Community Partnership Board of Directors
August 21, 2013
Minutes
The Community Partnership Board of Directors met on August 21, 2013 at noon at the Community
Partnership of the Ozarks office located at 330 N. Jefferson Avenue, Springfield, MO. The following
members and staff attended:
Members
Lawrence Anderson, Rob Baird, Harold Bengsch, Roseann Bentley, Scott Brady, Greg Burris, Spencer
Cunningham, Ed Derr, Brad Erwin, Bud Greve, Debbie Shantz Hart, Amanda Hedgpeth, Barbara Lucks,
Russ Marquart, Anne Sallee Mason, Leslie Peck, Raeanne Presley, Scott Reynolds, Dr. Norm Ridder, Randy
Russell, Mark Struckhoff, Dr. Paul Thomlinson, Chief Paul Williams.
Staff
Janet Dankert, Patricia Deck, Chris Davis, Jennifer Kennally, Sheri Lupton, and Kate Thieman.
Call to Order
Paul Thomlinson called the meeting to order at noon and welcomed members.
Welcome and Introductions
Paul Thomlinson introduced Lawrence Anderson who is replacing Dr. Nate Quinn on the Board. The
Board members welcomed Lawrence and introduced themselves.
June Minutes (Action Required)
Paul Thomlinson asked for additions or corrections to the June Minutes.
ACTION: Bud Greve made a motion to accept the May minutes as presented. Paul Williams seconded the
motion; all members were in favor.
Expenditure Report (Action Required)
Sheri Lupton presented highlights of the report to the Board. Sheri reported that the grant funds that were
awarded to CPO were spent as intended for programs in our community. The CPO core budget reflects
unrestricted dollars for CPO. There was a Board action in 2012 when the Board designated almost $96,000
from the CPO fund balance for the shortfall that was budgeted. The $96,000 has not been utilized and
almost $10,000 will be going back to the fund balance.
Paul Thomlinson asked for questions concerning the June Expenditure Report.
ACTION: Greg Burris made a motion to accept the June expenditure report as presented, pending audit.
Russ Marquart seconded the motion; all members were in favor.
Debbie Shantz Hart joined the meeting at 12:15 pm.
New Financial Report
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Debbie Shantz Hart presented the new financial dashboard to the Board. The Finance Committee met and
determined that a brief, user-friendly financial document should be developed to show a snapshot of the
CPO core budget. When the dashboard is completed, there will be a balance sheet added to the back page
of the document. Debbie reminded the group that the complete financial statements are always available to
the Board on the portal. All comments and suggestions about the dashboard should be directed to the
Finance Committee.
Sheri Lupton emphasized that the numbers currently reflected in the document are not actual numbers; they
were used to demonstrate the design and layout of the document for the Board.
Roseann Bently inquired about reflection of the volunteer hours in the document. Janet Dankert explained
that the State requires us to enter all volunteer hours into the N-Pass system, which is overseen by the
Department of Social Services. Janet briefly discussed the volunteer hours data reflected in the Leveraged
Resources Report that was part of the Board meeting packet. The Leveraged Resources Report shows that our
volunteer hours significantly increased this year in comparison with last year.
IRS Form 990 (Action Required)
Sheri Lupton informed the Board that the Executive Committee reviewed IRS form 990 in details. The IRS
Report Form 990 is a very important public document which is used to evaluate CPO as a non-profit
organization. The review process went well and the Executive Committee is asking the Board for approval
of the form.
Paul Thomlinson asked for questions concerning the IRS Form 990.
ACTION: Raeanne Presley made a motion to approve the CPO IRS Form 990. Paul Williams seconded the
motion; all members were in favor.
CFO grant – Endowment & Planned Giving $1500 (Action Required)
Janet Dankert informed the Board that we have applied for a CFO grant for Endowment & Planned Giving
in the amount of $1500 and we have received the check, as approved by the Executive Committee. Janet
asked the Board to ratify acceptance of the grant. The money will be used to create a planned giving
campaign.
ACTION: Bud Greve made a motion to approve acceptance of the CFO grant for Endowment & Planned
Giving as presented. Leslie Peck seconded the motion; all other members were in favor.
Grants to be submitted (Action Required)
Janet Dankert informed the group that we would like to apply for two Missouri Housing Trust Fund
(MHTF) grants:
- First grant is an operational grant for up to $180,000 for Housing Center operations and One Door.
- Second grant is for up to $100,000 for emergency assistance to fund hotel/motel vouchers.
Paul Thomlinson asked for questions concerning the grants to be submitted.
ACTION: Bud Greve made a motion to approve submission of the grants. Harold Bengsch seconded the
motion; all other members were in favor.
Draft Strategic Plan (Action Required)
Janet Dankert informed the Board that the Draft Strategic Plan document is based on discussions that took
place at the Strategic Planning Session in May and from the responses to the Board Survey. The document
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was briefly discussed by the Board and recommendations were made to improve the document. Janet and
the Management Team will take these recommendations and incorporate them into the final plan which will
be presented to the Board by the end of the year.
ACTION: Leslie Peck made a motion to approve Draft Strategic Plan. Mark Struckhoff seconded the
motion; Russ Marquart, Paul Williams and Roseann Bentley opposed; the rest of the members were in
favor.
2014 Community Wide Plan (Action Required)
Janet Dankert informed the group that 2014 Community Wide Plan is required by our Community
Partnership Caring Communities contract and is updated every year. The 2014 Community Wide Plan
document was sent to the Board for review prior to the meeting. No changes were received, so we’re asking
the Board to approve the 2014 Community Wide Plan as submitted.
Raeanne Presley asked if the Plan has relevancy to our Strategic Plan or if it’s a requirement. Janet Dankert
informed the group that the plan is a requirement.
Paul Thomlinson asked for questions concerning the plan.
ACTION: Debbie Shantz Hart made a motion to approve the 2014 Community Wide Plan as presented.
Raeanne Presley seconded the motion; all other members were in favor.
Kindergarten Campaign
Russ Marquart reminded the group that the Kindergarten Campaign flyers were sent to the Board via e-mail
prior to the meeting. Russ contacted several local bankers and encouraged them to participate in the
campaign. Commerce Bank, The Bank of Missouri, Springfield First Community Bank, Empire Bank and
Mark Struckhoff contributed to the success of the campaign and raised $8,050 to date. Empire Bank had a
Jeans Day and raised $600 for the Campaign. Russ encouraged the Board members to keep supporting the
campaign.
Janet Dankert and Paul Thomlinson thanked Russ for his leadership and support of the Kindergarten
Campaign. Janet informed the Board that Erica Harris was hired as the new Director of the Early
Childhood Division and she will lead the Kindergarten Camp. We had 3 Kindergarten Camps this year.
Russ requested feedback from Kindergarten Camp participants to share with donors and, hopefully, help
expand the camp in the area to meet the needs.
National Night Out
Paul Williams shared highlights of the National Night Out event. This community wide event was a great
success with almost 1500 people in attendance this year. We had about 700 people that attended last year.
The marketing campaign was great: 10.000 flyers were sent through Domino’s pizza boxes for promotion.
Many people enjoyed the event and provided positive feedback. Neighborhood Night Out events are being
held in neighborhoods across the city on August 23rd.
Collaborative Report
Barbara Lucks presented the report:
- The Council of Collaboratives had a discussion with the Chamber of Commerce and we will be
participating in the Strive Initiative under the P-20 group.
- The Transitional Services Subcommittee is working on a Life Betterment Fair, which will be a one
stop shop for employment and education resources. The Life Betterment Fair is scheduled for
March 8th at Central Assembly.
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The Basics Need Subcommittee is working on services for the chronically poor.
The Child Abuse and Neglect Collaborative is working on objectives, indicators, long term goals and
a Collective Impact model. The collaborative purchased a new website www.howitends.org.
Senior Link is looking into creating a resource web site for seniors. On October 18th, Greene
County Senior Link will be hosting a resource event at Northview Senior Center.
The Healthy Community Collaborative is working with the Healthy Living Alliance and looking into
the north side farmer’s market.
The Environmental Collaborative has been on a summer break and will start meeting again in
September.
The Ozarks Clean Air Alliance has met through the summer and continues to move forward on
their efforts to reduce ground-level ozone and particulate matter. So far this season, the mild
temperatures have kept ground-level ozone readings lower this year compared to the 10 exceedances
we experienced last year. The website has been renewed and upgraded as well as the action plan. It
was accepted by both DNR and EPA for both Ozone Advanced and Advanced programs which is
significant. Middle school and elementary school guides have been completed and the teachers’
workshops have been held.
Paul Thomlinson thanked Barbara for the report.
Bass Pro Fitness Festival
Spencer Cunningham thanked Janet Dankert and Will Carter for creating a promotional flyer for the CPO
Bass Pro Fitness Festival. The flyer was provided to the Board members at the meeting. We are asking
each member to pledge $125.00 ($25.00 will cover registration fee and $100.00 will go to CPO). Each
participant will receive a specially designed CPO t-shirt. The event will be held on November 3rd and all
Board members are encouraged to participate. Registration is available at www.commpartnership.org/5k.
Janet reminded the group that our goal is to raise $10,000 so if we have 100 participants signed for the event
and strong support from the Board we’ll be able to achieve the goal. Bass Pro Fitness Festival 5K
information will be e-mailed to the Board.
Paul and Janet thanked Spencer for the report.
OFB Advisory Board Report
Ed Derr presented the report. At the last OFB meeting, Regional Support Center Staff presented highlights
of the end of year report:
 UDTF worked closely with the community on alcohol compliance checks:
- Green County: 246 compliance checks have been completed and 210 checks passed, which is over
85% pass rate
- Branson: 136 compliance checks have been completed and 112 checks passed, which is over 82%
pass rate
- Bolivar: 304 compliance checks have been completed and 292 checks passed, which is over 96% pass
rate
This is a very good sign that our Responsible Beverage Serving Training works well and our
establishments are making some good faith good efforts not to sell alcohol to underage customers.
 53 Medication Take Back events were held regionally and conducted by regional coalitions. Over
6,000 pounds of medications were collected at the events and appropriately disposed.
Raeanne Presley shared with the group that Branson’s Board of Aldermen pulled 2 liquor licenses: one for 5
days and one for 10 days due to chronic violations of selling alcohol to minors.
Chief Williams mentioned that we have some permanent drop off boxes in the area.
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Chris Davis informed the group that we have 11 permanent drop off boxes in the region. The information
on the locations of the permanent drop off boxes will be e-mailed to the Board.

The Lawrence County Prevention Team and Child Abuse and Neglect Collaborative are now
registered coalitions with Missouri Division of Behavioral Health.
Chris Davis informed the Board that Erica Manahan, who was one of our Prevention Specialists, was
promoted on July 1st and is our new Director of Regional Support Center.
United Way Report
Jennifer Kennally informed the group that the Day of Caring will be held on August 22nd. 1700 volunteers
are signed up to participate and conduct 155 projects in 55 agencies across the City.
The United Way Campaign is on the way and is expected to raise $4,000,000 this year. The Nixa School
District and Cox Skaggs Regional Hospital in Branson will join the campaign this year.
For the past 4 years, CFO has given United Way a matching grant of $25,000 to leverage new leadership
donors, which gave United Way an opportunity to increase leadership donors to 111%. This year, CFO is
providing $40,000 in matching dollars that we are going to target toward the Every Child Promise. United
Way has already committed $30,000 toward the program and the $40,000 in matching dollars will be added
totaling $70,000 for the Every Child Promise.
President’s Report
Paul Thomlinson presented the President’s Report:
 The Hidden Impact Conference was a huge success! We had over 220 people attend and participate
in workshops that focused on impact of trauma on children, including topics such as Drug
Endangered Children, Human Trafficking, and Bullying. Our keynote speaker was Dr. Kim
Fielding, a professional counselor from the Joplin area with many years of experience working with
children who have experienced trauma.
 We are one of 5 agencies that have been invited to be a part of a new partnership between the
YMCA and the Jr. League that will bring the Darkness to Light program to Springfield. This “train
the trainer” program will raise awareness of the prevalence and consequences of child sexual abuse
by educating adults about the steps they can take to prevent recognize and react responsibly to the
reality of child sexual abuse.
 We received a $15,000 contract to provide Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings to 300 providers
in the region over the next year. This came as a result of our Regional Support Center relationship
and work with DMH at the state level.
 We are excited to start a new “Who is CPO?” video series that will launch next month featuring a 23 minute video of a CPO program or initiative designed to tell our story. We will post on our CPO
YouTube channel and promote through the website, emails and social media.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our annual meeting—Monday, September 23rd from 11:30-1:00 at
the Oasis!
Executive Director’s Report
Detailed written report was provided to the Board at the meeting. Janet Dankert informed the group that
the Annual Meeting invitations will be mailed on Friday. We’re still working on the agenda and some of the
Board members will be contacted to help with the event.
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Janet shared that Paul Thomlinson has just returned from a conference in Hawaii where he received an
Outstanding Poster Recognition from the APA Division of Trauma Psychology for his paper on Adverse
Child Experiences and Adult Outcomes. The paper was based on the collaborative research project with
CASA and MSU. Janet thanked Paul and congratulated him on the success.
Other
Debbie Shantz Hart informed the group about a new project with the Kitchen, Inc. which is located at on
W. Chestnut Exp. and W. By-Pass. It’s 44 housing units of housing with 16 one-bedroom units, and 2 and
3-bedroom duplexes, and an on-site community building. The Kitchen will have a full-time social worker
on-site with case management services. 20 of those units will be occupied by formerly homeless individuals
or families. 24 additional units will be used for regular low income housing. They have a partnership with
Catholic Charities who will provide the social workers. They also will have a classroom and childcare space
available for programming similar to what is provided at Fulbright Springs.
Paul Williams informed the group that SPD is hosting Stop the Violence, 2-day conference on domestic
violence on Oct. 10th & 11th:
- Day 1 is focused on law enforcement training.
- Day 2 is a community focused event at the Springfield Art Museum Auditorium that will start at
8:30 am and run until 3:00 pm.
Mark Wynn, an international lecturer and survivor, will be a speaker. Verizon Wireless contributed $5,000
and is one of the biggest sponsors of the event. A Stop the Violence flyer promoting the conference was
shown to the Board at the meeting. The flyer will be e-mailed to the Board.
Dr. Norm Ridder shared that SPS had a really good start of the year with support from the Bond and Levy
that was passed.
Lawrence Anderson reminded the Board that the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s I have a Dream
speech and march on Washington is coming up on August 28th. It will start at 7:30 pm on the north side of
the Martin Luther King bridge and will continue South on Kimbrough with the culmination of the event on
the Square showing the Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech and a burial of hate ceremony. Event
flyers were distributed to the Board at the meeting.
Janet Dankert informed the Board that United Way and CPO signed up to be sponsors of the event.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:08 p.m.
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President
Secretary
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