The Ambassadors of Lake Saint Louis is a community service organization that truly cares about the City of Lake Saint Louis and its people. Our not-for-profit club is dedicated to promoting civic, cultural, and educational growth of our city; and we strive to make it a better place to live, work, and play. Membership is open to all individuals who want to see Lake Saint Louis prosper, want to learn more about our community, and want to stay in the mainstream of local happenings. The Ambassadors meet every Friday morning from 7 to 8 a.m. at the Community Association Clubhouse. Please join us for breakfast and a pertinent presentation on a topic of community interest. To support the club's activities, quarterly dues of $75 are received. The Ambassadors take part in numerous activities designed to provide support for community organizations and local charities. Many of these activities are described on other pages of our website. If you care about Lake Saint Louis, you need to be an Ambassador!
Most Recent Speakers
Kendall, Voice of the Martyrs
Right in the middle of Missouri is a town of 300 hundred families called Iberia. Kendall’s passion is working for an organization called Voice of the Martyrs.
He shared a few stories about religious prisoners from all over the world. It was very touching - and makes you appreciate living in the best and freest country in the world - the U.S.A
He gave us maps and ideas on how we can help. The website for Voice of the Martyrs is https://www.persecution.com. I encourage you to check it out and sign up for their free magazine.
Kendall worked for Emerson Electric in St. Louis for 3 years. He served in the Army Rangers for 4 years. He taught High School Math and Physics for 20 years in Missouri. He currently lives in Lake St. Louis and works from home as a Computer Programmer. He has 3 step-daughters and 10 grandkids.
Kendall is a good man doing good work. He gave an excellent presentation spreading the word on how we can help the Voice of the Martyrs! —————— We encourage you to visit us, Ambassadors of Lake St. Louis, any Friday morning at 7:00 at the community association to have breakfast and listen to great guest speakers, Like Kendall Ponder.
Ms Ann Dorn IPTM-Institute of Police Technology
On April 5, 2024 Ms. Ann Dorn was the speaker for the Lake St. Louis Ambassadors Association. Ann is a retired sergeant from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Her husband David Dorn, a retired police office captain with the St. Louis Metropolitan Department and retired chief of Moline Acres police department was murdered on June 2, 2020 during the BLM riots in St. Louis, Mo. Ann is an avid supporter of law enforcement and remains active in teaching field training officers, management and officer wellness. Ann’s strength of human spirit helps her to support the question, “Who takes care of those who take care of us”. Ann’s mission is to help the less fortunate and to inform the public about first responders and to make it known what a tremendous, sometimes thankless job that they do every day. During her service she received 2 awards of excellence and 2 chief’s letters of commendation. Ann was a member of the major case squad and regularly worded with the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children. Ms Dorn remains an advocate for Offer Wellness, first responders, survivors and their families. She is a passionate public speaker. Ann is an ambassador for “We Back Blue”. She currently hosts “Hidden Heros with Ann Dorn” every Sunday at 8PM on Real Talk Radio Network.
Pastor Andrew Floyd, First Baptist, LSL Pastor Keith Spaugh, Chapel of the Lake Msgr. Ted L. Wojcicki, Pastor, Immaculate Conception Parish Pastor Steve Cauley, Living Lord Lutheran Four local Pastors came by the Ambassadors on Good Friday to participate in our traditional Ambassador Good Friday program. The theme was: The Meaning of Good Friday. This annual tradition was started many years ago by Ambassador Emeritus George Humphries who wondered, “Why do we call it good?” Why is Good Friday good? It is, after all, a remembrance of the excruciating death of Jesus. A truly innocent man who was put to death on a cross, while others mocked and scoffed Him. In many ways the cross has been domesticated. It’s so ubiquitous that we sometimes forget about its meaning, which is the sacrifice and the remission of sins for all who believe and confess. The only reason that Good Friday is good is because Sunday is coming. Without the resurrection, it would all be meaningless. But, it had to be done. It was all prophesied well in advance. The work that Jesus had come to do had been completed. Tetelestai. It is finished.
Steve Ehlmann, Saint Charles County Executive Saint Charles County Executive, Steve Ehlmann, spoke to the Ambassadors on March 22nd to give his annual Report to the Community. Mr. Ehlmann was also joined by Lake St. Louis Mayor, Jason Law, and Lake St. Louis City Administrator, George Ertle.
Mr. Ehlmann, who is in his fifth and final term as County Executive, began his talk with a discussion of Proposition K, which is on the ballot April 2nd. He stressed that this is not a tax increase, but merely continues the 0.25% sales tax which was first approved in 1991. It’s not about growing government…it’s about continuing existing services for a growing number of residents.
These existing services include such things as: police, crime lab, vehicles, emergency communications, emergency operations center, County courthouse, jails, judges, parks and even a pet adoption center. Stuff we all want and need.
A few other topics that Mr. Ehlmann addressed were:
Wentzville bottleneck: Congestion, convergence and curves have been a growing problem on I-70 for years. The improvement project has been delayed a bit due to the MO Legislature approving an additional 3rd lane on I-70 from St. Louis to Kansas City. Reasonable people agree that it is best to coordinate these efforts. Improvements are expected to begin in Spring 2025.
Employment and job growth: SCC unemployment is 2.3%, whereas the state average is 4.2%. SCC has experienced a 10% increase in population over the past 10 years and a 23% increase in job growth. Our population and job growth lead the region—that’s good news.
Crime: After peaking in 2020, vehicle thefts are down 50% due partly to the multi-agency crime interdiction task force and to the diligence of police, prosecutors, and the penal system. Keep your doors locked!
Quality of life: Housing prices are up, student test scores are strong, we have a very vigorous park system…and all our children are above average.
We are fortunate to live in St. Charles County, Missouri. Thank you Mr. Ehlmann and God Speed to you in your future endeavors.
Jason Law, Mayor of Lake St. Louis Jason Law, Mayor of Lake St Louis was our speaker at our March 15 meeting.
Mr Law earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Columbia College and his MBA from Lindenwood University. Jason started his career with the St Louis County Police Department in 1998. Jason and his family moved into Lake St Louis in November 2008.
Before being elected as the Mayor of Lake St Louis, he served as Alderman of Ward 3, 2014-2021.
Mayor Law ran his campaign for Mayor on: -Keeping taxes low -Growing business in Lake St Louis -Keeping the city safe
Jason truly believed that these three promises would push Lake St Louis to be: -Business friendly -Fight unnecessary tax increases -Support the police department
To date, Mr. Law in increased the police department by 30% and in 2021, he reduced crime by 50%. Mr. Law plans to run for the position of St Charles County Executive in the next election.
Jason said he has been extremely blessed to serve the City of Lake St Louis and proud to be responsible for preserving our city for future generations.
Mr Jason Law gives credit to the City Administrator of Lake St Louis, George Ertle. George graduated from the University of Kansas with a master’s in public administration. He has a very impressive employment history from 2006 to his current position as the City Administrator of Lake St Louis. The past City Administrator, Paul Markworth commented on his departure that George Ertle understands the complex relationships that occur daily in the city administration office and that George’s experience with communities would serve him well as our City Administration.
Thanks to Mayor Law and Mr. Ertle!
Doug Bouldin, DB2 Regeneration Clinic Doug Bouldin visited the Ambassadors this day to tell us how we can live longer, healthier, and better lives. This is not just “eat some vegetables” and do “some sit-ups”, although diet and exercise are important and part of the comprehensive and personalized plan.
As one of the founding providers of the Ozzie Smith IMAC Regeneration Center in St Louis, Doug helped refine Regenerative Therapies and techniques for delivering (Platelet Rich Plasma) PRP and Cellular Components to joints and soft tissue locations in the human body.
DB2 separates themselves from most corporate providers in that they don’t determine your proper course of treatment based on what insurance you have or what the insurance executives deem you are eligible for. Insurance reimbursement drives most care and introduces bias into treatments. DB2 seeks to develop personal relationships and develop individual plans.
DB2 understands that us humans tend to wear out as we get into our dotage and that many of the corporate health models don’t always address the root causes. Corporate medicine often merely treats the symptoms with pharmaceuticals (sick model). DB2 strives to create a Customized Plan of Care based on a health model.
Regenerative medicine (PRP), Hormone Optimization, Chiropractic Care and Rehab, IV Therapy and Weight Management are among DB2’s core competencies.
If you’re of a certain age, you might notice that things hurt—especially if you’ve had an injury. Joints don’t heal as fast as other parts of yourself because they don’t have as much vascular tissue. Doug explained that DB2 can inject blood stuff (Platelet Rich Plasma—PRP) into your joints which can create regenerative results. Like that shoulder thing that hurts… forever. Think about it.
One other thing is true: additional weight puts additional stress on joints. Don’t do that. DB2 can help. See them at: https://www.db2regeneration.com/
Rachael Meara, SCC Park Ranger At the Lake St. Louis Ambassador meeting, we had the honor of having Park Ranger Rachael Meara from the St. Charles County Parks Department.
Rachael gave us an overview of the many parks and their points of interest in St. Charles county. Her duties as a park ranger is to enforce the rules. With close to 100 parks to maintain, she is quite busy. It encompasses a range of cleaning up litter to leading programs.
The Boys and Girl Scouts utilize our parks and programs along with campers and those who just want to launch their boats at the ramps. There are many hiking trails and now the Blue Way water trail. Along with the trails, you might find rentals of kayaks, canoes, paddleboats and tandems.
I cannot leave out the beautiful nature that you will find in St. Charles County. One more thing, the park department also has a book club; nature related of course.
Thank you Rachael for bringing us this information. I am ready to hit the trails!
Rob Schaff, Superintendent, LSL CA Golf Course Rob spoke to the Ambassadors on February 9th to give us the skinny on the LSL CA golf course. He’s the new Superintendent who took over from Don Humphrey in August 2023. Schaff says the biggest challenge in his new job is golfers (HR: that’s a joke…kinda).
Rob comes to us from St. Albans Country Club where he was the Construction Superintendent. Previously, Rob spent 28 years as Superintendent at The Falls Golf Club in O’Fallon. Clearly, he knows what he’s doing and we’re lucky to have him.
One of the things Rob likes about his new position is that he’s given mostly a “free wheel” to do what he thinks best. Based on his experience, that seems smart. He knows all the stuff: cool season grass/warm season grass, mole control, moisture and percolation rates for greens, top dressing and thatch. Lots of golf course things.
Rob’s annual budget is around $250k to maintain 20 acres of golf course. Nearly all their work is accomplished “in-house”. Usually in the summer. That’s why he spoke to the Ambassadors in the winter…in the summer he’s way too busy.
Schaff is an avid golfer and was ranked 2nd in the state in High School. He’s played our course and says that it’s harder than it looks. That prompted a bunch of golf questions from all the golf people…”bunker on #5…more benches with shade…glow ball”. Rob had all the golf answers. Good for him.
Thanks Rob for all you do…and watch out for those golfers.
Mike McGuire, ComedySportz STL Mike and his consigliera Heidi spoke to the Ambassadors today about how to be a better person through comedy. Improvisation, to be precise. Mike and Heidi run ComedySportz St. Louis and they have weekly performances that include both regulars and audience members. They keep the thing over in Webster Groves, and you should check it out: https://www.cszstlouis.com/ It’s not exactly a performance; more like a battle royale between opposing teams.
Anyway, Mike uses the concepts of improvisation and integrates them into normal life. He uses these ideas to help businesses and salesmen. What ideas, you may ask? Well, be a better listener. When you’re on the improv stage, you must be actively listening to the other players so you can react appropriately. To be a better listener, you must be fully present and engaged in the situation.
Maybe you’re thinking, “yes, but….” You should be thinking, “yes and…” That’s the key to collaboration. It says that you’ve bought into the basic premise and you’re working to make it even better. Now you’re working together.
Mike walked the Ambassadors through a few exercises to help us to listen more actively, work collaboratively and not worry about mistakes. Fear (of mistakes, ridicule, and other things) hold us back. Be willing to laugh at or (at least) don’t fret about these inevitable small things. Yes, mostly small.
Mike finished his talk with a wee bit about gratitude. “What’s not wrong with your life?” For most of us, that list is pretty long. Be thankful for that.
I don’t know about you, but in my daily life I’m eager to be around (and buy from) people who are active listeners, who “buy in” to my ideas and are truly grateful. I think good salesmen know these things.
Mike left us with this thought: Life is an offer…you can accept it or reject it. What’s your choice?
Cathy Lenihan, Gateway Fiber Cathy Lenihan, Gateway Fiber salesperson for the local area fiber optic internet provider and a member of the Ambassadors, spoke recently of her role with Gateway, her career and background in Sales.
Cathy pointed out that she has always been in sales, she loves it because its about people, and people buy from her because she establishes a relationship with them.
Being in sales has meant she has had to move a lot! While she worked for Pacific Bell she moved 11 times in 5 years. She has lived in 6 states, 6 times in California, 3 times in Missouri, 5 times in Minnesota. Also, she has moved from Ca to Ct, to Mn, to CA, and then back to MO. You’d better be good at packing and unpacking, and willing to live out of a suitcase with your belongs stored in a warehouse.
Products she has represented include Internet, Yellow pages, cell phones, life and health insurance, annuities, fractional horsepower motors, Stouffers food plan and groceries and batteries. She has worked at small companies, say with 15 to 300 employees as well as Fortune 500 companies. She was recruited by Gannett to come to the STL area to sell internet. That didn’t last long and she moved to Spectrum where she was not happy. She moved to Gateway Fiber where she is currently quite content.
Their office is in Wright City and they focus primarily on rural areas, providing broadband services to St Charles, Jefferson, Warren, and Lincoln counties. They pursue government funding, grants, both state and federal, and sell commercial services to local businesses. Their website is www.gatewayfiber.com/. To find out about streaming internet or to discuss jobs in the sales field, Cathy is the one to ask!
Ben Brennecke, Operations Manager, BSA Eagle Scout, Ben Brennecke, spoke to the Ambassadors today and gave us the skinny on the current state of the Scouts. Ben is the Operations Manager for the Greater S. Louis Area Council, of the Boy Scouts of America and is among the top 5%. That’s the ratio of Scouts who eventually attain the rank of Eagle Scout. According to Mr. Brennecke’s bio, he is also Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent. A Scout is trustworthy. A Scout tells the truth. He is honest, and he keeps his promises. People can depend on him. A Scout is loyal. A Scout is true to his family, friends, Scout leaders, school, and nation. A Scout is helpful. A Scout cares about other people. He willingly volunteers to help others without expecting payment or reward. You get the idea. See all the others here: https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/content/scout_law-1760.asp Wouldn’t you want your friends to have these attributes? Here are some other things: Scouts are more likely than their peers to attain advanced degrees, earn more money, be in leadership positions, be kind to animals, and generally be productive and contributing human beings. They also love their Grandmas. Bottom line: You should be so lucky as to live next door to a Scout. This might be a Yiddish proverb. Scouts are divided into four main categories: Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venturing and Explorers. Cubs are boys K through 5th grade and stress the good stuff: cooperation, citizenship, and responsibility. Boy Scouts (ages 11 to 17) step it up a bit and focus on high adventure, merit badges, service and leadership. Venturing (ages 14-17) is a co-ed group that is geared toward both high adventure and social interactions. Explorers (ages 14-21) focus on workforce development—especially police, firefighting, medical and increasingly STEM. Thanks to Ben Brennecke for helping to mold the next generation of humans. If you’re a parent or grandparent, consider encouraging your youngster to become a Scout. Find out more here: https://www.scouting.org/
Jeff Sandcork, Associate Circuit Judge
The speaker for our January 5, 2024 meeting of the Lake St Louis Ambassador’s was one of our own members, Jeffrey J. Sandcork, Associate Circuit Judge, Circuit 11, Division 9 St Charles County.
Judge. Sandcork was born in St Louis, Mo. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri with a BA in Political Science, J.D.. Jeffrey is a member of the Missouri Bar, St Charles County Bar Association, Bar Association of Metropolitan St Louis, Missouri Municipal Judge Association, Missouri Association of Probate & Associate Circuit Judges & Commission.
Prior to Jeffrey’s election to Associate Circuit Judge, he was in private law practice with Robert R. Sandcork, Attorney at Law, John J. Donnelly, Attorney at Law, with Vatterott, Shaffar & Dolan PC as a Managing Attorney of the Sandcork Law Firm, LLC.
Judge Sandcork is a former municipal prosecuting attorney for the City of Dardenne Prairie and municipal judge for several municipalities in the 11th and 17th circuits. Elected into office in 2022 as Associate Circuit Judge of St Charles County, he has been in office for one year. His term will expire December 31, 2026. Jeff is married and has 2 adult children.
When Jeff was asked what his future career goals are, he smiled and commented, “I am very happy where I am right now. I probably should have done this 10 years ago. I feel like I am where I need to be and I want just to do my job and be the best judge I can be.”
Amy Pryor and the Green Tree Choir
It's been a long standing tradition that the Green Tree Elementary Choir perform for the Ambassadors each Christmas season. This year was no different.
Amy Pryor, who has been teaching music in public schools for 26 years, has been leading the choir at Green Tree Elementary for the past four years.
This year, the choir performed "Pumpkin Spice", "Ugly Sweater" and a traditional Christmas medley that included "Deck the Halls", "Jingle Bells" and "We Wish you a Merry Christmas". As usual, this was one of our best attended meetings and was well appreciated by all..
A heartfelt "Thank you" to Ms. Pryor and the Green Tree Choir. Go Gators!
Valerie Beason, First Access Behavioral Health
The speaker for the Ambassador meeting on December 1st was Valerie Beason, a Licensed Professional Counselor based in Lake St. Louis, MO, who has been helping people since 2015.
She has a Bachelor's degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and a Master's degree in Professional Counseling from Lindenwood University.
Valerie has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. Her passion for helping others led her to work with first responders, including firefighters, paramedics, and police officers.
Valerie's unique perspective on first responder culture comes from growing up with a father who served as a volunteer firefighter and was the fire prevention officer at his department. With firsthand knowledge of what it's like to live with and support first responders, Valerie brings empathy and understanding to her practice.
Valerie’s presentation was very engaging and brought reality to the dedication from our community service men and women. I heard so much compassion in Valerie’s presentation.
Thank you Valerie for your involvement in our community.
Henry Heyer, Environmental Protection Specialist, US Army Corps of Engineers
MR HENRY HEYER WITH THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS WAS THE SPEAKER AT THE LAKE ST LOUIS AMBASSADORS MEETING ON NOVEMBER 17, 2023. HENRY GRADUATIONED FROM WEBSTER UNVERSITY WITH A BA IN HISTORY IN 2014. MR HEYER BEGAN WORKING WITH THE CORPS ON ENGINEERS IN 2016 PERFORMING ARCHIVAL WORK ON THE REGULATORY BRANCH’S HISTORICAL FILES. IN SEPTEMBER 2019, HENRY ACCEPTED A FULL TIME POSITION IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL & MUNITIONS BRANCH, PERFORMING ARCHIVAL RESEARCH TO AID THE CLEAN UP OF DISTURBED MILITARY SITES AROUND THE COUNTRY. IN MARCH 2020, MR HEYER ACCEPTED AN OFFER TO RETURN TO THE REGUALATORY BRANCH FOR ONE YEAR. DURING THAT ITME HE CONTINUED ARCHIVAL WORK, MANAGED INCOMING PROJECTS, ORDERED SUPPLIES AND WAS ACTIVE IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT. IT WAS DURING THIS SECOND ALLOTED PERIOD OF TIME THAT HENRY BECAME INTERESTED IN PURSUING A POSITION AS A FILL TIME PROJECT MANAGER. IN MARCH OF 2023, HENRY ACCEPTED A POSITION TO BE A PROJECT MANAGER IN THE REGULATORY BRANCH. THE MISSION OF THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS REGULATORY PROGRAM IS TO PROTECT THE NATION’S AQUADIC RESOURCES AND NAVIGATABLE CAPACITY WHILE ALLOWING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH FAIR AND BALANCED DECISIONS. MANY WATERBODIES AND WETLANDS IN THE NATION ARE WATERS OF THE US AND ARE SUBJECT TO THE CORP’S REGULATORY AUTHORITY. THE REGULATORY PROGRAM IS COMMITTED TO PROTECT THE NATION’S AQUADIC RESOURCES AND NAVIGATION CAPACITY. MR HEYER FEELS THAT HIS HISTORY DEGREE HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL IN WRITING INTERNAL DOCUMENTATION AND THE DRAFTING OF PERMIT VERIFICATION LETTERS.
Thank you Veterans!
Thanks to the wonderful suggestion from Ambassador Mike LeBlanc, the Lake St. Louis Ambassadors recognized their own this Veterans Day. Ambassador members have served in every war since 1812. Ok, that’s exaggeration, but many Ambassadors, past and present, have served their country in the Armed Services since WW2.
Nancy Redfield, from the Daughters of the American Revolution, gave each Veteran a small, folded American Flag as a token of this nation's appreciation.
The floor was then opened to any Veteran Ambassadors who wanted to share some tales of their time in the service to our country. Some stories had elements of truth, but they all had elements of love of country.
Thank you to all Ambassadors who have served our nation.
Leadership Team - Combined Veterans Solutions This morning part of the leadership team from Combined Veterans Solutions came out and talked to us about their organization.
Combined Veterans Solutions is a 501c3 that focuses on developing veteran owned small businesses. The members of the leadership team that visited us this morning were: Chris Lennington (President), Jeremy Callaway (2nd Vice President) and Ambassador’s own Mike Stagoski (Secretary) and Cliff Branch (Treasurer).
The three veterans were brought together about 12 months ago at a networking event hosted by Ambassador Mike LeBlanc. The group has a 4-part mission- 1) promote veteran owned businesses 2) provide coaching for veteran owned businesses 3) offer coaching services to newly separated veterans who want to start a small business and 4) become a voice for veteran issues at the state level.
The group meets on the 1st Thursday of the month at American Legion Post 323 in Wentzville, MO. They also meet the 3rd Thursday of the month at veteran owned business Fastest Labs in St. Charles, MO. Their meetings start at 0930 and run until 1100. On the 4th Thursday of the month, they host a social at 2 Shamrocks in O’Fallon, MO from 4-7.
At the organization’s meeting, they focus on networking, highlighting one of the group’s businesses, professional development and discussing veteran issues in the local community. The group is actively looking to bring on more members, so if you know of a veteran small business owner who might be interested in the group, please point them in the direction of their Facebook page and/or their website: https://combinedveteranssolutions.org/
Joe McCulloch - SCC Prosecuting Attorney On October 27th, Joe McCulloch, St Charles County Prosecuting Attorney presented a brief to the Ambassadors. Prosecutor McCullogh has a long history in law enforcement, including 20 years as a Police Officer and detective. He also has 20 years’ experience as a criminal defense attorney. Joe was appointed to his current position on May 1st by the County Executive, Steve Ehlmann. The Prosecuting Attorney’s office has 25 attorneys and an equal number of support staff—including four victim’s advocates and three investigators. They have an annual budget of $6.4 million. At the beginning of a criminal case, prosecutors work with police officers to seek arrest warrants and search warrants from judges who review the criminal investigation to ensure there is probable cause for the search or the arrest. The Warrant Office has seven attorneys and reviewed nearly 8,000 cases and filed charges in over 5,100 of those cases in 2022. That’s like 14 per day…every day. Yikes! The Special Victims Unit has four victim advocates who help with getting protection orders, assist with crisis support and act as courtroom escorts. They help victims know what to expect. Although it’s an everyday task for the folks in the prosecutor’s office, for many of the victims it’s the worst experience of their life. SVU is mindful of this. Joe also talked about other aspects of the prosecutor’s office such as drug treatment court, school safety, jury duty and working together with local municipalities on various task forces. We thank Prosecutor McCulloch for talking to the Ambassadors and for helping to keep the residents of St. Charles County safe. For more information, visit the website: https://www.sccmo.org/414/Prosecuting-Attorney
Dr. Sean Doherty - VP, Missouri Botanical Garden Dr. Sean Doherty was the guest speaker at the Lake St Louis Ambassadors Meeting on Friday, October 20, 2023. Dr. Doherty Is the Vice President of Education at the Botanical Garden where he has been for 25 years.
Before Dr. Doherty came to the Garden he was a teacher, superintendent, and leader in Human Resources. He came from a background of Leadership Development, Systems Thinking and Strategic Planning.
The Missouri Botanical Garden is located at 4344 Shaw Blvd. in St. Louis, MO. This national historic landmark was founded in 1859 by Henry Shaw. It has 79 acres of scenic landscaping and historical structures.
In the spring of 1810, 18 years old, Shaw landed in St. Louis and took a half day journey on horse back out of town into the country. He soon found himself on elevated ground overlooking a prairie. “Uncultivated, without trees or fences, but covered with tall luxurious grass. Undulated by the gentle breeze of spring,” he recorded. That was Shaw’s true love. 40 years after his arrival in St. Louis, he opened a Botanical Garden on that piece of land for the city’s residents. The Garden became what we know today. The Missouri Botanical Garden. It is the oldest Garden in the U.S.
Henry Shaw opened a hardware and cutlery business in St. Louis in 1819. As the city’s population grew, Shaw’s business expanded to include investments in agriculture commodities, mining, real Estate and furs. With all of his success, Shaw retired at the age of 39. Owning 1000 acres in St. Louis, allowed him to build his country home on the land we know as Tower Grove House.
Through his acts of philanthropy, Shaw added the Missouri Historical Society and the St. Louis Mercantile Library.
158 years after opening the Missouri Botanical Garden, The European Tradition of horticulture design combined with education and search for knowledge, The Missouri Botanical Garden is a National Historic Landmark and a center for science, conservation, education and horticulture display.
The Missouri Botanical Garden focuses it’s work on areas that are rich in biodiversity but threated by habitat destruction. They operate the world’s most active research and training programs in tropical botany. Scientist collaborate with local institutions, schools, indigenous people to understand plants, create awareness, offer alternative craft conservation strategies. The Missouri Botanical Garden is striving for a world that can sustain without sacrificing prosperity for future generations. The center aims to bring together the world’s top mining’s in the field of Biodiversity International.
Thanks to Dr. Doherty, we know the actual history and their reason to exist. The Missouri Botanical Gardens is continuously charged to come up with new and innovative ways to bring people to the Gardens. The Garden has the highest membership ever, over 50,000 members. They boast of over a million visitors will visit the Garden in 2023.
Michael Hurlbert - SCC Director of Community Development
Director Hurlbert, came by to talk to the Ambassadors this past Friday. Mr. Hurlbert, a self-described “data nerd” talked mostly about nerdy data—but interesting, nevertheless.
First, he spoke about development numbers and trends. Some were surprised to hear that both single family and multi-family housing permits were down around 23 percent from 2021 to 2022. When asked about the multi-family housing statistic, Mike noted that these numbers are from the county and do not include areas incorporated by cities. Most of the apartments are in the cities—not so much in the county. He also said that multi-family starts tend to ebb and flow and from 2020 to 2021 they rose dramatically. In fact, residential permits of all types peaked in 2021 and have been decreasing since.
Commercial permits in the county rose nearly 60% from 2021 to 2022. Commercial growth is strong in the area along I-370 in the northern part of the county, mainly due to warehousing.
He also noted, to no one’s surprise, that we are growing Population was 360k in 2010, 405k in 2020 and is expected to be 470k by 2030. He also mentioned some projects such as building code updates (public process, updated every five years) the Uniform Development Order and new GIS Mapping/Zoning: https://maps.sccmo.org/
Director Hurlbert finished his talk with some nerdy data about the 2030 Master Plan. This policy guide is reviewed every five years. The Plan is a 5-to-20-year outlook and takes into account various factors such as: demographics, regulations, land use, parks and recreation. Plans from the various cities are integrated into the overall county plan. They did all that stuff so well; they won an award from The American Planning Association (not made up). You can see the Master Plan here: https://www.sccmo.org/2009/Master-Plan-Envision-2030/MasterPlan2030
Here's a final nerdy data point: 42% of all county land is undeveloped flood plain. That’ a lot!
Kevin Dunn - Executive Director PWSD #2
Kevin Dunn, Executive Director of PWSD#2, spoke to the LSL Ambassadors about the operation of our primary water system and one of the three sanitary sewer districts serving Lake Saint Louis. Kevin has 40 years’ experience in the water industry, is a registered Professional Engineer, and has been with PWSD#2 for 6 years. PWSD#2 was incorporated in 1967 with 5 districts which it serves now with both water and sewers. Its districts are set up based on population and it serves 43,900 units with water and over 15,000 housing units with sewer service. It shares the area with Duckett Creek for sewer service. Following incorporation, PWSD#2 did maintenance work only. It added Lake St Louis and Ofallon Hills water service in in 1974 which began its expansion. In 1981 Wentzville and the GM plant were added using a 24-inch main. (Today GM is served with 2 30-inch mains). PWSD#2 is located along I-64 and is easily identified by its 3-million-gal water tower. It has approximately 773 miles of mains, ranging in size from ½ inch to 42 inches in diameter. The largest water customers are Wentzville, O’Fallon, Master card, Winghaven irrigation and St Joseph West. The biggest capital projects include water treatment plant improvements, new 30” main along Hwy 40/61, a new main to the hospital and a new transmission main to Foristell. Today, PWSD#2 supplies 32.7 million gallons of water per day to its customers. It is sourced from the City of St Louis Howard Bend plant in the Chesterfield bottoms and from the Defiance wellfield. There are 28 wells at the field or plant which source 20 million gal per day and 30 million gallons per day is purchased from St Louis. The district has 19 employees and outsources Field Operation to a subcontractor Woodward & Curran. They currently have 66 employees. For more information see their website at https://www.waterdistrict2.com/.
Pat Mace - Sailboat Builder
Pat Mace sailed up to the Ambassadors meeting on Friday to tell us all about the “Lady in Blue”. This cerulean beauty is a sailboat that was hand-crafted by Mr. Mace in his garage from “a pile of wood” and was launched in Lake St. Louis on July 9th, 2023. Since that time, she has won the Skippers’ Choice Award as Favorite in the annual Classic and Wooden boat show in Door County, Wisconsin https://dcclassicboatshow.com/2021-festival-awards/
Pat Mace moved to LSL about 15 years ago and was in the LSL sailing club for around 8 years. He became interested in sailing as a teenager when his grandfather took him on a 30-foot schooner on Like Michigan. Shortly thereafter, he found plans for a 30-foot schooner in Mechanics Illustrated and fell in love.
Lady in Blue took 2 ½ years to build. Mr. Mace spent two months on the decking alone, which is made mostly of poplar. This decking was meticulously hand-crafted and is spectacular. Every fitting, nail and screw is stainless steel. It was a labor of love.
She sports a high waterline, folding mast, flat bottom and gaff rigging…no need for a weighted keel. That’s a bunch of sailboat stuff.
Thanks to Patrick Mace for sharing his artistic endeavor with the LSL Ambassadors.
Mary Dempsey - SCC Recorder of Deeds
Mary was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2021 to the Recorder of Deeds Office. Prior to that she was employed as Assistant Recorder of Deeds for 2 years. In 2020, St Charles County Recorder’s office purchased new software that has greatly expanded the documents that be processed and digitally recorded. Now, rather than just records of land ownership, marriage licenses, military records such as DD-214s, federal and state liens, fraud alerts and documents used in Ancestry research can be recorded and searched. Of course, officials such as judges and prosecuting attorneys data is shielded from public view.
Ancestry records from 1807 through 1946 are recorded in St Charles County. Existing records were scanned and incorporated so they are available for researchers. All marriage licenses were scanned and placed on line. Any resident with military service records (DD-214) can go to the office and get them scanned and incorporated. Federal and tax liens are included in the database, but commercial liens are found in the case net database. Records from 1947 onward can be reviewed in the Recorders Office. The Recorder’s office databases can now be used online or in person at the St Charles County Administration building. The website https://www.sccmo.org/511/Recorder-of-Deeds is available for use by the public.
Eli Isele - Field Specialist in Horticulture
On September 15th, the Lake St. Louis Ambassadors meeting had the privilege of presenting Eli Isele as our guest speaker. Eli Isele has the position of Horticulture Field Specialist for St. Louis and St Charles County. Eli holds a BS in agriculture from the University of Missouri and an MS in sustainable development practice from the University of Florida. He has extensive practical working experience with all types of agriculture, from a 5,800 acre conventional macadamia nut operation in Hawaii to two organic vegetable farms in Wisconsin.
He also served in the Peace Corps in Malawi, focusing his work with a beekeepers’ CO-OP.
Previous to joining MU Extension he has been establishing and managing the Donald Danforth Plant Science center Field Research Site.
Previous to the Danforth Center he worked as an Extension Agent with the University of Hawaii focusing on sustainable agriculture on the big island and working to improve disease resistance and yield of orchard crops.
Eli spoke on his experiences while serving in the Peace Corps. One of the missions while in the Peace Corps was to promote better understandings between our countries. His two years in Malawi Africa as a young man helped him understand a different culture than what he had always known.
The LSL Ambassadors appreciated the message that Eli brought to our community service organization. Thank you Eli!
LTC Steve Brown - Retired USAF B-52 and U-2 Pilot
Last Friday the Lake St. Louis Ambassadors had one of their own members as the morning’s presenters.
Steve Brown has been a member of the LSL Ambassadors for over 20 years. He gave an engaging talk on his experiences as a pilot for the B-52 and U-2 while serving in the Air Force.
Steve is a retired Lt Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He was a command pilot and instructor for the B-52 and U-2 planes. He has served in Viet Nam, Korea, Japan, Panama, England and Cyprus. Steve was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (2 times)
After Retiring from USAF, he was a pilot for the following companies/organizations: Flight Dept. Captain for Mercantile Bank, May Co, Federated Dept. stores and Macy’s.
He became the flight director and chief pilot for PRS Investment Corp, Grupo Amasua and for the president of Real Madrid Football Team based in Madrid, Spain.
Steve has a Bachelor’s Degree from University of Kansas Master’s Degree from Central Missouri State University Conversational skills in Spanish, Japanese and Korean Safety Consultant to Dept of Energy Nuclear Weapons Division. Consultant to ATF - Panama Briefer for Lockheed Corp and NASA special projects. Director of Reconnaissance in Asian Pacific Theater Lifetime MO State Teacher Certification Offshore Ocean Skipper, certified by British Royal Yachting Association Served on Finance Advisory Board for Whiteman Federal Credit Union.
The LSL Ambassadors have such interesting speakers, and this was one of the best!
Bryan Hampton - Director, SCC Crime Lab
Bryan Hampton from the Saint Charles County Crime Lab stopped by the Ambassadors today to tell us about what’s going on at his lab. Mr. Hampton is the Lab Director and his nine-person strong team analyzes not only drugs (84% of cases), but also biological/DNA samples (10%) and firearms/ballistics (9%). For you math people, there is some overlap of cases.
In 2022, the lab tested 3,096 samples out of 2,557 samples submitted. Yeah, ,they’re overperformers. Actually, recent hires have allowed the lab to reduce their backlog of cases, so they have been able to test more samples than were actually submitted.
Most of these cases are drug samples, with Meth and Opioids comprising the lion’s share. Fentanyl positives are increasing rapidly from a low of zero a mere 10 years ago. Surprisingly, cocaine has also seen a recent uptick, while meth cases are on the decline.
Testing for all these drugs must meet minimum thresholds to be considered “positive”. All samples are subsequently destroyed.
Bryan and his ballistics team also examine the casings and the lands and grooves on expended bullets they receive as evidence. They enter their findings into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) operated by ATF, which allows the lab to compare their findings with other state labs to help find the bad guys. The lab also tests the functionality of seized firearms.
The Crime Lab also tests biological and DNA evidence. They test bodily fluids and DNA evidence that is found on jewelry, glasses, firearms, etc. These data are also entered into a national database called the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The SCC Crime Lab has had over 1400 “hits” on CODIS since 2018. One of these “hits” was the unsolved case of Angie Houseman who went missing in 1993—it’s legit CSI stuff…you should google it. Spoiler alert: Dirtbag sentenced to life-- https://www.sccmo.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1586&ARC=3332
On 8-17-23 Lynn Jordan of Regions Bank spoke to the Ambassadors about credit and fraud. We are constantly bombarded with student debt, interest rates rising, financial dilemmas, home ownership, and credit scores. Lynn chose to enlighten us about establishing and repairing one’s credit. When establishing credit, banks review your capacity, capital, collateral and character. Capacity concerns your income and debt to income ratio. Capacity and collateral are two commonly understood items and character basically is how well you may your debts. The first three things one should do right now to gain mire knowledge about your credit status and the need you have to repair it is 1) check your credit report and find out your credit score, 2) pay on time (collections may remain on your report for seven years) and 3) pay down your debt (keep balances low, don’t close credit cards or open new ones). You can request an annual credit report free at annualcreditreport.com. Three agencies, equifax.com, experian.com and transunion.com, also provide a credit report but may charge a fee. Regions Bank has a lot of tools and resources that provide information and training classes and materials to help one learn more about credit. Call Lynn at the local Regions bank (314-695-8220) or go to their website Regions.com/NextStep.
Joe Markell - Markell Estate Planning
On Aug 11th, Joe Markell, a new member of LSL Ambassadors, spoke about Estate Planning. He is a lawyer specializing in Elder Care issues. He was introduced by Louis Wray who has worked with Joe on estate planning, long term care, trusts and other issues for handling family wealth transfers from one generation to the next and ways to take full advantage of the laws that help one avoid probate court and costly surprises when elders pass on. It’s important to minimize expenses before and after death to maximize the percent of one’s estate that remains in the hands of family members and not in the hands of others. Joe mentioned that most estate plans just don’t work. He specializes in beneficiary directed credit shelter trusts that protect against creditors, predators, second marriage issues, lawsuits, divorce issues and bankruptcy. They are very flexible and since life is constantly changing, along with new laws being passed, they meet with you regularly to review your needs. Such items as Insurance trusts, real estate trusts and Medicaid trusts or transfers via TOD or POD beneficiary are not enough to safely pass wealth on. For an appointment to review your estate plan, call Joe at 636-466-8349 go to his website at www.MarkellPC.com.
Interested in Joining?
It is easy to join our club. Contact a club officer or one of our members to learn more about the club, or just show up for a Friday morning meeting at the Lake Saint Louis Community Association Clubhouse at 7 am. Breakfast is catered each Friday by The Village Cafe. A schedule of speakers at our Friday meetings can be found below.
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