nature-based escapes and has been shown to significantly reduce anxiety and improve mood in as little as four minutes.

ED UCATION

MU Announces $1 million donation to College of Education Longtime teachers and MU alumni Gary and Patricia Coles have pledged a $1 million contribution to the MU College of Education.

A press release from the university says the donation will create scholarships for students preparing to become elementary school teachers. Shelby Johnson, a junior from Parker, Colorado, majoring in elementary education, is the fi rst scholarship recipient from the Coles’ donation.

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SAMANTHA DENT

Samantha Dent has been promoted to business services manager at Accounting Plus. In this new role, Samantha oversees the business and tax advisors.

She also works closely with the firm’s marketing efforts, client relation initiatives, and internal culture building. Samantha has been a key player at Accounting Plus for over 10 years, and this new position is an expansion of her role as a senior accountant.

M A R K PA L M E R

Mark Palmer has been named project coordinator for the Opportunity Campus. Mark will be in this role for a year to help determine the scope, nature, and sequence of this project.

The Opportunity Campus has been a wish of the Columbia community for over seven years.

Mark works with Ed Stansberry, VAC’s executive director, and with an advisory board. Mark brings over 30 years of experience in the nonprofit community, most recently retiring from Woodhaven in September of 2020, where he was the chief executive officer.

Burrell’s executive office, and the organization’s board of directors, employees, and stakeholders. Dee joined Burrell in June after working in business and community development positions in the banking and hospitality industries, most recently at Guaranty Bank.

DENT

TRUE NORTH OF COLUMBIA JOSHUA HARTSOCK, PE

Joshua Hartsock, PE, of Klingner & Associates, PC, has been named chair of the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers Young Engineers Committee (YEC). Joshua is a licensed water/wastewater engineer and holds a Bachelor of Science in civil and environmental engineering from MU.

STEVE KNORR

ENDOVAC Animal Health, an industry leader in cattle, equine, and swine vaccine technology, is pleased to announce the promotion of Steve Knorr to president. Steve will be the first ENDOVAC Animal Health employee to be named president outside of the Sprouse family in nearly 40 years. Steve joined ENDOVAC Animal Health three years ago after serving 23 years with MU.

DEE KING

Burrell Behavioral Health is pleased to announce the hiring of Dee King as chief of staff. As chief of staff, Dee will serve as a primary liaison for President and Chief Executive Officer C.J. Davis in both internal and external capacities. Dee will also act as a point of contact between

for nearly 20 years and in the developmental disabilities field for 30 years. Since December 2012, she has served as associate director assisting in the overall administration and management of the agency and its programs.

L AU R A C R AVE N S

Laura Cravens has been named the new executive director of Boone County Family Resources, replacing Robyn Kaufman, who held the position for more than eight years and retired in June of 2021. She has been with BCFR

True North of Columbia Inc. is proud to announce its team of new officers and new members to its board of directors for 2021 to 2022. Ashley Emel of Compass Chiropractic and Wellness will serve as board president.

Wendy Wiederhold of Gallagher Benefit Services Inc. will serve as vice president. Jon Class of Williams-Keepers LLC will be the treasurer. Ahoo Tabatabai of Columbia College will be secretary. Kate Boatright of Missouri Electric Cooperative is the past president of the board.

In addition to the officers, the True North board welcomes new members Angie Gentry of Central Bank of Boone County and Kelly Poor of IDEXX BioAnalytics.

KING

KNORR

GRACE

COLUMBIA FIRE D E PA R T M E N T

The Columbia Fire Department has recently promoted several of its team members to fire captains and fire engineers. Zachary Grace, Dan Berlemann, David Haney, Kyle Conrow, and Tommy Goran have been promoted and will now serve as fire captains.

The department's new swath of fire engineers includes Chris Spurling, Patrick Hanks, Bobby Richerson, Zach Privette, and Jordan Cranmer.

HANEY

GORAN

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Working

CELEBRATIONS

Fighting to Improve Lives Heart of Missouri United Way celebrates 75 years.

BY KAITLYN BAILEY

I

n the aftermath of World War II, Columbia fell victim to shortages of food, housing, and jobs. The Community Chest of Columbia, the forerunner to Heart of Missouri United Way, was founded in 1946 to allocate funds to help those in need. Now, 75 years later, the work the Mid-Missouri chapter does is eerily similar. “Our mission is to fight to improve lives in the community,” Community Impact Director Rachel Delcau says. “When we see a need in the community not being met, we facilitate conversations, make connections, collaborate to find solutions, and provide resources to help fill that gap.”

Though the local United Way has always helped people living in poverty, there are some

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differences in how they do so. “We’re now a community impact organization, meaning that we look at how donor dollars are producing outcomes,” Rachel says, mentioning that under the Community Chest model, the organization would have funded a shelter for people experiencing homelessness and only look at how many people they provided shelter to. “Now, our organization recognizes that we have individuals in the community experiencing homelessness, but ask ‘What are we doing in terms of helping them secure stable housing and income?’”

Under the Community Chest model, Rachel explains, the Mid-Missouri chapter also limited their partner agencies to “allocate funds to

their clients and their blood relations.” Today, the number of people the organization reaches has grown tremendously under the Community Impact model. They provide Community Impact grant funding to 34 local agencies in Boone, Cooper, and Howard counties in the targeted areas of health, education, and financial stability. The recent creation of their Equity Fund allows Heart of Missouri United Way to reach organizations led by Black, Indigenous, and other people of color and meet needs in the community not addressed through their Impact funding.

As much as Heart of Missouri United Way raises money to remove barriers in the community, one of their strategies to effect change

1946 The Community Chest of Columbia was founded.

1989 Columbia Area United Way raised $1 million in pledges for the first time.

1994 Columbia Area United Way became the first United Way in the country to become a Partner in Education with a local school district.

2007 Board voted to change name to Heart of Missouri United Way.

2012 Moved to Community Impact model.

2018 Board created Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Board of Directors Committee.

2021 Announced Equity Fund.

is to raise community-wide awareness about the inequities in society and provide solutions about how to address those inequities.

The group released its seven-week Equity Challenge in 2020, designed to provide an awareness and understanding of racism. So far, the Equity Challenge has engaged over 1,100 individuals. “Our goal is to help people understand the power and privilege they have and identify what steps they can take to create change in our community,” Marketing and Communications Director La Toya Stevens says. Rachel and La Toya also offer Equity Building Dialogues tailored to the needs of each participant group, whether it’s in a classroom setting, corporate workspace, or community forum.

The Equity Challenge has succeeded in raising awareness. Follow-up surveys revealed that respondents displayed a greater awareness of issues related to equity and had a greater sense of accountability, according to an evaluation by a group of students at the Harry S. Truman School of Public Affairs on the effectiveness of the Equity Challenge. Fifty-seven percent of respondents reported that they were taking actions to improve equity in their community, the evaluation says.

Raising awareness also includes helping people learn the connection between diversity, inclusion, and equity.

Today, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the workplace are designed to increase the breadth of perspectives. However, La Toya explains that meeting quotas for diverse hires “doesn’t meet the mark.” The Heart of Missouri United Way defines equity as “the intentional inclusion of everyone in society.” It continues: “Equity is achieved when systematic, institutional, and historical barriers based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and other identities are dismantled and no longer predict socioeconomic education and health outcomes.”

Under this definition, “a workplace can’t have diversity and inclusion if it doesn’t first have equity,” Rachel explains. “Organizations won’t benefit from the diversity present if they don’t do the work to remove the biases they have.” La Toya adds, “It’s not about counting hires; it’s about sharing power, listening, and implementing policies to create an environment where everyone is included in a meaningful way.”

The Heart of Missouri United Way is marking 75 years of service while casting a vision for an even more ambitious future. “We’re incredibly proud of the work we have done over the last 75 years by investing more than $91 million to help members of our community succeed in the areas of health, education, and financial stability, but we recognize there is still work to do,” La Toya says. “We commit to co-creating solutions that ensure everyone has the resources, support, opportunities, and networks they need to thrive.”

HEART OF MISSOURI UNITED WAY 105 E. ASH ST., STE. 300 (573) 443-4523 UWHEARTMO.ORG

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Pillars of a Recovering Community

Phoenix Programs

Phoenix Programs creates a citywide art project to raise awareness and support for those recovering from addiction.

Mission: “We provide

BY QUINCY SINEK | PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY CASSIE MINCHEW AND ROB GARDNER

T

he sound of a doorbell ringing fills the small home, and soon, workers are pushing a large, eight-foot-tall pillar into the middle of Cassie Minchew’s living room. Standing up, it nearly touches the ceiling. The pillar is much larger than Cassie has envisioned, but as soon as she sees it in person, she feels inspired and is ready to start bringing her artistic ideas to life for a good cause.

Cassie is just one of the local artists selected to decorate a pillar for the Phoenix Programs’ new 12 Columns of Recovery project. Phoenix Programs, a recovery facility in Columbia for treating drug and alcohol addiction, started the Columns of Recovery project in April of 2021 to raise awareness and support for recovering addicts as well as the arts community.

Each of the large pillars are being decorated based on one of the 12 Columns of Recovery that Phoenix Programs implements into their treatment, such as integrity, renewal, or hope. Once the artist has completed their work, these pillars will be picked up and placed in different locations around Columbia to serve as a reminder of the importance of recovery and the qualities necessary to the process.

THE REACH OF PHOENIX Teresa Goslin, executive director of Phoenix Programs, has been with the facility for four and a half years, although she’s known about the program for over 30 years. She says the facility was founded to treat alcohol addiction in Columbia by a group of people recovering from addiction who felt the need for a treatment facility in the area.

Teresa herself dealt with addiction in the past and went through rehabilitation,

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which is what introduced her to Phoenix Programs, known as Phoenix House when it first started out.

“I knew of Phoenix Programs probably as far back as the 1980s,” Teresa says. “I started actually by bringing people to treatment at Phoenix. It was a men’s treatment facility then, so when people needed to go to treatment ­— you know my guy friends or whoever that was — ­ you took them to Phoenix House.”

The facility switched from being a men’s program to a coed program roughly seven or eight years ago, according to Teresa — just a few years before she became executive director.

Phoenix Programs is a Columbia-based rehabilitation center, but people travel from all over Missouri to come to the facility. Teresa says the community is far-reaching and many times, someone will come to Columbia for treatment and decide to stay in the area and become part of the community after going through the process and finding a sober living situation.

BRINGING AWARENESS THROUGH ART Cassie became aware of the campaign because her father, Randy Minchew, is on the board of Phoenix Programs and her family has been involved with supporting rehabilitation facilities for years.

Cassie says she’s by no means a professional artist, but her dad told her about the 12 Columns Project and, although she works as a veterinary technician, she’s always done art as a hobby and wanted to challenge herself with decorating a pillar.

“Less than a year ago I started teaching myself how to do watercolor and started a TikTok of my paintings, but I’ve kind of done a little bit of everything,” Cassie says.

Although watercolor has been Cassie’s focus in art recently, she had to take things a different route when it came to working on her pillar. The pillar is fiberglass, so she’s had to use acrylic paint.

Teresa says they tried to bring on a very diverse group of artists so the pillars would all feel completely unique. She says some of the other artists working on the project include a tattoo artist, a pinstripe art-

effective treatment for those seeking recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.”

Founded: 1971

Incorporated: 1974

Board Members: • Greg Deline, President (President, Deline Holdings)

• Pat Concannon, Vice President (Business Consultant)

• Randy Minchew, Member and Past President (President, Hashtag Enterprises LLC)

• Steve Santoyo, Member (Spectrum Health Care)

• Christopher Wolfe, Member (Associate Director of IT, MU)

• Deborah Daniels, Member (Retired Boone County Judge)

• Valorie Sisson, Member (Director, Columbia Vet Center)

• Scott Priesmeyer, Member (Shelter Insurance)

Working

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

“You can always turn your life around, and the things that broke you in the first place can actually make you stronger and more beautiful.”

—Cassie Minchew ist, another who works with metal, and someone who does paint detailing on motorcycles.

Once the artists selected or were assigned one of the 12 themes, they were able to design their column in any way they wanted. There were no set guidelines or rules they had to follow when it came to the design concept.

From the 12 Themes of Recovery the artists could pick from, Cassie selected the theme of renewal. Her inspiration for the pillar is the Japanese tradition called kintsugi, in which broken pottery is fixed with gold lacquer that fills the cracks.

“I kind of liked the idea that no one is ever irredeemable,” Cassie says. “You can always turn your life around, and the things that broke you in the first place can actually make you stronger and more beautiful. I hope people will enjoy the art, but I think with the message behind each one, the [pillars] can help people reflect on whatever things they may be dealing with.”

Teresa says the artists are still working on their pillars and although they don’t have an exact date, they’re hoping to have all the pillars placed around Columbia by early autumn.

CURRENT CHALLENGES AND LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Teresa says that today the facility serves about 2,400 people a year, helping them through recovery. One of the biggest challenges they’ve been facing in recent years is the opioid epidemic, but Teresa says the rise of opioid use hasn’t changed the amount of meth use in Missouri.

“Addiction is not a pretty thing, and so I just want people to know that even though we talk about opioid addiction all the time, in Missouri, meth hasn’t gone anywhere,” Teresa says. “One did not replace the other — now we just have both.”

Other challenges the program faces are making sure people have a stable environment to move into once they’re out of recovery.

Teresa says it’s often hard for those recovering from addiction to find jobs after rehab, to find affordable housing, or to be able to afford any sort of medications they may need.

“We’re constantly doing emergency services case management trying to figure out those pieces for when they do leave treatment

and making sure that they have safe environments to go to, that they’re not going back into the same environment they just came from,” Teresa says.

She says Phoenix Programs works with a group of landlords and employers to help combat some of these issues and make sure they can help people land on their feet once they go through recovery.

Teresa says they’re always looking for ways to expand their programs and they’re looking to grow their telehealth system as well as grow in the way they view those recovering and find the best ways to treat them.

Phoenix Programs has volunteers on the grounds on a regular basis to help keep the four acres of land in order, and they have large groups of volunteers that help with any of their fundraising events throughout the year.

PHOENIX PROGRAMS 90 EAST LESLIE LANE, COLUMBIA, MO 65202 (573) 875-8880 PHOENIXHEALTHPROGRAMS.COM

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PERSONAL INJURY

Working

Putting People First How Burrell Behavioral Health continues to provide compassionate mental health care.

BY LIZ GOODWIN | PHOTOS BY SADIE THIBODEAUX

BUSINESS UPDATE

W

hen Mid-Missourians need someone to listen, CJ Davis and his team are all ears.

CJ is the president and CEO of Burrell Behavioral Health, a behavioral health center with over 40,000 clients across Missouri and Arkansas. The group has specialized in accessible and compassionate behavioral health care — an umbrella term for mental health,

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substance-abuse disorders, and other behavior related conditions — for nearly 45 years.

They do everything from therapy and addiction recovery to crisis intervention, and they have continued to provide personalized services in an increasingly virtual world.

CHANGING THE COURSE OF MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT Burrell’s roots go back to the 1970s. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Act. This act set aside federal and state aid to be utilized for compassionate mental health care centers, moving the country away from archaic asylums and outdated and ineffective treatments. It instead shifted focus to a more empathetic approach designed to fit the needs of each individual community.

Burrell was founded as one of these community health centers and remains one of the largest such centers out of 3,000 nationwide.

It was named after a famous judge in Springfield, Missouri, who had many people with mental health conditions come through his courtroom. He was a fierce advocate for behavioral health care and supported creating one of these centers in his hometown, which is where Burrell is now headquartered.

A Missouri native, CJ joined the team in 2017. He says the No. 1 priority at Burrell will always be people, and he is dedicated to providing quality service on a schedule that works for the people who need it.

“If you have a broken leg, you don’t wait three weeks to go to a physician,” CJ says.

“You go right away to get the care that you need, and people with mental health conditions are no different.”

It all goes back to the four core values that Burrell holds — accessibility, excellence, integrity, and compassion. And the value of accessibility took on a whole new meaning under COVID-19. Burrell’s doors didn’t close; they just opened online. And that allowed Burrell to serve more people than ever before.

“On a typical day before COVID, 16% of the population experienced a concerning behavioral health symptom, but during the pandemic that number shot up to 55%,” CJ says.

“And we went from providing 95% of our services face-to-face to 95% of our services online within a two-week period.”

Burrell saw about a 30% increase in clients in the year 2020, and they aren’t anticipating the need for quality mental health care to slow down any time soon. They’re bracing

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“If you have a broken leg, you don’t wait three weeks to go to a physician. You go right away to get the care that you need, and people with mental health conditions are no different.”

— CJ Davis, president and CEO of Burrell Behavioral Health themselves for the “second curve” — an uptick of behavioral health consequences resulting from the past year and a half of isolation and fear that the pandemic brought on.

“All the build-up that we have done to increase service volume over the last few years is really preparing for this,” CJ says. “We anticipate over the next three to five years we will see more anxiety, depression, and addiction.

People lived in isolation and they just don’t turn that light switch back on all of a sudden.”

LOOKING AHEAD As the world turns a corner with the pandemic and more people get vaccinated, Burrell has scaled back on virtual events and

resumed some in-person services. But since they’ve experienced such success online, they still offer about 50% of their services in a virtual format.

Burrell is also up to big things with the Burrell Foundation, a new initiative launched about a year ago. CJ says the main mission of the foundation is to tell the stories of individuals who are living with mental health conditions and are conquering them every day.

“When people share their story, it’s powerful,” CJ says. “It allows you to understand you aren’t the only one battling demons or mental health issues.”

Although many of the details of the work being done for the foundation are still devel-

Working

oping, CJ did share that it will feature some powerful symbolism alongside its impactful stories. The foundation is working to promote a program where bells — modeled after bells created in the 1950s from melted down shackles used to chain patients in asylums — will be installed at local businesses and community spaces. Its purpose is to symbolize the hope in mental health treatment today.

Burrell is also working to bring a Behavioral Crisis Center to Columbia, which will be open 24 hours every day of the year to give people immediate care. CJ says that this type of center can help someone avoid a psychiatric or addiction-based emergency that could lead to an emergency room visit

or an incarceration. The BCC in Burrell’s basecamp of Springfield has been a big success, CJ says, and he hopes to replicate it with the help of local support and some state funding.

Columbia mayor Brian Treece even paid the Springfield crisis center a visit in mid-June to see it up close and personal.

“We’ve had a tremendous amount of groundwork in grassroots efforts to get the community to buy into this concept,” CJ says.

“It will be a game changer.”

Burrell also aims to expand their workforce and their Columbia locations over the course of next year. CJ says he is thrilled in the direction Burrell is heading and how it will increase its services in Mid-Missouri.

BUSINESS UPDATE

“We’re starting to see that growth in Columbia and we’re super excited to be more available for the community.”

For non-emergency behavioral health services, call 573-777-8300 or visit www.burrellcenter.com/locations. Get help 24 hours a day by calling 1-800-395-2132.

BURRELL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH BERRY WOOD CENTER: 3401 BERRY WOOD DR., (573) 777-8300 STEPHENS L AKE CLINIC: 1805 E. WALNUT ST., (573) 777-7500

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Working

PERSON YOU SHOULD KNOW

Darren Morton Managing Director, Turning Point (Homeless Day Center) PHOTO BY ANTHONY JINSON

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JOB DESCRIPTION

Along with supervising staff , I also work to build relationships and provide hope and dignity to our community; oversee program operations and strategize development; manage the organization’s fi nancial budget; and develop community outreach and generate partnerships.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

While I’ve had many jobs in the past, what has best prepared me for my career with Turning Point began with my fi rst job in college. I worked at a place called Fort County Mental Health in Independence, Kansas. I was working with children who had mental issues. I journeyed from there to working at a facility in Marshall, Missouri, called Butterfield Youth Services.

We worked with young men and women who had a lot of behavioral issues. After being at Butterfield for over five years, my wife and I then made our way to Columbia, where I was the technician supervisor at Pathways, which also went by the name Navig8, working with young men and women who struggled with substance abuse. I would say those are the three most important positions that have prepared, shaped, and molded me to be able to lead here at Turning Point. What I took from those opportunities, especially Butterfield Youth Services, I could not learn in a textbook.

HOMETOWN

Montgomery, MO YEARS LIVED IN COLUMBIA

11 years.

QUOTE YOU LIVE BY

“It doesn’t matter who you are or what you are. It just matters how bad you want it.”

FAVORITE VOLUNTEER/ COMMUNITY ACTIVITY

My job, particularly building personal relationships with our community.

FAVORITE RECENT PROJECT

Being the team leader for the Special Olympics with ForColumbia.

A COLUMBIA BUSINESS PERSON YOU ADMIRE AND WHY

Steve Hollis: human services manager of the City of Columbia and Boone County.

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It seems like he works 365 days a year, always willing to help and serve outside of his job description. I really appreciate all the different ways that he’s a voice for nonprofits. His commitment and passion for what he does is extremely admirable.

WHY YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT YOUR JOB

What makes me passionate about the work that I do is knowing that I’m entrusted by God to do this work. I think my passion flows from knowing that I have a calling and that the Lord brought me here: the Lord brought me to Turning Point.

WHY YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT YOUR COMPANY

I am passionate about Turning Point because there’s no one else doing or providing the services that we provide in this area for such a population that is so in need. Providing services here with a smile gives hope and can elevate a person to heights that they haven’t experienced in years.

IF YOU WEREN’T DOING THIS FOR A LIVING, YOU WOULD

I’d be a middle school teacher or something working with youth and adolescents. I love that age group; they’re sponges ready to absorb knowledge.

WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOUR PROFESSION

We deal with a very challenging population who have experienced levels of abuse that we couldn’t imagine — from the mental, the physical, the sexual — and mental health issues, which has then, oftentimes, led to self-medicating, which then sometimes leads to substance abuse.

But behind the sign that some of them fly when panhandling are some very talented, warm-hearted, smart individuals.

THE NEXT CHALLENGE FACING YOUR INDUSTRY

Trying to fi gure out how to get a one-stop shop for the homeless community where they can not only receive all the services necessary to help them get back on their feet in the same location, but where they can also stay overnight while meals are being provided.

YOUR NEXT PROFESSIONAL GOAL

To overcome the next challenge facing our

industry: Creating an all-in-one center for our community.

BIGGEST LESSON LEARNED IN BUSINESS

“I,” alone, isn’t enough to break down these walls or overcome these barriers with this population. I must trust, wait, and rely on the Lord, along with partnering with other agencies, entrusting them to fulfi ll their roles.

HOW YOU WANT TO IMPACT THE COLUMBIA COMMUNITY

I want to be able to get the entire city of Columbia to be able to gel and see that those who are less fortunate are still very much human beings and that, if we come together as a city, we can really start to make a difference within the homeless population.

GREATEST STRENGTH

Building relationships.

GREATEST WEAKNESS

Overcommitting myself.

WHAT YOU DO FOR FUN

Spend time with my family, play chess, play Bocce Ball, and coach football and basketball.

FAMILY

My beautiful wife, Kera, is a school nurse for CPS. We have been married for twelve years, but have been together since high school. The Lord has blessed us with three amazing children: Elijah, JaLee, and Boston. I would also like to recognize my parents: Pops (James Mahaney), who’s still living, and Mom (Robyn Mahaney), who passed last year. I am not who I am today without the strength, perseverance, and love that they instilled in myself and my brothers growing up.

FAVORITE PLACE IN COLUMBIA

I like the Katy Trail a lot, and one of the places I most enjoy is Seoul Taco.

ACCOMPLISHMENT YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF

Being a father.

MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THAT YOU

That I love music — all types and forms.

I have an eclectic taste in music and also appreciate poetry.

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Reimagining MU’s Social Justice Centers Building student academic success through a three-phase plan.

BY MARY CAITLYN P O LOVIC H

Ph oto by A nt h ony Ji ns on

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“We have a social contract with our students,” MU Vice Chancellor of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Maurice Gipson explains. “Once they have been accepted, we have a responsibility to make sure they are successful. Success can look like graduation, but most importantly it looks like ensuring students see themselves and feel a part of this campus.”

Maurice was named vice chancellor in July of 2020 and began his time with a listening tour — taking time to listen to each person involved in the department of IDE. He wanted to get to know everyone, but he also wanted to hear first-hand what those who have been at the university thought were areas of success and areas of growth.

“Everyone I talked to absolutely loves Mizzou. They think Mizzou is a great place and they really saw themselves here and succeeding.” Maurice states, “which I think is great and a testament to Mizzou — but I wanted to know what we could do better.”

There were a few key points that were repeatedly brought to Maurice and his team’s attention.

“The themes we were hearing were becoming very consistent,” MU Director of Media Relations Christian Basi begins. “We need more support for the social justice centers, we need to reinvest in them, we need to make them so that they are supporting the university’s academic mission and helping students bridge the academic gap.”

Specifically, students were concerned with the staffing of the centers (enough staff for the size, center hours, etc.) and staff were concerned about the lack of pathways for success and growth. The current structure of staffing has four coordinators (entry lev-

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el positions) and one associate director — no middle room for growth.

“Staff issues are real on campuses and, oftentimes, the most invisible because we prioritize students, rightfully so, and then follows discussion on faculty and staff,” Maurice says. “I take that seriously. I sought out to find a way to address both concerns at the same time. How do we build up capacity as it relates to the student justice centers and how do we create a structure of entry level, mid-management, and senior level so that if we bring someone newly graduated with their master’s, we could see them grow over five to eight years?”

Additionally, Maurice took time to really look at the student demographics to see which students were achieving in terms of university metrics (graduation, retention, persistence) and which were lagging.

In 2020, the overall retention rate was 89.5%. In the Black population, the rate was 86%; in the Hispanic/Latino population, the rate was 84.2%; in the white population, the rate was 90.3%; in the Asian population, the rate was 92.8%; and in those that identified as multiple races, the rate was 87.4%.

There was a 73% graduation rate over the last six years. In the Black population, the rate was 62%; In the Hispanic/Latino population, the rate was 64%; and in the white population, the rate was 75% .

“We’re not happy with those numbers — they need to be better,” Christian states.

Maurice agrees, but was less surprised with the overall outcome of what the data said.

“Many schools across the country have similar data, but I was a little bit surprised at the level of the gap,” Maurice explains, “particularly as it relates to the six-year graduation rate. I was really surprised that it was that far of a gap for Hispanic/Latino males (55%) and Black males (48%) in relation to their peers.”

From there, Maurice made the decision to restructure — or reimagine — the department of IDE and the social justice centers.

“I like to call it a reimagining,” Maurice says, “because we have the opportunity to look at what we currently have and imagine doing a lot of other things we didn’t necessarily know were possible.”

The next five months involved a lot of back and forth with human resources to determine what was feasible and if the budget was there.

“We were still in a pandemic — there was no new money coming about,” Maurice says. “My office actually had several vacant positions with money attached to them, so I made the decision to forgo those because I thought it’s more important to address these very real needs that were shared with us.”

However, around the spring semester, Maurice was notified that the university withstood the pandemic in a solid way, so he was able to be more creative with a plan to move forward with the social justice centers.

Maurice plans to base MU’s student success model off Georgia State, as well as some tenents from various historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Georgia State has intrusive advising where, essentially, students are in constant contact with their advisor. Advisors come to them; they do not wait for the students. Additionally, HBCUs have a position that is kind of like a dorm parent. They are called student success coaches. These coaches are the ones calling students who aren’t in class and checking on their social and academic well-being. “They are like an advisor ‘plus,’” Maurice explains.

“But most importantly . . . no one is doing this embedded student success model within their identity-based centers,” Maurice says. “I think Mizzou is going to be able to show-off what we are doing — and people will replicate us. I’m excited about that because we are a place that can be replicated and where people can come to get these practices to move goals forward.”

The reimagined structure is planned to have student support specialists, assistant directors, and an associate director — an announcement that was initially met with upset students and staff across MU, eventually leading to some protests over the decision.

“When we began informing the team, we sort of put the cart before the horse,” Maurice explains, “and it got out from under us in a way that we hadn’t anticipated.”

Many students and staff were worried that current employees in the social justice centers were no longer going to hold their positions following the restructuring. Current coordinator positions would be gone, meaning those who held those positions would need to apply for the new ones.

“At a foundational level, this new structure no longer includes all positions at the entry level,” Maurice states. “There are now two entry level and two elevated roles – but currently there are four people holding entry level roles. I can’t just say unequivocally, ‘You two are entry level and you two are elevated.’ It needs to be a competitive process. I have a responsibility to allow the people who are ready to be in these elevated roles to compete in such a way and not assume that someone currently in the entry level role wants to even be in the elevated role.”

Maurice mentioned he is constantly reminding students that they are not losing support, but that the goal is to bring additional support into these spaces. There are already some very competitive and compelling applicants for the new positions — some of them are right here on MU’s campus.

After the initial backlash in the spring 2021 semester, Maurice and his team paused on moving forward to take time to listen to people’s concerns and better communicate the department of IDE’s intentions with the restructuring. It was just recently announced that they are moving forward with filling the roles — this announcement was not met with any backlash.

“Once people heard what our intentions were, they were excited about it,” Maurice says. “When someone hears, ‘these positions are no longer going to be here,’ they sometimes stop at that part of the story and don’t continue to see what it is we are actually going to do.”

PHASE ONE The entire reimaginHow do we ing is more than just the appropriately staffing structure. Maustaff and rice has a three-phase structure the plan for building up the department social justice centers. of Inclusion, “We don’t look at our Diversity, and reimagined system in isoEquity so that lation because then you we are getting don’t see the big pieces the absolute and why it is important,” best out of Maurice says. “If you are the division? bringing students in, but don’t have the inPHA S E T WO frastructure for them to succeed and have a How do we good campus experience, then there will be address a leak in the pipeline, and students will just and solve fall out. That’s why it’s important to recogthe most nize the bigger picture.” prevalent “We did a series of listening events in the issues spring,” Maurice explains. “Those events affecting our gave a lot of information as to what the most campus? pressing challenges are on campus, and our intent is in October — after more converPHASE THREE sations — to show the campus what we got How do we out of our listening sessions and built a road become the map to solve them.” example for Maurice has an additional goal of trying universities to show the centers are not only social spacaround the es, but also academic places where students world? can come and learn how to be an ally or learn about issues specific to these identities. Part of phase two is to have a training and education role in which the sole job is to train students on those issues through the various centers.

“And then after our entire process is over, I’m ready to stand toe-to-toe with any university in the world as it is related to inclusion, diversity, and equity work. Just stick with us,” Maurice says.

“We sort of put the cart before the horse.

It got out from under us in a way that we hadn’t anticipated.” ­— Maurice Gipson, MU’s Vice Chancellor of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity

The Three Phases

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As "Help Wanted" signs

line storefronts and businesses across the country struggle to fi ll open positions, employers around Columbia are tapping into an underutilized group of capable, willing, and loyal employees those with physical, developmental, and intellectual disabilities.

“The labor market is really tight right now, so we are seeing a lot more employers reaching out to us because we have an underemployed population that wants to work,” says Lukin Murphy, director of community employment services at Woodhaven.

“Employers are willing to try something new and partner with us, and almost universally, when we get people in there and get them trained, everyone is surprised at how successful they are. We aren’t surprised, but often the employers are.”

Woodhaven, one of the Missouri Division of Vocational Rehabilitation’s Community Rehabilitation Providers, helps individuals with disabilities prepare for, obtain, and be successful in competitive employment.

“Competitive employment is paid at a minimum wage, the same as everyone else, and the employees are integrated with and have regular interactions with other non-disabled coworkers,” Lukin says.

EXPLORING THE JOB MARKET

In the last year of high school, students with disabilities receive an assessment through Vocational Rehabilitation, the state agency tasked with helping those with disabilities overcome barriers to accessing and maintaining employment. After the initial assessment, some people are referred to a college or certification program. Those that are ready for employment are referred to a Community Rehabilitation Provider like Woodhaven or Job Point.

“Sometimes people might not realize they would qualify,” says John Scalise, director of rehabilitation services at Job Point. “You have to have an eligible diagnosis. Learning disabilities are common, as well as everything from a physical or behavioral health diagnosis to an intellectual or developmental disability, whether you are born with it or there was some event that created it. Some of our clients are blind and hearing impaired. If you have autism, you qualify for services.”

When candidates fi rst arrive at a CRP, they work closely with a staff member to create a Discovery and Exploration Plan. In addition to learning more about work history and job goals, this initial phase allows candidates to explore different types of work to find the best fit.

“We go to a minimum of three businesses and try several hours of the job, whether it is bagging groceries or going to FedEx and helping with the packages,” Lukin says. “It is important for the client because a lot of students coming out of high school have ideas of what they think they want to do, but they have never done it. If they still like it, great, if not, that is ok, too. When they try the job, we learn more about what kinds of support and accommodations they are going to need. It really helps both the clients and provider learn about whether it is a good fit, and if it is, what we need to provide to be successful.”

Once a client identifies an area of interest, John says they can receive help building a resume, practice fi lling out applications, and practice interviewing.

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“Some candidates will need more assistance than others,” John says. ‘We have relationships all around town and we can reach out to human resources and say we have a great candidate or follow up on a candidate.”

Lukin says as advisors, they can be as involved as the candidate wants them to be. They can forward potential job opportunities based on the client’s employment plan, or they can go to an interview with a candidate to be a source of support.

“Some of our clients have difficulty with communication or anxiety, so sometimes we facilitate communication or just be a presence, it’s up to the client,” Lukin says.

MEETING THE COMPETITIVE STANDARD

When a CRP places a candidate, the primary goal is for the candidate to successfully work 90 days independently. Every candidate requires different levels of support to make that happen.

“If someone needs more assistance, we have supported employment, where they can have a job coach on site for the first two weeks or the first few months,” John says. “They’re the ones who help you remember everything the boss is telling you, so when guidance is given on how to do something, the coach can give feedback, or create checklists based on the client’s disability, or just map out the flow of the day.”

In competitive employment, those receiving the services of a CRP are expected to work at the same level as any other employee. While the expectations are not lower, they can access support and accommodations to maintain that level of performance.

“It’s not that they work half as fast, but they might need extra support to work at the satisfactory level,” Lukin says.

That might mean that an employee who is stocking shelves, but dropping several cans or jars, could need to wear special gloves, an apron, or have a special stool that enables them to complete their job.

In a clerical environment, an employee might need visual supports, like a color-coded guide, that can help them sort papers with the expected level of accuracy.

“There might be an easy and simple solution that would allow them to perform at the expected level,” Lukin says. “It’s those things that the employer might miss, but when you get a professional in there, like an occupational therapist, they can usually come up with a solution that would allow the person to do the job just fine with an easy accommodation.”

Although an employer might need to contact the support provider, the CRP takes responsibility for finding the necessary accommodations that allow the client to be successful.

TAKING A RISK HAS BENEFITS

“There is a lot of data that neurodiverse employees are more dependable and reliable, keep jobs longer, have fewer call ins, are late less often, are rule following, and have less turnover,” Lukin says. “While there might be the occasional hiccup, the benefits are huge.”

Employers hiring people with disabilities are also eligible to receive tax incentives, and John says they can help employers navigate that process.

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“It is the government’s way of trying to give people with disabilities a little extra chance to get their foot in the door by giving businesses a little less risk to take that chance,” John says.

Although CRPs always encourage employers to work out any issues with the employee fi rst, the CRP remains a resource to both the employee and the employer for the entire length of employment. Employers are welcome and encouraged to reach out at any point, for any reason.

“We are a good friend for them to have,” John says. “We can talk to candidates about things HR can never get into. We are someone they can call no matter what. We are in regular communication, so if there are any problems, they can reach out to us to help with barriers.”

HOT COFFEE SERVED WITH A SIDE OF PRIDE

In March 2020, three weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic brought life to a grinding halt, Love Coffee sprang to life, fulfi lling a mission

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to provide a place where those with disabilities and barriers to employment can work. Though they were forced to close for six weeks, they’ve been slowly but steadily “limping along ever since,” and Cafe Manager Karen Morgan says they are very thankful.

“Most of the time, it isn’t about the money for our employees, it is about the community, getting up and working everyday like people in their family, getting a paycheck with their name on it, and becoming individuals,” Karen says. “Community is huge. Community is as important as the job skills they’re learning and the money they get.”

Love Coffee is a nonprofit organization that works with agencies like Woodhaven and Job Point, but also takes resumes from disabled individuals who aren't working with an agency. While it isn’t a training center, Karen says the hope is that Love Coffee’s employees will eventually have the confidence to pursue new opportunities, and with them, higher pay and more hours. With 30 years of experience as a special education teacher under her belt, Karen says she knows that

her employees are capable of much more than they think.

“So many of them have low self-esteem,” Karen says. “They have been told all their lives that they have a disability and the expectations have been very low. Sometimes I shoot high and have to lower my expectations a little bit, but it’s better than shooting too low.”

When a barista position opened at the cafe, a visually impaired employee who had been washing dishes seemed like a good candidate for the position. Karen says she reached out to a visually impaired foundation to help with accommodations.

Today, that employee works as one of the cafe’s baristas.

“There was no guarantee that it would work, but I wanted to at least give him the opportunity to try it,” Karen says. “People with physical or intellectual disabilities are sold so short because people think they can’t do very much, and that is not always true.”

Karen says she understands that employers who haven’t been around people with disabilities might be intimidated by the idea of employing someone with a disability, and they may even view it as a liability. But she wants employers to know that with supports from CRPs like Woodhaven and Job Point, hiring an employee with disabilities is no more of a risk than hiring anyone else.

“They will find out that they will be the absolute best employees they will ever have,” Karen says. “They always show up for work, they will come in early, do anything they need to do. They want to make people happy and be successful. They get attitudes like the rest of us, they’re not perfect. But they are the most faithful, dedicated employees anyone will ever have.”

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WHY KIA? WHY NOW? Here at Kia of Columbia, we are creating an exceptional team to engineer our services to the same standards as our vehicles. As general manager, it is important to me and my staff that we have an open dialogue with the community that has been, will be, and is part of our journey. Our goal is to answer all your questions about buying vehicles, service, insurance, and current trends.

So, the big question: Why Kia? Simple. Our all-new innovative brand is firing on all cylinders (pun intended). The reimagined logo displayed throughout our dealership is modern, sleek, and luxurious — all of which are characteristics of our seven new and redesigned models.

Each vehicle is equipped with: • A modern body style • Top of the line technology and safety features • The best warranty on the road • Tremendous value proposition

Matt McMahon General Manager

To connect or learn more about the automotive experience at Kia of Columbia start by scanning the QR code.

Feel free to stop by our store anytime.

710 Business Loop 70 W • Columbia, MO 65203

kiaofcolumbia.com

With us , you get the whole team !

Thank you to our friends at Lizzi & Rocco’s for the tailwagging good time at our July launch party! If you would like to team up with our COMO Street Team to keep the party going, contact Kim@comomag.com.

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A DVE RT I S E R I NDE X 44 STONE..................................................................................................................................... 34 ACCOUNTING PLUS........................................................................................................... 107 ACHIEVE BALANCE.............................................................................................................. 26 ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION GREATER MISSOURI CHAPTER...................4 ANNE TUCKLEY HOME.......................................................................................................37 ANTHONY JINSON PHOTOGRAPHY.......................................................................... 41 ATKINS INC.................................................................................................................................40 BAUMGARTNER’S FURNITURE & CARPET........................................................... 39 BLOOM BOOKKEEPING.....................................................................................................33 BOONE HOSPITAL................................................................................................................. 24 COLUMBIA MARKETING GROUP................................................................................ 70 COMMERCE BANK................................................................................................................. 91 COMPASS CHIROPRACTIC................................................................................................15 CONVERGENCE FINANCIAL.............................................................................................. 2 DESIGNER KITCHENS & BATHS................................................................................... 26 FIRST MID BANK & TRUST................................................................................................. 18 FIRST MIDWEST BANK....................................................................................................... 34 GREAT CIRCLE...........................................................................................................................53 HAWTHORN BANK............................................................................................................. 108 HEART OF MISSOURI CASA............................................................................................. 16 JIRA HEATING AND COOLING....................................................................................... 18 JOE MACHENS DEALERSHIPS...................................................................................... 71

Chiropractors that treat you like family.

JOE MACHENS FORD LINCOLN..................................................................................... 3 JOE MACHENS VOLKSWAGEN.....................................................................11, 12 & 74 JONES & UELIGGER LAW.................................................................................................84 KIA OF COLUMBIA................................................................................................. 102 & 103 KRCG................................................................................................................................................ 10 LIZZIE AND ROCCO’S NATURAL PET MARKET...................................................22 MACADOODLES..................................................................................................................... 47

Chiropractic care is an amazing option for addressing many conditions including the desire to have improved vitality and optimal health. Our team is made up of individuals that want your life to be better. We want to be your complete health and wellness provider in Columbia and vicinity.

MEDIACOM................................................................................................................................... 6 MID AMERICA HARLEY-DAVIDSON..........................................................................88 MID-MO CLEANING...............................................................................................................53 MISSOURI SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER (SBDC).72 & 84 MONARCH TITLE COMPANY............................................................................................. 9 REDI (REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INC.).................................... 58 ROBINSON-RIES ORTHODONTICS...............................................................................8 SHELTER INSURANCE - MIKE MESSER................................................................... 14 SIMMONS BANK..................................................................................................................... 78 STATE FARM - PHYLLIS NICHOLS............................................................................... 54 STATE FARM INSURANCE - STEPHANIE WILMSMEYER..............................33 SUPERIOR GARDEN CENTER/ROST LANDSCAPE................................ 36 & 91 TALLULAH’S................................................................................................................................33 THE BANK OF MISSOURI................................................................................................... 14 THE BROADWAY HOTEL................................................................................................... 54 THE COUNSELING HUB..................................................................................................... 68

These amenities are complementary to our members: • Massage tables available before or after adjustment • Email, text, or phone appointment reminders. You can also reply to our text messages and our office will receive your reply.

• Posture training instruction at key points in your care plan • Family friendly – with a dedicated toy room for your children to enjoy • Free WiFi

• Ample parking • Beverage Station with Nutrient-infused fruit water, hot chocolate, Keurig coffee station, Orange Tiger Family cups (take some home for the family!)

• Make an appointment through the website, by texting, or by calling • Convenient hours, including early mornings, lunch breaks, and evenings

THE TRUST COMPANY........................................................................................................ 96 TIGER FAMILY CHIROPRACTIC & WELLNESS CENTER.............................. 105 TIGER HOME TEAM - HOUSE OF BROKERS....................................................... 38 TRUE FALSE FILM FEST..................................................................................................... 20 UMB................................................................................................................................................. 47 UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI HEALTH CARE.............................................................. 7 VIDWEST...................................................................................................................................... 58 WOODHAVEN............................................................................................................................. 5

Feel like yourself again. tigerfamilychiropractic.com | 573.443.1414 3700 Interstate 70 Dr SE #110, Columbia, MO

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18 S. 9th St. Ste 201 Columbia, MO 65201