­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Junior League New Member Special Edition
­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ St. Joseph, Missouri — Fall 2015 — ________________________________________________________________________________ The Junior League of St. Joseph is excited to announce that we have several new members for the 2015­2016 year! We are sure each of these ladies will be a great addition to our league. Together we can better our community and ourselves. ___________________________________
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Meet our new members… Maggie Adams ​
was born and raised in St. Joseph by her dad, Bill, and mom, Veronica. She has a little brother, Brady, who will be 21 this year! She graduated from Bishop LeBlond High School in 2008. Maggie attended Coffeyville Community College in Kansas to play volleyball, and graduated with an associates degree in 2010. She moved back home and graduated from Missouri Western in 2013 with a Bachelor's degree in economics. Maggie works at the News­Press in the accounting department. She spends most of her free time playing, coaching, and reffing volleyball. She loves reading, Samantha King ​
came to St. Joseph to attend Missouri Western State University. She majored in Natural Science/Chemistry with a Forensic Science concentration and also minored in Criminal Justice. Samantha graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor’s of Science and currently works as a laboratory technician at Lifeline Foods in St. Joseph. Teresa Limle……. Tiffany Smith was born and raised in St. Joseph. She went to Benton High School and then on to Missouri Western State University where she received a Bachelor's degree in Business Management. Tiffany was part of the first class to graduate from Missouri Western State University. She married Cory Smith, who is a Bearcat and Central grad, but she doesn’t hold that against him! Tiffany and Cory have two amazing little boys they wouldn't trade for the world. She began working at Altec Industries in 2006, and has been fortunate to be a part of such a great company that cares about their employees and gives back to the community. Tiffany enjoys being with her boys, the outdoors, volleyball, reading, and the list goes on and on. She truly enjoys helping out and doing what she can to make our traveling, and watching scary movies. community a better place, which is why she joined the Junior League. Nicole Messick ​
Kelly ​
Adkins is from St. Joseph and graduated from Bishop LeBlond in 1999. Currently, she is going to Missouri Western and will receive her Bachelor of Social Work degree spring 2016. After graduating, Kelly will go on to obtain a graduate degree in social work from the University of Kansas. She has two sons, Calvin and Logan. Both boys are involved in soccer and wrestling and for the last four years Kelly has coached wrestling with Saint Joe Metro Kids Wrestling Club. She loves volunteering and is looking forward to being a part of Junior League of Saint Joseph. is a St. Joseph native since birth. She graduated from Central High School in 2001. She then attended Missouri Western State University and received her Bachelor’s in Physical Education. She went on to get her masters in school counseling from Northwest Missouri State University, so I am an alum of both local colleges. (This only proves to be a problem when they play each other!) I have been a school counselor for the past 6 years and am currently a high school counselor at Lathrop High School. I have 4 children, Maddy (8), Molly (4), and twin boys who were born in May 2015! In my free time (what little is left), I love to attend concerts, shop, and do anything crafty, and of course spend time with my family. I'm looking forward to volunteering my time with Junior League, and making new girlfriends along the way! Cindy Steeby ​
graduated from Northwest Missouri State University with a BS Pre­professional Zoology and a BS Molecular Biology. She currently works for Nestle Purina PetCare in St. Joseph as a Scientist, Nutritional Microbiology. She is married to John Steeby and they reside in Savannah. They have two boys, Connor 14, a Freshman at Savannah High School and th​
Carson 11, a 5​
grader at Minnie Cline Elementary. She enjoys camping and fishing, watching her boys’ activities, and riding motorcycles with her husband. Kimberly ​
Bass moved to St. Joseph, MO in 2004 for college, when she met her husband, Lonnie Bass, in 2008. She graduated from Missouri Western State University with a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design. After Shaina Mixon ​
was born and raised in Orlando, Florida. She moved to St. Joseph with her husband, Jesse Spooner, in January 2012. She Ashley Vidal was born and raised in St. Joseph. She attended Central High School and studied at Missouri Western State University. Ashley enjoys spending most of her time with friends and family. She stays active with sports and outdoor activities, but who doesn't like a pursuing design in Overland Park for a couple of years, she moved her employment to St. Joseph. She is now a Staffing Coordinator with IMKO Workforce Solutions.She enjoys time with her son, McCoy, and family in her spare time. She is also an It Works Distributor selling those crazy wraps and learning network marketing. She enjoys golfing, boating, photography, and her dogs, but family is most important to her. has two children, David and Jason, who attend private boarding school. She is currently a student at Missouri Western State University and hopes to graduate in the spring of 2017. She is double majoring in order to receive a BFA in Graphic Design and a BSBA in Marketing. After graduating, she hopes to continue her education by seeking her MFA in Graphic Design. She is a current member of Alpha Kappa Psi, (a business fraternity), Beta Gamma Sigma (the business honor society), and a student member of the AIGA Kansas City. She loves to travel and currently earns frequent flyer miles traveling to visit her children. Gretchen ​
Curley grew up in Harrisonville, MO with her parents and two younger sisters. She graduated from Northwest Missouri State University (Go Bearcats!) in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast and Journalism. She moved to St. Joseph in the summer of 2008 after landing her first job as a reporter for News Press Now (now KNPN). Gretchen enjoyed getting to know the city and its residents during her five years as a reporter. For the past three years Gretchen has been working as a communication consultant at Mosaic Life Care where she has a chance to share the stories of the wonderful caregivers who work around her every day. Gretchen married Martin Curley in 2010 and they welcomed their first child, Jackson, in February of 2014. On the weekends, you can Crystal ​
Beckman Peabody graduated from Benton High School in 1998. She was a Phi Mu at NWMSU and majored in psychology. She then moved to Springfield to complete a M.A. and Psy.D. at Forest Institute. She met her husband, Justin, who is from Springfield in 2003. He pursued a career in law enforcement which required a training academy in Jeff City, and she was placed in Tulsa for an internship in correctional and forensic psychology. Afterward, she headed to Farmington, MO for my post­doctoral residency in a forensic psychiatric hospital and Justin was placed near St. good night on the couch watching movies and eating ice cream?!? Ashley is really looking forward to giving back to the community and making new lifelong friends in the Junior League. Emily Wearing is ​
a lifelong St. Joseph resident, born and raised. Ever since she was in middle school, she always dreamed of becoming a news reporter. So when it came time to head off to college, she moved out west to Kansas State University. Emily graduated in May of 2014 with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications and a minor in Geography. She was lucky to get her first job at her hometown station, KQ2 in October of 2014. The job is full of different experiences and everyday brings its own adventures. In her free time Emily enjoys baking, visiting antique shops, and cheering on the Wildcats during football season. She is so excited to be a new member of the Junior League and cannot wait to help make a difference throughout the community. find the Curleys running 5ks, traveling or cheering on the Bearcats and the Chiefs.In her spare time, Gretchen enjoys reading, spending time with family and friends, and plans to run her first half­marathon this coming spring. Hannah ​
Howard grew up on the North Carolina coast in Morehead City. She graduated from North Carolina State University in 2013 with Bachelor’s degrees in Nutrition Science and Food Science. Following graduation, Hannah began working for Nestlé Purina PetCare as part of the Quality Assurance management development program in Clinton, IA. She recently relocated from Iowa with her dog, Charlie, after being transferred to Nestlé Purina’s St. Joseph facility. In her free time she enjoys running, boating, and spending time with family and friends. Jessica Jackson ​
is a proud St. Joe native! She had the privilege of attending Missouri Western State Louis. Once she became a fully licensed clinical psychologist, she decided it was time to move back to St. Joseph and was able to secure employment June 2008. Crystal and Justin married in 2009, and then in 2010 his transfer was approved and they were finally able to reside in the same home! They rescued a dog named Bella that year. They have two daughters, Carley and Reese, and are expecting a third in January 2016. In addition to being a wife to a state trooper and a mother to a busy and growing crew, Crystal is a full time clinical psychologist in a prison, teaches online college psychology courses at HCC and MVC, and is halfway finished with her MBA through NWMSU online. She is looking forward to more time with current friends, building new friendships, and making a meaningful difference in the community. Teresa Shirrell ​
has been married to her husband, Kevin, for 15 years and has two active children; Karson (10) and Maggie (7). She is a Deputy Warden for the Dept. of Corrections at the Maryville Treatment Center. She has been employed with the State of Missouri for 20 years and 18 years with the Dept. of Corrections. She in an Alumni of Savannah High School, and Missouri Western State University where she received a LaTonya Williams has lived in St. Joseph for most of her life. She graduated from Missouri Western with BA degrees in Journalism and Public Relations and minors in Spanish and Photography. She is the owner of LaTonya Williams Photography, where she specializes in weddings, high school seniors, maternity and other areas. She has been open for business nearly three years with her studio located in downtown St. Joseph. In her spare time, her daughters Arianna, Lyric, and Jaydaci (who are 17, 10 and 6) keep LaTonya very busy volunteering at their dance studio, The Dance Arts Center, as well as helping with their extracurricular activities such as high school poms, praise dance at church, beauty pageants and local plays and productions. Her hobbies include readings, scrapbooking and, of course, photography. University and graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. While at Western, Jess was a member of Enactus and the Cheer Squad. Though she ended her cheerleading career at MWSU, her optimism and "let's do it!" attitude easily translate into both her professional and personal life today. Jessica currently works at the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce as the Business Retention Specialist. When she’s not working or cheering on the Griffs, you can find Jess enjoying a burger on Bad Art's patio, watching the Chiefs play at the Hi Ho, getting a good run in on our beautiful river walk, or spending time with her amazing family. Jessica has an older sister, Jeron, and brother, Jeremy. Jess’ sister is expecting her first child January of 2016 and she couldn’t be more excited to be an aunt! Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice. Teresa is involved with the Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church and PTO at Minnie Cline Elementary School. She enjoys weekends and days off with her family and friends, walking, "down time", sporting events (Chiefs, MIZZOU, KSU Wildcats), traveling, and shopping. Kristal Short ​
was raised in Emmett, Kansas by her parents Brenda and Martin Channel. After graduating from St. Mary’s High School, she attended Kansas State University and received a Bachelor’s of Social Work degree and a coaching endorsement. She had an amazing experience at K­State and will be a Wildcat for life! Following graduation, Kristal began her job at the Department for Children and Families working in Child Welfare. She met Michael her junior year at K­State and then married this past May 23, 2015. Michael is employed at Altec here in St. Joseph and Kristal moved here with him. She now attends the University of Kansas to complete her Master’s of Social Work and will hopefully find a job working as a school social worker. Michael and Kristal enjoy their two puppies, Oro and Chan, and spending time with Leah Williams was raised in Colorado, but has lived in Missouri since she was 18. Leah attended NWMSU as a Physical Education major and graduated in 2004. She moved to Saint Joseph and started teaching Health and PE at Robidoux Middle School and has been there for the last 12 years. She also coaches Cross­Country and Track for Robidoux. Leah earned a Master’s in Education from Baker University in 2011. She married Daryl in 2008 and had a baby girl, Jaelyn, in 2009 and a boy, Myles, in 2011. Leah enjoys running and being a mom. Her kids are very involved in sports and that keeps her very busy! their families and friends. She also enjoys playing sports (softball and volleyball mainly) and going to the lake. Her goals for this year include finishing graduate school, pursuing a career and making a difference in lives within the community. Lastly, Kristal looks forward to her experiences within the Junior League this year!