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