Ready to serve
Unexpected reunion gives alumna chance to help Joplin area recover.
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very American must feel personally connected to Joplin after the devastating tornado ripped through the heart of the city. As a former Joplin resident and a graduate of Missouri Southern State College, my connection runs deep. My family heard about the tornado while watching the local storm coverage in Jefferson City. It took almost two hours before we heard about the disaster. As the state public affairs officer for the Missouri National Guard, it was immediately apparent we would be mobilized, so I put on my uniform and headed to the office, while still under a tornado watch for our area. My husband, Brad, served as a highway patrolman in the area when we lived there, and as a current reserve deputy in Cole County, he also wanted to head to Joplin, but family commitments and support of my role in the Guard kept him home. After arriving at headquarters, my adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Stephen L. Danner, was already there with about a dozen others at work, some in uniform, some in civilian clothes, ready to support Joplin. Gov. Jay Nixon knew this disaster would exceed the resources of the city of Joplin, and he mobilized every state asset that would be able to help, including the Guard. And of course, Guardsmen in the Joplin area had done much the same as myself — put on their uniforms and went to work. For the first 48 hours, I supported the Joplin effort from Jefferson City, coordinating public affairs support for our mobilized Citizen-Soldiers. As recovery efforts continued to increase, I headed to Joplin on a Missouri National Guard plane on May 25. My kids, Morgan, 13, and Gavin, 9, helped me pack and were supportive about me mobilizing. Everyone wanted to help Joplin, and I was getting the opportunity to do it first-hand. I was coming down to help support Gov. Nixon and our Missouri National Guard state chaplain, Chap. Gary Gilmore, as they reached out to faith-based leaders. The meeting and press event were held 29 crossroads / fall 2011
at no other than Missouri Southern State University, and Webster Hall at that. As a communications major and former editor on The Chart, I had spent many an hour in Webster. As we entered a back door of the building, surrounded by all my senior Missouri National Guard and state leaders, the first person I saw was Ward Bryant, one of my professors. He recognized me immediately and gave me a huge hug, making me feel special while surrounded by my peers. It felt wonderful to be there, even under tragic circumstances. After our daughter was born and my graduation in 1998, my family moved to Jefferson City, and I had not been back. After the faith-based outreach, we switched modes in supporting another Gov. Nixon initiative, the Community Response Meeting, also to be held May 26 at the Taylor Performing Arts Center. Gov. Nixon wanted to pool every state resource available and put them at the fingertips of affected citizens. More than 2,000 residents packed the auditorium and surrounding support areas. I was touched upon hearing about a Joplin resident who was able to get a new driver’s license, and she told the employee they must have been sent by God to help her. It is still hard to grasp how a family begins to recover when they have lost everything, even the ability to prove who they are. Gov. Nixon offered her a bit of hope, in seemingly hopeless surroundings. At that meeting, I also reunited with Rick Rogers, ’98, a fellow Chart staffer and then-publisher of the Neosho Daily News. He was preparing to move his family from the area for professional opportunities when the tornado struck. He immediately went to work to help the community understand what had happened. It was great to reconnect with one of my old editors. When we rolled up the carpet at Taylor on Thursday, it wasn’t rolled for long, as Gov. Nixon was planning a Community Memorial Service on Sunday, and President Barack Obama was expected to attend.
With all these MSSU centric events, we were blessed to be so supported by the University and were even housed in the dorms. My group spent nearly a week at East Hall — wonderful accommodations — and we were so appreciative of the support. Mayes Student Life Center provided food, either in the cafeteria or as sack meals, depending on our operational tempo. The sack meals were really very good and nutritious; fruit and light snacks were always included. My time in Joplin hit a couple of low points. One was when we lost a Missouri National Guard soldier, who was killed in Home Depot. His wife and son went through more trauma than anyone can imagine, with him first being missing, then waiting on final identification through the casualty process. I had the honor of attending his visitation in Seneca, Missouri, and hugging his widow. It was quite something to see the Patriot Guard standing outside holding flags in his honor on the streets of small-town Missouri. It was a personal reminder of the tragedy so many were facing. Once we began the major planning for the memorial service, two of the most helpful people on campus were Rod Surber, with University Relations and Marketing, and Don Ross, chief broadcast engineer. They and many others on Southern’s staff and faculty were astounding. I feel blessed to have worked under the command of Col. Glenn Hagler for the ceremony. His steadfast attention to detail, calmness under pressure and delegation of true authority made the planning and execution flawless. Another low point was when a Missouri National Guard Humvee, traveling from our base of operations at Camp Crowder to Joplin to assist with security operations there, was in an accident. Everyone is recovering, but as they were flown to the hospital, we didn’t know. To make matters worse, one of the soldiers badly injured was the son of one of my public affairs team. So, another personal event that affected the mood. Days have blended together, but the
