s a publication for alumni and friends - University of Central Missouri

her doctoral adviser at the
University of Nebraska, she met
her husband, Bedell’s classmate
from Central Missouri. After they
married, they owned Vernaz Drug
Co. for nearly 30 years, meeting
CMSU students and employing
many of them over the years.
Achauer, who received the
university’s Distinguished Service
Award in 1994, was an early
participant in the launch of
Johnson County’s community
health program and chaired the
Governor’s Advisory Council on
Aging. She was a member of the
first KMOS-TV advisory board and
spearheaded fundraising for the
suites at Walton Stadium. She also
was one of the first members of
CMSU’s most prominent donor
club, the Presidents Society.
“Maurine loves people,”
said Paul Page, vice president of
university advancement. “She
feels a strong attachment to
CMSU, and her home has long
been a place where faculty, staff
and students alike have been
made to feel comfortable in
an atmosphere of stimulating
conversation.”
Page noted that Achauer is
fond of asking people “What is
your passion?” when she first
meets them.
“She really wants to know,”
he added. “She loves to see the
connection of people and ideas
around that kitchen table, and
many people have been motivated
to strive for success and embark
upon new ventures because of
those connections.”
Dee Hudson, a member of the
CMSU Board of Governors and
emerita director of admissions,
is also a past mayor and
councilwoman of the City of
Warrensburg. She credits Achauer
for her entry into politics. The two
women met when they worked
with Community Betterment
in the early 1970s. It was at
Achauer’s urging that Hudson
ran for and was elected to the
Warrensburg City Council.
“Maurine saw my interest, and
she encouraged me,” Hudson
said. “I had small children, so
Maurine often was the babysitter
when I had to attend meetings.”
Achauer is a longtime
supporter of Sigma Tau Gamma
fraternity, of which her late
husband was a member. She
served on the committee to
build the fraternity’s national
headquarters in Warrensburg. An
alumna of Delta Zeta sorority, she
also remains active in her support
of the CMSU chapter.
Bill Bernier, Sigma Tau
Gamma executive vice president,
first met Achauer when he arrived
in Warrensburg in 1973. With the
fraternity’s national headquarters
less than a block from her home,
“She always has opened her home and her heart to any
group that visits the university or the community, and
guests walk away from her home with a warm and caring
impression of Warrensburg and CMSU.” – David Pearce
she and Bernier have forged a
lasting friendship. Achauer has
served as a member of the board
of directors of the Sigma Tau
Gamma Foundation since 1973,
and, as such, is the only female
member of a fraternity foundation
board in the United States.
Bernier said Achauer is “gifted
with great vision. She sees the
potential in so many things,
and she is not bashful about
pursuing it. She also understands
the ins and outs of interpersonal
relationships, and realizes
how human behavior affects
organizational structure.”
In 2000 the fraternity
Maurine Achauer’s kitchen visitors during homecoming included Chuck Simmons ’61, center
left, (who once worked at her store as a student), as well as Ann ’61 and James Houx ’62.
dedicated the White Rose
Pavilion, a 3,750-square-foot
facility next to the fraternity’s
national headquarters. Achauer
contributed the funds to build it.
“Maurine sees the pavilion as
something she could do for Sigma
Tau Gamma and Warrensburg,”
Bernier said. “It’s her way of
reinvesting in her community.
Every day she’s thinking about the
future, and she’s working hard at
making it happen.”
The Greater Warrensburg
Area Chamber of Commerce and
Visitors Center has long known
it can count on Achauer to host
chamber gatherings. David Pearce,
a Warrensburg banker and state
representative, served as chamber
executive director from 1988 to
1994. As a state representative,
Pearce has invited Missouri
legislators to Warrensburg to tour
the area and Whiteman Air Force
Base. The tour ends at Achauer’s.
“I’ve always known we can
go to Maurine’s, and visitors
will leave with a favorable
impression,” he said. “It has
always made my job easier.”
Tammy Long, chamber
executive director, said Achauer is
always willing to open her home
for chamber events. Long has seen
many people receive advice and
encouragement around Achauer’s
kitchen table.
“When you sit down and tell
her what you’ve done, she’ll ask,
‘OK, now what are you going to
do?’” said Long. “She’s always
encouraged me to take the next
step, and she’s always been there
at every turn to encourage the
chamber’s growth.”
Achauer believes that investing
in Warrensburg is paying off, and
she is excited about the recent
business and residential growth in
the community. She sees exciting
changes in the community and
the university, and she wants
CMSU students to realize they are
part of the community.
“Think about this
community,” Achauer said.
“Where else can you find the
diversity that comes from a
military population, a state
university and a community with
such a great history?”
She likes to talk about the
future, and she’s willing to
speculate on what might be.
She believes it takes a combined
effort, and she’s always been
involved in that effort.
“Anything I have came from
this community,” she said. “I
like the idea of giving back. But
it takes more than one person to
make it work. It’s people working
together who make it better for
everyone.”
— Mike Greife ’74
At every homecoming, the bleachers
come out on Maurine Achauer’s front
lawn. Other sights from this year’s
parade are President Aaron and
Ms. Ronnie Podolefsky and
Distinguished Alumni recipients
from left, William Parrish ’71, Suba
Nadarajah ’93, ’94 and Jerry Osborn
’66 with friends and family members.
See more photos on page 17.
winter 2005
central today
page 19