New Dexter Business

The Dexter Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting celebration recently at All About Electric, a new electrical business in the community. On hand for the celebration were (from left): Chamber Executive Janet Coleman, Chamber President Ed Gargas, business owner Brad Wright, Melissa Wright, Dexter Alderman Jerry Corder, and Chamber board member Wes Howard. Brad and Melissa Wright own the business, located in their home at the corner of Grant and Three Mile Road. They do residential, commercial and industrial electrical work and are licensed, bonded and insured. All About Electric may be reached at 573.614.4369 or 573.820.5561. (SMT Photo by Annabeth Miller)

Think outside the box this holiday season.  The perfect gift is at your nearest American Red Cross blood drive or blood donation center.  And, unlike the latest fashion trend, video game or golf club, it costs nothing but an hour of your time. When you donate blood, you give the perfect gift - another hug, another laugh, another smile, another chance - to someone in need of blood.

A blood drive will be held today, Monday, Dec. 12, from 3 until 7 p.m at the First United Methodist Church in Dexter. The church is located at 501 South Walnut Street, and the blood drive will be held in Wesley Hall on the church campus.

 
“It’s the season of giving and there’s one gift that won’t cost you a penny, but means the world to a patient in need,” said Scott Caswell, CEO of the Red Cross Missouri-Illinois Blood Services Region.  “By donating blood, you can give someone an opportunity to spend another holiday with their loved ones.”

It only takes about an hour to donate blood, and in that hour, you can unwrap a lifetime of memories for hospital patients in your community and across the country. The need for blood is constant and doesn’t pause for the holidays. By taking time to donate this winter, you can help the Red Cross ensure a stable blood supply for all patients who need blood products.

All blood types are needed to help maintain a sufficient blood supply, especially type O negative. Type O negative blood, the universal blood type, is always in high demand because it can be transfused to patients with any blood type, especially in emergency situations.

What's Happening

• What: American Red Cross Blood Drive
• When: Monday, Dec. 12
• Time: 3-7 p.m.
• Where: Dexter First United Methodist Church 

By Annabeth Miller, SMT Editor

A record crowd attended Thursday’s Dexter Chamber of Commerce Full Membership meeting and learned of some of the accomplishments during the last year.

Chamber President Ed Gargas presided at the final meeting of the year, with 90 chamber members participating. The meeting had the largest turnout ever for a December meeting.

He noted that in the last year the chamber has hosted more than 20 Ribbon Cutting Celebrations, had 31 new members and 11 new businesses in the Dexter community.

One of those new chamber members, Gargas noted, was the new Three Rivers Center in Dexter which opened for its first semester in January. College officials anticipate an enrollment for the spring smester of more than 250 in the new center and 400 students for the fall 2012 semester.

“In a year to grow for 400 students and that’s just tremendous,” Gargas said. He noted that many of those students will becoming to Dexter for classes. “While they are here between classes hopefully they are stopping by your restaurant, your gift shop, your gas station and investing some of their dollars into our great community.”

New directors joining the board of directors on Jan. 1 will be Erin Brown, Bobby Greer and Jackie McKuin. They will be replacing retiring members Gargas, Scott Chesser and Kevin Bishop.

The Leadership Dexter 2012 class was announced at the Full Membership meeting. Leadership Dexter is a leader development program sponsored by the Chamber for emerging leaders in the community. Leadership Dexter is a proactive leadership development program in the Dexter community and sponsored by the Chamber. The year-long program includes a series of forums, seminars, and field trips that have been custom designed to explore the many challenges and opportunities facing the community leaders of tomorrow.

Members selected for Leadership Dexter in 2012 include -

• Rachel Bullard, Regions Bank
• Sarah Gibson, Mongomery Bank
• Chris Guethle, First Medwest Bank
• Aaron Mathis, Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home
• Andrew Stuever, Southern Bank
• Brett Miller, First State Bank and Trust
• Josh Miller, Missouri Southern Healthcare
• Matthew Ternes, Heartland Food Management (dba) Pizza Hut)
• Kristin Zeman, First National Bank

In other business, Coleman announced that the Chamber will host  the Business After Hours event for December on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at the Chamber of Commerce offices on Market Street. The drop-in event will be held from 5 – 6:30 p.m.

In addition, the Chamber Annual Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012.

Photo Above: The members of the 2012 Dexter Leadership Class were announced at Thursday's Dexter Chamber of Commerce Full Membership meeting. Attending the luncheon were class members (from left) Andrew Stuever, Chris Guethle, Matt Ternes,  Kristin Zeman, Josh Miller, Brett Miller. (SMT Photo By Annabeth Miller) 

By Annabeth Miller, SMT Editor

CAPE GIRARDEAU -  One of Dexter’s most honored native sons will deliver the December commencement addresss at Southeast Missouri State University.

Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughn, retired director of the Army National Guard of the United States and a 1968 graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, will deliver the commencement address.

Commencement is scheduled for 2 p.m. Dec. 17 in the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau during which 656 students--543 undergraduates and 113 graduate students -- will receive degrees.

Vaughn was raised in Dexter, graduated from Dexter High School and attended Southeast Missouri State where he graduated in 1968, He taught and coached at Dexter High School after graduating from SEMO.

Vaughn was commissioned through the Missouri National Guard Officer Candidate School program in 1974 and served in a wide variety of command and staff positions as a traditional Guardsman and on active duty. He also served extensively in Central and South America on several deployed task forces.

Vaughn retired as the director of the Army National Guard in July 2009 after nearly 40 years of service to the Guard and the U.S. Army. As director of the Army National Guard -- a force of over 350,000 Soldiers in the 54 states, territories, and the District of Columbia -- Vaughn guided the formulation, development and implementation of all programs and policies affecting the Army Guard. He built an innovative and highly successful recruiting program; undertook the changes necessary to raise Army National Guard combat readiness levels to all time highs; enabled the Army National Guard to meet all wartime and deployment requirements, deploying more than 300,000 soldiers; guided the deployment of Army National Guard soldiers to hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Southwest Border; and developed several innovative programs such as the Afghanistan Agriculture Development Teams.

Among the unique approaches to the challenge of recruiting 70,000 new soldiers a year were establishing a National Guard High School Academy in Indiana, and a GED institution in Arkansas. These schools were for nationwide, high potential, high school dropouts who desired to join the Army National Guard and serve their country.

His general officer assignments were as deputy director of operations, Readiness, and mobilization and deputy director of military support under the G3 of the U.S. Army, deputy director of the Army National Guard, assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for National Guard Matters, and director of the Army National Guard from June 2005 to July 2009.

Vaughn has received the Army Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Legion of Merit with four Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters. In 2006, he was honored with the Alumni Merit Award by Southeast Missouri State University. In 2010 he was awarded the McLain Medal by the Association of the U.S. Army, which is awarded to one Army National Guard Soldier each year.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Southeast Missouri State University and a Master of Public Administration from Shippensburg (Pa.) University. His professional military education includes the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa.

Vaughn and his wife Carol Westrich of Cape Girardeau met while attending Southeast. They have two children, Kristi and Chad, and four grandchildren. Vaughn and Carol, his wife of 44 years, currently reside in Winchester, Va

For families unable to attend or for those who wish to preserve the moment, a DVD copy of either the Honors Convocation or commencement ceremony may be ordered by contacting Dr. Jim Dufek at (573) 651-2484.

The DVD copies include “senior shoutouts” which are brief prerecorded messages from various graduates to friends and family. “Senior shoutouts” also are aired on monitors on the Show Me Center concourses prior to commencement.