Thomas J. Kennedy of Missouri, DDS, LLC, and Associates General Dentistry
Dr. Joe Robinson Dr. Ty Barnes
Thomas J. Kennedy of Oklahoma, DDS, PLLC, and Associates General Dentistry
Dr. Johnny Maravich Dr. Sebastian Tietze
Dr. Bradley Acker Dr. Karl Gubser
volume 4
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issue 7
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december 2013
16 12
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PROFILE: Micro beer brewery
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LIVING: Home décor after the holidays
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ON THE COVER: 14 for ‘14
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STYLE: Winter look
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PACKAGE: 2013, a look back
THE J TEAM EDITOR Kevin McClintock Phone: 417.627.7279 Fax: 417.623.8598 E-Mail: kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com MAGAZINE WRITER Ryan Richardson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ryan Richardson Katy Schrader Bobbie Potteroff
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6 THE SCENE 10 THE 10-SPOT 65 THE J LIST 66 THE PARTING SHOT
THE JOPLIN GLOBE Michael Coonrod Carol Stark CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Ryan Richardson T. Rob Brown Roger Nomer B.W. Shepherd Curtis Almeter Drew Kimble
PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER Mike Beatty Phone: 417.627.7291 Fax: 417.623.8450 E-Mail: mbeatty@joplinglobe.com
SALES MANAGER Janette Cooper Phone: 417.627.7236 Fax: 417.623.8550 E-Mail: jcooper@joplinglobe.com
EDITOR Carol Stark Phone: 417.627.7278 Fax: 417.623.8598 E-Mail: cstark@joplinglobe.com
CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Jack Kaminsky Phone: 417.627.7341 Fax: 417.623.8450 E-Mail: jkaminsky@joplinglobe.com
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Brent Powers Phone: 417.627.7233 E-Mail: bpowers@joplinglobe.com
DIRECTOR OF MAGAZINES Julie Damer Phone: 417.627.7323 Fax: 417.623.8450 E-Mail: jdamer@joplinglobe.com
Joplin Metro Magazine is a publication of Newspaper Holdings Inc. and is published monthly. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any editorial or advertising matter. The publisher assumes no responsibilty for return of unsolicited materials.
from the editor
We’re excited about what the coming year holds for J-Mag, and appreciate all the feedback we’ve received so far from our readers. We already have a number of stories we’re developing for upcoming issues and would love to hear any ideas that you might have for others. As always, you can reach us here at kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com, by mail at Joplin Metro Magazine, 117 E. Fourth St., Jopin, Mo., 64801, call us at 417.627.7279 or find us on Facebook. All of us at J-Mag wish you a very happy and safe New Year’s!
To celebrate the new year, J-Mag writer Ryan Richardson will be listing the 10 most popular resolutions as well as detailing a small beer brew crew in neighboring Galena, Kan. This month’s J-List also shows you how to usher in the new year without blowing a ton of dough in the process.
2013
We’ve also reached another milestone: A new year. As you know, the New Year’s celebration is all about that blank slate that is the coming 365 days. As always, it’s a chance for new beginnings. Kevin McClintock Editor Joplin Metro Magazine
DECEMBER
Called “14 for ‘14,” this month’s cover package takes an in-depth look at 14 movers and shakers in our community; individuals instrumental in the continued success of the Joplin metro area, but don’t necessarily receive (or want to receive) the splash of that proverbial bright spotlight. These 14 individuals go about their business, doing what they do best, quietly, and without fanfare. Nonetheless, what they produce impacts thousands each day in very special and unique ways.
Once again, we have our annual yearbook, a look back at both the highs and lows of 2013. It’s a collection of the people and events that helped define the year that was in our community.
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Fourteen people. Eight men, five women and one teen. They consist of five educators. A university professor. A tribal chief. A small business owner. A television star. A musician. A dancer. A financial advisor. A pastor. And a charitable organizer.
But as much as this time of year is about looking ahead, it’s also the perfect time to reflect on what brought us to this new starting point.
M A G A Z I N E
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or the first time in J-Mag history, we are listing (but not ranking) 14 people who have and will continue to impact lives in a very positive way in 2014 and beyond.
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the scene
EMPT Y BOWL S FUNDRAISER PHOTOGRAPHY BY T. ROB BROWN
A plethora of empty bowls awaits hungry patrons during the charity event at Phoenix Fired Arts on S. Main St.
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Eunice LeRoy, of rural Joplin, smiles as she selects bowls that meet her exact artistic tastes.
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Megan Gordon (left) gets her hand-selected bowl filled with Schlotzsky’s cheddar bacon soup by Phoenix Fired Art studio member Denise Lambert. The fundraising party raised money to fight hunger in Joplin by giving proceeds to Crosslines Food Pantry Program, the Salvation Army and Watered Gardens.
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the scene
DECORATED WINDOWS PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROGER NOMER
Brittany Felton, of Joplin, snaps a keepsake photo of Sophia Jones, 3, in front of the Joplin City Hall’s decorated windows. The City of Joplin has decorated the building’s front windows since 2009. During the holidays back in the 1930s and 1940s, Joplin shoppers enjoyed the elaborate decorations of the season with holiday décor, specialty items and, of course, a large assortment of toys.
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Jennifer and Olivia, 8, of Carl Junction, admire the decorated windows. Back in the day, window displays depicted the latest fashion trends and society standards. Such window displays were made famous early in the famed Christmas Classic, “A Christmas Story.”
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The gathered crowd watches as the decorated windows at Joplin City Hall are unveiled back in late November. Formerly Newman’s Department Store, this fivestory building was built in 1910, and was a main attraction for shoppers throughout the years.
10-SPOT
MAKING RESOLUTIONS STICK BY RYAN RICHARDSON
Resolutions
Tips to making resolutions after the new year
W
hen the ball drops in Madison Square Garden at the stroke of midnight, millions of Americans will make New Year’s resolutions in hopes of bettering their lives.
Nearly 40 percent of Americans (125 million people) will make resolutions this year, whether it’s improving their overall health by exercising or setting a monetary budget in hopes of slashing excessive spending. The easy part is making one. The hard part, of course, is maintaining the resolution(s) for months on end.
The Romans had a similar tradition. When Emperor Julius Caesar changed the Roman calendar by adding months, the Roman senate settled on Jan. 1 as the first official date of the New Year, associating the Roman god Janus — the god of doorways — with the new holiday. Many gifts were given bearing his likeness and Romans would make new promises to improve themselves to appease the god. During medieval times, Christian knights would renew their commitment to chivalry and Christian morals by taking the “Peacock Vow.” This was also paired during midnight services on New Year’s Eve with many Christians praying for a positive outcome and making their own vows to improve themselves. Here are some ideas for New Year’s Eve resolutions:
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2013
The good news is, resolutions go back to antiquity. Take the Babylonians, for instance. When the first full moon following the vernal equinox hit in our month of March, the Babylonians kicked off the festival of Akitu, which celebrated the annual barley harvest. A new king would be crowned, and the Babylonians would renew
their promises to pay their owed debts throughout the following year.
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1)
Recovering from debt = January is when all those Christmas bills come due. It can be quite a shock to the checkbook. Kenny Davis, a counselor with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of the Ozarks in Joplin, said that this isn’t uncommon. “We’re doing a lot of credit review right now so that we can get people higher scores to start the year right,” Davis said. “Typically, people face their debts head on in the first of the year. There is a lot of post Christmas finance woes, or long term debt that needs to be dealt with. It doesn’t just go away.”
2)
Join a Gym = Holidays can pack on the pounds. In addition to the winter slowing many people’s active lifestyles, New Years can force people to evaluate their health and more specifically their weight prompting many to join a gym to exercise more. Many local workout areas will be packed early in the year with people dedicating themselves to making a healthy changes in their life.
4)
House Cleaning and organization = While spring cleaning may be the result of delaying this resolution, many people will take the time after the holidays to clean out their houses after putting away holiday decorations, in addition to making room for gifts received from relatives and friends. Regardless, making the investment in organizing your home can pay dividends throughout the year.
3)
Run a 5k = Running is a popular goal for those fixated on making a change in their lives. Cardiovascular health is a focus for many people, regardless of age. To get a fresh start on the year, the Joplin YMCA will host the annual Chilly 5k on Jan. 1. Geared for new and experienced runners, this gives people a great opportunity to start the year the right (and healthy) way.
5)
Quitting Smoking = While making healthy decisions is a popular staple of resolutions, quitting smoking may be the granddaddy of them all. According to the Center of Disease Control, 69 percent of current smokers want to quit smoking in some capacity. If this is you, what better time to start fresh than the new year?
6)
Read more books = Intellectual pursuits may take a back seat to health-related goals, but exercise for your mind is a great way to keep mentally sharp regardless of age, so in its own way it a health benefit, as well.
7)
DECEMBER
Go back to school = This is very popular with people who may have missed out on college or who are looking for a way to better themselves through a class or two. Naturally, most universities/colleges start their first semester in January, so the opportunity to go back to school may be a visit to your local campus.
10)
Manage Stress = Many of the resolutions stated here come down to this simple thing: manage stress in your life to make it easier to live. While it may not be easy to do as a specific resolution, go back and evaluate your choices with the goal of managing stress overall in your life. It will go a long way to making next year’s list even shorter.
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9)
Take a vacation = Family vacations are growing increasingly rare with ever-dwindling vacation opportunities at work. Take the time to plan a getaway, whether it be for the weekend or for a week, with the whole family. Living in the Midwest, area residents have tons of options that are less than a day’s drive away.
2013
8)
Find a better job = Evaluation, both physical and emotional, is a big reason why people make New Year’s resolutions in the first place. Finding a solid job upgrade can go a long ways to changing someone’s life for the better. While this may not be an immediate lifestyle change, this is something that can result in great personal growth.
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profile
MICRO BREWERY WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY RYAN RICHARDSON
Brew Crew Kansas pair lovingly develops brewery; beer
“A good beer is a beer that you enjoy drinking and our goal is to make that beer available to the public.”
Brew Crew
The pair produce a variety of beers under the title of Belleville Brewing Company. Because it’s a full-fledged brewery, soon the beers will be on tap at Joplin area bars. Though the company is named for an old mining township in Jasper County, and many of their beers boast names commemorating Jasper County locales and historical figures, the pair decided to set up shop just off Main Street in Galena. “We’re fans of the local area and the history, the color of the area, including Kansas,” Struwe said. “We want to celebrate that history, and Galena is tied to our history now as a company.” The choice to open their brewery in Kansas, McCoy said, was influenced by the lack of affordable locations in Joplin following the 2011 tornado.
He eyes the scale’s readout as it approaches a special grain mixture number he and his partner Mark Struwe concocted on their own.
After he’s done, he turns to a nearby computer and types in the grain mixture amount. This is to ensure the 26-day fermentation process is perfect. The grains serve as the foundation of a micro brewed beer made right across the border in Joplin’s own backyard. Brewing beer is a hobby for some, but for these two friends, it’s a tasty way of life; and one they take seriously. “We are putting the micro into microbrew beer,” Struwe said. With 11 years of brewing experience each, they have been dedicated to their cause of making a better beer. The beer-making process is slow because Struwe and McCoy do it all by hand.
“We’ve got recipes for about a half dozen beers right now,” McCoy said. “We can make Pat Murphy (Irish Red beer) at the same time we are making up our Oronogo Blue once we expand. We’re not even at the point we are in the public, but we’re close. Expansion is our goal.” While they each maintain a day job, they visit the brewery almost nightly to do the requisite work to produce their product. They are banking on the long hours and multiple jobs paying off in a beer popular throughout the area. “Some guys golf on the weekend and that is fine,” McCoy said. “But this is our hobby and it is one that we will turn a profit on. Our tap handles are made and we are building up our reserves. We’re ready.”
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“We are making a session beer that is light enough to enjoy in one setting,” Struwe said. “A good beer is a beer that you enjoy drinking and our goal is to make that beer available to the public.”
With their present setup, the duo produces roughly one and a half barrels of beer per week, or about 75 kegs a year. Eventually, they aim to increase production to a barrel a day, which Struwe says they can eventually do at their present location. McCoy says with expansion, they will be able to brew several different beers at once.
2013
K
eith McCoy drops another scoop of grain into a bucket on top of an electric scale.
“We actually feel blessed to be here in Galena, and the town has been very supportive,” McCoy said. “The mayor, the chief of police and (several others) have paid us a visit and it’s been nothing short of great. We couldn’t ask for more.”
DECEMBER
With beer heading to local distributors, the Belleville Brewing Company has designed taps to be used. With their own logos, the pair hope that the new taps stand out among others.
Keith McCoy and Mark Struwe have brewed beer together for 11 years. As the Belleville Brewing Company, the duo plans to expand production to a seven barrel operation within the near future.
Keith McCoy drops another scoop of grains onto a scale before he grinds them out by hand to be used in the brewing process for Oronogo Blue. All of the beers made by the Belleville Brewing Company start by hand-grinding grains.
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Count your blessings 1. _________________________________________________________________________ 2. _________________________________________________________________________ 3. _________________________________________________________________________ 4. _________________________________________________________________________ 5. _________________________________________________________________________ 6. _________________________________________________________________________ 7. _________________________________________________________________________ 8. _________________________________________________________________________ 9. _________________________________________________________________________ 10. ________________________________________________________________________
We count you. Thank you for allowing us to serve you and yours. Merry Christmas. Join us by sharing your blessings at OurBlessingsCount.com
on the cover 14 f o r ‘ 14
BY KATHLEEN SCHRADER PHOTOGRAPHY SUBMITTED
14 FOR ‘14 SMALL-TOWN ROOTS, BIG DREAMS taken her many places, but Lewis had her heart set on developing the arts in the communities near her home. When she began, however, she was just a small-town girl with a lot of guts and one big dream. The oldest of four children, Lewis grew up in Galena, Kan., where she was raised in a middle-class Christian home and had two grandfathers who were pastors. Of the many lessons she learned during her youth, Lewis says one of the most important was a strong work ethic. “You work for what you want, and that’s the only way you get it,” she says.
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Kaye Lewis
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I
t’s only a snapshot in her mind, but it’s a vivid snapshot that Kaye Lewis can’t forget. Lewis, director of the Midwest Regional Ballet Company and School, still sees the windowless studio, still remembers the lack of air-conditioning, and still visualizes the tiny spinning ceiling fan that was inadequate to cool the sweating dancers. Lewis was in Evanston, Ill., studying under Gus Giordano, a professional dancer and teacher known at the time as the Godfather of Jazz. “When you’re in a professional class, they show you things once,” says Lewis. “There were times I would just stand there and shake because I was afraid I’d do something wrong.” The work was intense. It was grueling. And it turned out to be the passion Lewis would pursue nonstop throughout her working years. “I loved every horrible minute of it,” she says. While studying dance under Giordano, Lewis made the decision to make a career in the performing arts. Her career could have
It was a lesson she says has served her well throughout her life. As a teen, Lewis’s first love was breakdancing, but that changed when she discovered ballet after signing up for an area class. From there, she was “addicted to it,” and she studied ballet for long hours every day of the week over the next few years. Then, at a workshop in Oklahoma City, Lewis met Giordano, who offered her a full scholarship to study dance at his school outside of Chicago. For two years, she trained rigorously under Giordano and numerous guest professionals of the school, including the late Patsy Swayze, who trained her actor son, Patrick Swayze, to dance professionally, and the late David Howard, the revered British-born Royal Ballet dancer who counted Mikhail Baryshnikov among those who studied with him at his New York City school. During those years, Lewis learned how demanding the world of professional dance is, noting that her training was almost militarylike in “how they break you down.” However, she was hooked, and after her time at Giordano’s school, she came home to open her first dance school. Starting in 1986, Lewis taught ballet in Carthage and later Arlington, Texas, before returning to Joplin in 1999, when she opened the Midwest Regional Ballet Company and School. For 26 years now, she has trained dancers of all ages, produced dozens of set and original ballets for the community, acted in, directed and choreographed shows for area theaters, and worked with area high schools to provide choreography assistance for musicals and show choirs. Lewis was twice awarded “Teacher of the Year” at both the regional and national Dance Olympus competitions, and 18 of her dancers have gone on to have professional careers in
Lewis speaks to the audience about a recent Midwest Regional Ballet Company and School performance.
WHY WE CHOSE KAYE LEWIS
THE ARTISTIC DYNAMO THAT IS KAYE LEWIS HAS THE EDUCATIONAL EYE AND INNATE TALENT TO BRING ARTISTIC
FOUND IN A MAJOR METRO AREA SUCH AS EVEN
CHICAGO OR
NEW YORK CITY.
the performing arts. This is certainly satisfying to Lewis, but she has not stopped dreaming big. “In my brain, I want to be the Tulsa Ballet of this area,” she says. While Lewis appreciates and produces classical ballets such as “Swan Lake,” “Cinderella,” and “The Nutcracker,” to name just a few, she is also known for shaking things up a bit by incorporating innovative twists and unusual elements into many of her original ballets. In September, for example, Midwest Regional Ballet Company finished presenting “Alice in Steampunk Wonderland,” a production featuring dancers in streampunk costumes accompanied by rock music from the band “Queen.” The steampunk aspect was just for fun, says Lewis, but the story had an important message. “I think it’s a beautiful little child’s story, but I wanted to show the growth from child to adult. Each little segment of Alice had something you have to go through to get to adulthood,” says Lewis. A few years back, Lewis also put her dancers through a 12-hour workshop on the basics of aerial ballet; since then, aerial elements have showed up in many of her original productions, including “Alice in Steampunk Wonderland,” 2009’s “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Dracula” in 2010. Trying new ideas, however, and continuing her own education as a dance instructor are both important to Lewis. “I think when you feel like you know everything, that’s when you’re going to fail. Dance is ever-changing. You have to stay on
“It’s very rare that there’s a Baryshnikov,” she says. “My goal is always to make sure they are well informed of what the professional world is really like and not this star-studded stuff they are fed.” Lewis expects a lot from her dancers and often uses humor to diffuse the tension of working long hours in the studio. However, she says she expects even more from herself. She spends long hours wearing the various hats of creator, director, choreographer, PR person, music editor and even costume designer and seamstress for her shows. “My dancers never pay for a costume,” she says. “It comes out of my pocket and hopefully I make it back out of the show. My dancers are my kids I never had. I think I was meant to be one of the villagers that raises the kids.” Bringing quality performing arts to the community is certainly one of her goals, but Lewis also believes it is her duty – and her students’ – to use their talents to help others. Susie Lundy, 56, has been dancing in Lewis’s ballets for approximately eight years and says she especially appreciates how Lewis has opened the world of dance to everyone. In some cases, Lewis has set up ballet performances specifically for special-needs children and their families to enjoy, and in other cases, she has donated proceeds from performances to groups such as Children’s Miracle Network, the Arthritis Foundation, Susan G. Komen and other breast cancer awareness groups. Lundy describes Lewis as “multi-talented” and a “jewel” that the community is lucky to have. “She’s so capable of making anything and everything happen,” says Lundy.
2013
SUCH SHOWS PERFORMED THERE ARE NORMALLY ONLY
At her studio in Joplin, Lewis teaches pointe and aerial ballet, as well as jazz, modern, contemporary, hip hop and tap dancing. She has approximately 60 students, some of whom take lessons for fun while others have aspirations of pursuing dance professionally. Lewis stresses that her dancers they should perform because they love it, not because they expect to get rich or famous.
DECEMBER
MIDWEST REGIONAL BALLET COMPANY AND SCHOOL.
top of all the new things,” she says.
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STATE AREA, VIA THE
M A G A Z I N E
SHOWS AND PLAYS TO THE FOUR
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on the cover 14 f o r ‘ 14
BY KEVIN MCCLINTOCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY B.W. SHEPHERD
14 FOR ‘14
COMBINING COMPANY AND HUMAN ETHICS to 706 W. 26th St., to see whether his business, SNC Squared, had survived the storm strike. It hadn’t. But that was okay with him. “Coming to my office was insignificant. When the storm hit, it wasn’t like, ‘I need to go to my office.’ That never even crossed my mind. “I sent a text message to my engineers, and I got an okay from everyone of them,” ensuring their safety. “And that’s all I cared about. The building and everything in it was replaceable.” After that, the real work began.
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Motazedi’s SNC Squared offers IT services, resources and applications. Smaller businesses, who can’t afford to bankroll their own $80,000-a-year IT man, can lean on an SNC engineer to safeguard a computer system, dispatch viruses or install firewalls.
John Motazedi
O
n the night of the 2011 tornado, John Motazedi’s computer consultant company — the one he’d created seven years earlier from scratch — was actually the last thing on his mind. Between 6 p.m. and midnight on Sunday, May 22, Motazedi transported a dazed and bloodied family — a couple, four kids and an infant wrapped in blankets — walking alongside a road to nearby Freeman Hospital. He next searched for medical supplies alongside a pediatrician inside the hollowed-out and blasted shell that had been St. John’s Medical Regional Center. Later, after the sun had set, he aided rescuers searching rubble for trapped Joplin residents. Luckily, he didn’t find anything. It was just before midnight when Motazedi finally made his way
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Yet, one of the worst tornado’s in U.S. history proved SNC Squared was more than just a brick and mortar office. “We’re more than. We want to deliver what our customers expect from us, and we (also) have core values that we stand for — honesty and integrity. IF we tell a customer we’re going to do (something), we’re going to do it; we are going to stand behind it.” Even when an EF-5 tornado is involved. On top of losing their main office, about one-third of SNC Squared’s 75 healthcare customers were hit by the tornado. By 2 p.m. Monday, less than 24 hours later, Motazedi — with some outside help, including some solution provider peers — had his own business up and running in the basement of his home. He next turned his attention to his customers, many of them physicians, who were in desperate need of accessing their files on patients. Without access to digitized files, they couldn’t properly care for hurt patients or verify prescriptions.
2011 TORNADO HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH SALES OR
SPREADSHEETS AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH CARE AND COMPASSION. IT’S THE REASON WHY HE’S WON BOTH THE
“SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR” AS WELL AS THE “NO ONE LEFT BEHIND” AWARDS.
By 5 p.m. Thursday, May 25 — roughly 72 hours after the storm had gouged its way through the heart of Joplin — Motazedi had 100 percent of his client’s back online. “We thought 72 hours was too long,” Motazedi said with a grin. “We really did. However, “we supported all the doctors and all the clients and the people who depended on the physicians and I do believe we delivered at a different level. “I do think the tornado truly defined us in that, sure, we kept our promise to our customers and we did our job, but really we ultimately realized what a difference a handful of people — there were seven of us then — could actually make to an entire community.” Motazedi is now a leading expert in disaster recovery and has been recognized by Fox Business, NPR, PBS, CRN, FedEx and the Missouri Health Information Technology Assistance Center for his response hours after the tornado. He has also spoken nationwide concerning small businesses creating and implementing disaster plans. “We hear about (hurricanes Katrina and Stan) and yes, those were huge, terrifying storms, but you knew those were coming. You had time to prep and plan for it. But when you get the tornadoes that hit Joplin and Moore, Okla., where you have 17 minutes of notice, you don’t get a chance to do a re-do” with your business disaster plan. “You gotta be ready. We had planned on it, we had processes in place where we (daily) checked back-ups and systems, we never lost data on any server, and that’s really the key – the differences between your typical IT company that doesn’t do those steps and those delivering at that level.”
A copy of a book with a chapter written by Motazedi, explaining in detail what he did just days after the Joplin tornado, when he worked 24/7 to get all 100 percent of his customers, many of them doctors and clinics, back online and running within 72 hours.
SNC Squared was one of the top finalist for the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Award in 2012, and has been accepted in the 2012 Edition of Inc. 500|5000 Magazine for being one of the fastest growing companies in the nation. Motazedi also recently hit six separate Amazon.com best-seller lists with his “The Tech Multiplier” book. Motazedi’s company also received the highly coveted “Hands That Give, No One Left Behind” award for reaching out and assisting during the time of need in a disaster. He’s proud of the work his company, his employees and those who came to help him on the night of May 22 accomplished. “I’m proud that the community thinks they should honor me,” the Iranian-born Motazedi said. “I never asked for it. When I was walking down those streets, looking for people, I wasn’t thinking, ‘Hmmm, I wonder if I’ll get an award for this.’ But ultimately, we realized our place in the community as a member of the community. I want to be one of those notches on the wheel that turns and makes everything happen. I’m not the whole wheel; I’m just one of those notches.”
2013
THE
DECEMBER
ENTREPRENEURS, BUT THE ACTIONS HE UNDERTOOK FOLLOWING
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JOHN MOTAZEDI IS ONE OF JOPLIN’S MOST TALENTED
Motazedi built his computer consultant firm from a oneman operation to a 15-person company today.
M A G A Z I N E
WHY WE CHOSE JOHN MOTAZEDI
John Motazedi is proud of what he, his employees and his company did during the chaotic days following the EF-5 tornado strike. Motazedi has since become a leading expert on implementing disaster plans for small businesses. He and his company also won a humanitarian award for what he did to help his fellow Joplin residents after the storm.
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on the cover 14 f o r ‘ 14
BY MICHAEL COONROD PHOTOGRAPHY BY B.W. SHEPHERD
14 FOR ‘14
AN ADVANCED MUSICIAN AT A YOUNG AGE
“When he first asked us to go to X-Factor, to try out, we both kind of looked at each other and said, ‘well, you’re not old enough,’ and he said, ‘well, yes I am. I researched it and you can be 12,’” said Grant’s father, Michael D. Landis. “So we pondered on it a couple days and finally agreed.” “He had to miss school,” added Grant’s mother, Brandi. “I’m a teacher, I didn’t want him to miss school, that was the big thing.” So father and son headed to the auditions in Kansas City, where Grant surprised his dad by singing his way through several rounds of competition. “I knew he had a passion for it,” said Michael.
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“We always thought he was good,“ said Brandi. “But we also thought we were being biased because he’s our son.”
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Grant Landis
S
ome teenagers dream of making big plays on the basketball court. Others can’t stop thinking about getting their driver’s license. Grant Landis stays busy writing and performing music. “I’ve wanted to play guitar for a while and I actually started piano in second grade,” said Grant, who currently has 100,000 loyal followers on Instagram. He started singing in church at age four. Middle school gave him the opportunity to join the guitar club, expanding his horizons. “How I got started in all this is from X-Factor actually, because I asked my mom and dad if I could try out and they didn’t really go for it at first,” Grant said, “but I convinced them and they let me go.”
Grant’s success at the X-Factor tryout led Michael to ask for a second opinion. “That’s when I called a friend of mine, Rich McCready, and said, ‘hey, would you listen to Grant?’” McCready, a singer/songwriter and music producer, told him to bring Grant down to his Seneca-based studio for a tryout. “I take him down there and he sings and Rich comes out and says, ‘he’s one of the best kids I’ve ever heard,’” said Michael. “So he says, ‘we need to do this kind of the old-fashioned way. We need to start him from the ground up, write a couple songs with him and go record them.’” McCready called a friend in Nashville named Brian Maher, who co-wrote “Mary’s Song” with Taylor Swift on her debut album. Maher spent four days in Joplin with Grant and they ended up writing three songs. “Those are his original ones on iTunes. So he’s had the passion for it, and obviously the professionals in the business think he’s
Grant Landis performs a song during a recent video shoot in Joplin.
WHY WE CHOSE GRANT LANDIS
THOUGH HE’S THE YOUNGEST PERSON IN OUR LIST OF 14, THAT’S NOT WHY WE CHOSE HIM. HE WAS SELECTED BECAUSE WE THINK HE’S GOING PLACES IN A HURRY.
LANDIS CAN DO IT ALL – SING, WRITE AND PLAY INSTRUMENTS, AND AT THE AGE OF
14, THE SKY’S THE LIMIT
Grant Landis, guitar in hand, poses for a photo with his friend and musician, Howard Nunnelly, during a video shoot at the old Joplin Union Depot.
AS TO HOW HIGH THIS YOUNG MAN CAN FLY.
good, not (just) mom and dad,” said Michael. Apparently the fans like his music, too. Grant used money he earned from music sales to buy two Taylor guitars and a PA system he uses when performing. “It came out December 1 [2012], I sold 500 songs in a week, which helped,” he said.
Grant now has seven originals to perform. His friend and songwriting partner, Howard Nunnelly, provides percussion on a cajon: a wooden drum box.
They’re not just playing birthday parties in Joplin, either. Grant has played shows in St. Louis, Texas and the prestigious Winters Lights LA concert in California. He also recently discovered he has fans across the pond in Ireland and the UK.
pursue. We will support him 110 percent, “ said Michael.
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Landis and Nunnelly fill the abandoned Joplin Union Depot with music during a recent video shoot.
“It’s just wherever it takes me, I guess, but yeah, it’s something I want to do,” said Grant.
So what does a parent hope for when their child has already attained a measure of stardom?
So would he be happy just writing hit songs?
“Obviously we want him to be happy, if this is what he wants to
“I mean, either is fine, but performing is probably the main thing,” said Grant. “Yeah, it‘s pretty cool.”
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“We wrote a song in his backyard once, and it was called, ‘Not Alone,’ and it‘s actually on YouTube,” said Grant.
DECEMBER
2013
“I like the songs to say what I feel,” said Grant. “I could easily write a song about a certain topic, but I choose more of what I want to talk about.”
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on the cover 14 f o r ‘ 14
WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY RYAN RICHARDSON
14 FOR ‘14 IGNITING A FIRE FOR CHURCHGOERS
M A G A Z I N E
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DECEMBER
2013
Heath Mooneyham
22
I
n the Bible, Jesus tells Peter that “he will build the church on this rock.” For Ignite Church lead pastor Heath Mooneyham, there definitely has to be a “roll” added to that “rock.”
still wanting to make changes and they will impact everything around them. They will win their wives. They will be the ones who make changes in their workplace.
Nearly everything that has to do with Ignite Church is musically influenced. From the children’s room themes (“Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns N Roses and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’”) to the five-person rock band performing a full set prior to each sermon (complete with complimentary ear plugs handed out at the door), this Joplin-based church is a rock and roll-themed ministry aimed at a specific age group: 18-to-35 year old men.
“If we can get them, we win.”
“Our goal is 10 percent of the population to attend every Sunday and I have no doubt we can do that,” Mooneyham said. “We reach out to those men because they are the ones who can change the community. If we win them, we get those that are
“We got where we are by being just us,” Mooneyham said, who stands at six feet, sports a very untraditional mohawk and is built like a college linebacker. “We keep it simple. We don’t have marathon sessions. We tell you the time it starts and we tell you
The church began small. Really small. It was originally launched inside Mooneyham’s living room five years ago. Just 60 months later, there are now two Sunday services reaching nearly 800 people inside a 21,000-square-foot facility located at 710 S. Maiden Lane.
Ignite Church Lead Pastor Heath Mooneyham preaches and prays while dressed in blue jeans and sweater. There’s loud rock music and thunderous sermons, but the message is the same: reaching out to other and building a relationship with Christ.
WHY WE CHOSE HEATH MOONEYHAM
HEATH MOONEYHAM, PASTOR OF IGNITE CHURCH, HAS ADDED A BIT OF ROCK, AND A BIT OF ROLL INTO HIS GOSPEL MIXTURE:
THE RESULT IS A UNIQUE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE
THAT CAN’T BE FOUND ANYWHERE IN THE FOUR
STATE
AREA. “OUR GOAL IS 10 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION TO ATTEND EVERY
SUNDAY, AND I HAVE NO DOUBT WE
Ignite Church, which began six years ago inside Mooneyham’s living room, now reaches 800 people, a vast majority young men between the ages of 18 and 35. It’s men, at that age, who can directly change the Joplin community for the better.
CAN DO THAT.”
The humor and dialogue that spices his sermons have become his calling cards, often eliciting praise from those who turn up each week to listen to him. “I had just gotten fired (in 2006) as a youth pastor for the same reason they hired me: they wanted someone who was different,” Mooneyham said. “When we started over, it was just me and my wife with two other people in my living room, but we had an idea. I wasn’t scared because I had this goal of reaching people with the gospel.” There isn’t a pulpit on the stage for Mooneyham to stand behind. Rather, like the lead man of a band during a rock concert, he
What he does during his sermons, how the church embraces music, is completely unique to Joplin. But like many other pastors, however, he never diverges from his quest of salvation for everyone. “We’re just now coming into our own and we did this by being ourselves,” Mooneyham said. “I still get nervous every time I go out there. I feel like I want to (upchuck) because I know what’s at stake there.” Mooneyham adds that the focus of the church is what brings them together every Sunday. “We are not going to pretend like we are the ones with the answer. He has the answer. That’s what we know.”
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Ambitious? Yes. But that’s how they got to where they are today. In fact, he’s more of a “bro” than he is a “father.”
While there isn’t a set scripture reading, he encourages his patrons to check the church’s iPhone app to follow along with the references he makes in his sermons.
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“We want people to still have that private relationship, but we (also) want to get them to an environment where they can still feel comfortable to reach out and have that relationship with Christ.”
is out on stage, in jeans and sweater, pacing back and forth, animated with his actions, bouncing from subject to the next with liquid precision.
M A G A Z I N E
when it’s going to end, which no other church does.
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on the cover 14 f o r ‘ 14
BY KEVIN MCCLINTOCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY B.W. SHEPHERD
14 FOR ‘14 JOPLIN’S YOUNGEST CARDIOLOGIST DECLARES WAR ON SMOKING System’s youngest cardiologists. He is also one of their most dedicated. He has made it his life’s mission to help his patients quit smoking. It was the death of his great-grandmother to cancer, and later, the death of his paternal grandfather to a heart attack, that helped steer him toward this particular field of medicine. “He did smoke a pipe and by no means lived the healthiest of lifestyles,” Dr. Longnecker said of his grandfather, “but he died young, and I have tried to make sure other families have not had to experience what mine did more than 20 years ago.” The good doctor would leap for joy if 100 percent of his patients suddenly went cold turkey and stopped smoking. But that’s obviously unrealistic. “If I can get 50 percent of them to quit, I will be very excited,” he said.
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2013
Dr. Ryan Longnecker
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M
ost 12-year-olds love to play doctor on a sibling or pet in the back yard. But for Ryan Longnecker, the instinctive urge to help and heal went well beyond simple summer past times. At the age of 12, he watched his maternal great-grandmother lose a lengthy battle to cancer. Despite the pain and trauma, he noticed the compassion shown by the physicians when treating her. “Even though she had an incurable illness, they always tried to put a positive spin on things,” Longnecker said. “They were there to make sure she did not have to deal with agonizing pain. “I was moved by their ability to make someone who was suffering feel peace prior to… death. I believe one of the most rewarding professions available is being a physician. (And) I hoped I would be able to (show compassion to others), as well.” He has. Today, Dr. Longnecker, now 37, is Freeman Health
One could probably forgive past generations for their smoking habits, when smoking was the norm and the cool thing to do; when it was a common sight on television, from actors in soap operas to newscasters discussing the daily political news. “There were even physicians who used to smoke during their office hours and during hospital rounds until the 1980s,” Longnecker said with a chuckle. “If that didn’t give a mixed message, I don’t know what would!” Today, with information so readily available at the click of a mouse, there’s simply no reason for people to smoke, particularly when faced with the much publicized consequences. “For our current generation, though, I think smoking may be as much a part of experimentation and possibly even rebellion more than just addiction. If you never try a substance, you cannot get addicted, correct? The information about the hazards of smoking is everywhere, and I do not believe most people start smoking thinking they are actually killing themselves. It would be interesting to get into the minds of young smokers to see what really prompts them to begin. We could use that knowledge to curb their initiation into a potentially fatal habit. “I think one of the scariest things I have seen in my practice is patients seem to be coming in younger and younger with advanced
WHY WE CHOSE DR. RYAN LONGNECKER DR. RYAN LONGNECKER, THE YOUNGEST CARDIOLOGIST AT FREEMAN HOSPITAL AND JOPLIN NATIVE, HAS DECLARED A PASSIONATE WAR AGAINST CANCER AND SMOKING, THANKS IN PART TO WITNESSING THE DEATH OF HIS GRANDMOTHER TO CANCER AND HIS GRANDFATHER TO HEART DISEASE. CAN GET
“IF I
50 PERCENT OF (PATIENTS) TO QUIT (SMOKING),
I WILL BE VERY EXCITED.” HE’S MEETING THAT GOAL.
cardiovascular disease. My youngest heart attack patient thus far was 24, and I have had multiple patients in their early 30s with heart attacks.” He’s had numerous patients tell him they have to smoke or their nerves will get to them, or they will gain weight if they cut off the steady supply of nicotine. Dr. Longnecker combats this by using self-reflection. What led them to smoke in the first place? Are they trying to hide other emotions? Do they want to quit smoking? “Often, I find my largest obstacle is the last question. People have to want to quit smoking before any smoking cessation can work.”
Dr. Ryan Longnecker, Joplin’s youngest cardiologist and Joplin native, forms a heart with his fingers. He has declared a one-man war against heart disease and smoking. In doing so, he has saved countless lives. cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology. He is married and has two daughters. “I grew up in Joplin and I left for various stages of my training, but the places I trained at outside Joplin never felt right. It wasn’t until I got back to Joplin to practice that I knew I was at home. “It is very rewarding to have patients who successfully stop smoking come into the office and thank me,” he continued. “Most report that not only do they feel better, but they can also taste food and smell odors (including how bad cigarette smoke really smells) since they quit.”
One tip he offers to his patients is to find something to do with their hands when they decide to quit smoking.
Once those issues have been resolved, he continued, it usually provides the best opportunity for success. “I have this conversation – this very information – with my smoking patients during most of our office visits,” he said. Dr. Longnecker was born at Freeman Hospital West, lived in Joplin and graduated from Joplin High School. He was trained at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and the St. Louis School of Medicine. He is board certified in internal medicine-
Dr. Ryan Longnecker goes over a patient’s records with nurse practitioner Heather Stilley inside Freeman Hospital in Joplin.
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2013
“I believe that muscle memory is a big factor in keeping the smoking habit going. Some people gain weight when they quit smoking, not just because they quit smoking, but also because they start eating (more). They simply replaced putting the cigarette in their mouth with candy or food. I think if they find something to do with their hands — like woodworking, making fishing lures, cross-stitching — patients will stop thinking about smoking and can actually break the muscle memory.”
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on the cover 14 f o r ‘ 14
BY BOBBIE POTTORFF PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN MCCLINTOCK
14 FOR ‘14 THE GIFT OF READING AND WRITING
“I’d like to think (illiteracy) is shrinking every year.” — Marj Boudreaux
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DECEMBER
2013
Marj Boudreaux
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“
I love what I do. I get up every morning and think about going to work and just really enjoy what I do,” says Marj Boudreaux.
“Some people are ashamed and it’s very daunting to come forward and say you need help,” she says.
Boudreaux, 78 years young, is the executive director of the Joplin National Adult Literacy Association (NALA). She is still going strong, long after many others her age have hit the retirement button.
However, those who come to Joplin NALA READ eventually develop the confidence and happiness that comes from learning these two very important skills.
A study, released in the medical journal “Neurology” last July, showed there is a direct connection between those who read and write, keeping their brains active, compared to those who don’t read and write, who suffer memory decline in old age. Boudreaux has discovered that helping people read and write is not only good for the brain’s health, it is also good for the soul.
“I’m fascinated with the reasons people learn or don’t learn,” Boudreaux says, who has been touching people’s lives for decades now, previously serving as an English instructor at Missouri Southern State University, Pittsburg State University and Ozark Christian College. “There is a great variety in tasks. You get to interact with students, tutors and other organizations.” She is quick to thank others for their time, effort and money.
Marj Boudreaux, hard at work at her desk inside her office. At 78 years of age, Marj is still going strong, helping adults learn to read and write.
WHY WE CHOSE MARJ BOUDREAUX
WITHOUT READING AND WRITING, WORLDS COULD NEVER OPEN. FOR ADULTS, THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE.
MARJ
BOUDREAUX, AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE JOPLIN NATIONAL ADULT LITERACY ASSOCIATION, HAS DEDICATED HER LIFE TO HELPING LOCAL ADULTS LERARN TO READ AND
“I’D LIKE TO THINK (ILLITERACY) IS SHRINKING
Without the help of others, she says, there just wouldn’t be a Joplin NALA.
and aligning herself with organizations such as the United Way of Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas.
“We have the only free literacy and English as a Second Language program in a radius of about 70 miles,” says Boudreaux. “The students would really be sad if we were not here. Where would they go?”
“The United Way is our major contributor,” Boudreaux says. “It really provides the foundation from which we work, which is approximately 46 percent of our total budget.”
“I’d like to think it’s [the number] shrinking every year,” says Boudreaux. “But it’s very difficult to tell.” One reason why it’s so difficult to pin down has to do with the lack of an annual survey regarding adult literacy. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy did their last survey in 2003. In that study, two of the four area states didn’t score well. The percentage of adults lacking basic literacy skills in Arkansas and Oklahoma were 14 and 12 percent respectively. The numbers in Kansas and Missouri were 8 and 7 percent. Even after 19 years of dedicating herself to such a great cause, Boudreaux continues her efforts with fundraisers, grant writing
Another major fundraiser is the annual Spell Ball. The goal of the 2014 Spell Ball is $8,000. Anyone who has done fundraising knows how much work goes into it. Boudreaux, however, doesn’t take the credit for all the hard work. She says the work they do wouldn’t happen if she didn’t have great employees, volunteers and companies giving their time and money. So how does she keep up the pace at an age when so many are winding down and enjoying a quiet life of retirement?
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Joplin NALA helps more than 140 people each year. About 100 students seek help there, and more than 40 students come from the Lafayette House in the Family Literacy Outreach program.
2013
Marj Boudreaux takes a quick break from as busy day to speak with good friend and Adult Education and Literacy Coordinator Linda Dishman.
DECEMBER
EVERY YEAR.”
“I have meditation time,” says Boudreaux. “It’s a quiet time of reflection and that helps me through the day.” The determination by the students to improve their lives is also an inspiration for her to continue doing what she loves. “I have been told to keep doing it as long as I enjoy it. And I do really enjoy it.”
M A G A Z I N E
WRITE.
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on the cover 14 f o r ‘ 14
WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY RYAN RICHARDSON
14 FOR ‘14
SEEING THE LIGHT FOR VISION DISABLED
Chip Hailey
C
There are three white identification canes in a corner near his door. On his desk sits a digital reading device primed to a chapter of an audiobook he’s listening to. In a tight leather-bound case, a blind-assistive keyboard sits ready to go for Chip’s next command. Though, upon closer inspection, the surroundings show a life far beyond Hailey’s blind disability.
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2013
hip Hailey sits inside an office filled with tools to help him through his day.
There’s a picture of United States Sen. Roy Blunt and Hailey standing together. Several items commemorating his years of dedicated service to countless organizations line the walls. His phone constantly rings. During these phone conversations, he is soft-spoken, yet assertive. As a Joplin community leader and advocate for the disabled,
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Hailey roars like no other. Hailey has worked at the Independent Living Center in Joplin for more than 15 years, acting as a liaison between those searching for help with their disabilities and the communities they reside in. During that time, he has been a chairperson for the Missouri Council of the Blind, where he still plays an active role. He also holds a position on the Wolfner Library Advisory Council, which is a Missouri-based, government-funded library focused on men and women with reading disabilities, board member for the Missouri Assistive Technology Council and gives time on the Missouri Friendship Council of the Blind. That’s a lot of hats, but Hailey’s okay with that. As he puts it, he’s simply an educator. “We’re here fighting for people’s eligibility rights and we are keeping people in their homes when that could possibly be
Chip Hailey has become a helpful advocate for those who are visually impaired.
WHY WE CHOSE CHIP HAILEY
CHIP HAILEY, A JOPLIN MAN, HAS OVERCOME SEEMINGLY INSURMOUNTABLE OBSTACLES WITH HIS TWO EYE INJURIES AND HAS MADE A SUCCESSFUL LIFE FOR HIMSELF.
HE COULD
HAVE STOPPED THERE. INSTEAD, HE HAS HELPED COUNTLESS OTHERS OVERCOME THOSE SAME OBSTACLES. AN EDUCATOR FOR THE BLIND. DISABILITY,”
HE IS ALSO
“IT ISN’T EXPLAINING THE
HAILEY LIKES TO SAY, “BUT IT IS EXPLAINING
Chip Hailey, who lost his vision when he was in his 20s, works on a blind-assistive keyboard sitting in his lap. Hailey utilizes groundbreaking technology to help him flourish in life.
HOW WE ARE NORMAL.”
“It was two events that you couldn’t have ever thought could happen and I was fully blind in my 20s. At the time, surgery couldn’t have done anything to save (them),” Hailey says. “But being visually impaired myself has led me to be an advocate for people on the local, state and national level.”
“We have seen it since the (May 22, 2011) tornado that businesses were able to make things accessible and the service in Joplin has come through stronger,” Hailey says. “This community is helpful, but there are still barriers. But that’s why we’re still here, standing up for them.
Hailey focuses a great deal of his time and effort learning new technology and applying it to both his life and others with vision disabilities.
“A person with a disability will always have to educate other and its finding empathy, to know what it is like to be on both sides. It isn’t explaining the disability, but it is explaining how we are normal.”
2013 DECEMBER
To that end, the Joplin resident is focused on using the internet as a platform to help others. He is focused on accessibility and making sure that information is readily available to anyone that needs it.
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Hailey wasn’t born blind. Because of two debilitating sports accidents when he was younger, he completely lost his sight by the time he was 25. The first accident occurred during a game of baseball, when a black-taped ball hit him square in the eye; eventually he lost that eye. Years later, he severely injured his other eye during a football game. He didn’t fully lose vision in that eye until an unfortunate bout of pneumonia detached and damaged the retina beyond repair.
“Technology has changed so much in 30 years and it is difficult for anyone to stay up on it,” Hailey says. “But things like smart phones are incredible. I can wave to my iPhone and it will tell me my surroundings. My computer reads to me. The GPS tells me where I need to go by foot. I have an app that I can take a picture of something and it will tell me what it is. It identifies the color of my clothes or it can identify the money I get back at a restaurant. That was impossible 15 years ago. Now it is technology the disabled uses to assist them.”
M A G A Z I N E
jeopardized,” Hailey says. “We keep up on state changes and we let people know what is out there to help them. It can be scary for some people to not know where to turn to and we put that information in their hands. We educate them on what can be done in their situation.”
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on the cover 14 f o r ‘ 14
BY KEVIN MCCLINTOCK PHOTOGRAPHY SUBMITTED
14 FOR ‘14 HUNTER...AND HUNTING TELEVISION STAR television show called “The Quest” The show airs locally at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays via KSN-TV. Six years ago, Altman — he is known as “Smack” by his buddies — had just closed shop on his Neosho-based taxidermy business. He was hoping to make a living in the hunting industry. He was able to accomplish that goal thanks in part to his close friendship with Brad Gannaway, the owner of Pro Outfitters, based in Mound City in northwest Missouri.
Dusty Altman
J
oplin’s Dusty Altman’s first exposure to hunting was at the age of 4, stalking imaginary prey in his grandmother’s back yard, gripping his trusty Red Ryder BB gun.
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“My love for hunting started at a very young age and now has become an important part of my life,” he says with a smile, thinking about those memories of cradling that BB gun. “I don’t believe I actually harvested an animal until the age of 7, using my grandfather’s .22 caliber rifle.”
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From there, “the addiction quickly grew to hunting rabbits, quail, pheasants and on to turkey and deer as I got older.” But hunting isn’t just about the hunt or the harvest. “It’s hard to describe,” Altman says, who was born and raised in nearby Neosho. “It’s the sunrises and the sunsets; the interaction with wildlife and being able to experience nature face to face. All too often we get caught up in the every day hustle and grind of our busy lives, and we don’t take advantage of the opportunity that hunting offers us.” Once you have experienced a hunt with rifle or bow in hand, he promised, “you will understand.” Altman is directly bringing his personal hunting experiences — as well as those of his hunting buddies — to a wide audience via the
“I started off doing whatever it was I could do in the beginning to make my way in the industry. Brad at the time was looking for a cameraman/guide for his outfitting business in northwest Missouri, and I was the newbie that got stuck doing whatever it was that needed done for the everyday operations of the outfitting business. In the beginning, the guides were the dishwashers, the bathroom cleaners and the cooks, as well as full time guides. We have definitely come a long way since those days!” Because they filmed the guided hunts for the hunters who paid for their services, it only made sense to use that footage to create a hunting show: “The Quest.” Said Altman, “It was an idea that came about during a conversation between Brad and myself while we were on a bear hunt in Maine. We were reminiscing about the crazy hectic schedule we’d inherited with the continual growth of the outfitting business as well as us trying to find time to fulfill our own needs to hunt. Whether we are climbing in a tree stand to deer hunt or sitting in a turkey blind to fill our own turkey tags, we both thought this could make for some good television.” Each episode consists of a storyline of a particular hunt. Sometimes the hunts go about as planned. Other times... “It turns out in a way that you would never expect,” Altman said with a chuckle. “We capture the story how it happens in reality and transfer that story to television. No scripts, just pure, in-yourface family friendly hunting experiences.” Also, unlike other outdoor television shows, local hunters can
WHY WE CHOSE DUSTY ALTMAN
NEOSHO’S DUSTY ALTMAN IS WELL ON HIS WAY TO CREATING A
DUCK DYNASTY-LIKE FRANCHISE ON THE
TELEVISION SET, AND HE DOESN’T EVEN NEED A BEARD TO DO IT.
ALTMAN (OR “SMACK” AS HIS FRIENDS CALL HIM) IS
A REGULAR ON ON
“THE QUEST” HUNTING SHOW ON SUNDAYS
KSNF-TV, A REALITY SHOW CONCERNING HUNTING
AND LODGING.
THE SHOW’S POPULARITY, AND DUSTY’S, CONTINUES TO GROW.
“But we wouldn’t have it any other way.” The success of “Duck Dynasty” has helped the entire hunting industry, Altman said, a 2007 Neosho High School graduate. “We appreciate the Robertson family and their TV show and thoroughly enjoy it. It’s definitely a eye opener for the general
“We wouldn’t be able to pursue our dreams without them.” Season 1 of “The Quest” was aired in Canada on the WildTV channel as well as locally on KSNF in Joplin and on Springfield’s KRBK. Season 2 kicks off on Dish Network Channel 266 on the HUNT Channel in July, 2014, as well as various local stations across Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
2013 DECEMBER
“I’m very proud to be from Southwest Missouri. The Quest would not exist without the support we receive from our families, friends local southwest Missouri sponsors and fans. We spend a lot of time away from home — whether we’e guiding or producing the show — and the support we receive locally is absolutely phenomenal.
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“It’s different from other TV (hunting) shows,” Altman said, who also serves as the show’s executive producer. “As you can imagine, being able to keep up with the scouting, booking, lodge maintenance and continual growth on 15,000 acres is definitely a full-time job keep up with, (not to mention) producing a national television show... yeah, we’re definitely very busy.
public. The common perception of a hunter is a bunch of ‘beer drinkin’, blood thirsty rednecks’ and that, of course, is no where close to what we’re about.
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book a hunt and might easily be filmed for a later “Quest” episode. In the beginning, Altman and others — including Carthage’s Ben Lansford and Diamond’s Eric Reinhart — offered and filmed guided hunts on a small Missouri lodge of roughly 7,000 acres. They now offer 15,000 acres of prime hunting property for clients from around the world. What makes the show so unique, Altman said, is that it not only shows the actual hunts, but the more unique, behind-the-scenes peeks at the operation of a hunting lodge, and how hunters prep for a hunt or relax after a successful one.
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on the cover 14 f o r ‘ 14
BY BOBBIE POTTORFF PHOTOGRAPHY SUBMITTED
14 FOR ‘14
OPPORTUNITY COMES FROM INSPIRATION
“A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendships, and he who plants kindness gathers love.” — Saint Basil.
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Bryan Vowels
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A
ccording to the Greek philosopher Plato, “Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.”
Those words were never truer than when spoken about 43-year-old Joplin native Bryan Vowels. Vowels is a behind-the-scenes kind of guy and doesn’t like the limelight. He only agreed to be the subject of this profile because the attention is good for those he helps. He and his wife, Leticia, have three children, and in their daily lives they make it a point to give back to the Joplin community in a meaningful way. “I strongly believe none of us are better than others,” says Vowels. “We all have different skills, talents, weaknesses and experiences
that shape us. The key is in the attitude you have. Are you going to let your experiences turn you into a victim or are you going to embrace them and use them with your God-given skills and talents to make a difference for others.” With his can-do attitude, Vowels and his wife founded ASPIRE of Southwest Missouri. ASPIRE stands for Assisting Single Parents in Realizing Education. Their mission is to “support single parents in attaining an education –— opening the doors to careers that enhance their families’ lives.” “The thing I love about this program,” Vowels says, “is it gives a hand up — not a hand out.” ASPIRE currently offers scholarships of $1,000 per semester with a $250 bonus for students with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
WHY WE CHOSE BRYAN VOWELS
BRIAN IS ONE THOSE “BEHIND-THE-SCENES” GUYS THAT
CAN UNDERSTAND.
HE ENDED UP DOING IT SO WE COULD
SPOTLIGHT THE NEEDS OF SINGLE PARENTS AND STEER HELP
Since 2010, they have awarded more than $80,000 in scholarships to 40-plus students. The program originally began as a single parent scholarship fund under the direction of the United Way, before morphing into ASPIRE. It was an idea Vowels says was borrowed from Ralph Nesson, the director of the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Program. Vowels and his wife were inspired by watching her mother juggle together family and work while going back to school as a single parent. Every June, those with ASPIRE hosts a “Celebration of Success” event. “(It) celebrates the achievements of our students and lets them know the community is proud of their hard work,” Vowels says. “It also allows us to turn 150 to 200 people in the community into ambassadors for the program.” The couple often witness single parents entering the program with low self-esteem and sometimes even fear. But when they graduate, they have overcome that fear and are ready to take on the world. “Sometimes it just takes the belief that someone is in your corner to overcome your fears and obstacles,” says Vowels.
Vowels, senior vice president and branch manager for Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC., says he’s lucky to have a great career he’s passionate about. He says it gives him flexibility to participate in the community. Along with his career and his faith, Vowels has the support of his wonderful wife. “I believe both Leticia and I view our time and positions as not belonging to us,” he says. “We are stewards of what we have been given and we try our best to balance what we have been given between family, career and community.” Other organizations Vowels is involved with Connect2Culture, Rebuild Joplin and Bright Futures.
include
2013
BECAUSE HE DIDN’T WANT THE FOCUS ON HIM, WHICH WE
“I have found that if you are involved in organizations that you believe in, it morphs time,” says Vowels. “What I mean by that is if you are doing things you really enjoy, it brings energy to other areas of your life and allows you to do more.”
“Bright Futures is an amazing experiment that started in Joplin to bring the broad community together to improve the lives of children,” says Vowels. “The results to date have been incredible and now we have seen this experiment become a movement.”
DECEMBER
ORIGINALLY, BRIAN TURNED DOWN THIS STORY
Rebuild Joplin is another organization close to his heart. This group formed in the aftermath of the Joplin tornado.
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IN RETURN.
turn, the Vowels’ feel inspired.
“The tornado was our darkest day,” Vowels says. “But it sparked something that was humbling to experience. It spoke to the hard work and character of our citizens. I have never been prouder of our community than how we came together to support each other. That was the strongest sense of community I have ever experienced.”
M A G A Z I N E
DOES SO MUCH FOR SO MANY FOR SO LITTLE ACCOLADES
It’s a reciprocal relationship, really. The single parents grow. In 33
on the cover 14 f o r ‘ 14
WRITTEN BY RYAN RICHARDSON PHOTOGRAPHY SUBMITTED
14 FOR ‘14 IMPROVING LIVES HALF A WORLD AWAY
M A G A Z I N E
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DECEMBER
2013
Dr. Mandy Peak
F
or the past four years, Pittsburg State University professor Dr. Mandy Peak has found herself traveling with a small group of undergraduate students halfway across the globe to help the lives of people in need. In 2010, it was the small Central America country of Belize. In 2011 and 2013, she touched down and helped in Peru. She found herself in Romania in 2012. In 2014, her group will return to Peru for 10 days to administer dental and health services inside a makeshift clinic. The annual trips have put students face-to-face with 2,267 patients in these underserved countries. The students assist professionals with medical evaluations, triage and basic dentistry throughout during their stays.
While this program is intended for students aiming to enter the medical or dental fields, many students find themselves interacting for the first time with real people, in real situations. Despite the difficulties, Peak said that the enthusiasm for this program by the students and administrators have been incredible. “This is their first huge cultural experience and it opens their eyes,” Peak said. “These are the students that are used to whipping out their cell phones and texting their friends when they need something. Some of these places we go to do not have electricity or they are eating their lunches off floors. The students have to work through interpreters or poor working conditions to get a patient help, but they are dedicated to getting them the help they need.” That dedication is something that Peak is very familiar with.
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WHY WE CHOSE DR. MANDY PEAK
IN THE PAST FOUR YEARS, DR. MANDY PEAK AND AN PITTSBURG STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 2,200 PEOPLE IN CENTRAL
“THE BEST PART OF THIS IS
WORKING WITH THESE CHILDREN AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE
For Peak, this is a project she is completely passionate about.
IN THEIR LIVES.”
“If I wasn’t a teacher, I could still see myself overseas volunteering and helping out,” Peak said. “I love that interaction with meeting new people and I love interacting with the little kids in these villages.”
The program involves a lot of planning and organization that has continued to evolve since its first year. Part of it is assisting young students with the basics, such as obtaining a passport. The other part is dealing with the conditions of a third-world country. Due to those conditions, Peak often travels abroad with sheets, clothespins and rope to assist in makeshift privacy areas for the patients they will see.
After a day spent treating villagers, Peak always brings something special for the local children.
It also keeps curious eyes away. “Imagine if you were in this small village that is farming-based. That’s your life. They are excited to see something new, something different,” Peak said. “By the time we get everything set up, we usually have a line going.” During their visits, they will usually work out of schools, churches or other community buildings, Peak said. Medical treatment isn’t usually readily available to the people they serve. “In parts of Belize, if you lose a hand, you hop on a bus and drive for some time to get medically treated,” Peak said. “There isn’t emergency transportation like there is here. It can be jarring to realize what situation that these people are in. But that’s why we are here. Our goal is to have a global impact and a student impact.
“The best part of this is working with these children and making a difference in their lives. I always break out the coloring books and crayons at the end of the day for these kids. I want to see them smile from it.”
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TO FAMILIES AND CHILDREN.
We are giving our students clinical experience and we are also getting medical attention to developing country.”
DECEMBER
AMERICA, PROVIDING MUCH-NEEDED MEDICAL ATTENTION
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HAVE AIDED MORE THAN
M A G A Z I N E
ASSORTMENT OF
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on the cover 14 f o r ‘ 14
BY KEVIN MCCLINTOCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY CURTIS ALMETER
14 FOR ‘14 BRIDGING GAP BETWEEN COLLEGE LIFE AND LIFE CAREER for the work world. We connect their experience and expertise with students through events, presentations and storytelling. We also host professional development luncheons, career fairs, etiquette dinners and a variety of workshops.” Brown and those at the office have worked tirelessly to educate students about the aid they can provide. And those students are listening. In the last two years, student utilizing services has increased by 50 percent in the last two years, Brown says. She also estimates that 60 percent of students find either a fulltime or part-time job through the “Hire a Lion” job network offered to students and alumni.
M A G A Z I N E
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DECEMBER
2013
Nicole Brown
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T
here’s a misconception out there that once you graduate from a university with diploma in hand, a job is automatically waiting for you. Obviously that’s not the case. “It’s funny you should say that — I think there are a lot of students out there that think that, too,” says Nicole Brown, who serves as director of career services for Missouri Southern State University. Thankfully, the help Career Services provides for MSSU student is no myth. The department serves as an instrumental bridge in leading a student from school studies to a lucrative career abroad. “The job market is tough and constantly changing. We help students gather the tools needed to be competitive,” Brown continues. “I am really lucky; I work with a lot of great community professionals that are passionate about helping students prepare
“I love a challenge; Career Services was really underutilized when I came to MSSU and I could see a huge potential. I have a really great team that has made the vision a reality,” she says. “We host a Spring Career Fair in March and really want students to take advantage of the opportunity to get in front of employers. A lot of seniors don’t want to think about a job until after graduation, but by then they may have missed the hiring cycle for employers looking for recent graduates.” Brown got into this line of work because, simply stated, she loves helping people. She cherished helping families navigate the college admission process while working at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. “When the position came open at MSSU, I really liked the idea of helping people accomplish (that) next step, from attending college to landing their dream job,” Brown says. “The school I graduated from did not have a Career Services Office; I can remember feeling really overwhelmed with the job search process and not really knowing where to start. I love being able to empower people to accomplish their goals.”
WHY WE CHOSE NICOLE BROWN
FINDING A JOB IS HARD ENOUGH, BUT NICOLE BROWN HAS WORKED FINGERS TO THE BONE TRYING TO LINK
MISSOURI
SOUTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS WITH LIFE-LOVING CAREERS.
STUDENTS UTILIZING HER SERVICES ON THE
MSSU CAMPUS HAVE INCREASED BY 50 PERCENT IN THE LAST
24 MONTHS, WHICH PARTLY IS THE REASON WHY
SHE NABBED THE
2013 YOUNG PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR AWARD.
The third group — Super Leader Young Professionals — just
“I was completely shocked and surprised” by the honor, Brown says. “I tend to see myself as working behind the scenes and doing what needs to be done. I assume no one really knows who did it or how it was done, but they appreciate the end result. I was told a lot of people nominated me for the honor and that was extremely humbling.”
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“I was finishing up Leadership Joplin and wanted to give students a similar experience. I saw a great opportunity to link students to the Joplin community and used Leadership Joplin as a model. Many times students have one or two companies they think their major will fit in with, or they may think there are no career opportunities for them in Joplin. I wanted to show them how great Joplin really is. I wanted them to fall in love with Joplin, to work here and become our future leaders.”
In recognition of her hard work, Brown was honored earlier this year with the 2013 Young Professional of the Year award from the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professional Network.
Brown was born in Lebanon, Ind. and was raised on a hobby farm, showing horses. She attended Missouri Valley College on a rodeo scholarship, and received a Bachelor’s Degree in agricultural business. Later, she received a Master’s degree in business management from Lindenwood University. Her husband, Jeff Brown, teaches at Joplin High School. They live on a small farm outside Joplin. “MSSU is an incredible place to work. The old adage of ‘it takes a village’ is definitely the case in helping students be successful in the job market,” she says. “Our student success relies on faculty, staff, alumni and area employers investing time in our students.”
DECEMBER
Aside from growing Southerns’ Career Services department, Brown was also one of the founders of the highly successful “Super Leaders” program.
“To my knowledge we are the only ones” with a program like Super Leaders anywhere in Missouri, she says.
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“There are many times that I run into a student I have worked with in their job and that is very satisfying. There is always that double take moment when you see this professional working and realize that was someone you worked with. It’s always fun to stop and talk to them and hear how much they love what they are doing.”
completed the program during the last week of November.
M A G A Z I N E
In her three years at MSSU, she has helped countless graduates fine good paying jobs. Just recently, she coached a student who had a very professional demeanor and a great personality but deflated and lost all confidence when she mocked interview him for a job. Seeing that, she coached the young man and built up his confidence. He later landed an internship and shortly after was given a full-time position.
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on the cover 14 f o r ‘ 14
BY BOBBIE POTTORFF PHOTOGRAPHY SUBMITTED
14 FOR ‘14 TRENDSETTER AND A TRAILBLAZER FOR WOMEN EVERYWHERE
M A G A Z I N E
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DECEMBER
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Glenna Wallace
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S
he doesn’t really look at herself as a trailblazer, but by definition and action, that’s exactly what Glenna Wallace embodies.
“I will admit that the word ‘first’ often pops up in my life,” she says. Some of those “firsts” were personal achievements: First female in her family to graduate from high school; first female to go to college and the first female to graduate from college. But quickly her name and accomplishments went public: She was the first female to be speaker at many events such as high school graduations; she was included in the first group of women in the Tri-State Area to be designated Ten Outstanding Women; she was also the first woman in Neosho to organize an all female Financial Investment Club.
But her most unique “first,” of course, was being the first female to be elected Chief of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe. Born at home in Ottawa County, Wallace has lived within 15 miles of her birthplace for most of her life, with the exception of a three-year stint on the west coast. Her time spent there, she says, taught her some life-long values, mainly, “a strong work ethic, desire for options in life, management of finances, acceptance of equality of all races and gender equality.” Education is at the heart of everything Wallace does. She chose education as a career because she wanted options in her life; options her parents didn’t have due to the lack of an education; neither finishing high school. “They had few employment options in life,” says Wallace. “Consequently, they were extremely financially poor.
WHY WE CHOSE GLENNA WALLACE
WE CHOSE GLENNA WALLACE BECAUSE OF WHAT SHE’S BEST KNOWN FOR
— THE FIRST-EVER FEMALE TO BE ELECTED
CHIEF OF THE EASTERN SHAWNEE TRIBE. WE ALSO CHOSE HER FOR THE ADDITIONAL
“FIRSTS” SHE’S ACCOMPLISHED,
SOME OF THEM DONE IN THE PUBLIC ARENA, SOME OF THEM ACCOMPLISHED QUIETLY IN HER PERSONAL LIFE.
SHE IS A
TRAILBLAZER, THROUGH AND THROUGH.
Along with a lengthy and busy career in education, Wallace is also a three-time cancer survivor.
“This travel afforded me education and perspective that has been invaluable as Chief ,” says Wallace. “Crowder College and the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma have afforded me more opportunities than I could have possibly attained elsewhere.” Education remains a priority for Wallace. The tribe annually spends about $1.5 million each year scholarships, grade incentives, special junior and senior year expenses as well as graduation awards. “We have tribal citizens in almost every state receiving these scholarships,” Wallace says. “Many have completed a college degree, some a masters, some a doctorate. We now have several graduates who work for the tribe. This is a dream come true.”
“I have been a widow for over 25 years so I do whatever I can to strengthen my community,” says Wallace. “I have three children, seven grandchildren who all grew up in this community, all went to Seneca schools and now I have great grandchildren in this community. It’s only natural that I want a healthy community for them. “I don’t deliberately set out to influence anyone,” she continues. “It is important to me to be known as dependable; willing to help however I can; to be of good humor; to help and encourage fellow human beings; and to treat others as I like to be treated.”
2013 DECEMBER
During her career at Crowder College, Wallace served as director of foreign travel. That enabled her to travel to nearly 70 countries and to be an exchange teacher in Australia.
Somehow, Wallace also finds the time to serve other important organizations in the community, including the InterTribal Council of Ottawa County as well as the Claremore (Okla.) Indian Hospital Health Board. She also serves on a steering committee in Ohio seeking to achieve World Heritage status for several pieces of land sacred to her ancestors.
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Wallace found out just how far her love of education could take her.
“I am a better person because of cancer,” she says. “I have more compassion, I am more optimistic and I am more adventurous because of it. I try to make the most of every single day and I certainly don’t take things for granted.”
M A G A Z I N E
“Teachers were the only role models I had,” she recalls. “I always enjoyed learning. If I could instill that love of learning along with confidence in others and get paid for it, how could there be anything better?”
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on the cover 14 f o r ‘ 14
BY BOBBIE POTTORFF PHOTOGRAPHY BY B.W. SHEPHERD
14 FOR ‘14
HIS HEART IS IN IT Dr. Jose De Hoyos, a cardiologist for Mercy, preps for a catheterization procedure.
“I was in the HPSP (Health Professions Scholarship Program) and I wanted to be a surgeon,” says De Hoyos. “And with that, I was in the Army for 15 years.”
M A G A Z I N E
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DECEMBER
2013
Dr. Jose De Hoyos
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H
ave you ever met one of those people who just makes you smile the minute you meet them?
What about someone who never seems to let anything bother them? You know, the “too-good-to-be-true” type of person? The minute you sit down with Dr. Jose De Hoyos, a cardiologist with Mercy Hospital, you’ll understand that such people do exist in this world. They are not an apparition. When telling him about the nice things people say about him, his face turns crimson, and he quickly tells you he is the way he is because of all he’s been given in life. “All that I have is a blessing,” says De Hoyos. “The one who lives within me reflects all that I do.” From a very young age, he has always liked science. And it was his decision to join the U.S. Army that helped him make that dream come true.
While in medical school, De Hoyos learned a very important lesson about medicine that immediately humbled and changed him. “Doctors can heal,” he says. “But there is only one that can save. That shook me to the core. It was the basic truth about life.” De Hoyos hails from Puerto Rico. His mother hails from New York, while his father was born in Puerto Rico. He came to America in 1992, and he tells a funny story about arriving in El Paso where he was stationed after joining the Army. “The plane was small and the flight very rough,” he says, chuckling. “I looked around and it was nothing but desert. I didn’t know where El Paso was and (it) wondered if we were (even) in the right place.” De Hoyos says the military taught him structure and discipline. But it was his family who taught him to care for his patients by using his heart. He cares for his patients and staff in the same devoted manner he loves and cares for his own family. “Having the ability to see the world through someone’s eyes,” says De Hoyos, is the reason he thinks his patients and staff speak so highly of both him and his bedside manner.
A glimpse inside Mercy’s cardiac catheterization surgery room.
WHY WE CHOSE DR. JOSE DE HOYOS
DR. JOSE DE HOYOS, SEEING ONE OF HIS PATIENT’S SHIVERING FROM NERVES, CRAWLED ONTO THE HOSPITAL BED WITH HIM AND SPOKE TO HIM PRIVATELY, CALMLY, ABOUT AN
HE OFTEN SAYS.
AND THEY DO.
One patient revealed that while in the hospital, De Hoyos laid beside him in the hospital bed and gently explained the situation about the man’s heart and what was going to happen with an upcoming surgical procedure. “That sounds a little weird, doesn’t it?” De Hoyos remarks. “But it’s about being with them as they’re going through something traumatic – being on their level. None of us are better or worse than the other. We are just different.” De Hoyos decided to leave the Army for the private sector because, as he moved up the chain of command — eventually reaching the rank of Lt. Colonel — there was less doctoring and more administering. The latter wasn’t something he wanted to do for an extended amount of time. When he left the military, he moved to San Antonio, where he met his future wife, at the time a practicing nurse. He jokes that all he could remember about her at the time was that her last name sounded like a cookie. Her name was Leah Graham. Leah’s father was a heart surgeon in Joplin — and not just any heart surgeon, either. Dr. Joseph Graham worked with Dr. Mitch Stinnett in the first heart and vascular surgical group at St. John’s Regional Medical Center (now Mercy).
“Dr. Stinnett called me and said come on up here,” says De Hoyos. “He can be very persuasive. One patient told me to keep my wife happy, but my father-in-law said I also had to do what was right for my career.” De Hoyos says it was truly God’s blessing that brought him and Leah to Joplin. Shortly after the move, Leah’s father was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The two were able to care for her father at the end of his life. “God gives you these tests as you go through life,” he says. “He’s always testing us. But he always answers us, as well. It might take some time to get that answer, but it will come in some way.” For De Hoyos, that answer came after the 2011 tornado. His home and place of business were destroyed. He was left wondering about his family’s future. But something he found in the rubble of his home answered his anxieties. Twenty years earlier, a patient of his had given him a plaque with a Bible verse written on it: For I know the plans I have for you “declares the Lord.” Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
2013
— TRULY LOVE AND RESPECT HIM. “DOCTORS CAN HEAL,”
That plaque was left untouched inside his bookcase, undisturbed by the chaos and destruction that tore the rest of his home to pieces. De Hoyos believed right then the Lord had fortified his faith. “The Lord knew 20 years ago that I was going to need those specific words at that exact time in my life,” he says. “One thing I know for sure is that the body goes away, but the soul remains.”
DECEMBER
— AND THE ALL-IMPORTANT NURSING STAFF
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HIS PATIENTS
In 2009, the couple was given the opportunity to move to Joplin to be near Leah’s parents. They jumped at the opportunity.
M A G A Z I N E
UPCOMING PROCEDURE. IT’S EXAMPLES LIKE THIS ONE WHY
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on the cover 14 f o r ‘ 14
BY CAROL STARK CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS LAURIE SISK
14 FOR ‘14
HELPING AN ENTIRE COMMUNITY REBUILD connecting community resources with students and families in need. The mission was not only to get Joplin School District’s graduation rate up, but to help increase school attendance and make sure that student’s basic needs outside the classroom were met. Backpack programs were created so that extra food could be sent home to kids in need over weekends when they might not be getting enough to eat. Through business partners and volunteers, mentors were assigned and needs were being met. Nearby school districts applied the Bright Futures program and in February of 2011, the non-profit organization Bright Futures USA had been formed. The program is being used in 18 communities throughout Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Virginia.Hogan credits Bright Futures as laying the groundwork for another resource-based group that would be forming and would see challenges no one had ever imagined. “There was no shortage of things to be done the night the tornado hit Joplin,” Hogan said as he described the chaos and terror in the hours after an EF-5 tornado ripped through Joplin and Duquesne, destroying some 8,000 homes and killing 161 people.
M A G A Z I N E
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DECEMBER
2013
Jerrod Hogan
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B
efore Bright Futures even had a name, Jerrod Hogan was a co-chair.
Before Rebuild Joplin had even been formed, Jerrod Hogan was among those who saw the need for resource sharing in the first days after the deadly May 22,2011, tornado hit Joplin. And, before riders were even thinking about signing up for an 800-mile bike ride to New Orleans, Hogan had a plan for how JOMONOLA would change the lives of those who participated in the fundraiser aimed at building new homes.It’s been quite a journey of community networking for the 36-year-old project surveyor and vice president at for Anderson Engineering. So what’s next for Hogan? Well, one has to understand what he’s done in the past 3 ½ years to really see inside this purpose-driven Joplin man. Hogan now serves on the Bright Futures USA board. But in 2010, he was part of a new group called Bright Futures that was
“I went to Missouri Southern where I knew they were setting up a shelter. In the next few days, it became clear there was a need for a central place where we could link up resources. A group of us started looking for something meaningful we could do,” Hogan said. Taking their cue from what Bright Futures had done, this group of 30-plus got a website up that linked every known avenue of help. A week later, Hogan was sure that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was going to shut them down. “I was asked to take the site down. Well, I had no intentions of doing that, so I asked if they had really seen how this worked. That’s when we explained the concept that was the beginnings of Rebuild Joplin. Not only did we keep the site going, FEMA made us the hub for Joplin.” Rebuild Joplin is a non-profit agency partnered with the St. Bernard Project in New Orleans to provide recovery and rebuilding. Hogan said the organization exists only to help bring people home. Hogan has always acted in the role of CEO of Rebuild although it has had several different directors beginning with Garen McMillian, who Hogan credits with doing an
Why we chose Jerrod Hogan
Rebuild Joplin co-founder Jerrod Hogan stands in front of a map representing the multitude of AmeriCorps volunteers who have helped his agency since the 2011 tornado.
Look for Hogan to continue leadership in Bright
outstanding job of laying the framework. Chad Carson now oversees the daily operations of Rebuild Joplin in its office at Seventh Street and Illinois Avenue. Hogan quickly brushes aside credit. “This isn’t about me being a good person. It’s about the good people who surround me,” he said. “It’s about the continuation of finding more and more good people and connecting them with others. That’s how this program works.” Since those dark days following the tornado, Rebuild Joplin has helped bring 110 people home. That’s somewhere between 250 to 300 individuals who are either in new homes or homes that have been rehabilitated.
Hogan said he has been fortunate to meet incredible, insightful people in his quest to help Joplin rebuild. Some of those were people he rode next to in an 800-mile bike ride in in the early summer that started in Joplin and ended in New Orleans. Hogan and his wife, Melissa, were among the 50 riders who stepped up to the challenge and raised money for Joplin, St. Bernard Project, and homes hit by Hurricane Sandy . Neither Hogan nor his wife were cyclists, but shared the road with others whose philosophies mirrored those. They wanted to be advocates of change. Look for another bicycle ride to New Orleans in 2014, only this time it will likely raise money for even more places hit by natural disasters.
Funding received is all private donations, and Hogan says money today is more difficult to find that it was in the beginning.
The enormity for need has had an effect on Hogan, one that will likely continue long after Rebuild Joplin exists.
“There was a time, when you said you needed $100,000 and an organization or corporation would write a check for $250,000. That’s not the case now,” he said.
“I have learned that most of us are really just two life events from poverty, Hogan said.
Rebuild Joplin got a much-needed infusion of cash and help earlier this year when Farmer’s Insurance partnered with rebuild. That, Hogan said, has pushed Rebuild forward. Part of Farmer’s initiative was to oversee the writing of a “playbook” for recovery that will be used across the nation when disaster strikes. Hogan says that playbook will be ready for review by the end of December.
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“Sometimes it was just a matter of putting on a new roof. But in some cases it was a whole house,” Hogan said.
Hogan also hopes the need for Rebuild Joplin ends in 2014. It was a goal he had hoped to achieve in 2013, but only recently has discovered that there may be as many as 100 homes in the tornado affected area that need to be rehabbed or rebuilt.
2013
poverty in the Joplin area.
Jerrod Hogan looks over a chart representing how many homes have been constructed and how many still await construction since May 2011.
DECEMBER
to local efforts being made to break the cycle of
“My thoughts about the way I live have changed. I have better reasons for being a better husband and a better father, Hogan said. Hogan says there are those who need help and those who want to help. “Maybe my role in life is just to connect the two.”
M A G A Z I N E
Futures and Rebuild Joplin, and add his efforts
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package
2 013 : A L O O K BAC K BY KEVIN MCCLINTOCK PHOTOGRAPHY BY T. ROB BROWN AND ROGER NOMER
L 20 13 king back at the year that was As the curtains come down on 2013, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the people, events and stories that helped define Joplin and the surrounding area over the last 12 months.
JANUARY
Joel Barrett works on thick precast exteriors for the new Mercy Hospital. The thickness of the exterior of the new hospital will make it more weather resistant.
• SUNDAY, JAN. 6 • Two dogs, Baxter and Bella, helped keep Ryle Smith, 6, alive on a cold, bitter night when he got lost in the woods near his Seneca home. It prompted a five-hour search. “I wasn’t scared,” the boy said. “Bella was my guard dog and Baxter was next to me the whole time.”
M A G A Z I N E
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DECEMBER
2013
Photo by Roger Nomer
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• MONDAY, JAN. 7 • Nineteen months and 15 days after the May tornado destroyed their church, members of the Peace Lutheran Church gathered for a ground-breaking ceremony at the new church site, North St. Louis Avenue. The ceremony closed with the hymn “All Are Welcome.”
• THURSDAY, JAN. 10 • It was learned the May tornado had racked up more than $1.65 billion in damages and was projected to exceed $2 billion. The storm is ranked the largest insurance event in Missouri history.
• SATURDAY, JAN. 12 • Nearly 20 months after being leveled in the May 2011 tornado, the rebuilt Joplin Elks Lodge 501, 1802 W. 26th St., was open for business. Charlie Sorenson, president of the Joplin Lodge, gave thanks “to lodges throughout Missouri and actually throughout the country for their support after the tornado.” Four Lodge members lost their lives inside the building on May 22, 2011.
FEBRUARY • FRIDAY, FEB. 8 • Reactions from local
Photo by Roger
Nomer
residents were mixed upon hearing the Postal Service would be eliminating Saturday mail, cutting back to five days a week for mail delivery.
• WEDNESDAY, FEB. 13 • Rebuild Joplin celebrated the completion of its 60th home since the May 2011 tornado. The home is located at 2501 S. Annie Baxter Ave. • SATURDAY, FEB. 23 • A Sarcoxie School Board member, John R. Lewis, 67, was in federal custody on a charge of possession of child pornography. Lewis was a former associate professor at Missouri Southern State University. • WEDNESDAY, FEB. 27 • Area residents welcomed the first major snowfall in two years, when four inches of wet snow fell from the clouds.
Troy and 2-year-old Addilyn Jorgensen marvel at the snowfall during a walk in Murpheysburg.
MARCH • SATURDAY, MARCH 2 • The Carl Junction Bulldogs rally from a 14-point deficit to beat the Carthage Tigers 65-60 in overtime to win the Class 4 District championship. Travis Vogt lead the Bulldogs with 30 points.
Photo by T. Rob Br own Robert A. Montgomery, of Branson, a Silver Dollar City employee, yells with excitement as a train of riders comes to a stop after whirling head-overheels through a double barrel roll, one of several recordbreaking features on the new hybrid wood-steel coaster.
DECEMBER
their first ride on “Outlaw Run,” Silver Dollar City’s $10 million hybrid wood-steel coaster. The wooden coaster made theme park history by having three inversions as well as the steepest drop — 16 stories.
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• FRIDAY, MARCH 15 • Area residents got
M A G A Z I N E
Catholics celebrated their approval of the new Pope Francis, or Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, from Argentina, the first pontiff from the Americas. He was the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
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• THURSDAY, MARCH 14 • Area
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MARCH • TUESDAY, MARCH 19 • Jaden Gallagher’s word — “paladin” — helped the Nevada fifth-grader win the 2103 Joplin Globe Spelling Bee held at Central Christian Center. Silvio Venturella of Carthage and Joplin’s Kelsey Kerrigan came in second and third. In all, nearly 80 fourth- through six-graders competed in this annual event. • MONDAY, MARCH 25 • Pastor Bruce Allen, 22 months after the May 22, 2011, tornado destroyed Faith Baptist Church, looked out on his congregation members and welcomed them to the opening of their new church. Faith Baptist was one of a handful of churches destroyed by the monster storm. • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27 • The Joplin Board of Education approved a plan to redraw the district’s attendance zones, sending some students to different elementary and middle schools. Under the plan, 200 students at Jefferson, Cecil Floyd, Stapleton, McKinley and Royal Heights would be rezoned. Students at Cecil Floyd, Royal Heights, Kelsey Norman and Emerson school would be redirected to different middle schools.
Photo by T. Rob Brown Ethan K. Nichols, a Carterville Elementary School fourth grader, tries to recall the spelling of a word during the Joplin Globe Spelling Bee.
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• WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3 • Voters in the
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Webb City School District endorsed the issuance of $9 million in bonds to help finance the construction of six safe rooms, including a unique dome structure at the high school. The current debt-service levy remains at 68 cents per $100 of assessed value, but would be extended for five years.
• SATURDAY, APRIL 13 • Michael D. Findley,
Joplin when a fugitive task force caught up with him at the hotel where he had checked in as a guest. Findley was being sought for questioning about a “suspicious death” in Springfield.
• SATURDAY, APRIL 13 • Adam St. Peter, starting pitcher for the Joplin Eagles baseball team, struck out 10 and forced eight ground balls in his 6-0 nohit win over Springfield Parkview.
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MAY • SATURDAY, MAY 12 • After a 59-year hiatus, professional baseball returned to historic Joe Becker Stadium in Joplin when the Kansas City T-Bones and the Wichita Wingnuts — independent minor league
teams from the American Association — played an exhibition game on May 12. The game celebrated the 100th anniversary of the historic Joplin stadium.
MAY • SUNDAY, MAY 19 • Tyler Swaffer, an Edward Jones financial adviser in Joplin, took part in a 196-inning baseball game that set a world record and generated $75,000 for Joplin tornado relief. The game lasted 62 hours, 32 minutes and 59 seconds. St. Louis beat Joplin by a score of 250-196.
• THURSDAY, MAY 30 • Despite a search involving more than 1,000 people, the search for Fred “Freddie” Williams, 14, ended when authorities found the special-needs child in a pond just north of the Webb City High School.
JUNE • SATURDAY, JUNE 1 • Fire destroyed the Sassy Spoon restaurant on Grant Street, a part of the historic Carthage square. One fireman was taken to Mercy McCuneBrooks Hospital after he was injured fighting the blaze. Four fire departments responded to the fire.
• SATURDAY, JUNE 8 • Hundreds lined up to cool down at the grand opening of the expanded, 670,000-gallon Schifferedecker Pool. The pool features new water slides, new diving boards and fountains.
• MONDAY, JUNE 17 • Bruce Speck was no longer president of Missouri Southern State University following a unanimous vote taken during a closed board meeting by the university’s Board of Governors. Speck had two years left on his contract. Alan Marble, the retired president of Crowder College in Newton County, was named interim president several days later.
Photo by Roger
Nomer
Carthage firefighter Josh Estes rolls up a hose at the scene of a fire on the historic Carthage square.
Two-year-old Brenley Comer of Joplin reacts excitedly to being splashed by a water frog at Parr Hill Park.
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• WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26 • Joplin’s LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community and supporters celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision related to same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court struck down a provision of a federal law denying federal benefits to married gay couples. “In my mind, it is the righting of a wrong,” said AmyKay Cole with the Equality Alliance at Missouri Southern State University. “It’s long overdue.
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JULY Karl Keczkemethy throws the basketball in an attempt to win a game of “Around the World” with friend Christopher White under the cloudy sky at Schifferdecker Park in Joplin.
Photo by T.
Rob Brown
• TUESDAY, JULY 9 • Parr Hill was the last of Joplin’s parks to reopen after the tornado; the park features a new off-leash dog park and splash pad. The park is located west of Massachusetts Avenue between 15th and 18th streets.
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• WEDNESDAY, JULY 10 • More than
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1,500 trees are being planted from Campbell Parkway to Landreth Park. In all, 1,530 trees native to Southwest Missouri are being planted in clusters. Numerous trees were ripped into powder by the May 22, 2011 tornado. Photo b
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Ozark Nursery laborers John Shreve (left) and Curt Collins plant one of 67 trees delivered to Campbell Parkway. The full project includes a total of 1,530 native Missouri trees about 12 to 14 feet tall, including sycamores, birch, bur oak, red oak and a couple of maple varieties.
AUGUST • THURSDAY, AUG. 1 • The Route 66 festival kicked off in grand style with the showing of “Cars” at the Route 66 Drive-In Theater in Carthage. Jay Ward, creative director for the “Cars” franchise, and Michael Wallis, the voice of the sheriff of Radiator Springs, visited with the movie’s fans before the dusk showing. The weekend event was deemed a huge success. • MONDAY, AUG. 5 • A federal grand jury has indicted 21 defendants, including six members of a single Joplin family, in an alleged conspiracy to import near pure-methamphetamine from Mexico for distribution throughout Jasper County. • WEDNESDAY, AUG. 14 • A pet alligator was found bathing in a rain-filled pothole near the house at 1213 S. Monroe Ave. The animal was about 2-foot-long. Dan Pekarek, director of the Joplin Health Department, said it was illegal to own exotic animals such as lions, tigers and bears — and alligators.
Photo by T. Rob Brown Michael Wallis, right, co-founder of the Route 66 Alliance, gives the signal to unveil each state’s Route 66 signs on a tile mural during opening celebration of the Rt. 66 International Festival, held for the first time in Joplin.
• Missouri Southern State University athlete Brandon
• SATURDAY, AUG. 17 • A stray momma cat
Williams and Allen Barbre, Brian Moorman of Pittsburg State University and Missouri Western’s David Bass competed this year for NFL rosters, including the Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburg Steelers and the Oakland Raiders.
who made the Joplin Museum Complex its home gave birth to a litter of six kittens. Each kitten has found a new home. The father, however, is not Percy, the beloved mascot of the museum and probably Joplin’s most famed pet.
er Nomer
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Lyra Morris-Burrow, 3, hugs the new lion statue with help from her dad, Lyndall, who is the assistant tech director at Missouri Southern State University’s theatre department.
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murder were filed on top of kidnapping against Bobby Bournes Jr. in the wake of the death and autopsy of 12-year-old Adriaunna Horton, who was abducted from Hazel’s Park in Golden City days earlier, launching a massive search.
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• SATURDAY, AUG. 24 • Charges of rape and
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• TUESDAY, AUG. 20 • Officials with Missouri Southern State University unveiled the new Lion Icon statue and plaza just outside Billingsly Student Center. The statue, made of bronze, was designed by Brian Hanlon of Hanlon Sculpture Studio of New Jersey.
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AUGUST • FRIDAY, AUG. 30 • Joplin residents are dreaming boldly of converting the former site of the St. John’s Regional Medical Center into a new, upgraded museum complex. Joplin historian Allen Shirley had gathered 150 signatures of residents in support of that idea. Mercy has offered the land for an undecided community project.
Search and rescue members embrace at the search headquarters in downtown Golden City after the search for Adriaunna Horton was called off. Photo by T. Rob Brown
SEPTEMBER • SUNDAY. SEPT. 15 • Nearly $830 million has been spent on construction in Joplin since the 2011 tornado. Construction of more than 1,100 new homes have been started.
• SUNDAY. SEPT. 22 • Yancy McKnight, Bryce Darnell, Stacy (Harter) Smith and Seth Isringhausen were four sports athletes inducted into the Missouri Southern State University Hall of Fame. The university’s Hall of Fame now consists of 105 members and two teams.
• WEDNESDAY, OCT. 2 • A government
• SATURDAY, OCT. 2 • Incendiary material
shutdown perpetuated by political gridlock between Democrats and Republicans forced the closure of area parks, including the George Washington Carver National Monument near Diamond and Neosho’s National Fish Hatchery.
discovered in a bag tossed on the roof of the Planned Parenthood’s center in Joplin was listed as a failed attempt at arson. Jedediah Stout, 30, arrested in connection of two arson attempts on the Planned Parenthood center, also confessed to setting the fire back in 2012 that destroyed the Islamic Society of Joplin mosque.
• FRIDAY, OCT. 11 •
Joplin man Rondias Webb pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and related charges in the slaying of his estranged wife, Monica Webb. The shooting murder took place on Nov. 17, 2012, inside an apartment at 3415 E. 15th St.
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George Washington Carver National Monument park guide Douglas Bazar takes a photo for a group visiting from Iowa who are posing on the porch of the Carver home.
OCTOBER • SUNDAY, OCT. 13 • Nearly 600 runners take to the streets for the fourth annual Mother Road Marathon. Michael Bredehoft of Kansas and Erin Goff of Colorado were the winners of the men’s and women’s races.
baseball season, the Lions’ home will be a new, all-turf field located on campus, east of the football field and adjacent to the softball complex. The new stadium will cost an estimated $2.5 million.
A well of emotion on finishing the half-marathon comes to life on Robert Suman’s face as he receives a hug at the finish line by Gary Ice, both of Miami, Okla. This was Suman’s first halfmarathon, a lifelong dream of his. Ice had coached Suman to run in the race.
• SATURDAY, OCT. 19 • It was learned that Joplin
• WEDNESDAY, OCT. 30 • Seeking its
resident Jeffrey Slama was shot in the back after an intruder broke into his house and fatally shot him while he was trying to phone the police. The break-in occurred on Insbrook Lane, southeast of Joplin, at 8:20 a.m.
second world championship trophy in three years, the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 in game six of the World Series. It was Boston’s third world championship in 10 years.
• FRIDAY, OCT. 18 • Starting the 2015
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social studies teacher and football coach at Joplin High School, was named the winner of the $25,000 Missouri Milken Educator Award for 2013. “It’s very humbling,” he said.
T. Rob B rown
• THURSDAY, OCT. 17 • Tobin Schultz, a
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Photo by T. Rob Brown
Head Missouri Southern State University football coach Daryl Daye speaks during a memorial service in remembrance of assistant football coach Derek Moore, who was shot and killed in the parking lot of Joplin’s theater complex.
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Missouri Southern State University offensive line coach Derek Moore, 37, was shot in the parking lot of Joplin’s Northstar 14 Theatre and later died at the hospital. Jeffery L. Bruner, 39, was arrested shortly after the shooting. The Jasper County prosecuting attorney filed charges of murder and armed criminal action against Bruner. A memorial service for Moore was held on Monday, Nov. 4, at the Corley Auditorium in Webster Hall.
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• FRIDAY, NOV. 1 •
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• SATURDAY, NOV. 2 • Encouraged by Carl Junction Post Office Postmaster Sharon Clark, the Carl Junction post office sold $47,747.15 worth of stamps in this year’s national sales competition, the highest in the country, and raising money for breast cancer research. “I’m going to think about selling $48,000 next year,” Clark said.
• SUNDAY, NOV. 3 • The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills 23-13 to go 9-0 on the season under first year coach Andy Reid. The Chiefs jumped out to a 9-0 lead in 2003. That team ended the season at 13-3.
• MONDAY, NOV. 11 • The Webb City Cardinals , Seneca Indians and Lamar Tigers represented Missouri Class 4, Class 3 and Class 2 respectively in the state football championships in St. Louis. Webb City and Lamar won their games.
(from left) Julia Chowdhury of Joplin, Faiqa Kamran of Anderson and Kathryn Wilson of Joplin wait in line for food at the multi-denominational iftar dinner.
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Webb City High School JROTC students Cpl. Jacob Burton (left) and Sgt. Michael Simpson straighten out the branches on an artificial LED-lit tree as they prepare for the Military Ball that had the theme of “High Society.”
Kristal Lee, of Stillwater, Okla., fishes for paddlefish, or spoonbills, in the Neosho River on the south side of Miami, Okla.
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HOME DECOR BY KEVIN MCCLINTOCK AND RYAN RICHARDSON
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he fuss and festivities of Christmas are over. Family and friends have exited stage left. Holiday decorations are boxed and back up in the attic. And outside, the weather is colder and damper than ever, with miserable February lurking right around the corner.
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Decorating the home for long days of winter
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So how do you keep your home looking festive through the remaining dark and drab days of winter? Pretty easily, the experts will tell you. “The thing about winter and decorating is that it is important to keep things fresh,” says Justin Thomas, owner of The Wild Flower,
1832 E 32nd St. “It is a dormant season so having a little bit of starkness is fine, but remember to bring a bit of that outdoor beauty indoors.” Once the Christmas tree is removed as the living room or family room’s main centerpiece, a lot of people rearranging furniture and giving the home a sense of newness, Thomas says. “Evergreen and winter foliage can look good all winter. You can leave wintergreens up until February when Spring starts to roll around. You don’t want to leave your house looking completely bare and stark and this is a good way to help keep color in your home while keeping it season-appropriate.”
Post-Christmas Decorating Anne Shipman, floral designer for Countryside Floral, 424 S. Joplin Ave., agrees. “Don’t be afraid to keep wintergreens out and to accent them with neutral colors. Fresh wintergreens can keep that nice smell inside of the home. Candles are another great addition to a room or window. The light adds a nice ambiance and warmth to any house. “You can really focus on the smells with candles to keep a great smell going,” she says. “Apple cinnamon, sugar cookie, brown walnut (and) pecan pie are all very popular winter scents this time of year.” And just because the skies are grey and overcast and the trees outside have lost all their color, that doesn’t mean color should reflect the outdoors inside the home. When you think color, think cozy and warm colors, “snuggle” colors, such as deep purpose or red. “Don’t be afraid to use touches of color throughout your home,” Shipman says. “There’s a definite difference between Christmas and winter, so don’t be afraid to use different shades of blues or greens to really change things
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• Advance planning also gives you peace of mind and saves your family from the pressure of making emotional decisions at a difficult time. If you have ever had to arrange a funeral under emotional stress, then you understand how helpful preplanning can be.
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up. Personally, I am a fan of ‘the more color the better.’ “Throw blankets can really make a splash of color in a home along with pillows,” she continues. “It’s nothing new, but sometimes adding a fresh pillow can change the look of your favorite chair.” Here are some other neat and unique home decorating ideas: • Inexpensive glass fillers — Apothecary jars all over the house. They are so convenient and a great investment in home décor. By simply changing contents and colors, you add instant style to the surroundings. • Winter floral arrangements — Consider colorful winter flowers such as pansies and snap dragons. Put them in a recycle mason jar or tin cans for an inexpensive but unique display
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• Vintage and flea market finds — Look for items such as old ice skates, wooden sleds or galvanized tubs.
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• Use natural elements — Pinecones, branches and acorns. And they are free. Display them in pretty bowls or glass vases and jars.
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NORTH SIDE OF THE SQUARE
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One of the most popular resolutions made by Americans is to put a lid on spending. Why spend a lot of cash on a New Year’s Eve party, and then turn right back around 24 hours later and make a resolution to cut spending. Simply start that resolution early, and still have a fun time celebrating 2014 in style. Here are five ways to save on your celebration so that you may ring in 2014 with more money in your pocket.
Insist on a Designated Driver = If you head out on New Year’s Eve, insist there’s a designated driver in your group. Whether it’s you or someone else, somebody needs to step up. Remember, the cost of a cab can be astronomical if you venture far from home.
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Go Out Early = Plenty of restaurants will be offering early bird discounts for diners who patronize their establishment during the early hours of New Year’s Eve, so why not take advantage of that? You can get a good meal at a decent price, and be home in time to watch the ball drop in Times Square or the peach drop in Atlanta.
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Host a Modest Party = If you can forgo the urge to go out on New Year’s Eve, you can host a modest and frugal party inside your home. If you decide to have a dinner party, consider making it a potluck. Your invitees can each bring a covered dish, which will significantly cut down on expenses. To save money on alcohol, consider getting it at a discount store such as Sam’s Club, or ask for a discount on a bulk purchase at your local liquor store. Believe it or not, it’s possible to throw a big party on a small budget.
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Party Cheap = Rather than going with the trendy items for this year’s party, go with a variet of different items from the local area dollar stores. Each store carries a different supply of party items such as poppers, table cloths, paper plates and plastic cups. You may also find the items for the decorations you don’t have on hand far cheaper than at a chain store.
y the time New Year’s Eve rolls around, there’s a good chance your pocketbook will already have taken a beating. With the many expenses this time of year, such as Christmas gifts, holiday celebrations, charitable donations and more, it’s quite possible your finances simply can’t withstand another major hit.
Skip the New Outfit = Both men and women alike will be tempted to buy that new, flashy outfit for their New Year’s Eve bash, especially if the pictures of that new outfit will be going up on Facebook. Do yourself a favor and search the closet for clothes you already have, and save yourself the cost of a new outfit.
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List:
5 WAYS TO HAVE A CHEAP NEW YEAR’S EVE
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parting shot BURNING SKY
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY CURTIS ALMETER
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The last of the light and heat of a fading sun boils the sky above western Jasper County as night closes in.