Although this is a great accomplishment for the workers, it is not their first victory. In fact, this is the sixth consecutive year that MoDot has taken first place in the Charitable Campaign. This year, they have raised a total of $164,551.
The campaign is annually organized by the Missouri Office of Administration that allows employees to voluntarily raise money for non-profit organizations and help out with charity. These multiple fundraisers and the campaign itself has become a raging success. Throughout the twenty-eight years that the Missouri State Employee Charitable Campaign has been around, MoDot has always played a big part in the program, along with many other Missouri employees. This year, Missouri raised a grand total of $1,050,000 for the campaign and is eager to donate it to various charities all over the country.
MoDot raised the most money as a whole, but each branch of MoDot performed their own fundraisers and have decided to donate to certain charities. Many of these fundraisers included raffles, chili suppers and cook offs, activity fairs, and others collected multiple donations.
The campaign usually starts in late August and lasts a few months until ending sometime in November, which gives the employees plenty of time to come up with fundraisers and plan fundraising events. There were about 8,500 different Missouri donors that participated in the campaign this year, which was a 2% increase from the previous years. MoDot is proud to be one of these 8,500 donors. They are currently the fourth largest that participates in the campaign.
The total money raised was donated to nearly one thousand different charities in organizations. Some of these foundations are well known, such as the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, American Association for Cancer Research, and the American Wildlife Conservation Fund. Many of the others were local donations, such as: Shop with a Cop, local Christmas programs, 4H Clubs, Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, humane societies, and church related groups.
The money that was raised by the people near the Stoddard County area and/or the Southeast Missouri area donated a majority of their money to the Salvation Army, American Red Cross (Southeast MO Chapter), Big Brothers Big Sisters of Missouri, Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland, and The Safe House for Women Group.
In previous years, money has been donated to Joplin to help repair the horrific damage from the tornado. A majority of the funds will go towards medical foundations or local schools, clubs, or organizations that help younger children thrive and grow properly.
To willingly raise such a large amount of money and help people all across the United States is an amazing thing to do. The employees of both MoDot and other Missouri companies and businesses really put their heart into it and the totaled numbers have really shown that.
The recipients of the money raised are very thankful and the Missouri employees are preparing for next year’s campaign as they create fundraising ideas and begin planning events for the months ahead so that they will have an even better turn out next year.
To see the full list of charities or money raised by the various areas and regions across the state of Missouri, visit http://www.msecc.mo.gov. The website also contains information about the charities that are involved, the donors that participated, and ways to help get involved in next year’s upcoming campaign.
MoDot has joined the crew and has become a large part of the new official Purple Heart Trail that has been recently established in the state of Missouri. Both I-70 and I-44 will be associated with the new trail and road signs will be placed along these highways for miles upon miles in honor of the Purple Heart recipients. Sixteen road signs were unveiled at the official ceremony that took place last week on Wednesday, March 6th at Jefferson City. These two highways and the other roadways, bridges, and historical monuments serve as symbols to honor the soldiers that have received Purple Hearts.
The idea of the Purple Heart Trail was introduced by Carl Dietrich, a retired United States Navy electrician from Springfield. Dietrich is a member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, which has been a big inspiration to his newest proposal.
Dietrich began planning a committee and received help from Representative Charlie Denison and former Representative Jerry Nolte played a large part in the passing of the Senate Bill 480 at The Missouri General Assembly’s latest session.
“I am pleased with the support we received to honor those wounded or killed while serving their country.” Dietrich stated.
The three men worked closely together and created a committee that helped put the plan into action. They also received a helping hand from MoDot and a new worker joined their project. MoDot’s Assistant Chief Engineer, Don Hillis, agreed with the men who had taken on the task of bringing the Purple Heart Trail into Missouri.
“I believe that what we are going to see with these highway signs is a continual reminder of the sacrifice that people have made so that we can maintain our freedom in this country.” Hillis explained.
Missouri is not the only state that has taken on the responsibility of joining the Purple Heart Trail and we certainly will not be the last. In fact, the trail was first established in 1992 by the Members of the Purple Heart and the trail officially begins at the burial place of George Washington in Mount Vernon, Virginia. We are proud to say that Missouri has joined the other forty-five states that participate in the Purple Heart Trail so that we can honor our military members and soldiers who have received this medal of honor and for all of the ones that will in the future.
“It is my hope that the people who travel through the state of Missouri will recognize that we want to honor our veterans.” Denison concluded.
Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
Dexter, Missouri - U.S. Senator Roy Blunt’s staff will host a Listening Post Meeting on Monday, March 18, 2013 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Bootheel Regional Planning Commission.
Listening Posts are intended for Missourians to share their questions and concerns during meetings with members of Senator Blunt's staff.
Senator Blunt’s Jefferson City office also extends one-on-one service to all Missourians who have an issue with a federal agency or need additional assistance.
To reach the Senator’s Office of Constituent Services, please call at (573) 634-2488 or send a letter at 308 E. High Street, Suite 202, Jefferson City, Missouri 65101.
What: Senator Blunt's Staff Hosts Listening
Post Meeting
When: Monday, March 18, 2013 from
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CT
Where: Bootheel Regional
Planning Commission
Submitted by
Dee Loflin, SMT Writer
Jefferson City, Missouri - As the last remnants of winter made their way through Jefferson City this week your Missouri House started on the People’s Agenda with all committees listening to a host of bills while making their way through the process to the floor. Listed below are three that made it through the House this week.
The Missouri House passed legislation this week sending a strong message about our support of your right to farm here in Missouri. There are many special interest groups that would like to curb or punish our number one industry, Agriculture. We are fully committed to standing in defense of the traditions, values and rights we Missourians have held dear for generations. HCS HJR 11 & 7, would approve a constitutional amendment giving voters the opportunity to make their voices heard on this important issue in the next statewide election.
HJR 8, proposes a constitutional amendment requiring the State Lottery Commission to develop and begin selling a “Veterans Lottery Ticket” by July 1, 2015. The net proceeds from the sale of these tickets would be deposited into the Veterans Commission Capital Improvements Trust Fund to provide vital services to our veterans. This select group has already given for us, should we not try and return the deed? This legislation has received resounding support and no opposition.
HB 34,established the School Construction Act which exempts construction and maintenance work done for rural school districts from the prevailing wage rate requirement upon the school board’s approval. This should be a major help to communities struggling to meet the safety and advancement for our future generation.
Rep. Hampton was pleased to have Hannah Stoelting, a Junior from Holcomb High School, as a Legislative Shadow on February 20th, 2013.
A group of 8th grade students from Caruthersville Middle School also visited the Capital on February 18th and 19th and were excited to meet Hampton.
As always, it is an honor to serve you in the Missouri House. If you would like to discuss any issue, please contact 573-751-3629. You can also email me at Kent.Hampton@house.mo.gov. I look forward to hearing from you.
Photo courtesy of Shana Beasley, Legislative Assistant to Rep. Kent Hampton, serving the 150th District.
Missouri - Missouri’s Secretary of State, Jason Kander, has put a brilliant plan into action within the last couple of weeks. With the creation of TheMissouriChannel.com, the Secretary of State website offers information that was not available to the public for quite some time.
With this new program up and running, Missouri citizens have the power to access the website and watch video clips, listen to audio tapes, and read an assortment of articles right there on their very own laptop or computer. Debates and discussions are now able to be easily accessed, which were previously not available at all. Aside from the debates, there are also journals that are available on Kander’s newest website.
Kander is currently in charge of keeping tabs on the historical and current state government records and wants the public to have the opportunity to see these documents or records. This website gives the Missouri people more than just an inward look on what is going on in our state government, but also gives them insight about the actual discussions and debates that are taking place.
Our Secretary of State’s newest idea will surely be a big hit. Currently, the website contains information about the House and Senate Debates, which took place on February 18th (both audio and journals are included). On February 19th, another House Debate took place and the website holds both audio and journals. On the same day, there was a two part Senate Debate and the audio and journals that were written and record are both available. The latest debates that took place on February 20th are also available. Live debates from both the Senate and House of Representatives will not be found on TheMissouriChannel.com but can be found on their respective websites.
Another great thing about this recently launched website is that it was completely free of charge to the taxpayers and contains information that isn’t always publicly broadcasted.
"One of my major goals as secretary of state is to make government more transparent and accessible, and this project will go a long way to achieve that," Kander stated. "Even better, this initiative comes at no additional cost to the taxpayers, because it's using systems already in place."
If you are looking forward to checking out our state’s newest website, make sure it is not between the times of 6:00pm and 6:30pm today (Thursday, February 28th). The website will be down during that time due to maintenance and new material being downloaded.
