2010 Volunteer of the Year Nominations being accepted now until September 30, 2010

Only one nomination per recognized Missouri CASA program.  Nominee is selected and submitted by Program Director..      click here for the nomination form

2009 Volunteer of the Year

Jeren Siegrist

CASA of St. Louis County

 Visit the "Gallery" on the website to see more conference photo's

Why Jeren is an inspiration!

Jeren has served as a CASA volunteer for 10 years.  She has advocated for 14 children, ranging in age from infant to 20 years old.  Due to her nursing background, she has been appointed to many children with severe medical issues.  One of the children she served left the system at age 19, employed and in school.  She says, "Thank you for Mrs. Jeren Siegrist.....Please I ask you to keep up the good work and never stop helping young people like me."  Jeren continually recruits her friends to become CASA's and makes presentations to educate the community and donors.

 We thank all the 2009 Volunteer of the Year Nominees for all that you do everyday!

Bethany Randa
Jackson County CASA

Bethany devotes an average of 30 hours per week to CASA and has served 17 children in only one year. She goes above and beyond the responsibilities of a CASA volunteer by visiting the children she serves more than once a month and attending doctor’s appointments. The Jackson County CASA staff has received countless compliments about Bethany’s service as a CASA volunteer from attorneys, other volunteers, Children’s Division workers, foster parents and Commissioners.

Candace Klemann
Douglass Community Services CASA

Candace is a huge asset to the Douglass Community Services CASA program. When others may have given up on a case, she has repeatedly found ways to complete an interview by pursuing families in non-threatening ways. In one of her cases, the family stated in court that “[t]he CASA advocate was the only person in the system who listened, found correct answers and reported the children’s concerns to the court.” Also, she helped organize the Heart Gallery with Children’s Division to show children’s portraits to potential adoptive parents.

Jean Lubich
15th Judicial Circuit CASA

As a CASA volunteer since December 2005, Jean always says “yes” to cases and helping whenever she is needed. In one case, she advocated for two girls who were sexually abused. The parents had court ordered visitation every Saturday and the foster parents said Jean “came and sat in on those visits. . . . Without her, the Court would have missed out on very valuable information that she provided in her report.” Due to Jean’s hard work, the two girls and their two siblings were placed together with the same, safe pre-adoptive family.

Donald VanBuskirk
CASA of Dunklin County

Donald has served as a CASA volunteer for 12 children in seven cases. His cases have covered a wide area, including Kennett, Malden and Campbell in Dunklin County. He has traveled over 80 miles from Kennett to Advance, Missouri to visit children in foster care. He spends countless hours helping to find solutions to the myriad of problems faced by the children he serves. Donald is a commited volunteer who helps with CASA training sessions and is an active and valuable resource for the trainees.

Barbara Condren
Mid-Ozark CASA

Barbara’s current case involves three children who are all living in different foster homes in different parts of the state. She travels to visit each child, talks to all the professionals involved and tries to be a link between the siblings. The juvenile judge has complimented her court reports and the reports are used as a training tool for other volunteers. Her skills are invaluable at analyzing a situation and cutting to the heart of the matter. As President of the Bourbon Quilt Club, she encouraged the club to make special care packages to donate to Mid-Ozark CASA.

Theda “TJ” Vaughn
CASA of Southwest Missouri

For the past three years, TJ has worked on one case involving four siblings. During this time, she has donated over 400 hours and traveled 3,800 miles. She attends doctor appointments and visits the children in two different foster homes two to three times a month. The Deputy Juvenile Officer states that “TJ is an instrumental voice in advocating for the best interest of the children she serves…. She continues to be an active voice in a very difficult case…and ensuring that the safety of the children is kept paramount.”

Earla Loveless
11th Circuit CASA

Earla is a very committed volunteer who believes wholeheartedly in team work. She was appointed to advocate for a young boy whose mother has MS and is in a wheelchair. The judge was concerned that due to the boy’s out of control behaviors he would be returned to foster care. Earla worked closely with the boy and his mother and advocated for services to help the family remain intact. Earla has shown time and time again that when many obstacles make a good outcome seem impossible, she finds a way to overcome them.

Fran Norman
Adair County CASA

Fran spends over 20 hours per month volunteering as a CASA and has traveled over 2,000 miles for home visits. In one of her cases she advocated for a teenage boy who had not had any positive female role models. In spite of this, she was able to form a special bond with the child. During a court hearing, she spoke to the court about the boy getting a job and other activities she felt were in his best interest. Fran told the court about his strengths and said she was proud of him. Afterward, he patted her shoulder and grinned.

Sue Rees
CASA of Southeast Missouri

Sue has volunteered hundreds of hours to ensure that children have hope for the future. She believes that strengths exist in everyone. After Sue’s first case closed, the children’s mother said when she felt “down and out” and everyone else expected her to fail, she felt supported by Sue and that led to her recovery from substance abuse. Sue shares this experience with other CASA volunteers to show how you can affect other’s lives, even when you are not providing them direct supportive services.

Jeren Siegrist
CASA of St. Louis County

Jeren has served as a CASA volunteer for 10 years. She has advocated for 14 children, ranging in age from infant to 20 years old. Due to her nursing background, she has been appointed to many children with severe medical issues. One of the children she served left the system at age 19, employed and in school. She says, “Thank you for Mrs. Jeren Siegrist…. Please I ask you to keep up the good work and never stop helping young people like me.” Jeren continually recruits her friends to become CASAs and makes presentations to educate the community and donors.

Joan Dutill
Heart of Missouri CASA

Joan’s ability to effectively raise her voice in family support team meetings and in court has led to positive outcomes for the children she serves. Even with her challenging professional career, Joan has never failed to make time for her CASA children and volunteer responsibilities. She regularly attends trainings and in this setting her insight and experience helps her peers become better advocates. She has been a CASA volunteer for Heart of Missouri CASA for over two years.

Gary Bertrand
CASA of South Central Missouri

Gary has served as a CASA volunteer for over three years. In one case, he advocated for a suicidal youth. Throughout this youth’s nine placement changes and seven caseworker changes, he had one CASA volunteer. Gary drove 5,282 miles to meet with him at the different placements. The child was eventually placed with his grandmother. Also, Gary supports CASA of South Central Missouri as a volunteer liaison with the board and designed and maintains the program’s website.