St. Joseph Safety Council

History of the Council
The St. Joseph Safety and Health Council began operations in January 1935 and is one of the veteran safety councils in the nation. The Council was formed as a result of concerned citizens who gathered in response to rising traffic crashes, injuries and deaths within the city. It was operated by volunteers until 1945 when it was reorganized with a paid staff. In 1957, the Council was incorporated and became a member of the St. Joseph United Fund, Inc., now the United Way of Greater St. Joseph, Inc.

The Council is a a community service organization, 501(c)3 non-profit organization and governed by a volunteer board of directors, comprised of local service agency representatives, business and industry leaders, and emergency service providers. Although the agency primarily serves the greater St. Joseph area, some programs extend beyond the community and services are provided throughout northwest Missouri.

Mission Statement
The St. Joseph Safety and Health Council’s mission is to promote a safe and healthy community through public awareness, education, and community services.

Staff

Sheldon Lyon, Executive Director

Sheldon Lyon is the Executive Director of the Safety Council. Prior to his employment he was a 29-year member of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, retiring in 2014. He served the Patrol as a Public Information and Education officer for Troop H which covers the 15 counties of northwest Missouri. Sheldon is a graduate of Central High School in St. Joseph and holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Missouri Western State University. During his time with Troop H, he served on the Safety Council's Board of Directors as the Vice President for Traffic Safety and is also a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician. He is married to the former Christa Kavanaugh who is employed with the St. Joseph School District as the Special Education Department Chair at Central High School. Their daughter Madison is graduated from MWSU nursing school and Macy is a student in the Savannah School District.

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Janice Carter, Office Manager

Janice has been a member of the Safety Council staff since 1991. After graduating from Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Family and Child Development, she taught at several Kansas City area preschools. In 1977, she and her family moved to St. Joseph where she became very active in PTA, serving as President of the St. Joseph Area PTA Council and as a committee chair on the Missouri PTA State Board. Janice has a long association with the Council having served on its Safety Town Committee and Board of Directors prior to her employment. As a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, she is able to assist individuals with the proper installation of child safety seats. She is responsible for coordinating the Safety Town and Safety Acres programs, as well as, serves as the Council's bookkeeper.

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Sue Lober, Traffic Safety Coordinator

Sue joined the Safety Council in March of 2013 as the Traffic Safety Coordinator. She comes to the Council with 28 years of experience in teaching and coordinating health and safety programs in the St. Joseph community and throughout Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas. Her responsibility is to coordinate and administer all functions related to the community-wide Traffic Safety Task Force activities and events including the Driver Improvement Program and Alive at 25 classes. Sue is a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation Administration from Missouri Western State University.

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Part-time Staff Members

Lisa Doyle, SATOP Coordinator

John Christensen and Steve Force, Instructors, Driver Improvement Program

Sarah Hardin, Adult and Juvenile Stealing, ASAP, & Marijuana Adolescent Diversion/Education

Lisa Doyle, SATOP WIP Coordinator and OEP Instructor

Dora Ham, SATOP WIP Counselor

Board of Directors

Executive Committee

Bob Vey, President

Ken Siemens, First Vice President

Jenn Meglic, Vice President for Occupational

Shannon Hutcherson, Vice President for Community

Jake Angel, Vice President for Traffic

Ben Leimkuhler, Secretary/Treasurer

Vacant, Past President

Directors

Sgt. Jake Angle, Public Information Officer, Missouri State Highway Patrol

Denice Belcher, HR/Training/Safety, Sonoco Plastics

Kent Brooner President, Brooner Construction and Crane

Alexis Drury, Safety Adm. & HR Generalist, Gray Manufacturing

John Hickman, Founder/CEO, MyGrid Labs

Kim Hill, Coordinator of Counseling, St. Joseph School District

Shannon Hutcherson, R.N., St. Francis Hospital,

Ben Leimkuhler, Assistant Controller, News-Press & Gazette

Jenn Meglic, Safety Coordinator, Johnson Controls

Adriana Nabors, PNP-C, Associate Adm./WAC,ED & ID Services, Mosaic Life Care

Wally Patrick, Executive Director, Buchanan County EMS

Lynette Saxton, Project Manager, SJC Marketing

Ken Siemens, Attorney at Law, Murphy Taylor Siemens & Elliott, PC

Greg Smith, Manager, American Electric

Tim Talbot, Hillyard Industries, Inc.

Lori Tally, Adult/Education Coordinator, Maryville Technical School

Laurie Thompson, Risk Manager, City of St. Joseph

Bill Titcomb, Vice President, Citizens Bank & Trust

Bob Vey, Community Volunteer

Heidi Walker, VP, Property and Casualty, CBIZ Insurance

Tausha Rodriguez, ARC Physical Therapy+ (ex officio, MESA Liaison)

Cpl. Sarah Hardin, Buchanan County Sheriff Department (ex officio)