15
Get ready to pack your bags and travel to attrac- tive Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach…MACA’s 2016 Professional Devel- opment Confer- ence (Spring Conference) is coming up quickly! Mark your calendar for May 23-27 and get ready to enjoy timely educational topics that will enhance your skills and deepen your knowledge. MACA Pres- ident Jody Caswell said, “The topics we’ve lined up will cover a wide range of subjects and everyone will find a num- ber of speakers that will address the questions MACA members seek answers to.” She pointed out the courses on em- ployee reviews, Senate Bill 5, MULES, and Rule 37 will provide specifics that conference attendees will find particularly use- ful. And from a “bigger picture” perspective there are courses focusing on office leadership, cultural sensitivity, and the pur- pose of municipal courts (presented by OSCA staff). Additional courses cover bonds and warrants, fine payments, risk manage- ment, public records, and still more! Two video conferences will include participation by judges. And a special time is set aside to applaud CCA and ACCA honorees, so get ready to learn and enjoy…but remember the registration deadline is May 7 th . Conference information and payment may be accessed at: asso- ciations.missouristate.edu/ MACA (and click on “Register Now”). If you have questions, please con- tact Belinda Davis at bda- [email protected], or at 417.836.6866. Spring Conference Around the Corner! Missouri Association for Court Administration Officers 2015-2016 President Jody Caswell/Creve Coeur President Elect Jeanette Chastain/Smithville Immediate Past President Jeff Chapple/O’Fallon Secretary Colleen Massey/Manchester Treasurer Regena Zimmermann/ Potosi Hospitality Chair Dee Williams/Columbia Membership Director Amy Essary/Branson West Professional Development Donna Tharp/Warson Woods Finance Chair Debra A. Freise/Moscow Mills Directors (Region) Tami Trulove (1) Carol Wheat (2) Dana Hamilton (3) Deana D. Teague (4) Jeanne Privett (5) Susan Brunworth (6) Deb Freise (7) Tab A. Armstrong (8) Alicia Smith (9) Legislation Worth Your Attention... -by Jeff Chapple, MACA Immediate Past President Lots of bills have been filed but the one that is “running” through this year is SB572. This is Senator Schmitt’s bill. He is adding code viola- tions to the SB5 legisla- tion. When it says Mu- nicipal Violations he ref- erences state statutes that are code and land orient- ed. This is in reaction to St. Louis area cities per- ceived to be offsetting traffic violations with code violations. The leg- islation also reduces the $300 cap to $200. I asked him why in only 4 months of legislation he felt the need to reduce the agreed upon amount and he stated, ”Many cities are now maxing out their minor traffic fines to $300.” We asked if he MACA eNews MACA ENEWS SPRING 2016 Profile: Stephanie Jo Ayres of Duquesne 2 Soapbox Discusses “Important Tasks” 3 Interview with Lind- sey Spratt of Belton 6 MACA Board of Directors Sketches 9-11 2016 CCAs & ACCAs… 12 Happiness is...Giving! - by Leigh Sides 13 President Caswell’s Message 14 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Hello, Court Clerks & Administrators - Welcome to MACA eNews, your quarterly snapshot of the latest association news and information to enjoy, share, and use! sponsored by... was referring to St Louis County and he said, “No, Cole County.” The legis- lation has passed the Sen- ate and has moved to the House. Knowing this and seeing how quickly it went through I felt we needed to visit Jefferson City to see why the legis- (Continued on page 2)

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Page 1: MACA ENEWS SPRING 2016 MACA eNews sponsored by€¦ · Away from office, my favorite pastime is: Being outdoors! I love nature and just being outside. My husband and I live on a big

Get ready to pack your

bags and travel to attrac-

tive Tan-Tar-A Resort in

Osage Beach…MACA’s

2016 Professional Devel-

opment Confer-

ence (Spring

Conference) is

coming up

quickly! Mark

your calendar

for May 23-27

and get ready to

enjoy timely

educational

topics that will

enhance your

skills and deepen your

knowledge. MACA Pres-

ident Jody Caswell said,

“The topics we’ve lined

up will cover a wide

range of subjects and

everyone will find a num-

ber of speakers that will

address the questions

MACA members seek

answers to.” She pointed

out the courses on em-

ployee reviews, Senate

Bill 5, MULES, and Rule

37 will provide specifics

that conference attendees

will find particularly use-

ful. And from a “bigger

picture” perspective there

are courses focusing on

office leadership, cultural

sensitivity, and the pur-

pose of municipal courts

(presented by OSCA staff).

Additional courses cover

bonds and warrants, fine

payments, risk manage-

ment, public records, and

still more! Two video

conferences will include

participation by judges.

And a special time is set

aside to applaud CCA

and ACCA honorees, so

get ready to learn and

enjoy…but remember the

registration deadline is

May 7th. Conference

information and payment

may be accessed at: asso-

ciations.missouristate.edu/

MACA (and click on

“Register Now”). If you

have questions, please con-

tact Belinda Davis at bda-

[email protected], or

at 417.836.6866.

Spring Conference Around the Corner!

Missouri Association for

Court Administration

Officers 2015-2016

President

Jody Caswell/Creve Coeur

President Elect

Jeanette Chastain/Smithville

Immediate Past President

Jeff Chapple/O’Fallon

Secretary

Colleen Massey/Manchester

Treasurer

Regena Zimmermann/ Potosi

Hospitality Chair

Dee Williams/Columbia

Membership Director

Amy Essary/Branson West

Professional Development

Donna Tharp/Warson Woods

Finance Chair

Debra A. Freise/Moscow Mills

Directors (Region)

Tami Trulove (1)

Carol Wheat (2)

Dana Hamilton (3)

Deana D. Teague (4)

Jeanne Privett (5)

Susan Brunworth (6)

Deb Freise (7)

Tab A. Armstrong (8)

Alicia Smith (9)

Legislation Worth Your Attention...

-by Jeff Chapple, MACA

Immediate Past President

Lots of bills have been

filed but the one that is

“running” through this

year is SB572. This is

Senator Schmitt’s bill.

He is adding code viola-

tions to the SB5 legisla-

tion. When it says Mu-

nicipal Violations he ref-

erences state statutes that

are code and land orient-

ed. This is in reaction to

St. Louis area cities per-

ceived to be offsetting

traffic violations with

code violations. The leg-

islation also reduces the

$300 cap to $200. I

asked him why in only 4

months of legislation he

felt the need to reduce the

agreed upon amount and

he stated, ”Many cities

are now maxing out their

minor traffic fines to

$300.” We asked if he

MACA eNews

MACA ENEWS SPRING 2016

Profile: Stephanie Jo

Ayres of Duquesne 2

Soapbox Discusses

“Important Tasks” 3

Interview with Lind-

sey Spratt of Belton 6

MACA Board of

Directors Sketches 9-11

2016 CCAs &

ACCAs… 12

Happiness is...Giving!

- by Leigh Sides 13

President Caswell’s

Message 14

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Hello, Court Clerks & Administrators -

Welcome to MACA eNews, your quarterly snapshot of the latest association news and information to enjoy, share, and use!

sponsored by...

was referring to St Louis

County and he said, “No,

Cole County.” The legis-

lation has passed the Sen-

ate and has moved to the

House. Knowing this and

seeing how quickly it

went through I felt we

needed to visit Jefferson

City to see why the legis-

(Continued

on page 2)

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SPRING 2016 P AGE 2

Years serving municipal court: One and a half years.

How I became a court administrator: I was working as an Emergency Communication Of-

ficer and had been dispatching since 1996 so it was time for a change.

My favorite person is: My two sons, Randy and Andrew, and my two granddaughters, Rayna

who is 5 months old and Addison who is 7. They are my world!

What I like most about being a court administrator: Dealing with the public. I stay very

busy and that makes the time go by.

Most difficult thing about being a city clerk/court clerk is: I have a hard time keeping a

straight face when I hear a defendant try and get out of paying a fine or coming to court.

Away from office, my favorite pastime is: Being outdoors! I love nature and just being outside. My husband and

I live on a big farm and have several animals. When I have a bad day or busy day at work it is always nice to go home,

do chores, and just enjoy nature. If the cows and chickens could talk I would be in trouble. Ha ha.

My favorite movie is: Any true story.

My favorite book is: I love nonfiction stories. My husband got me a book “From Baghdad with Love” and I believe

it was the best book I have ever read! My oldest son, Randy, served in the Marines so the book was extra special to

me.

Something most people don’t know about me is: I may seem strong on the outside but I am a very caring per-

son. I love helping people if they need it.

Profile: Stephanie Jo Ayres of Duquesne Municipal Court

Worth Your Attention...

lative changes and educate them on

possible effects.

I met with Senator Schmitt to get

the reasoning for

his legislation. I

also addressed con-

cerns that the pro-

posed legislation

does not have any

recourse for repeat

offenders and

doesn’t incentivize

the violators for

compliance when

the fines are limited. His response

was that we have the opportunity to

continue to cite them until compli-

ance. He did state he would review

and consider suggestions for repeat

offenders but he is set on the $200.

We then went to the House to meet

with House Representative Robert

Cornejo who was the bill carrier last

year. He stated he hasn’t read all of

(Continued from page 1) the legislation yet and it hasn’t been

assigned to committee yet. He did

listen to our concerns and has of-

fered to meet with me when he di-

gests the legislation. I also met

with newly

appointed

House Repre-

sentative Dean

Plocher who

was a Munici-

pal Judge for

Pine Lawn. He

hopes to be a

resource and

educate some

of his colleagues.

I also met with my Senator and

Representative while I was there to

educate on behalf of our City. That

is what I can encourage you to do to

help the Courts. You and your City

can educate the elected officials on

what the proposed legislations ef-

fects are and then they can decide

before they vote.

This legislation went to Committee

in the House Wednesday March 16,

2015 where I testified against the

bill. I am sure there will be revi-

sions before it is passed in the

House and then sent back to the

Senate. This was the process last

year before the final bill. I wouldn’t

suggest waiting until it’s passed to

speak up. Connect with your area

legislator and just educate them on

the effects. There were over 25 peo-

ple speaking against the bill and

only 3 for the bill. Many of you

have stated they have reached out

by email ro phone please all of you

need to voice your concerns to your

representatives for them to know

your impact in their communities.

I will keep you updated as we pro-

gress and if any other legislation is

gaining movement but that’s where

we are at this first part of this legis-

lative session. I am sure there will

be many more trips down 70 and 54

in my future.

Stephanie

with sons Randy and Andrew

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The number Five has be-

come a four letter word

thanks to a little piece of leg-

islation called SB5. Having

heard the previous rumblings

about what might be coming

down the pike, I thought to

myself: don’t worry; that bill

will not pass. Clearly I was

wrong, so the choice not to

be a psychic or a politician

was the right call for me.

It hurts my brain to talk

about the bill and all its’ pro-

posed amendments. So in-

stead, I’ll talk about the im-

portance of unification. My

most important work goal

for 2016: tackling this bill

head on by brainstorming

and networking with others

on the best way to handle

these challenges. I believe if

we stick together, we will

come out of the abyss that is

SB5 bruised and tired, but

not beaten.

My most important task for 2016

is to get things in order for retire-

ment. Doesn't seem that it is pos-

sible for me to be thinking about

that yet, but somehow 26 plus

years have now past since I have

started in law enforcement. As I

look back on my years in law en-

forcement I've had many great

times, and some not so great. I've

seen things that only those in this

field would understand. I've seen

both good and bad in people. And

I've learned to stop saying, "Now

I've seen it all". Because that soon

changes with the next call you

respond to or case you’re assigned

to investigate. Well enough of

that, back to my task of retirement.

I been lucky that I've always been

a planner and saver. I've made

some sound decisions in savings

and investments and have been

told by my financial advisor that I

should be fine when I do make that

call to retire. So not to bore you

anymore and to leave you with this

parting advice: Life is short so

live it to its fullest and plan ahead

for that day that you can kick back

and relax.

2016 has just began and the

need for perfection in the

court system is becoming

more and more of a necessi-

ty. I have always strived for

excellence in any field to

which I have worked in but

in the courts it has made me

much more coherent of what

I can work on in myself and

my profession. By the end

of 2016 I hope to have all I

need and more on the educa-

tion to which is required of

me for my Court Certified

Administrator’s completion

and will strive to have made

large steps towards my com-

pletion of AA in Criminal

Justice as I have already ob-

tained an AA in Business

Administration and with the

Court system I don’t feel as

though you can ever have

enough education.

Soapbox...a MACA forum for friendly views and opinions… My most important task for 2016 is...

Crystal Lyn Winkfield Carl Junction Municipal Court

Sarah Everhart Pleasant Valley Municipal Court

Brent Steger Crystal City Municipal Court

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Like many MACA members,

Lindsey Spratt, Deputy Court

Clerk with Bel-

ton Municipal

Court, came to

be in her posi-

tion by way of

many other jobs.

Lindsey said, “I

have had many

jobs over the

years, including a pharmacy

technician, working for an insur-

ance company, a police dis-

patcher and a nanny. Even

though I didn't know much about

the court system. I fell in love

immediately

once I be-

came a

clerk.” She

has enjoyed

her job

since begin-

ning in June

2014.

Since so few of us ever have the

stressful job of police dispatcher,

you might ask if Lindsey’s 2 ½

year stint as a dispatcher has an

impact on her job as deputy

court clerk. “That experience

definitely helps me with my cur-

rent work, it taught me to keep

my composure,” and she added,

“It helps

me in that

no stories

ever sur-

prise me.”

She smiles.

What does

she enjoy

about being a deputy court

clerk? “I love how no two days

are the same. I love helping peo-

ple. No one enjoys getting tick-

ets and coming to court. I take

pride in trying to make it as easy

and painless as possible. I try to

remember that the court process

can be scary and overwhelming

to those that

are not fa-

miliar with

it.”

And Lind-

sey is lucky

in that her

work envi-

ronment is so supportive. In

addition to a wonderful supervi-

sor, Lindsey has caring cowork-

ers. “What I love most about my

coworkers is that we are a tight-

knit family. We all look forward

to coming in every single morn-

ing just to catch up on how our

nights went. But more im-

portantly, we are a well-oiled

machine and we all do our part

to make sure the job gets done.”

Lindsey admits all is not perfect.

One of the more difficult aspects

is the never-ending changes in

state laws affecting her work.

MACA members understand!

In her spare

time Lindsey

most enjoys

chasing

around her 2-

year old.

Lindsey ex-

plains,

“Nothing better than being a

mom.” She also enjoys watch-

ing the

Kansas

City Royals

and going

four-

wheeling

with her

husband of 9

years, Nathan.

Lindsey spends

as much time as

possible with her

family and

friends on the

weekends.

She and Nathan

participate in

Grant's Cause

annually. “Grant’s Cause is an

organization that was created for

my cousin's son who was born

with spina bifida,” Lindsey said.

Grant’s Cause raises awareness

about the condition and difficul-

ties associated with spina bifida.

Lindsey add-

ed, “I have

also walked

with the

March of

Dimes every

year for the

last 10

years.”

What is next for a MACA mem-

ber who has found her niche? “I

am now trying to pursue my

CCA and am looking into be-

coming more active in our local

WACA

board,”

Lindsey

comment-

ed.

Interview with Lindsey Spratt of Belton Municipal Court

Belton Municipal Court Clerks

2015 MACA

Conference Social

Christmas with the Spratts

Lindsey with Grant’s Cause Founders (her cousins)

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Biographical Sketches of Your Board of Directors

Region 1 Tami Trulove

Tamara (Tami) Trulove is the Court Administrator for the City of Richmond Heights Munic-

ipal Court. She has been the Court Administrator there for five years. She started her court

career as a deputy court clerk in St. Louis County - South Division in 2001. She left there

and went to the City of Town n’ Country as a court clerk and received her Certification for

Court Administrator in May 2006 through Missouri Association for Court Administration

(MACA). She left there and became the Court Administrator for the City of Crestwood for

four years and finally landed in the City of Richmond Heights. She currently serves as the

Region 1 Director (St. Louis, St. Charles, City of St. Louis and Jefferson counties) for

MACA and is finishing up her final term in May 2017. She was accepted into the Missouri

Court Management Institute and is hoping to graduate in November 2016. Prior to the pub-

lic sector she worked for Wal-Mart for nine and half years doing various jobs and realizing that retail was not the

career path for her. She was born in Cape Girardeau and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. She studied at the Univer-

sity of Missouri – Columbia and eventually received her Associate Degree from St. Louis Community College –

Meramec in 1996. She is a single mother of a wonderful and very energetic seven year old daughter, Katie. She

just bought a house in Imperial Missouri, located in Jefferson County and spends time with Katie and their three

dogs Sandy, Crystal and Gail. So when she’s not at work, she enjoys spending time with her sister and catching up

Region 2 Carol Wheat

Carol Ann Wheat worked for the Lee’s Summit Court for 18 years and now, after

retiring from Lee’s Summit, has worked as Court Administrator for Greenwood

Municipal Court for almost five years. Carol has been married to Terry Wheat for

34+ years and has three grown children and three amazing grandchildren. Hob-

bies include photography, travelling, family activities, and since retiring she has

become an artist taking weekly lessons and painting in oil.

Carol graduated from Baker University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business in

2004. She has held previous positions on the MACA board as well as her local

division (WACA). Serving on the MACA board is a great honor to Carol. Promoting education and

learning experiences for clerks is something she is passionate about and considers of the utmost im-

portance.

Region 3 Dana Hamilton

My name is Dana Hamilton and I have been working for the City of Marceline for the

last 23 years, 19 of which were with the Police Department, until I was transferred to

City Hall in 2012. I now do all the City Utility Billing along with being the Municipal

Court Administrator. I have been with the Municipal Court as court clerk since 2000

and received my CCA in 2005, when I became Municipal Court Administrator. I have

served on the MACA Board since 2005, 8 of those years serving as Region III Director

and 2 serving as Region VII Director. I am currently serving as Region III Director af-

ter being appointed at the 2015 MACA Annual Conference.On a personal note, my hus-

band Jeff and I will be married 22 years in April. We have three sons, Tyler 23, Trevor

20, and Trey 16. I enjoy spending time with family and friends, playing golf, and spending time in the

sand and sun!!!

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Region 4 Deana Teague

Region 5 Jennifer Privett

Region 6 Susan Brunworth

What an honor to serve on the board of MACA and Region IV as Director. My name is

Deana Teague and I lived at Wappapello Lake in the boot heel of Missouri, where people

have an accent from the rest of the state. I have worked for the City of Poplar Bluff for 20

years, was a court clerk from 1995 to 2000 when I received my CCA and was promoted to

Court Administrator in 2005. Brad my husband of 42 years is always right there for me and

my two daughters Heather and Holly are supportive strong women in their communities. I

have two grand-children Kaitlynn 21 and Michael 17 they have been a great joy and kept me

going even when I’d rather not. My faith and my participation in my church gives me joy

beyond what this world can offer. I also work at Wal-Mart part time which is a whole different type of work from

the court system. I love life and people and being outside, I stay extremely busy and wouldn’t want it any other

way. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and our organization.

My name is Jennifer Privett, I am the Court Administrator for the City of Cassville. I have

been here for almost 9 years, I am married to the Sergeant of our department. We have 4 chil-

dren 3 girls one boy ages 16,15,6, and 5 months. I have my own company aside from court

called Diva Bling and I am a volunteer firefighter/first responder for the Butterfield Fire Pro-

tection District.. I have served on the board as the Professional Development Director 2013-

2014 and now as the Region 5 Director/Vendor Chair person. I have also served on the educa-

tion committee for the last two years. I am excited to serve you as your Region 5 Director if

you have any questions, concerns or suggestions you can contact me at

[email protected] or 417-847-4441 ext. 2.

My name is Susan Brunworth and I am your MACA Region 6 Director. I began my

court clerk career in September, 1999 for the City of Richmond and earned my Court

Administrator title in May of 2006. Throughout my almost 17 years I have found enjoy-

ment, frustration, satisfaction and fulfilment in this position that continues to challenge

me, especially when the Legislature throws new laws our direction. I enjoy spending

time with friends and my wonderful two adult daughters.

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Region 7 Deb Freise

Region 8 Tab Armstrong

Region 9 Alicia Smith

Deb started in the “court” field in September 1995 with Lincoln County Associate Court fill-

ing in as a temporary clerk while a full time clerk was on maternity leave. A full time position

opened, applied and 21 years later is a Certified Court Administrator for Moscow Mills Mu-

nicipal Court. She has been an active member of MACA since 2000 serving on many com-

mittees on the Board since 2001. Currently, she has been appointed as Region 7 Direc-

tor/Finance Chairperson replacing Deb Galey due to her retirement and resignation.

Deb and her husband, Roy have been married 30 years and have two sons, Brett 26 & Darren

25. No specific hobbies except in her pastime she enjoys relaxing, laughing and having fun

with family and friends.

Tab Armstrong is the Court Administrator and City Treasurer for the City of New Ha-

ven. She has held this position for 16 years. She has been on the Board for the Mis-

souri Association for Court Administration as Region VIII Director since 2006 as well

as Chairperson for Technology.

Tab enjoys gardening, traveling and painting her husband Boone’s carving.

Alicia Smith serves as Region 9 Director. She has been on the board since Octo-

ber, 2014. She has been the Court Clerk in the Hollister Municipal Court since

February, 2011.

Alicia is an avid Green Bay Packers fan having lived in Green Bay for 14 years.

She played fantasy football for the first time this year and won her league! In her

free time, she likes to read and crochet. She has just jumped on the Adult Color-

ing Book craze and is very much enjoying it.

Alicia lives in Hollister with her husband, Michael, their miniature dachshund, Miles and Ferdinand,

their Persian cat. Alicia has two grown daughters, Melissa and Michelle.

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2016

March and October CCAs

Beth Ann Stevens Claycomo Municipal Court

Carla Brumitt Claycomo Municipal Court

Linda Elder St. John Municipal Court

Kathy Vance Lake Ozark Municipal Court

Nancy Jeffries Columbia Municipal Court

Stacey Fields Normandy Municipal Court

Theresa C. Baumeister Warrensburg Municipal Court

October CCAs

Michael Alan Pauley Charlack Municipal

Tamie E. Smith Dardenne Prairie Municipal

Lorietta Souter Jennings Municipal Court

Amie L. Clemonds Normandy Municipal Court

Angela M. Jones Rogersville Municipal Court

Paula M. West Knob Noster Municipal Court

ACCAs

Susan West Blue Springs Municipal Court

Jaye Yingst Belton Municipal Court

Christine Schwartz Brentwood Municipal Court

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SPRING 2016 P AGE 13

“Remember that the happiest

people are not those getting

more, but those giving

more.” This quote by H. Jackson

Brown, Jr., speaks to one of the

many great reasons to give our

time to others. We all think

about volunteering at some time

or another and it’s really just a

step away… There’s much more

than just happiness that comes

from giving our time, talents and

energies to others.

There are many benefits to vol-

unteering such as learning a new

skill, making new friends, rais-

ing support and raising aware-

ness, giving back, doing some-

thing different than your regular

work or doing something chal-

lenging like running or walking

a long distance.

The great thing about volunteer-

ing is that you can choose what-

ever area of need to serve. The

opportunities to volunteer are

numerous and include one-time

sponsorships, events or regular

or short-term commitments.

There are many needs and won-

derful causes out there. Some-

times volunteering in memory of

a loved-one can be very mean-

ingful.

Giving your time for someone or

something in need can increase

your self-esteem or relieve

stress. One of the most surpris-

ing benefits of volunteering are

that people from all diverse

backgrounds unite together to-

wards a common goal. The ca-

maraderie and teamwork experi-

enced in volunteering are often

very different than in other areas

of our lives. If it’s been awhile

or if you’ve always wanted but

never took the step, consider

giving your time to something or

someone in need.

We love to support our Court

Clients and we also love to sup-

port charities. When we have the

opportunity to support our court

clients who are raising money

for charity then we get really

excited!

We want to thank many of you

who volunteer for Special Olym-

pics, MS and other organiza-

tions. Offering your time, talents

and energy for something that

benefits others actually benefits

us all. Thank you!

Note: Special Olympics is cur-

rently in need of volunteers

throughout Missouri! Con-

tact [email protected]

for details.

Leigh Sides is the Director of

Business Development for The

Payment Group. She can be

reached at

[email protected]

The Payment Group offers

Online and Phone Payment for

Courts, for more information

visit us online at

www.thepaymentgroup.com

Happiness is...Giving! (by Leigh Sides)

Le

igh

Sid

es

MACA Board Candidates for 2016 are...

Secretary:

Kathy (Bell) Bolek

Membership Director:

Amy Essary

Taran Svoboda

Professional Development:

Susan West

Region 2

Holly Phillips

Region 4

Open

Region 6

Susan Brunworth

Region 8

Michelle Taylor

Voting will take place during the

conference business meeting for

all members who paid their

membership prior to the March

15 voter registration deadline.

The following MACA members have filed as candidates for the Board of Directors for 2016…

Page 14: MACA ENEWS SPRING 2016 MACA eNews sponsored by€¦ · Away from office, my favorite pastime is: Being outdoors! I love nature and just being outside. My husband and I live on a big

The mission of the Missouri Association for Court Administration (MACA) is to en-

hance the public's trust and confidence in the Courts through developing and promoting

the professionalism of Court Administrators, and other court officials with similar du-

ties, by offering quality professional development conferences, seminars, consultation

and networking.

P.O. Box 22

Jefferson City, MO 65102

MACA eNews

Phone: 573.291.9995

Fax: 573.634.8257

Email: [email protected]

Spring is almost here and with it comes all the new beginnings for what will

hopefully be a colorful and wonderful new year. If you are like me, I’m

done with the old tired look of winter and ready to just move on. And like

the seasons, MACA continues to move on as we continue to find new and

better opportunities for our membership. We are continuing my education

initiative to bring you more programming and bring forth new technology

possibilities to explore. We are working on establishing a better communi-

cation between the regions and their directors and making efforts for ex-

panded regional training. And we are looking to expand participation from

the membership to the board.

The Board is extremely excited for our 30th anniversary and the festivities

we will be able to share in at the upcoming conference. Yes, we have a lot

of work to do as we remain dedicated toward keeping the membership ac-

tively involved in important changes taking place with work related matters,

but we also realize we need to make this a year to reflect and remember that

no matter what is currently taking place, we as an organization have come a

long way. MACA has weathered many changes. And we will continue to

do so. During this first year of my Presidency I have been listening and

learning from other state court organizations and I will have to say, we are

definitely one of the few that brings such great programming, keeps such a

large number of members actively involved in and communicates effectively

with our membership. I would venture to say that a lot of other clerks

throughout the country would be jealous of what MACA has and continues

to accomplish.

And finally, please know, court reform is not just taking place here. It is

everywhere. Every state. Every level of court. This is going to be taking

place for some time to come, but together we can make the best of it.

Change is not always bad and I think we’d all agree there are areas of im-

provement which need to be addressed. We will hold our heads high and be

able to say we are better for it as we work together to accomplish new

things.

To all of you, keep up the good work. Keep up the faith and keep the pride.

Together we are MACA strong,

-Jody Caswell, President

Message from President Jody Caswell

MACA’s 2015

Budget is available

at macaonline.net

SPRING 2016 P AGE 14

Congratulations

to the 2016 MACA

Scholarship Recipients:

Stephanie Ayres Duquesne Municipal Court

Teri Thorpe Southwest City Municipal Court

Sylvia Deering Pineville Municipal Court

Steven Flowers Velda Village Hills Municipal Court

Page 15: MACA ENEWS SPRING 2016 MACA eNews sponsored by€¦ · Away from office, my favorite pastime is: Being outdoors! I love nature and just being outside. My husband and I live on a big

SPRING 2016 P AGE 15

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