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As part of the organization’s 32nd Annual Breakfast, North County Incorporated (NCI)l on May 15 recognized several area leaders for making a significant positive impact in North County.

Hundreds of business, civic, and community leaders gathered at NCI’s 32nd Annual Breakfast at the St. Louis Airport Marriott to honor this year’s award recipients. Those honored were:

Hazelwood Supt. Chris L. Wright, Ph.D. received the prestigious Elmer Belsha Leadership Award, which is presented annually to an individual whose long-term commitment to the North County region and NCI has had a positive impact on the community and/or public body that they serve. Chris, a teacher and administrator in Missouri public schools for 33 years, has provided educational and community leadership to the North County area for more than 25 years. She has been superintendent of the Hazelwood School District since 2002 and served as superintendent of Riverview Gardens School District before that.

Among her many accomplishments: Wright was named Superintendent of the Year for the State of Missouri by the MO Association of School Administrators, as well as a Distinguished Alumus by the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

NCI’s Business Development Awards were presented to Ronald B. McMullen, president of Christian Hospital, and Carolyn Pryor-Luster, M.D. of Serenity Women’s Healthcare, Inc.

During the short time McMullen has been at Christian Hospital, he has improved the federal government CMS reported clinical-quality data rankings, successfully increased access to the Emergency Department through the reduction of ambulance diversions and hired an additional 150 nurses.

McMullen also opened Family Care of North County, a nurse practitioners’ office in Hazelwood. Under his leadership, Northwest HealthCare has been in the top 100th percentile nationally for patient satisfaction over the past two years. He has also implemented an aggressive $5 million investment in renovations of the hospital.

When other OB-GYNs were relocating West, Dr. Carolyn Pryor-Luster made a commitment to North County and has practiced in the area for more than 13 years. She opened her medical practice here and it successfully grew until expansion into a larger office space became necessary.

Ms. Marsha Bonds, director of North County CARES, the Florissant Parks Foundation, and Ken Smith, president of the Old Jamestown Association, were given Community Development Awards .

Marsha Bonds coordinates the North County CARES program, which is a community initiative that seeks to promote and support North County employers and service providers to enhance the quality of life for residents.

Over the past few years, members of the Florissant Parks Foundation undertook the task of developing and building a Nature Lodge in Sunset Park Thanks to the tenacity of Mayor Robert Lowery and the many people on the Parks Foundation’s team, the Behlmann & Zykan Nature Lodge opened on April 18. Mark Behlmann accepted the 2009 NCI Community Development Award on behalf of the Florissant Parks Foundation.

Ken Smith is president of the Old Jamestown Association and has diligently worked with the St. Louis County government and neighboring communities on many issues affecting the residents of north St. Louis County He recently reached the successful conclusion of his decades-long effort to preserve the unique geological karst formations located in North County.

Public Service Awards were presented to Mayor Virginia A. Bira, City of Vinita Park, Randy Gardner, news director for News 20, City of Black Jack, and Judge Timothy Kelly, City of Florissant, for their long-time service, which has had a positive impact on the community and/or public body they serve.

Randy Gardner works at News 20, the cable channel for the City of Black Jack, and is also the city’s Public Relations Director. He has worked in North County for 25 years and has 49 national broadcast awards, 3 international broadcast awards and 3 Mid-America Regional Emmy Awards to his name. He has written a column for the Independent News for 12 years and writes a feature article for “Our Town” magazine. Randy donates endless hours to produce videos to help many community service organizations.

Garner donates his time and talent as a judge for the Ms. Senior America Pageant and hosts and MC’s multiple organization’s fundraisers, helping raise over $100,000.00 for local charities. This past year he was recognized as an up-and-coming leader in North County by NCI as part of the 30 Leaders in their 30s campaign.

Judge Timothy Kelly is celebrating 30 years of public service as a judge for the City of Florissant. He has presided over the Florissant Municipal Court since 1979 and never shied away from the challenge to be fair and just with those who appeared before his bench. Many say he conducted his court with compassion when possible and a firm hand when needed.
Judge Kelly was also a judge for the City of St. John for 12 years.

The AARP Senior Community Service Program and Mr. Fletcher E. Wells II of St. Johns Bank and Trust Co. received NCI’s 2009 Special Recognition Awards for their volunteerism, contributions to civic and charitable organizations, and/or for their betterment of the community.

The AARP Senior Community Service Program, under the leadership of Lisa Bishop, helps job seekers over the age of 55 improve their skills, obtain training, and find a job. Specific to the North County area, this program supports approximately 120 people at any given time. The SCSP program serves about 300 people each year.

Fletcher E. Wells II is the vice president and director of St. Johns Bank and Trust Co. He handles special projects and represents the bank through business development and community relations and is well-suited in this role as it allows him to work closely with many, many community organizations. Fletcher is an active member of the organizations in which he is involved. He is on the Executive Board of NCI, serves as its Treasurer, and also serves on the Board Development Taskforce, North County School/Business Partnership and the Business Retention Stakeholder Taskforce.

NCI was established in 1977 as a business and civic organization. The board is composed of community leaders and business owners. Ms. Lillie Dumas of Commerce Bank is the current president.

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