SAVE MINTAHAMA

Autotronics, Inc. is a woman-owned small business corporation. We are devoted exclusively to the design, development, and manufacture of custom made, precision electro-magnetic actuating devices. We perform all machining, finishing, and assembly operations in one location, with complete quality control over every process. Made in the USA since 1956. autotronicsinc.com

Vicki Cassady is a lifelong learner and leader dedicated to serving children, with a focus on outdoor education.

Receiving her BS in Education from Missouri Southern State University in 1973, MS in Education from Pittsburg State University in 1982, she retired in 2002 after 29 years of elementary instruction.

She stays involved as Delta Kappa Gamma Teachers Society State Chairman and past Chapter President.

Vicki has acquired ongoing nature education through Missouri Department of Conservation. She is a Charter Member of the Chert Glades Chapter of the Missouri Master Naturalists. With 30 years of service with the Ozark Gateway Audubon Society, she is currently Education Chairman and past President. She is very active with the Wildcat Glades Friends Group as Board Secretary and Education Chairman and provides pre-K classes.

For the Ozark Area Girl Scout Council, Vicki was on the Camping Committee and served as a Girl Scout troop leader for over 20 years. She brings camp operational experience as Business Manager for Webb City and Carl Junction Day Camps as well as a Mintahama Counselor, Trading Post Manager and as Camp Director.

Vicki assisted the Friends of Mintahama Group through volunteer operated programs and fundraising, and is a founding member of the Mintahama Inc. Governing Board.

Belinda Friedan is a lifetime resident of Southwest Missouri raised in Lamar. She attended Lamar High School and Missouri State University, graduating cum laude with a degree in Accounting. With a degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, School of Law, she has practiced in the area focusing on family, estate, and juvenile adoption matters since 1990.

Belinda spent her summers at Camp Mintahama. From her time as a kid attending summer camp programs, being trained as a counselor, operating canoeing programs for 4 years, it was the outdoor experiences she had at Camp Mintahama that allowed her to fine tune leadership skills and love the outdoors. Camp Mintahama is her passion, a solace when life was difficult, where she met and made lifelong friends, and is her joy at all times.

She has been a life-long volunteer for Camp Mintahama, serving most recently as a member of the Friends of Mintahama Group and fundraising money for maintenance. She worked with community agencies providing programs to area children, introducing them to the beauty of Camp Mintahama, and creating opportunities for children to enjoy the nature setting. Belinda is a founding member of the Mintahama Inc. Governing Board.

Tricia Gould is a local attorney practicing in Joplin, Missouri.  She is a graduate of McAuley Catholic Regional High School and Missouri Southern State University in Joplin. Before becoming an attorney, she had career experience including Marketing for Freeman Hospital in Joplin and reporting for the Carthage Press newspaper of Carthage, Missouri.

Since completing Law School at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, she has practiced law for 18 years in Missouri and Illinois, including prosecuting attorney and child advocate roles.

She is a youth group leader at St. Mary’s Catholic Church and is active in the parish and Joplin Area Catholic School communities. Tricia has been a Girl Scout troop leader since 2000 and also serves as a Service Unit Manager for Jasper County.

Tricia is a founding leader of Mintahama Inc. serving as Chief Executive Officer.

Rachael Crofford was born in the Joplin area, a Carl Junction High School graduate who went on to earn her Bachelors Degrees in Psychology and Religion from William Jewel College in Liberty, Missouri.  She received her Master of Science in School Counseling from Pittsburg State University and has 5 years of experience as a school counselor.

Rachael has been involved with Camp Mintahama as a 5 year camper, and worked 5 years in Operations roles as Counselor, Waterfront and Assistant Camp Director.

Rachael has participated since 2013 as a member of Friends of Mintahama acting as liaison between Friends Group and Girl Scout council, assisting with fundraising functions, meeting community groups arranging bookings of the camp, and offering canoeing and outdoor skills instruction.  Rachael is a founding member of the Mintahama Inc Governing Board.

Lauren Stauffer, an accomplished CPA, is passionate about impacting her local community through promoting the arts and advocating for wildlife and the environment.

Lauren attended Purdue University, graduating with her BA in German with Spanish Minor in 1980, her BS in Management in 1981, before completing graduate studies in Accounting in 1983. She held certifications in Indiana and Missouri as a CPA, with additional certifications in Long Term Care Planning, Estate Planning, and as a Senior Advisor. Her notable professional experience included work as a Senior Auditor for RCA, Accounting Manager for the Santa Barbara Medical Foundation Clinic, and Manager of Financial Services for Walt Disney Imagineering in Burbank, California. She has worked as an independent CPA and Financial Services Advisor in Joplin Missouri since 1995.

Lauren has served on the Board of Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin Missouri from 2006-2012 as Treasurer, and since 2016 as a Governing Member.

Lauren is a member of the Mintahama Inc Governing Board serving as Chief Financial Officer.

Judy Russell is a lifelong Pittsburg Kansas resident.

She earned her BS/MS in Biology from Pittsburg State University in 1979. She went on to complete her BS in Nursing from Kansas University in 1990 and her MS in Nursing from Graceland University in 2008. Employed by Mercy Hospital since 1990, she is always engaged in new experiences as ICU nurse, flight nurse and mid level practitioner in the emergency department.

Rusty has been a Camp Mintahama girl since 1969 and her love for Mintahama and camp spirit have deepened with every decade.

Rusty was pivotal in addressing deferred maintenance since 2013. She makes ideas a reality with her “we can do it” attitude, pushing progress along. Her accomplishments stem from the foundation formed from her camp experience. Judy is a member of the Mintahama Inc Governing Board.

Jamie Dworaczyk is a long time resident of Carl Junction Missouri and a graduate of Carl Junction High School. She has been employed with Wal-Mart since 1999, currently serving as a Wal-Mart Academy Department Manager.

Jamie enjoys guiding youth in outdoor experiences as well as domestic and international travel and recently led a large group excursion to Costa Rica in 2018.  Jamie has been instrumental in the Girl Scout organization for over a decade as a troop leader and a Service Unit Manager responsible for youth and adult leaders in Jasper County.

Jamie is a founding member of the Mintahama Inc Governing Board.

Brett Meeker is a 2001 graduate of Missouri Southern State University with a BS in Education. She obtained her Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri in 2004 and is a practicing member of the Missouri Bar.  She is now the Director of Concurrent Enrollment and Academic Outreach at Missouri Southern State University.

For over 15 years, Brett has been working with the youth in Jasper County.  In her spare time, she enjoys playing sports with her kids and being outdoors.  She is active with the Girl Scouts as a leader and Co-Service Unit manager.  Brett is a founding member of the Mintahama Inc Governing Board.