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The following are beife profiles of the five candidates seeking three-year terms in the April 7th election for the Hazelwood School Board. Behlmann and Whitlock are the incumbents.

Mark Behlmann

Mark Behlmann has been on the Hazelwood Board of Education for 12 years. Behlmann (50 years old) and his wife Cathy reside in Florissant and have two granddaughters.

Behlmann, a journeyman carpenter and graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas High School `76, started a custom home building business in 1988. He is the developer and builder of North County’s premier subdivisions “Parc Argonne Estates”, and current project “Fleurissant Parc Place”.

Behlmann has served as a director on the Florissant Valley Chamber of Commerce, serving as president in 2004. He is also a member of North County Inc., the National and St. Louis Home Builders Association, Old Jamestown Association, Spanish Lake Community Association, Florissant Ambassadors, and is president of the Florissant Parks Foundation. In 2007, he was elected to a director seat on the Missouri School Boards’ Association and currently serves as the Region 7 Governmental Relations Chair.

Behlmann is a recipient of many awards: Outstanding Young Men of America `96, Chamber Business Person of the Year `97, Old Jamestown Association Citizen of the Year `02 and Trinity Catholic High School Hall of Fame `03. In 2005, he received his Master Certification from the MSBA.

Desiree D. Whitlock

Desiree D. Whitlock is the parent of two daughters, Desiree B. and Bryona. Desiree B. is a 2005 graduate of Hazelwood East and is currently a senior at Indiana State University with a major in Business Administration. Bryona is a junior at Hazelwood East High School, with varsity letters in basketball, volleyball and soccer.

Whitlock has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Fisk University and a Master of Science in Healthcare Management from Lindenwood University.

Desiree is currently president of the Hazelwood School District Board of Education and is a member of the Hazelwood East PTA. Desiree has held past offices on both the Keeven Elementary School and Kirby Junior High PTAs.

She has served on various committees including Hazelwood 1st, Middle School Planning, High School Behavioral Guide Planning, Propositions 4, H and 1, the Scholarship Selection Committee and the Interviewing Committee for Teachers and Administrators.

Whitlock has lived and been an active parent in the school district for the past 20 years. She has worked on the polls for Hazelwood 1st, Proposition E and H, and has done community-speaking engagements on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, and Depression at Keeven.

Desiree has been employed by BJC/HealthCare System for the past 21 years in the field of Substance Abuse and Mental Health. She is currently the Director of Family Care Counseling, LLC.

Eugene Dokes

Eugene Dokes was born and raised in North St. Louis City. At the age of 17, he graduated from Pattonville High School, and joined the U. S. Navy as an aircraft mechanic. Four years later, he left the Navy as a War on Terror Veteran, and with a philosophy built around honor, courage and commitment.

Dokes moved into the Hazelwood District in Dec. 2003 following his Honorable Navy Discharge. He then got his Realtors License and his undergraduate degree in Business Administration, with minors in three areas; Psychology, Sociology, and Management. He is currently finishing his MBA through Lindenwood University, and plans to begin a doctorate program later this year.

In 2007, Dokes became a published author. His book “Purple Hearted” has taught success and fulfillment to many people nationwide. As a politician he appeared on a St. Louis County ballot for the first time in 2008, where he had two successful campaigns in August and one unsuccessful campaign later that year in November. He currently serves as township committeeman.

Dokes has been married for six years; he and his wife have three young children together, ages 4, 2, and 1. They are members of Hope Church, where they both are youth leaders and help to guide dozens of teenagers, mentally and spiritually.

Frank James Smith

Frank James Smith has been a resident of the Hazelwood School District since 1978. Mr. Smith has demonstrated his commitment to education throughout his career and in the parenting of his children.

Smith graduated from Sumner High School in the St. Louis Public Schools, and received a B.S.Ed. from Central Missouri State University. He earned graduate degrees in school administration from Northeast Missouri University and University of Missouri-St. Louis. Mr. Smith served as a teacher, coach, counselor and administrator in the St. Louis Public Schools, and an administrator in the Maplewood-Richmond Heights Schools.

In 1992, Mr. Smith became an assistant principal at Hazelwood East High School. Two years later, he was assigned as head principal at Hazelwood Central High School – which was the largest high school in Missouri. Mr. Smith served as head principal from 1995 until his retirement in June 2008.

Smith has served on the Emerson YMCA board, the Missouri State High Schools Activities Association Board, and the Gateway Classic Foundation. He is a member of many professional and service organizations.

Smith’s sons, Frank Jr. and Bryan matriculated through Hazelwood from kindergarten to their graduation from Hazelwood East High School. Frank Jr. is now a practicing attorney in St. Louis, and Bryan is a student at Missouri Western State University.

Ray Taylor

Ray Taylor has been a resident of the Hazelwood School District for 35 years. His son, Nicholas, is an alumnus of Hazelwood Central High – class of 1999. Additionally, Taylor hs spent his entire professional career within the Hazelwood School Community as an employee of the district from 1973 until I retired in 2004, a total of 31 years.

Taylor spent 8.5 years as a classroom teacher at Hazelwood Middle and East Middle (Kirby). I was the Fine Arts department chair at Kirby and Hazelwood East, assistant principal at Hazelwood East, and building principal at Kirby Junior High until his retirement in 2004. He has served as chairman on numerous committees for the district as well as represented Hazelwood at both state and national education conferences

Taylor’s educational background includes Ed. D 1997 Saint Louis University, Ed. S 1984 Truman State University, M.A. 1979 Washington University and B.S. 1973 University of Arkansas – Pine Bluff

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