The Children’s Services Tax would be under the oversight of the Franklin County Board of Trustees for Children and Family, which is a countywide, fifteen-member board of volunteers, dedicated to providing the necessary services for the children and youth of Franklin County. The Franklin County Childern and Families Community Resource Board is appointed by the County Commission. Members of the Board of Trustees give of their time to serve.

Members include: Dave Arand, Chris Aumiller, Milt Branum, Dr. David Brunworth, Missie Evert, Susan Finley, Cindy Fischer, Chris Jensen, Walter Murray, Jerry Poepsel, Dawn Rost, Mauri Truesdell, Charlet Wellenkamp, Diann Whitacre.

2008 Board Members

David Arand – A Union resident and a practicing attorney in Franklin County for 28 years. Dave has been married for 31 years with four children, ages 28, 23, 22 and 16. Dave is a charter member of the Community Resource Board and the first Chairperson. He is a local juvenile attorney representing indigent parents who have their children removed because of abuse, neglect, drug or substance abuse and therefore has seen the problems facing families in our county and the lack of resources to help rectify those problems.

Chris Aumiller – A Washington Missouri resident for the past 11 years, Chris is a paraprofessional in the “No Excuses” program at the Washington Middle School. He is married and has two children. He is the creator of “Kidnet”, a program offering after school academic tutoring and social activities. He is a member and past board member of the “Washington Regional Passion Play Association” for the past 11 years.

Milt Branum - Milt joined the Bank of Sullivan in 1990 and is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer. He is also a member of the Farmers & Merchants Bank Board in St. Clair. He resides in Sullivan with his wife, has two grown children and six grandchildren. He has been heavily involved in the community including serving on The Franklin County United Way Board, The Sheltered Industries of Meramec Valley, and the Steering Committee for Habitat for Humanity. Milt is known for the numerous fundraiser dinners he has provided for various organizations, including Exceptional Equestrians and Relay for Life.

Dr. David Brunworth – A resident of Washington, Dr. Brunworth is married and has three grown children. He has been a family physician for many years in the area. He serves as the Chairman for the Department of Family Practice at St. John’s Hospital in Washington and is a member of the Presbyterian Church of Washington. Dr. Brunworth has seen many children over the years; watching out for their health needs from babies to adulthood. He knows not all of these children have had the resources needed to become productive citizens and wants to assist in bringing those resources to Franklin County. He is the current Chairman of the Community Resource Board.

Missie Evert – Missie is a long time resident of Union where she resides today with her husband and children. She is starting her 19th year as a Special Education Director for the St. Clair School District and works daily with children with special needs. She has a strong understanding of resources children need in this area and what is not currently available for Franklin County children. Missie serves on the United Way Board and is a member of Immaculate Conception Church. She has had many coaching experiences as well as being a member of two Union School District Bond Issue campaigns.

Cindy Fischer – Cindy, a Franklin County resident her whole life, resides in Union. She has grown children and assists with attending to the needs of her grandchildren. Cindy is a registered nurse with a certification in mental health and substance abuse. She currently works for St. John’s Mercy Managed Behavioral Health full time and also does psychiatric home care visits for BJC and Nurses to Go. As a charter member of the board Cindy works tirelessly to volunteer her time to assist with Putting Kids First events.

Barb Heger – Barb works at the Meramec Valley School District as an elementary health coordinator and is an RN. In this position, she is very aware of what is happening in our schools, with our children and what resources are needed for our children to have healthy lives both physically and mentally. She and her husband live in Pacific where they are busily raising seven children. Barb is a new member to our board and her background and representation of the Pacific area are a widely welcomed by the board.

Chris Jensen – Chris Jensen is an attorney and partner with Baylard, Billington, Dempsey, & Jensen, PC. He practices in the area of juvenile law, probate, family law, criminal and civil litigation. He has spent several years advocating for families in Juvenile Court system, representing parents and children in abuse and neglect cases. He has seen the struggle parents within the community have endured trying to deal with both the legal aspects and emotional side of their children with mental health issues and/or substance abuse. Chris is a member of Immaculate Conception Parish in Union where he has served as Parish council President and presently serves on the Finance council and budget committees. He is known as a youth sports coach, coaching baseball, basketball, soccer and softball for many years. Chris lives in Union with his wife and two children. He is a member of the Union chapter of Business Network International and has been on the board since 2007. Chris would like to see more resources for the children in Franklin County as well as their parents, in order to begin to provide help to them right here and when it is needed most.

Walter Murray – Serving as a Franklin County Associate Circuit Judge, Div. 5 from 1987-2008, Judge Murray has seen many young people and their parents coming to the judicial system for resolution of problems. He has also practiced law in Union and was the prosecuting Attorney for Franklin County from 1982-1987. Prevention programs could result in improvements before our youth have to get to the courts and he is dedicated to making those improvements happen. He has lived in Union for all of his 66 years and resides there today with his wife. They have three grown children. Walter is now the Trust Officer of the Bank of Sullivan, volunteers considerably in many Franklin County organizations and is the Vice Chairman of this board.

Jerry Poepsel – Jerry is a Juvenile Officer for the 20th Circuit and has worked with the Juvenile system for 34 years. He is dedicated to finding more assistance and resources for younger youth in Franklin County. In his position, Jerry works with youth and their families to provide a consistent environment that includes keeping youth within the community and providing the services available to assist them in becoming more productive citizens. Jerry and his wife are residents of Washington and all three of his children have been educated in Franklin County schools.

Dawn Rost - Dawn, her husband and two sons reside in St. Clair. She works with the First Baptist Church of St. Clair part time and works with the Baptist missions throughout the region. Having children with some special needs and working with many families in need has raised her awareness of the lack of resources readily available in the area. She currently serves as Treasurer for the Board and often attends community meetings to help discuss the findings of the Board to community groups.

Mauri Truesdell – A life long resident of Washington, Mauri has been a business owner and managed the Art Center for twenty-three years. Today she teaches business classes at Pacific High School. Not new to the educational setting Mauri has also taught at St. Francis Borgia and Union High Schools. She is also employed as the GED Chief Test Administer for East Central College. In addition, she is active in the Presbyterian Church of Washington’s Christian education program. Mauri has served on the Franklin County United Way Board and the People Against Domestic Violence Board. Mauri is a graduate of Washington High School, East Central College and the University of Missouri – St. Louis with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree. A personal tragedy in her own life with her daughter has made Mauri a true advocate for youth in Franklin County.

Charlet Wellenkamp – Charlet has been employed by St. John’s Mercy Hospital for over twenty years. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Washington. She is currently a Disease Management Coordinator in the McAuley Clinic at St. John’s and is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Nursing Case Management to go along with her already received, RNC, BSN and CCP degrees. Charlet recognizes in her work that patients with physical issues and mental health issues have difficulty functioning on their own and managing their own health care needs. She feels there is an enormous need for promoting healthy lifestyles and providing mental health services for our children. Educating individuals regarding how to access resources and utilize them to be as healthy as possible is a strong focus for Charlet.

Diann Whitacre – Diann comes from a large diverse family and has lived in Washington for many years. She is married; has two children and both stepchildren and grandchildren. Diann worked for the School District of Washington for 30 years and taught Graphic Arts for 25 years of that time. Concurrently, she operated a small print shop while training students, she was responsible for the financial budgets to be able to accomplish this task and learned how to stretch dollars a long way. As a teacher she was still taken unaware when mental health issues began showing up in her own child. Diann remembers these experiences, not knowing where to find assistance or who to ask for help and is now dedicated to helping prevent other parents from being in the same situation. Diann is currently the Secretary for the board.

Ann Schroeder – Ann serves on the board as a liaison for the Franklin County Commission. As the Second District County Commissioner Ann has met with various community organizations and heard repeatedly about the need for improved and increased mental health resources for the county. As a lifelong resident of Franklin County she has been the Union Park and Recreation Director and Recreation Manager for the City of Webster Groves. She is married with two children who also live and work in Franklin County. Ann strongly feels the future of our communities is in the hands of our youth and providing the resources for them to reach their full potential is essential to the continued strength of our county.