Difference Makers create a better community

Kati Wylie Ray delivers the keynote speech at Thursday's Difference Makers event at the Black River Coliseum.

DAR/Paul Davis

Volunteers help make life in Poplar Bluff wonderful, local author and historical preservationist Kati Wylie Ray told the crowd at the Daily American Republic newspaper’s third annual Difference Makers event Thursday night.

Using her favorite movie, the 1946 classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” to illustrate what life in the local community would be like with and without volunteers, “Sometimes, we all drive through our little town and get discouraged with the way things look,” Ray said. “What would Poplar Bluff look like and be like without volunteers?”

She invited everyone to “come with me on a journey to Poplar Bluff ... without volunteers.”

Ray used slides to depict areas of town, including an abandoned Old Mark Twain School. The school system left it in 1988. Unfortunately, Poplar Bluff didn’t have volunteers.

Another slide stated “Graduation rate plummets to 63%,” and Ray continued by saying, “kids weren’t interested in school, because Linda Nelson didn’t ignite their passion for reading at an early age. She wasn’t there to make them feel special. Boys & Girls Club never took off, because the volunteers weren’t there to help. They tried to keep it working with just the paid staff, but it didn’t work. Misty Dodson wasn’t there to help kids with school attendance and in the court system.”

“Brenda Allen and her family weren’t there to help foster and mentor students.

“Foster Adopt Connect wasn’t there to bring stability and support to children and families in the child welfare system,” she continued. “R.T. McCain and Jason Matlock weren’t there to give children confidence, so teenagers dropped out of high school.

“The Moore-Dalton house on Main Street — the last of the Dalton family who lived there — died in 1989. The house became a rental.”

Another slide provided data about “drug overdoses.”

Ray said, “Because Jimi and LaDonna Waggoner didn’t start Crossroads Ministry, men didn’t learn about Jesus, hope for recovery, new habits and lifestyles.”

She talked about Tom Burns, who didn’t volunteer as a reserve road deputy with the Sheriff’s Department for 25 years keeping the county safer.

The Frisco Depot was the police station for a while, but the city didn’t need the building anymore. It was sold and fell into a state of disrepair.

“Hunger and homelessness in Butler County were at an all-time high because Jim Ward and the Bread Shed didn’t exist to provide food for families and teach them about Jesus Christ,” Ray said. “Michelle Hessling wasn’t there to give food and supplies to our homeless. Brenda Allen wasn’t there to lead Habitat for Humanity.”

There was no happiness for Poplar Bluff’s citizens with mental and physical developmental disabilities, because Alex Tinker, Dave Elledge, Laurie Coleman and Lisa Collins didn’t volunteer with Buddy Ball.

“This painting called “Praying Father” depicts a man alone, burying his son, because the SEMO Veterans Honor Guard wasn’t there to salute the fallen soldier with dignity and honor,” Ray said.

Explaining “when God restores George Bailey’s life, he runs through the town shouting ‘Yay!’ and ‘Merry Christmas,’” Ray continued. “Fortunately, Poplar Bluff has a coliseum full of George Bailey’s willing to care for its people and resources.”

The graduation rate increased to 92%.

“Yay! Thank you Linda Nelson, Misty Dodson, Brenda Allen, R.T. McCain and Jason Matlock. Thank you FosterAdoptConnect,” she said.

“Merry Christmas, Margaret Harwell Art Museum. Lives and families are restored. Thank you, Jimi and LaDonna Waggoner and Tom Burns.

Merry Christmas, Moark Regional RR Museum,” she added.

Hunger, homelessness ... and hope have improved. Thanks, Jim Ward, Michelle Hessling and Brenda Allen, Ray said.

“There’s joy on the faces of those who play Buddy Ball,” she said. “SEMO Veterans Honor Guard, thanks for giving our veterans honor, respect and dignity.”

“Thank you all for being Poplar Bluff’s George Baileys who make a difference to us,” Ray said. “Congratulations on being Difference Makers.”

Ray was honored as a Difference Maker in 2020 for her work at the Mark Twain Historical Museum. In addition to her work at the museum, Ray has written the book “Poplar Bluff Tornado May 9, 1927. Stories compiled by Kati Wylie Ray.”

Ray is a graduate of Poplar Bluff High School and Missouri State University. She and her husband, Steve, live in Poplar Bluff. They have three children, Charles, Elizabeth and Blane.