The 2020 Women of Distinction

November 12, 2020

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Friday, November 13, 2020

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2 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

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Table ofCONTENTS Sonci Bleckinger...............................................................................4 Sharon Butler Payne........................................................................6 Cathleen D. Cackler-Veazey, PhD ��������������������������������������������������8 Cindy Cavanah...............................................................................10 Emagrace Colley............................................................................. 12 Phyllis Q. Edson............................................................................. 14 Dr. Leslie Evans.............................................................................. 15 Naphtali Faris................................................................................. 16 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award.................................... 18 & 19 2020 Woman of the Year....................................................20 & 21 Joy Hobick..................................................................................... 22 Trisha Kennedy............................................................................. 24 Barbara Koirtyohann.................................................................... 26 Dr. Stephanie Lynne Merriott.......................................................28 Cindy Miller................................................................................... 30 Theresa Nelson............................................................................... 31 Alversia Brown Pettigrew..............................................................32 Terri J. Steele, FLMI, ACS.............................................................33 Beth E. Rosemergey, DO...............................................................34 Jennifer Vitela................................................................................36 Susan Wray.....................................................................................37 2016-2019 Women of Distinction Alumni ��������������������������������38

2020 PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Jaime Russell, Photographer 816-914-2651 www.anthem-photo.com

STORIES BY

Carlos Moreno & Debbie Coleman-Topi

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Sonci

Bleckinger

By Debbie Coleman-Topi

O

n paper, Sonci Bleckinger is a commercial banking lender.

But she prefers to focus on how her job deals with de-

(her customers) live out their dream,” she said, explaining her role at Central Bank of the Midwest as the person who hears about and records her clients’ entrepresires. neurial goals and how they hope the “I get to be along for the ride as they bank will put money behind their deep-

4 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

est desires.

For Bleckinger, a lifelong banker, the role seems natural since she grew up watching her father pursue several of his entrepreneurial dreams as a small business owner.

“That’s why I live through my customers,” she said, adding that her love for writing also helps her aptly record the narrative version on each loan application. In fact, Bleckinger so enjoys writing that she has about a dozen journals in which she’s recorded her family’s escapades and even some work-related news.

She developed the habit while taking journalism classes in high school, then abandoned the practice before taking up again after receiving a leather-bound journal as a wedding gift.

“It’s fun to go back and look at our past,” she said. “You have these passions in life and you need an outlet,” she said, adding that she’s been adamant about her new year’s resolution to increase her time writing from once a week to several times each week.

But banking always has been her bread and butter. She started as a bank teller and worked into positions as a personal banker, investment sales, trainer and manager. Throughout her career, she’s only worked at a couple of banks.

“I’m loyal to a fault, but think I’ve found my forever bank here,” she said of her current employer.

Bleckinger especially enjoys that Central Bank encourages employees to volunteer in the community.

“They’re very accommodating and philanthropic and want us out in the

community serving,” she said. Bleckinger first witnessed the community service aspect of banking when a bank manager spent spare time volunteering and she decided that lifestyle was one to emulate.

In addition, her parents were a great influence. For instance, her mother was a single mom raising three children and still found time to volunteer, instilling in her a “give back to the community that raised me” motto that she lives by.

“We help them get into a career and better their lives.”

Bleckinger has expressed her volunteerism through several organizations, including the Independence Chamber of Commerce, where she currently serves as chairman; and the Community Services League. Her chamber role assists area businesses while her spot on the board of directors at CSL has helped expand the organization’s role and services offered.

While CSL is often known for its most basic services, such as the food pantry, its role has grown to include much more such as financial coaching and job placement. She’s especially proud of the organization’s workforce development for those pursuing careers as nursing assistants and welders.

She said, “We help them get into a career and better their lives.”

Community Services League Congratulates Sonci Bleckinger and Dr. Cathi Cackler-Veazey as 2020 Women of Distinction!

816-254-4100

Sonci Bleckinger CSL Board Chair 2019-2020

Dr. Cathi Cackler-Veazey CSL Board Chair 2017-2018

cslcares.org

Congratulations!

SONCI BLECKINGER on being named one of the

2020 Women of Distinction.

From your friends at Member FDIC

Friday, November 13, 2020 | Women of Distinction Awards

5

Sharon

Butler Payne

By Carlos Moreno

L

ike a lot of the Women of Distinction, Sharon Butler Payne’s path to success didn’t take the road she had planned. The Grain Valley native had enrolled in what was then Central Missouri State Teachers College to become an elementary teacher. She lasted two years and then landed a summer job with Trans World Airlines.

She ended up spending 28 years at TWA. But part of that time was spent as an administrative assistant grinding to “break out of the secretary role and into management,” she explained.

“There was this stigma at that time that ‘once a secretary, always a secretary.’”

She eventually moved up the ranks thanks in part to her commitment to the Gladstone Chamber of Commerce. She also ended up coaching other women at the Central Exchange in Kansas City to promote women in business and women business owners.

She had already been doing seminars for women in Kansas City and then added a workshop for women of color to help them advance.

“The same principles apply,” she said. “It’s having to go beyond your normal job responsibilities to make an impression or be recognized.”

Butler Payne grew up on a farm with eight siblings. Her mom served as PTA president, but her parents were busy on the farm and did not necessarily instill community service in her.

“I’m driven by Christianity and my faith to be of service,” she said.

Her diagnosis of breast cancer in 2010 brought her attention to Art Bra Austin – a fundraiser for which artists designed bras auctioned to raise money. She and her husband, Don, founded

6 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

Bra Couture KC. The fundraiser showcases eclectic work-of-art bras modeled by breast cancer survivors.

She said that the goal of Bra Couture KC is to be the one agencies approach for help.

“The same principles apply. It’s having to go beyond your normal job responsibilities to make an impression or be recognized.”

“We want to be at that level of being recognized in the community of helping men, women and children who do not have insurance.”

The path where she and Bra Couture KC have found their success has not been smooth. It’s become a fulltime job, and she still wrestles with the loss of her son who died in a car accident at 18.

“It takes a long time to get over the loss of a child,” she said. “We helped each other get through life.” But she considers her loss to be a driving force.

Bra Couture KC has grown so large that it occupies a private jet hanger to accommodate the 1,400 attendees and has raised nearly $3 million in its 10 years.

“To honor (my son) I needed to pull through and do good work to honor that relationship,” she said. “When we see each other, I want him to be proud.”

Congratulations to the 2020 Class of The Examiner’s

Thank you for your contributions to Eastern Jackson County We are honored to recognize your achievements.

Sonci Bleckinger Sharon Butler Payne Cathleen D. Cackler-Veazey, PhD Cindy Cavanah Molly J. Clemons

Emagrace Colley Phyllis Q. Edson Dr. Leslie Evans Naphtali Faris Joy Hobick Trisha Kennedy

Barbara Koirtyohann Alversia Brown Pettigrew Dr. Stephanie Lynne Beth E. Rosemergey, DO Merriott Terri J. Steele, FLMI, ACS Cindy Miller Jennifer Vitela Theresa Nelson Susan Wray

To our sponsors, it’s your partnership with us that allows us to celebrate these women.

Thank you!

Friday, November 13, 2020 | Women of Distinction Awards

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Cathleen D. Cackler-Veazey, PhD

By Debbie Coleman-Topi

C

athi Cackler-Veazey has devoted her life to advocating for the rights of others. Her work has spanned decades and six continents and included her input on boards and volunteering at numerous agencies from the Community Services League to the Salvation

8

Army, and the housing authority of her church, the Community of Christ.

When asked why she throws her efforts at advocacy, she has a ready explanation. “If you get discouraged and give up, there are people who suffer,” she said.

Cackler-Veazey, an ordained min-

Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

ister, is closely tied to the work of her church where her husband, Stephen Veazey, currently serves as president of the worldwide organization. She’s performed various roles including many that focus on human relations and development, such as team building, personal analysis and other methods for improving people’s job performance.

But Cackler-Veazey said she’s most proud of her work when it results in real change. A class she taught for ministers that focused on diversity and inclusion stands out. A goal of the course was to help white people discover their deeply held biases and prejudices.

“Sometimes we don’t realize we have them,” she said. “You get a lot of pushback from white people who don’t realize their own privileges.”

One student, who adamantly maintained his lack of prejudice throughout the course, later admitted that he was wrong and did have hidden biases but was in denial. The class helped him see his true colors, she said.

“I was really proud,” she said of her reaction to the news. “It’s heartwarming. These aren’t things that change quickly.”

Cackler-Veazey has served on several boards, including the Salvation Army Crossroads Shelter, the American Red Cross, the American Camping Association, and the Housing Authority of Independence, as well as numerous Community of Christ boards. She’s currently leading an effort to move the Peace Pavilion to a new facility in Independence. The former children’s muse-

um program was housed at the Community of Christ Auditorium, but is moving to a building on Lexington just west of the Independence Square. The museum’s new location will provide better tourist access as it will be opened for longer hours and be more available for walk-ins, she said.

“If you get discouraged and give up, there are people who suffer,” Cackler-Veazey, who officially retired from the church in 2007, continues to be active. Her various roles with the church, including positions since her retirement, have led her to travel throughout the world as a minister, preaching and teaching. Countries she’s visited include French Polynesia, South Africa, Australia, Zambia, Congo, England and Germany.

She said she’s proud of all that Independence offers, including the distinction of having one of the state’s highest numbers of government-funded, low-income housing. She explained her passion for social justice and working for society’s marginalized members this way: “I feel all people have needs and we’re all in this together and need to help each other.”

Congratulations to Cathleen D. Cackler-Veazey, PhD for being honored as a Woman of Distinction!

Change your life; change your community; change the world!

1001 W. Walnut, Independence, MO 64050 | (816) 833–1000

Friday, November 13, 2020 | Women of Distinction Awards

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Cindy

Cavanah

By Debbie Coleman-Topi

D

estiny played a role in Cindy Cavanah’s career in business. The rest was a matter of modeling and hard work.

Growing up the daughter of Gene Cable, founder and owner of the renowned Cable Chevrolet in Independence, provided plenty of material to model. Not surprisingly, Cavanah decided to major in business before spending two decades holding numerous positions at the family dealership.

As an adult, Cavanah came to ap-

preciate her father’s business savvy, realizing how he gambled more than once making out-of-the-box decisions that paid off. After moving his young family to Independence during the 1950s, he opened an automobile dealership on the Independence Square.

During the early 1960s, he gambled that Noland Road would become a prime property for his dealership with the construction of Interstate 70. Gene bought eight acres for his dealership from a farmer who grazed his horses

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on the acreage. Cavanah remembers, as a 9-year-old, petting the horses before the land was transformed.

“Everybody told him he was crazy,” Cavanah said as his dealership was the first to open there. But the dealership was so successful that others soon joined Cable along the strip and the owners frequently met to brainstorm ways to draw customers to what eventually became known as “The Miracle Mile,” Cavanah said.

Cavanah’s earliest business experience began as a sales clerk at the Jones Store at the Blue Ridge Mall.

While her business interest started because of her father’s influence, it was cemented as she learned it was a great way to make money, which she said was “a good incentive.”

After joining the dealership, her roles varied from public relations to car sales, customer relations (taking complaints) and starting the dealership’s fleet and lease department.

“I always enjoyed working with people,” she said. “If you show an interest and ask questions, they always have something to give in return.”

Cavanah retired from her father’s business in 2000 but has since transferred many of the skills she honed there to community-based volunteerism. She served long terms on the boards of directors of several local organizations, including the Independence Chamber of Commerce, where she helped with an adult Economic Development Symposium, aimed at mentoring local business leaders, she said.

Cavanah served on the board during the construction of a new chamber headquarters near the

Square and was a member of the board of directors of Drumm Farm, she said.

While on the board there, she helped the children’s home staff with a major expansion in which they added several buildings for housing, which allowed the campus population to grow from about a dozen to 80, she said.

“I always enjoyed working with people.

If you show an interest and ask questions, they always have something to give in return.”

Retirement also has held other challenges, including service on the Truman Heartland Community Foundation, when the group focused on Eastern Jackson County’s aging population, creating outreach programs that helped seniors connect with local agencies that offer amenities such as affordable housing and transportation.

“It’s all about connecting the need to the resources,” she said.

Cavanah also is active in her church, Woods Chapel United Methodist, where she counts money and pays bills.

“I always tease the ladies in the office,” she said. “I bring it in and then help take it out.”

Congratulations CINDY CAVANAH!

Thank you for all you contribute to our community!

13700 Wyandotte Street, Kansas City, MO 64145 (816) 491-8500 | www.cabledahmer.com

Friday, November 13, 2020 | Women of Distinction Awards

11

Emagrace Colley

By Debbie Coleman-Topi

E

magrace Colley admits she “flunked retirement.” The former Blue Springs office manager, mother and volunteer extraordinaire gave retirement six weeks during 2008 but missed daily contact with others.

“I found that when I sat at home I got absolutely nothing done,” she said.

Throughout her life, busyness has

been out of necessity.

She worked a 28-year career managing the office and doing accounting at SAB Automotive, which later became Haldex Brake Products. She was the first person the Swedish-owned firm hired when it opened its Blue Springs facility in 1980.

During her Haldex career, Colley suddenly found herself a single moth-

12 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

er to three daughters after her husband, Melvin, suffered a medical condition while driving and died. Emagrace was 43 at the time and the couple’s daughters were 11, 15 and 16.

Their youngest daughter was in the car with her father when he lost control, but was not hurt due to the intervention of a nearby driver who realized the vehicle was careening and intentionally caused a collision, forcing it to stop.

Colley said the driver told her a higher power had taken over control of her car.

Melvin was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center, where the staff was so kind that Emagrace decided then to support them as a volunteer.

“The people at the hospital were incredible,” she said and added that although the staff was busy, they took time.

“There wasn’t any of this hurry up, we’ve got to have this room,” she said.

She asked Haldex officials to pay for a master’s degree in business administration, and they agreed. She remembers sitting at the kitchen table many evenings with her youngest daughter, who was in high school at the time, while they both tackled homework.

Colley became an active member of the St. Mary’s Medical Center Auxiliary, where she helped organize an annual fundraising gala by soliciting donations from area businesses. She also was involved in organizing an annual benefit for the Rainbow Center, which serves children with various disorders and served on the Board of Associates, which acts as a liaison between the hospital and area businesses.

An illness forced Colley to retire in 2008, and she sought treatment at the

hospital’s wound treatment center. She was so impressed by the staff that she also volunteers there. Because of her volunteer roles, she’d made business contacts that led to several part-time jobs.

She eventually moved into a full-time position there where she works behind the counter, greeting customers and taking instruments in for repairs.

“I do everything in Blue Springs except sleep.”

“I do everything in Blue Springs except sleep,” the Independence resident said, adding that her husband had been very active in several Independence community service endeavors, even serving on the chamber’s Santa-Cali-Gon Board. She decided to focus on volunteering in Blue Springs.

“I didn’t want to walk in his footsteps,” she said. “I wanted to do it on my own.”

Colley said her mother, Elizabeth Rea, also was an avid volunteer and her first role model. When accepting accolades for her efforts, she always thinks of her mother.

“She was the one I thought of as I walked across the stage (when receiving her master’s degree),” and her mother will come to mind during the upcoming Women of Distinction ceremony, she said and added, “This one’s for you, Mom.”

Here’s to women of distinction.

May we know them.

May we be them.

May we raise them.

Congratulations and THANK YOU to the 2020 Women of Distinction honorees who continue to make a positive impact within the Eastern Jackson County community!

MEMBER FDIC

BlueRidgeBank.com | 816-358-5000

Friday, November 13, 2020 | Women of Distinction Awards

13

Phyllis Q. Edson

By Debbie Coleman-Topi

N

o one was more surprised than Phyllis Edson when her speeches about the importance of public service were transferred to the campaign trail and eventually landed her a seat on the Lee’s Summit City Council.

“I didn’t see this coming,” she said of her stint in local government. The

first-term council member, who’s currently running for re-election, said she now realizes her life has been a series of steps leading to her work in local government.

Her Jefferson City childhood gave her ready access to Missouri’s state Capitol, where her father worked as a lobbyist and talked of his experiences.

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In addition, a government high school teacher assigned Edson and her class to choose bills that interested them to follow and had the class spend the semester not in the classroom but at the Capitol. The students followed bills as they advanced through committees and some came to votes on the floor of the House and Senate, she said.

The lessons were invaluable, she said. For instance, she was surprised to learn that the real work in the Capitol doesn’t occur in the House and Senate chambers, where votes are taken. “You can just walk the hallways and listen to conversations,” she said.

During college, she served an internship in the governor’s office, where she learned even more about the workings of state government. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism, a master’s in political science and a Ph.D. in political science and public administration.

When she realized not many women hold elected office, Edson’s passion became convincing women to take on those roles. She volunteered at Missouri Girls State, a summer program for high school girls, where she shared the importance of public service and brought in women to speak about their experiences as city council members and mayors of local cities. She grew more passionate about teaching youth aspects of city-level government after she realized public education focuses only on the state and federal branches. She has spoken to numerous Scout troops about how city ordinances come to life.

“Almost everything they touch during the day is decided by City Coun-

cil,” she said she tells them.

“I try to really drill it down,” she said, “and let them know there are a lot of little decisions” that impact everyday life, from where houses are placed to streets and sewer lines. She shares information about sales taxes and their role in funding city government. Edson’s efforts have touched a nerve. Lee’s Summit city hall staffers have been surprised as students showed up wanting internships, and they tried to accommodate by finding relevant tasks.

“Almost everything they touch during the day is decided

by City Council. I try to really drill it down and let them know there are a lot of little decisions that impact everyday life, from where houses are placed to streets and sewer lines.”

Edson recently brainstormed with Lee’s Summit City Hall officials about starting a new program – a Youth Town Hall where local students get experience and learn about the workings of local government.

“We can do hands-on exercises so they can solve issues,” she said.

Dr. Leslie

Evans

By Debbie Coleman-Topi

A

s a graduating high school senior, Leslie Evans was running out of time to choose a career field. In fact, she was the last person in her class to list her choice for a piece in the local newspaper that would feature each graduate and their future goals.

“I think it’s probably the most rewarding career there is. It’s amazing how they (students) have the most creative minds and innately want to do well. I can’t imagine another career where that’s what you find with an entire body of people.”

“I stood at the counter (in the office) and looked around Harrisonville High School,” she remembered.

She suddenly realized that the place she’d felt most secure and loved was school.

“All the people who’ve supported you and always been there for you” were at school, she said. “You know what, I think I want to be like them,” she said and discovered herself writing

“art teacher” because “I’ve always liked drawing,” she said.

After nearly three decades in education, Evans now knows her choice was the right one.

“I think it’s probably the most rewarding career there is,” she said. “It’s amazing how they (students) have the most creative minds and innately want to do well. I can’t imagine another career where that’s what you find with an entire body of people.”

Evans began as an elementary classroom art teacher before advancing to middle schools and then, after getting a masters’ degree, becoming a counselor at Blue Springs High School.

A Ph.D. in educational leadership led her to begin to climb the central office career ladder, where she served as director of public relations for about seven years before being named to her current position as assistant superintendent of human resources. Evans said the position is challenging but rewarding since it offers the ability to “help shape the district by the people we choose as employees.”

Evans said her love affair with her current position is not unique.

“Every time I took a job I thought I’d never leave because it was my favorite,” she said.

Her experience has taught her an important lesson absent from textbooks.

“You can work for the same school district for 29 years and have a lot of different experiences,” she said, adding that’s what makes working for the Blue Springs district so rewarding.

“I don’t know a person in our

school district that ever thought it was boring,” she said, crediting the entire community with the district’s success.

“We’re the biggest small town around,” she said.

Evans added that the city’s population of more than 52,500 is just the right size to be intimate yet varied. District administrators always have strived to treat patrons and students like family, she said.

Evans said having a daughter who attends school in the district has allowed for a different perspective, allowing her to develop “a new understanding for all parents struggling with work

life and home life,” she said. Raising a daughter, who is a senior this year, “has made me a better educator and administrator,” she said. The experience allows her to see her students through a new lens. Having a career there has allowed Evans “to know her teachers as people.”

That unique perspective is one more reason Evans counts herself fortunate.

“I can’t imagine having been anywhere else,” she said. “This is and always will be home – professionally and personally.”

Friday, November 13, 2020 | Women of Distinction Awards

15

Naphtali Faris

By Debbie Coleman-Topi

N

aphtali Faris has created brightly decorated, handson early literacy spaces for young children in more than 20 local public libraries. The spaces include felt and magnet boards and interactive carpets.

True, the feat was among her job descriptions. But, for Faris, now a Mid-Continent Public Library branch manager, the

spaces are about much more than a job – they beckon the youngest library patrons into a world of lifelong reading.

Faris said she believes pre-readers deserve their own spaces, complete with felt boards decorated with shapes that young hands can manipulate. The pieces are shaped as squares, circles and triangles and act as the precursors to eventual mastery of letters and then reading.

16 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

“We don’t often dedicate spaces for young children and families,” Faris said.

“It’s important that we reach kids at that young age…that early interaction is foundational and formational,” she said.

Faris has passionately fought for the highest literacy standards for students who live within the Lone Jack branch library’s extensive service area, which includes many other cities such as Kingsville, Holden, Pleasant Hill, Lake Lotawana, Strasburg and Warrensburg.

When the library’s statistical analyst reported that the reading scores of Lone Jack third graders had fallen, Faris rallied to provide an answer. She masterminded a program in which library employees periodically read to those same third graders, and she secured funding so students could take home copies of the books read in class. By the end of the school year, students were given 20 new books, all nominees of two state prestigious book awards, Faris said.

She has a bachelor’s degree in literary criticism with a minor in European history, as well as a master’s degree in library and information science. She knows that books in the home are a strong indicator of academic success. As few as five books can create a difference, Faris said.

She didn’t let the annual $12,000 price tag derail the program. Because she also has a background in grant writing, she secured funding from the Missouri State Library, a division of the secretary of state’s office, to cover much of the cost of the reading program. The library’s development and youth services departments picked up the rest of the costs not covered by the grants. But, Faris said she isn’t satisfied to let the program end with third graders. While she plans to continue the third-grade project, she’s also trying to secure funding through another grant

for a monthly program for fourth and fifth graders.

Faris didn’t just assume her thirdgrade program was having an impact.

Surveys are distributed to the caregivers of third graders three times during the school year. They ask about reading habits and how they’ve changed since the advent of the program. The results have proven the program’s success, she said.

“We don’t often dedicate spaces for young children and families. It’s important that we reach kids at that young age…that early interaction is foundational and formational.”

Faris’s efforts don’t end at the end of the workday. She believes so strongly in her profession that much of her community volunteerism also is affiliated with libraries. These include the Missouri Library and American Library Associations, the Friends of the Public Library and Friends of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. She summed up her belief in the power of libraries when she said, “I think libraries are an important community asset.”

Friday, November 13, 2020 | Women of Distinction Awards

17

2020 Lifetime

Achievement AWARD

Photography by Carlos Moreno

18 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

Cindy c

M Clain

By Carlos Moreno

C

indy McClain looked out from her seat inside Ophelia’s toward the Independence Square recently.

“It’s fuller,” McClain said of the appearance of the town center compared with 1998. “Things look tidier. There are cars rather than empty streets. There are more windows full and fewer abandoned buildings.”

“I am called to see and hear with compassionate and loving senses. Even in my role as boss or board member, I think that I have become much more willing to seek to understand before acting.”

That “fuller” appearance has been willed by Cindy and her husband, Ken, who have spent the past 21 years helping revitalize Independence’s historic center.

While two decades of entrepreneurship might not qualify as a life’s work, this year’s Women of Distinction’s Lifetime Achievement award is also a tribute to Cindy’s dedication to her church and her civic engagement since she and Ken settled in Independence 40 years ago.

“Cindy is someone who loves Inde-

pendence, who took the Square from a ghost town to an active vibrant square,” said Hap Graff, the former president of the Independence Chamber of Commerce. “And she did it with kindness and huge energy. She’s a very diverse lady. She goes in a lot of different directions.”

For the past four years, McClain has served as one of three pastors at Gudgell Park Community of Christ, where her oldest daughter is likewise a pastor. She has raised six children with Ken, and they are grandparents of six. She has volunteered with civic organizations, sat on numerous boards and committed her time and talents for Independence’s Square and other organizations. She’s rolled up her sleeves and gotten her hands dirty, according to Graff. But it is the Square and the 16 businesses under the McClains’ auspices that are on public display.

It’s also a part of a running theme for her: a life of service. Even when she was a kid, she wanted to be helpful.

“I wanted to be an instrument of God,” she said.

McClain added that when she became a pastor, she felt herself changing the way she viewed things.

“I am called to see and hear with compassionate and loving senses,” she said. “Even in my role as boss or board member, I think that I have become much more willing to seek to understand before acting.”

Tom Waters, the owner of Corporate Copy Print says he “hitched up his wagon” to the wave of the McClains’ success. He moved his business to the Square several years ago.

“They were the pioneers,” he said of the team of Ken and Cindy. “The thing

Photography by Portrait Gallery

about Cindy is that she’s going to make a decision that’s best for the community even if it’s not the best decision for her family or her business.”

While sitting in the restaurant where she and Ken dove into the revitalization business, she contemplated the byproduct of her graphic design degree from the University of Colorado. She said it’s about creating an experience using all the senses.

“I tend to do the same thing in church. I probably overkill our services when I preach at them. But I try to hit every sense.”

Her graphic design background is evident around the Square as is her and Ken’s commitment to the Square’s revitalization.

“I remember when you could throw a bowling ball down Main Street and it wouldn’t hit anyone,” said Nina Anders who opened Scandinavia Place in 1987.

Located a few doors away from Ophelia’s, Anders’ store is one of a few on the Square that predates the McClains’ endeavors.

Anders said she appreciates the McClains’ contributions to the Square’s revitalization.

“How many people can come to an area and put their time, money and vision into an area,” she said. “We’re glad they did it.”

McClain said the work on the Square is still in its infancy. She wants to continue raising awareness and promoting the downtown area. But she also noted that “revitalization” is not simply a business venture.

“I’ve spoken to women’s groups, and I’ve talked about even as human beings how we’re changing or morphing into something different and we’re always looking to be better,” she said.

“We all want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We want to know that our life had value and that revitalization of even just yourself and your physical surroundings can be so rewarding.”

Friday, November 13, 2020 | Women of Distinction Awards

19

2020

Woman of the Year AWARD

20 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

Molly J.

Clemons

By Debbie Coleman-Topi

M

olly Clemens injects a large dose of support and love into each of the double digits of roles she’s filled as an educator. Although she officially retired from the Independence School District 10 years ago, she never has fully stepped away from the career to which she feels blessed to have been called.

She continues to play lead roles at the George Caleb Bingham Academy of the Arts and the Music/Arts Institute.

Deputy Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Cynthia Grant said Clemens “has a wonderful skill set that has allowed her to relate and connect” throughout her career, whether classroom educator or administrator and beyond.

While district officials are fond of offering her the praise, Clemens said she feels as if she’s the lucky one each time she encounters former students and hears of their success.

“When I used to pick up a newspaper and see one of my students’ bylines, that was a thrill,” she said of the time following her stint as a high school journalism teacher.

A lifelong career in education means Clemens touched many lives, and she never tires of hearing former students sharing their life stories and news of their young families after chance public meetings.

“Oh my gosh,” knock me over!” Clemens said of these chance encounters. “That really makes my day.”

Clemens said she was blessed from the beginning, having grown up in a small farming community in Illinois, where she woke each day to the view of a cornfield outside her bedroom window. The small, rural town of Pearl City was a close-knit

community that functioned as an extended family, where residents pooled resources and helped each other in difficult times.

Four arms of her extended family lived on the street which she called home: Main Street.

She has carried the impact of those long-term relationships wherever her career has led. Her childhood taught her the value of friendship and being a valued member of a community. She acquired much more than book knowledge in her hometown where longtime residents were planted and nurtured much like the crops the farmers tended.

“I wouldn’t have traded that experience for anything,” she said of those early years that provided “a solid, solid, stable background.”

Although she hasn’t lived there since the 1960s, she only needs to walk through a store while visiting relatives to hear her name.

“People still recognize me,” she said.

“I don’t think you ever really leave a small town.”

Her husband, Ron Clemens, is known throughout the area for his role as a nearly four-decade journalism teacher at Truman High School, and Molly also has a background in the field. In fact, they met at a convention of the Journalism Education Association. When she held the president’s post in JEA, she did so as the youngest person to ever lead the group.

She majored in journalism after a high school English teacher said she noticed a spark of potential and talent in her writing.

She worked as a reporter for a television station and an editor at a newspaper in Illinois and several suburban news-

papers, where some of her beat included covering school board meetings. That experience, coupled with advice from a superintendent, who also was an early mentor, caused her to make the leap to teaching journalism.

She was a classroom journalism teacher during her early career, but soon found herself in school administration: a vice principal at Palmer Junior High School and Truman High School and an associate principal at Truman before heading several posts at the central office: coordinator of emergency preparedness, higher education, career readiness specialist and hearing officer.

As an officer, she worked with students who were on the brink of being suspended or expelled to determine disciplinary measures. She was pleasantly surprised to learn that her background in journalism helped in a disciplinarian role because both require objectivity, she said.

While she enjoyed the challenge of the position, she said, “It’s always sad when something reaches that level.”

The experience also solidified a belief that educators are not only called to teach and mentor students who perform at the top level academically, but, to help at-risk students. Although challenging, Clemens found joy working with students who struggled.

“You can see success at almost any level in education,” she said, referring to a time teaching remedial English. “I saw the light bulb go off, and it was so much fun to watch.”

Although retired, she became the executive director of the George Caleb Bingham Academy of the Arts, an arts-based summer program in 2012. She and Ron are co-executive directors of the Music/ Arts Institute, a post they’ve shared since 2015.

Clemens said education offers the opportunity to have lifelong impact. An example, she said, is “when a teacher sees that spark and tells the student where they are shining, and they may not even realize it.”

Friday, November 13, 2020 | Women of Distinction Awards

21

Joy Hobick

By Debbie Coleman-Topi

J

oy Hobick is fond of touting the praises of teamwork. After all, she’s witnessed it succeed in every aspect of her life – from her career to volunteer endeavors to family relationships.

Her life’s motto and favorite quote is borrowed from Helen Keller and always on the tip of her tongue: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

In fact, Hobick believes so strongly in the power of teamwork that she joked with the reporter during the interview for this story that she hopes

readers don’t think she’s overstating the cause and grow weary of its refrain. But for Hobick, it’s worth repeating.

One of her favorite teamwork tales occurred during her career at Truman Medical Center, when she ran a program in which she mentored high school students interested in seeking a career in medicine but unsure of the many possibilities. She and the hospital staff in her department created a program designed to give teens handson experience engaging in a variety of medical fields from physical and occupational therapy to ultrasound tech-

22 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

nologist.

“It often enlightened them to a career path they didn’t know existed,” she said. Hobick knew the program was successful when those same teens later contacted her and mentioned they couldn’t stop thinking about one aspect of the program and had decided to make it their life’s career.

“I saw a lot of them come as wideeyed freshmen and say, ‘I want to be a doctor.’” She and other coordinators brought in speakers from different fields to explain a typical day in the field and they learn about educational requirements.

Although Hobick retired from that position a year ago, her retirement lasted only a month.

“I didn’t want to be home,” she said.

“It was too quiet, and I thought I still have more to give,” she said, adding that her latest job is her “second wind.”

She works in administrative support for Mid-America Heart and Lung Surgeons, where she schedules surgery, acts as an administrative assistant and advises patients about procedures and clearing the path for insurance to offer financial assistance.

She said patients really appreciate her role in preparing them for life-changing surgery.

“They’re so emotional,” she said, adding that they thank the surgeons for saving their lives, then thank her for making it a good experience.

One of the most difficult aspects of the job also is the most necessary.

“Insurance is complicated these days, and we have to get everyone talking to each other,” she said.

Her volunteer life also is active, where she has been very involved in the Junior Service League. She’s co-chairing the group’s 75th anniversary celebration. She‘s proud of the service organization’s role in which members were trained by Harry Truman to act as docents at the Truman Presidential Library in Independence. Her role has brought many hours of research, combing historical courthouse documents for information and photographs of the Junior Service League throughout its history.

“I breathe red, white and blue, I’ve been all about Truman.

It’s been a great place to grow up.”

She’s also been active on the board of the Truman Heartland Community Foundation. Hobick realized her life has revolved around institutions that carry Truman’s name, from her Truman High School attendance to her Truman Medical Center career and volunteerism with organizations that carry his name and honor his legacy.

“I breathe red, white and blue,” she said, adding “I’ve been all about Truman. It’s been a great place to grow up.”

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Trisha Kennedy

By Debbie Coleman-Topi

T

risha Kennedy’s parents entered the jewelry business by design. She took a different route to the family business.

As a high school student, the daughter of the owners of Kennedy Jewelry in Blue Springs had different career aspirations. But all that changed the day a jewelry business consultant visited her parents’ store and saw a gem not shimmering beneath the glass case but glowing nonetheless – and stand-

ing in front of him.

That gem was Trisha. The consultant mentioned her personable nature and ease when talking with others. He urged Trisha to reconsider her career aspirations.

Kennedy followed his advice and acquired certification from a trade school, the Gemological Institute of America in California, which qualifies her to appraise, evaluate and create gem designs. Next, she focused on

24 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

developing business knowledge and earned a bachelor’s degree in management with a minor in marketing from Park University.

Someday, Kennedy will take over the Blue Springs store’s operation. But, for now, she manages publicity, mostly via social media, and plans special store events, including the annual Ladies Night. This is one of the best ways to exercise her favorite element – “working with people.” She flexes her creative muscle by designing jewelry.

The rest of Kennedy’s time is devoted to serving others by volunteering in the community, a lesson her parents taught by example.

“I believe God gives us talents and we should use them for the benefit of others,” she said, remembering how her parents modeled this value by their volunteerism. She especially focuses on helping those with the most needs or “those who are not capable of helping themselves. … I do whatever I can to make their lives easier.”

Kennedy demonstrates that belief in her role as president of the board of directors at the Rainbow Center for Communicative Disorders. The nonprofit serves children and adults with behavioral disabilities, including cerebral palsy, autism and learning disabilities. Kennedy said the organization is filled with people society doesn’t understand, but the center’s staff “truly

teaches them through love and one-onone communication.”

“I believe God gives us talents and we should use them for the benefit of others ... I do whatever I can to make their lives easier.”

Kennedy also focuses time with Blue Springs Rotary, where she’s served as president and even worked at the district level of the organization. The group funds scholarships for graduating high school seniors and provides financial assistance to at-risk families who are struggling. She’s also served on the board of the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce and the Truman Heartland Community Foundation and has acted as secretary at her church, Reach Out Missionary Baptist.

This involvement allows her to have a different outlook on life, which she stated this way: “Count your blessings and make sure you pay it forward.”

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Barbara Koirtyohann

By Carlos Moreno

B

arbara Koirtyohann grew up in a culture of giving back to her community. She remembers attending a Girls State conference at Raytown High School called “Panel of American Women” that set her in motion.

“It was so powerful,” she said of the mixture of ethnicities and races rep-

resented. “They told their stories. We were just in tears. That was a profound thing for me.” That event, she said, formed the motivation for a lifetime of volunteerism in Jackson County.

But her parents were deeply involved in the community as well.

“They took us to museums, plays at the college and to the Nelson.”

26 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

They were likewise active in scouting and other activities, she added.

“My parents were very active in our upbringing, making sure we had experiences.”

After a series of jobs after college and a divorce, she landed at Hallmark, where she began working in the public affairs office.

“That was the beginning of everything,” she said.

She wanted more out of her work.

She recognized she wanted to get involved and do things to help others and live by her mantra: “It’s what you do for other people that enriches your life.”

Her list of contributions to the community and the boards and organizations she has served can fill pages.

Her most recent efforts to give back include chairing the Older Adults Mobility and Transportation (OATS) committee that has required her to do what she says she does best: bringing people together and and bringing people to the table to make things work.

“Working with the staff at Truman Heartland (the Truman Heartland Community Foundation), the committed people,” she said, “I mean it was through the coalition that we had the regular meetings of people committed from the community. It’s reassuring to know that so many people care about the future.”

In addition to OATS, Koirtyohann has chaired the Development Committee at Truman Heartland; chaired the

Church Council at Christ United Methodist; sits on the Mid-Continent Public Library’s Foundation board; and was recognized with the Buck O’Neill legacy seats at Kauffman Stadium; and served on the Hope House board as well as the Independence Regional Health Center; the Independence Chamber of Commerce; and the precursor to Truman Heartland – the Independence Community Foundation.

“It was so powerful. They told their stories.

We were just in tears.

That was a profound thing for me.”

Recognizing her myriad achievements and activities, a friend said to her once, “You know Barbara, you’ve had a lot of great experiences, but you’re just Barbara.”

She laughed recounting the anecdote, and said she’s always treasured that sentiment. “I don’t try to be falsely modest,” she said. “I’m just a vehicle to get things done.”

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Dr. Stephanie Lynne Merriott

By Carlos Moreno

T

he sign near the entrance of Korte Elementary that greets students and visitors reads “Be An Example.”

As assistant principal Stephanie Merriott walked through the school corridors recently, students hugged her,

and others flashed her a smile that she readily returned. She reiterated to a visitor how important those three words are to her and how they reflect in the students’ behavior, especially the girls.

“I want girls especially to see themselves in me,” she said. “I’m always on,

28 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

and I know everything I do is seen.”

She places a lot of importance on the role she plays not simply as an educator but as a person in the larger realm, she explained.

“Each day, I have the unique opportunity to have an impact on the future of our community,” she said. “The children I work with will be contributing members of our community in the not-toodistant future.”

Merriott is an active member of the Junior Service League and volunteers with the Independence Square Association. She and her husband live on the Square and have made it their calling to be an active participant in its growth.

Growing up she had the support of family, friends and church. She said her “pockets of support” included the teachers and administrators in her schools.

“I have always had this sense of obligation to the community that raised me.”

She recognized that spirit in the Junior Service League, she said.

“They were women who were involved in everything. If you want something done, you ask a woman from JSL and it’ll get done,” she said snapping her fingers for emphasis.

Her mother, however, especially influenced her and gave her grounding in a sense of community, working “countless hours” to build up her own business, support her daughters as a single mom and still keep an immaculate home.

“I remember my mom making sacrifices so that my sister and I were able to succeed,” she said. “My mom instilled in me a belief that I can accomplish anything.”

Merriott said working full time and

working toward her doctoral degree was one of her greatest challenges. She felt she couldn’t fully commit 100 percent to any areas of her life. But she said that fulfilling her graduation requirements reiterated how the opportunity helped her grow and realize that her obstacles are no more daunting than anyone else’s.

“Each day, I have the unique opportunity to have an impact on the future of our community. The children I work with will be contributing members of our community in the not-too-distant future.”

That sense of empathy pervades everything she does in school and out.

“I hope that when my students see and/or hear about my work in the community, they see an example of someone who genuinely cares, and who feels a personal sense of obligation to contribute to the greater good.”

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29

Cindy

Miller

By Carlos Moreno

T

he arch currently rising out of the ground on Blue Springs’ Main Street stands as a testament to the hard work of the Downtown Alive! crew and founding member Cindy Miller’s passion for re-

vitalization.

“It just takes a little something to spark interest,” she said of revitalization efforts. “Then people notice it, and they come and one thing feeds off another and pretty soon things take off.”

30 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

Miller’s fingerprints can be found on most every storefront, work of art and any other facet of Blue Springs’ downtown district. Her path to the city’s main street came by coincidence and a little bit of heredity. Her mother, to whom Miller attributes much of her own driving force, also had success revitalizing a downtrodden business district in Merriam, Kans. And like Cindy, her mother was also named as a Citizen of the Year.

“She worked hard at everything she did and never gave up,” Miller said of her mother. “She instilled that workaholic-ism in me.”

It was Miller’s long career at America’s Community Bank where she recognized the need for the Blue Springs’ downtown to step up its game. After working for several years on Main Street, she realized that the area shut down after regular business hours.

“When those (businesses) closed up by five o‘clock, downtown was dead,” she said. “There was nothing here.

There was no reason to come down here. Surely we could fill these buildings with unique businesses that can draw people downtown.”

They started with the renovation of the facade of her bank and then “the dominoes started falling.” Other businesses started moving in or renovating on Main Street.

Besides her role in Downtown Alive!, Miller has been active in the Rotary Club, the Women’s Civic Club, Women Endowing Education, a Community Development Block Grant Advisory Committee, the Chamber of

Commerce, and a host of other activities and boards.

Even though Miller has retired from banking after 35 years in the industry, she has shown no inclination to slow down. She said she has been busier than ever and finds it difficult to say “no” to any request for her time.

But the sparkle in her eye has been the revitalization of Blue Springs’ Main Street. She continues to corral business owners and encourages them to move downtown and join the others who have been a part of the revitalization effort.

“I can’t take credit for all of that. It is a team effort. We’ve had an amazing group of volunteers who have worked tirelessly over the years to make things happen in the downtown district.”

“I can’t take credit for all of that,” she said. “It is a team effort. We’ve had an amazing group of volunteers who have worked tirelessly over the years to make things happen in the downtown district.”

Theresa Nelson

By Carlos Moreno

T

heresa Nelson didn’t plan on becoming a teacher, but after 34 years of making lesson plans, grading papers, outfitting buildings and hiring personnel, she is retiring from Grain Valley School District as principal at North Elementary School. She will be closing the door on a career in education that has left a lasting legacy in Eastern Jackson County.

“I was able to see the impact administrators I admired and respected had on the school as a whole. I decided I wanted to have that same impact.”

She started as an elementary school teacher in Grain Valley when there was only one elementary school. And now there are four in the Grain Valley School District. Nelson has had a hand in much of that progress, exceeding state and local academic standards while doing so.

In a field where it’s rare for an individual to stay in one district for more than a few years, Nelson is an anomaly.

She started at Matthews Elementary School in 1986 teaching third, fourth

and fifth grades. When she moved to South Middle School as principal, she had been in the classroom for 16 years but felt ready to reach more students and more teachers with her experiences and knowledge.

“I was able to see the impact administrators I admired and respected had on the school as a whole,” she said.

“I decided I wanted to have that same impact.”

She credits her mother and father with providing her the encouragement to not necessarily become a teacher or even go to college but to persevere and do what she felt she needed to do. While her parents were not college graduates, she and her two brothers did earn college and advanced degrees. Her parents, she said, “quietly expected us to go to college.”

She said she hoped her impact as a teacher and an administrator would be to provide a model for being a lifelong student.

“I want to be seen as a learner by students and staff.”

Her model seems to have rubbed off. At least 10 current teachers in Grain Valley are former students. One former student guides another school outside Grain Valley as an assistant principal.

Nelson’s daughter works as a special education teacher in the district as well.

She says one of her greatest sources of joy is meeting students from her teaching days who have become parents of children who are in her school today.

Nelson is bolstered by a long list of accolades attesting to her success in and

out of the classroom. But she feels her lasting impact is in the shared memories and continued learning she accomplished by meeting current and former students.

“It’s really fun for kids to come up to me and say, ‘My mom or my dad had you in such and such grade.’ That’s the best part for me is feeling like I’ve had an impact on so many people over the years.”

Friday, November 13, 2020 | Women of Distinction Awards

31

Alversia

Brown Pettigrew

By Carlos Moreno

I

ndependence’s transition from a segregated to desegregated world trickles out of nearly every story Alversia Pettigrew relates.

The musical and choir director for the historic St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church serves as an unofficial voice for a large chunk of Independence’s past.

She said of her first job at the Independence Sanitorium: “People of my color could not go as patients. In 1964,

when I went there, I was the third black they had hired in their 60-year history.”

“That was the integrated part of my life,” she explained. “The segregated part of my life really begins at the Neck.”

Pettigrew attended segregated schools until she graduated from sixth grade in 1956. But the neighborhood where she was raised – the Neck – formed her early life and has been the source of what she described being the

32 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

“liaison” for the neighborhood. Even at an early age she was recognized as someone who could connect and communicate between the neighborhood and the larger world.

“I was everybody’s little Alversia,” she said noting how she proudly strolled the neighborhood running errands for older folk.

Even then she understood how the Neck lay in the shadow of Delaware street and provided a lot of the service workers and other help for the more affluent workers living there. But she also remembers the neighborhood gave her the foundation for her civic engagement moving forward. She attributes her drive to her favorite Scripture passage: ““To whom much is given, much is required.”

“All of the gifts God gave me. Coming up in Independence with an unwed mother. I had a lot of family support to bring me up,” Pettigrew said. “She taught me to be a little proud black girl.

I’d walk up the street and be just as proud as I could be.”

Her self-published book, “Memories of a Neck Child,” is a reflection of her times growing up in the neighborhood. Her mother died on the day of its release in 2000. The first copies of the book were distributed the day of her funeral.

“She never got to read it,” Pettigrew said.

The popularity of her book drove her to further explore Independence’s history. She has served on the Historic Preservation Commission’s African-American Walking Trail. She’s

worked as a member of Habitat for Humanity’s capital campaign for the renovation and repurposing of Hiram Young School. She’s also served as a board member for the National Frontier Trails Center; and Jackson County Free Health Clinic and the mayor’s housing and rehabilitation for the city of Independence.

“All of the gifts God gave me. Coming up in Independence with an unwed mother. I had a lot of family support to bring me up. She taught me to be a little proud black girl. I’d walk up the street and be just as proud as I could be.”

Pettigrew said she feels good about being that link between the present and the past.

“It was just kind of something that crept up on me. I don’t know where it came from. I just wanted to tell my story.”

Terri J.

Steele,

FLMI, ACS

By Carlos Moreno

A

square napkin is pinned to a bulletin board behind Terri Steele’s desk in her Independence office. It depicts a bright-eyed, woman smiling.

The text printed next to her reads “Stop me before I volunteer again.”

The napkin was given to her in jest by a friend who recognized Steele’s many community contributions and seemingly endless list of volunteer efforts.

“I’ve always felt it’s my responsibility to give back to the community which has treated me so well,” said the co-owner of Evans and Steele Financial.

“We are not out for ourselves. We do the right thing for others.”

“My parents were always there to lend a helping hand in any way they could,” she said about her early life at home. “The takeaway from those times was to be a part of your children’s life, be present, take an active role in the community in which you live and work.”

However, she lost her parents by her early 30s. The loss devastated her.

But they had instilled in her the values of being fiscally responsible and mentally tough.

“My parents always taught me that

everyone is faced with obstacles, but the difference lies in how you choose to handle them.”

Instead of going down a dark path after her parents death, she took cues from their family financial adviser, who further instilled in her a work ethic and optimistic outlook on life.

“Because of his support,” Steele said, “I wanted to be respectful, be a good steward, and do the right things.”

A stalwart of Independence’s volunteer community, Steele’s commitment to the city is demonstrated in a long list of memberships and associations: the Junior Service League; the Truman Heartland Community Foundation; the Independence Civic Council; and 25-plus years at the Chamber of Commerce. She also finds time to decorate rooms at the Bingham-Waggoner Estate during the holiday season, among many other contributions.

She and her husband had committed to being active at their daughters’ schools. But by the time their daughters had graduated, there became a void. However, she found plenty of civic involvement to dive into. And Steele said she was especially spurred by the difference she was able to make in the lives of her clients.

The effort she exerts for her clients easily sounds like the same effort she pours into her civic involvement.

“We are not out for ourselves,” she said of her business. “We do the right thing for others.”

She said she loves her work and

doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon. The same could be said of her volunteering.

Like that napkin suggests, she doesn’t really know when to tell someone “no.”

Friday, November 13, 2020 | Women of Distinction Awards

33

Beth E.

Rosemergey, DO

By Carlos Moreno

T

he irony of Beth Rosemergey becoming an osteopathic physician lies in her initially wanting to become a marine biologist even though in her home state of Pennsylvania there isn’t a whole lot of ocean to explore.

Instead she moved to the Midwest to pursue her career in medicine and

never looked back.

“When I finished residency, I knew I wanted to work as an educator. I had really great mentors here,” she said. “I didn’t want to just go out and do practice. I wanted to be part of educating the next group of doctors.”

As the program director of family medicine residency at the University

34 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

of Missouri-Kansas City, Rosemergy has had a hand in sending out 400 physicians in the past 25 years. Many of those assumed posts in and around Eastern Jackson County.

“We have a shortage of family positions in primary care in Missouri,” Rosemergy noted. “And so we want to make sure we are extending the workforce for primary care.”

She emphasized how her practice and her teaching are part of a collaborative effort at Truman Medical Center–Lakewood, where she works. She is credited with leading the effort to accredit TMC Lakewood as patient-centered medical homes.

“We have a whole team,” she said listing off a litany of caregivers from medical to psychological. “You have to collaborate with all of them in order to take care of your patient the way you need to,” she explained. “Our patients are sick and they have a lot of social needs, and there’s just no way one physcian can do all that.”

Rosemergy has devoted 30 years as physician in Jackson County. However, not all of her efforts have been solely focused on training doctors. She has also helped local schools develop programs that addressed the need to identify and classify children with autism spectrum disorder.

As a parent of an autistic child, she found there was a lack of knowledge in diagnosing and understanding the needs of children in the early ’90s. She immersed herself in working with the Lee’s Summit school district and helped develop the Missouri state guidelines

to screen for autism patients. She and her husband, Dr. Charles Orth, continue to serve as volunteers as Camp Encourage, an overnight camp experience for children with autism spectrum disorder.

She cited her work with autism specialists and teachers in terms of the

“When I finished residency, I knew I wanted to work as an educator. I had really great mentors here.

I didn’t want to just go out and do practice. I wanted to be part of educating the next group of doctors.” collaboration she witnessed to see people come together for a common cause.

This aligned with her philosophy of whole-person care and becoming a doctor of osteopathic medicine as well as populating the world with family physicians.

“That’s why I stayed and I’ve been lucky enough to do that,” she said.

“Somebody has to take care of us when we get old, right?”

Truman Medical Centers and University Health congratulate

Beth Rosemergey, DO, FAAFP

Vice Chair, Department of Community and Family Medicine UMKC School of Medicine

For being recognized as one of the

2020 Women of Distinction Friday, November 13, 2020 | Women of Distinction Awards

35

Jennifer

Vitela

By Carlos Moreno

S

urrounded by the trappings of history, Jennifer Vitela has a clear view of the future as well as the past from her desk at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Serving as the public programs director, Vitela has carved out her role with the library to bring together partners and the community to

celebrate the life and legacy of the 33rd president.

“My goal in this position is to provide engaging programs that educate the public on democracy, foreign policy and the Truman administration,” she said. “This position also gives me the opportunity to create moments and memories for the community.”

36 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

Vitela, however, brings a unique perspective to this relatively low-key position compared to her previous career as a U.S. diplomat. She served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a governance and public diplomacy officer before returning to Missouri to work as an independent subcontractor for the Army as a subject matter expert.

The broad scope of that title demonstrates her resilience and how she has taken her past experiences and used them to forge the life and career that has placed her in the middle of Independence’s community despite some “bad choices” that set her back when she was younger.

Some of her bad choices were the result of being broke and avoiding paying her bills. She said she often gives financial advice because of her once dire financial situation.

“It’s all about knowing your number. It’s about putting everything in a spreadsheet and knowing where you’re starting from,” she said. “And that’s the first step to making incremental change.”

The metaphor, she explained, is not simply about finances though.

“If you make a series of small, good choices, you’ll make the life you want,” she said. “You have to figure out what your issues are and figure out how to get past them.”

She relishes her role at the Truman library. Not only has she been able to volunteer and serve with numerous boards and community organizations,

she has used her experiences to be a resource for friends and a mentor to young women. She works, she said, to empower women and give them perspective.

“If you make a series of small, good choices, you’ll make the life you want. You have to figure out what your issues are and figure out how to get past them.”

“One of the things you give up when you come back from a war zone is that you don’t experience the high highs anymore,” she said. “At the same time, the low lows are put into perspective, so they’re not as low.”

The experiences that have given her this perspective are what allow her to clearly see her role as the public programs director.

“I love that I can bring educational, engaging informative interesting programs on these issues in an environment where it makes sense for people to come and learn about them.”

SusanWray

By Carlos Moreno

S

urrounded by thousands of books and artifacts inside the Midwest Genealogy Center, Susan Wray sipped coffee from a large travel mug decorated with pages from novels. One side has her name printed. The other side reads: “So many books … so little time!”

“People take for granted what’s in their backyard.

By offering students easier access and giving people a way to visit local museums through the power of a library card allows cross-promotion for MCPL and Jackson County’s amenities.”

As the Mid-Continent Public Library’s assistant director and COO, Wray said one of the ironies of being around books all the time is that she has little opportunity to read many of the interesting titles she sees.

She, however, has navigated the 32-branch system for the past 10 years to being more than a place to read and

store books.

Her nomination for Women of Distinction noted, “She is committed to finding new ways to expand MCPL customers’ access to innovation, information, ideas, and inspiration.”

The library system’s success with the MCPL Museum Pass and the Student Card program is evidence of Wray’s commitment to expanding the library’s role in the community and increasing access to it.

“People take for granted what’s in their backyard,” she said. “By offering students easier access and giving people a way to visit local museums through the power of a library card allows cross-promotion for MCPL and Jackson County’s amenities.”

“It’s a win-win all the way around.”

She said her success is based on “bringing the right people to the right table to work on and accomplish goals and initiatives in support of the library’s mission and strategic plan.”

It’s a lesson she learned early even though Wray never set out to have this much influence in the citizenry’s library use. In fact, she never wanted to be a librarian despite continually working or volunteering in libraries since she was in elementary school.

“I told myself I’d never be a librarian,” she said.

However, college changed her mind. She studied accounting for most of her four years and decided in her last year that maybe the library would be a fit for her after all. Arming herself with a master’s degree in library science

from the University of Missouri, she set about her path. Ultimately she wound up in Kansas City.

She remembers working as a high schooler in a library and having to discipline a young boy who turned out to be the library director’s son. Instead of getting mad at Wray, the director yanked the boy out of the library and

returned to her office without a word to Wray.

“That has always stayed with me,” Wray said about supporting the library’s employees. The key to successful management she said is to “give people room to stretch and back your staff.”

Friday, November 13, 2020 | Women of Distinction Awards

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Class of 2016 Alumni

Class of 2017 Alumni

Debbie Bibbs ���������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2016 Alumni Alissa Eliene Blundell ������������������������������������������ Class of 2016 Alumni Nancy Bruns ��������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2016 Alumni Roberta Coker �������������������������������������������������������Class o f 2016 Alumni Susan Culpepper �������������������������������������������������� Class of 2016 Alumni Vicky Cundiff �������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2016 Alumni Jill Esry ����������������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2016 Alumni Kelly Lightfoot ������������������������������������������������������ Class of 2016 Alumni Shelley Lowery ������������������������������������������������������ Class of 2016 Alumni Betty Lennox ���������������������������������������������������� 2016 Woman of the Year Cindy McClain ����������������������������������������������������� Class of 2016 Alumni Lois McDonald ����������������������������������������������������� Class of 2016 Alumni Deb Ohnoutka ������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2016 Alumni Mary Potter ����������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2016 Alumni Barbara Potts �������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2016 Alumni Freddye Smith ������������������������������������������������������ Class of 2016 Alumni Pat Turner ������������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2016 Alumni Lara Vermillion ���������������������������������������������������� Class of 2016 Alumni Eileen Weir ������������������������������������������������������������ Class of 2016 Alumni LaShawn Walker �������������������������������������������������� Class of 2016 Alumni

Marilyn Arnold ���������������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni Carol Sue Bass ��������������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni Melodie Chrisman ������������������������������������������������ Class of 2017 Alumni Janet Clark ������������������������������������������������������������ Class of 2017 Alumni Stassi Cramm ������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni Ann Franklin �������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni Janet Hessenflow �������������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni Yvonne Hall ����������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni Dr. Bridget McCandless ���������������������������������� 2017 Woman of the Year Jodi Krantz ����������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni Erika Lucas ����������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni Mary McNamara ������������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni Betty Meyer ����������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni Elizabeth McClure ������������������������������������������������ Class of 2017 Alumni Michelle Metje ������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni LeAnn Ortner �������������������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni Dr. Annette Seago ������������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni Dr. Kelly N. Spiller ����������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni Dr. Elizabeth Savidge ������������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni Dr. Patrica Schumacher �������������������������������������� Class of 2017 Alumni

Nina Anders ������������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Jacqueline K. Clark �����������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Alexandra Colley ����������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Emily Crawford ������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Karen DeLuccie �������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Harriet E. Goettel ���������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Jet Green ������������������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Diane Mack �������������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Laura Maxwell �������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Jessica L. McClellan �����������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Patricia Milne ���������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Stephanie Myers �����������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Carole Jean Price ����������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Monica Roberts �������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Lori Ross ������������������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Allison Spencer �������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Carolyn Slayton Weeks ������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni Lynette M. Wheeler �������������������������������������������������������2018 Woman of the Year Sharon Williams ����������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2018 Alumni 38 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020

C. Jan Alderson �������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Irene Baltrusaitis ���������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Amber Boes ��������������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Capt. Cindy Cotterman �����������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Sharon Dankenbring ���������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Laura B. Doan, MD �����������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Mikealene Evans ����������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Judy Forrester ���������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Dr. Danica Fuimaono �������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Dr. Sandra Jones ����������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Susan Waters ����������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni MaryAnne Metheny ������������������������������������������������������2019 Woman of the Year Melanie Moentmann ���������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Lisa Allen Morton ��������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Lauren Palmer ��������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Donna Pittman ������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Beverly J. Powell �����������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Jan Reding ��������������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Sandra K. Schiess ���������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni Ruth Ward ���������������������������������������������������������������������������Class of 2019 Alumni

Class of 2018 Alumni

Class of 2019 Alumni

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40 Women of Distinction Awards | Friday, November 13, 2020