The University of Missouri Extension Council of Butler County will elect five people for a two-year term, according to Extension Engagement Specialist Jennifer Williams. Eight candidates have filed for the terms.
Voting began Monday at the University of Missouri Extension Center and online at http://extension.missouri.edu/butler. Voting continues through Friday, Jan. 26. Ballots must be received at the University of Missouri Extension Center by Jan. 26 to be counted.
The eight candidates are Leann L. Clark, Tammy Harper, Moriah Joplin, Judy Lunsford, retired Col. Douglas C. Rose Jr., Melissa Stephens, Maurice L. Theriot and Tim Ward.
Voting age residents of Butler County may select any five of the nominees listed. The ballot accompanying the article may be used and mailed or taken to the Butler County University of Missouri Extension Center, 614 Lindsay Avenue, Suite 3, Poplar Bluff.
Council members are volunteers responsible for maintaining the University of Missouri Extension Center at 614 Lindsay Avenue, Suite 3, and for planning programs with the professional and paraprofessional faculty and staff in Butler County.
According Rose, who is the extension council chair, county and regional specialists and paraprofessionals for the University of Missouri System provide educational programs to Butler County citizens in several areas. Programs are available in the fields of agriculture, family and consumer sciences, 4-H youth development, family and community education clubs, and food and nutrition programs for youth and low-income families.
The following information and photographs were provided by the candidates. Candidates are listed in ballot order.
A copy of the ballot can be found in the Jan. 20 print edition
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Clark is originally from Farmington. She relocated to Butler County in 1995, where she has worked in the human resources/staffing/recruiting field for much of her time in the area. She is currently director of workforce development at Three Rivers College.
Clark’s husband is Randy Clark, who plans to retire at the end of the year after nearly 50 years in manufacturing management, mostly in Butler County. They have been together for 17 years, of which they have been married for 10 years. Clark does not have any children; however, her husband has two daughters whom she considers her bonus daughters. They have two granddaughters and one grandson.
Clark enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking, canning, gardening, and riding her bike. She also is a board member of the Butler County Community Resource Council, chairperson of the Parents Working Committee, member of the South-Central East Nexus and member of numerous committees and lead on several through the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce.
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Harper is committed to being a community volunteer. Through her employment at the Poplar Bluff Housing Authority, she has established and expanded several community activities for the residents of housing and the surrounding neighborhood.
These include National Night Out, which brings together housing residents and the neighborhood with local law enforcement and public safety officers to help strengthen their relationships. Other local agencies are present to provide resources and offer information on utility assistance, education, literacy and health care.
Halloween Trunk or Treat is an annual event for the children in the community. Several local groups are present to assist with providing children a safe option for Halloween activities.
Harper is involved with the Northside Nutrition Center. She organized a fundraiser for the center which provided activities, music, food and entertainment to assist with needs of the nutrition center. She serves as the Nutrition Center board president and assists with the day-to-day operations of the center, taking applications for vacancies, checking email, assisting with grant applications, and conducting interviews for open positions.
Harper supports all residents in the community by assisting them not only with housing needs but other needs as well.
She has provided assistance with programs including: State Assistance for Housing Relief, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, the Excel Center for adults completing high school, Head Start and Early Head Start, Missouri Health Net, Medicare, and job search.
Harper’s interests center around the belief people want to be self-sufficient and they need a personal connection to someone who is knowledgeable and supportive. People can be successful with help, she believes, and says she truly enjoys seeing people thrive and prosper.
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A lifetime resident of Southeast Missouri, Joplin has lived in Poplar Bluff for five years.
She is a graduate of Naylor High School and a Three Rivers College alum, as well as a previous member of the Lady Raiders basketball team 2010-2013.
Joplin graduated from Central Methodist University in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Missouri – Columbia in 2017. She is a licensed clinical social worker, employed through FCC Behavioral Health, where she currently oversees the training for the organization and provides various training in their agency, surrounding communities and throughout the state.
Joplin also has served as an adjunct professor through Hannibal-LaGrange University and will soon be an adjunct professor at Three Rivers College in the social work program in 2024.
She previously worked with the local Child Advocacy Center as a forensic interviewer and provided legally sound interviews for child victims of alleged abuse and maltreatment.
As a mother of two boys, ages 7 and 5, Joplin values the development, education and support provided to the families in the community. Her husband, Josh and she have been married for over 10 years and are high school sweethearts. They spend most of their time watching their children play sports, spending time with their families, being outdoors, participating in local community events and enjoying all of their time together.
Her personal hobbies include basketball and other sports, running/walking, reading, volunteering, learning new skills, caring for others and just being.
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Lunsford has been married to Ken Lunsford going on nine years. They have a blended family of three children, Tenia and Steve Hermann, Teddy and Samantha Porch, and Michael and Jayne Lunsford, and five grandchildren, Serenity and Stetson Porch, Lane, and Katilyn and Madilyn Lunsford.
Lunsford said family is their life and the grandchildren keep them on the run.
Lunsford also is on the board of directors as vice president for Ozark Border Electric Cooperative.
They attend Fellowship General Baptist Church. She worked for Aldi Foods for 20 years. Both the Lunsfords have lived and worked on livestock farms and are involved in 4-H livestock. She says nothing is better than country life, especially when there are horses for relaxation. If elected, she said, she will do her best to serve the community.
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Rose is a retired colonel and is the former NORAD and United States northern command director, military support to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He was instrumental in deployment military support to over seven major hurricanes from 2016-2019.
Rose is a native of Qulin and a 1985 graduate of Twin Rivers High School. He entered the Missouri Army National Guard in February 1987 and attended One Station Unit Training in July 1987 as a 12B Combat Engineer. He entered active duty in 1990 through the ROTC program at Lincoln University, Jefferson City, with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical technology and has since been inducted into the Lincoln University ROTC Hall of Fame in 2010 and Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in 2011.
He has a Master of Arts degree in human resource management from Webster University and a Master of Science degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College. He is 2017 graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Kennedy School of Government, National Preparedness Leadership Initiative Executive Education Program and is a 2017 graduate from Massachusetts of Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory Homeland Protection Course. Finally, he is a 2018 graduate of the General and Flag Officer, Homeland Security Executive Seminar, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
He served at the nation’s highest levels in the Pentagon as the Pakistan Division Chief for Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pakistan and Afghanistan Coordination Cell. He served as a charter inter-agency representative with the Office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and Secretary of State (Clinton).
He served as chief of staff to the deputy commanding general, Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, Fort Leonard Wood, followed by an assignment as the Deputy G3, Army National Guard in Arlington, Virginia. In this assignment, he led a team of senior officers and non-commissioned officers in the management of operations, training, readiness, aviation, safety, cyber operations and force management programs at the national level for 54 states and territories.
He has had numerous combat deployments to Afghanistan with the Special Operations Forces.
He has received the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals; Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Emdal, Army Achievement Medal, and more than 20 additional medals and ribbons. His badges include Joint Chiefs of Staff Badge, Army Chief of Staff Badge, Recruiting and Retention Badge, Parachutist Badge, Air Assault badge, Pathfinder Badge and Combat Action Badge.
Rose currently serves as the civilian agencies client account manager for Pond & Company, a top architect and engineering firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
He and his wife, Tanja, attend Qulin Baptist Church. Rose serves as the president of the Butler County Extension Council. He is active in Lions Club International, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Shriners International, Scottish and York Rite Masonic Bodies and Christian Military Fellowship Ministries.
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Stephens is a medical laboratory technician. She is a member of Osborn General Baptist Church is Qulin, a member of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution and a 4-H parent for two consecutive years. Stephens enjoys running 5Ks for various charities and spending quality time with her family.
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Theriot is a Master Gardener with a heart for community service. He has assisted in establishing several community gardens, numerous backyard vegetable gardens; and believes that gardening can be a non-threatening way to the reach the masses.
He is the founder of Theriot Farms Inc., a nonprofit initiative that exists to teach people how to grow their own food. With a background in urban farming, Theriot Farms Inc, has helped growers across the south become less reliant on corporate food supply chains by establishing food sustainability of their own.
He and his wife, Dr. Maxine Theriot, a fellow Master Gardener, and local wound care physician, have two adult children, and together they work to impact the community in very unique ways.
Since relocating to Southeast Missouri from Dallas, Texas, Theriot has been hired by Lincoln University, an HBCU, in the Innovative Small Farmers’ Outreach Program (ISFOP), as the Small Farms Specialist in Butler County. The program focuses on outreach and educational activities for small scale, minority and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. While specifically targeting Backyard Growers, Beginning Farmers, Market Gardeners, Female Operators, the Disabled, and U.S. Military Veterans.
Theriot said he already is working hard for the underserved and marginalized citizens of this state and seeks community partners who stand ready to help him bring awareness to this increasingly important skill of growing one’s own food. His motto is: “Let’s Grow Something Together”.
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Ward moved from Wichita, Kansas, to Poplar Bluff in 1975. He graduated from Poplar Bluff High School in 1979 and worked as a diesel mechanic until 1982. He went to work for Municipal Utilities for 32 plus years, starting as a meter reader and ending his career with them as a line locator. He married in 1988 and had twin boys in 1991. In 1996, Ward started testing and repairing backflow valves on irrigation systems, domestic water lines and fire suppression systems with his business partner Rob Adams.
Ward has been a member of the Southeast Missouri Sportsman Association for over 20 years. He says it’s all about getting the kids outside and unplugged to enjoy fishing and the great outdoors. Ward also sells fishing stuff at the Sale Barn on Fridays when the weather permits. He likes to watch drag racing both in person and on TV. He likes fishing, when he can make time to do it, along with spending time with his family and friends. Ward likes to help out with the Black River Coliseum and Z95 radio station.
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