Arraignment, detention hearing set for Joplin man on child pornography charge

The initial appearance for Shawn J. Moore, 58, Joplin, who was indicted for receiving and distributing child pornography Monday, was held this morning in U. S. District Court in Springfield.

Moore will be arraigned and a detention hearing will be held 9:30 a.m. December 28.

Specialty Risk Insurance to relocate headquarters to Carthage, add 201 jobs

(From the Missouri Department of Economic Development)

Specialty Risk Insurance, a full-service agribusiness and commercial insurance agency, announced today that it will relocate its headquarters to an expanded facility in Carthage, investing more than $5.3 million and creating 201 jobs over the next six years. The company’s new facility will be conveniently located just off of Interstate 44 and will allow for its continued growth in the future.

“It’s exciting to see Specialty Risk Insurance growing and creating jobs in Carthage,” said Governor Mike Parson. “Our state’s favorable business climate, skilled workforce, and strong infrastructure continue to result in business growth statewide. We look forward to Specialty Risk Insurance’s ongoing success as it benefits its community and our state’s thriving agriculture industry.”

Specialty Risk Insurance is one of the top agribusiness insurance agencies in the nation. The company’s team of insurance agents live and work in their specialized agriculture industries, ensuring customers receive unmatched industry knowledge. Specialty Risk Insurance offers a wide range of coverage that includes production agriculture, food processing and packaging, livestock, machinery and equipment, aviation, and more.

“We love and appreciate the support we’ve been shown by our community, and we are excited about the opportunity to invest back into our hometown and our people,” said Kevin Charleston, Owner of Specialty Risk Insurance. “We’ve always had the long-term goal of building a place our kids want to work, and this expansion allows us to continue the growth to make that possible.”

Specialty Risk Insurance has multi-faceted agents that are well-versed in their areas of expertise. The company’s team strives to simplify the insurance process to get clients back to business. New jobs added as part of Specialty Risk Insurance’s expansion will pay an average wage well above the county average.

“We’re proud to support Specialty Risk Insurance alongside our partners as it continues to thrive in Carthage,” said Michelle Hataway, Acting Director of the Department of Economic Development. “This expansion is adding more than 200 good-paying jobs for the community and surrounding areas, helping Missourians prosper in the southwest region.”

For this expansion, Specialty Risk Insurance will benefit from the Missouri Works program, a tool that helps companies expand and retain workers by providing access to capital through withholdings or tax credits for job creation.

What others are saying

“The Carthage Economic Development Corporation is excited to help facilitate the job growth of a long-time Carthage business like Specialty Risk Insurance,” said Jeff Meredith, CEO of Carthage Economic Development Corporation. “Anytime quality jobs can be created, it’s a sign of growth for both the community and the company itself. The CEDC is eager to help support this project, as Carthage reaps the benefits of economic expansion.”

“It’s exciting to see the job growth Southwest Missouri will experience from Specialty Risk Insurance’s expansion,” said Theresa Sampaio, Southwest Regional Manager for the Department of Economic Development. “Specialty Risk Insurance is doing great things for the Carthage community and we are happy they chose Missouri for this expansion. I’ve enjoyed working with Denise and the rest of the team at Specialty Risk Insurance.”

About Specialty Risk Insurance

Specialty Risk Insurance, located in Carthage, is a full-service insurance agency focused on insuring agriculture-based companies and organizations. The company’s team of experts are part of the agriculture industry and understand the risks clients face daily. Specialty Risk Insurance prides itself on providing fast, reliable, and expert service to its clients. The Missouri-based company has locations in Joplin, Sarcoxie, and Carthage.

In a statehouse short on space, House Speaker converted an office into a liquor ‘pantry’

By Jason Hancock

Missouri Independent

For four years, state Rep. Mike Stephens occupied prime real estate on the third floor of the Missouri Capitol.

His office in room 306B certainly wasn’t the biggest in the space-starved statehouse, where staff often work out of musty, windowless rooms, and many lawmakers are stacked on top of each other in non-ADA compliant mezzanines.

 

But Stephens’ office was steps away from the House chamber. And it was the only one besides the speaker’s with direct access to the House Lounge — a room adorned with a Thomas Hart Benton mural where conference committees, leadership meetings and press conferences are often held.

For decades, it was reserved for the chairman of the House budget committee, but in more recent years was occupied by senior Republicans. Entering into his final term in the House, it was a relatively safe bet that Stephens would finish his legislative career in the coveted office space.

But in late 2022, he got word he’d be moving down the hall.

House Speaker Dean Plocher took over that space and converted it into what has been jokingly referred to as his “butler’s pantry,” a makeshift storage room stocked with liquor, beer, wine and soda to complement the supply in his office.

The move was part of a $60,000 renovation of Plocher’s office in late 2022 and early 2023, paid for with public funds by the House. Half the costs stemmed from expenses resulting from repairs to walls, baseboards and ceilings in the speaker’s office.

The other half, according to records obtained by The Independent through Missouri’s Sunshine Law, went towards new furnishings — to the tune of about $29,000, including $8,600 for a black leather sofa and armchairs, $2,500 for a new walnut table, $2,500 for a refrigerator with an ice maker, $5,000 for a custom cabinet to hold the refrigerator and $385 for two walnut trash can bins.

Plocher did not answer specific questions about the office conversion. Instead, he released an emailed statement to The Independent defending the overall cost of the renovation.

He noted that the last major overhaul of the office was completed in 2009. His office was pursuing the vision of the Missouri State Capitol Commission’s 2019 master plan, Plocher wrote, to “restore the speaker’s office and House chamber to its original historical significance.”

“These new investments were done alongside other interior renovation projects throughout the Capitol as suggested by the Missouri State Capitol Commission,” Plocher wrote, and consisted of “updated technology, furniture and energy-efficient infrastructure. The House chamber and speaker’s office have been, as close as possible, restored to their original historical significance.”

Stephens declined comment about his old office when reached by phone this week.

“I don’t think it does me any good to discuss that,” he said.

But the renovation is not without its critics.

State Rep. Tony Lovasco, a Republican from O’Fallon, noted that there are legislative offices that are inaccessible to constituents with disabilities. Other offices, he said, are so small they could be considered a closet.

One lawmaker is working out of a former vault on the second floor.

“We probably shouldn’t be eliminating offices at this point,” he said. “We shouldn’t be repurposing office space unless it’s absolutely necessary, and while I can’t speak to whether it was in this case, my guess is probably not.”

 

Renovation in a century-old building will always be more expensive, Lovasco said, but “$29,000 on furniture sounds like an enormously high number. That certainly doesn’t seem reasonable to me.”

The cost of the furniture in the speaker’s office “does seem excessive,” said Rep. Deb Lavender, a Manchester Democrat. And she would have preferred if the House budget committee was involved in a renovation of that size, instead of using the chamber’s core budget, because the process would have been more transparent.

But her main concern is the loss of office space for what she called a “questionable use.”

“We had a member that had an office on the fourth floor that was so small, the legislative assistant can’t get to behind her desk without closing the door of the closet,” Lavender said. “So with such a serious lack of space in the Capitol, I’m not sure we should be spending the public’s money to build a bar across the House Lounge from the speaker’s office.”

The first principle stated in the Missouri State Capitol Commission long range master plan focuses on the lack of functional space for legislators and staff and the need to “decompress space and remove the mezzanines.”

"Substantial price difference"

For nearly two months, the Missouri House Ethics Committee has been investigating Plocher over allegations of misconduct.

The inquiry was launched after The Independent revealed that Plocher on numerous occasions over the last five years illegally sought reimbursement from the legislature for airfare, hotels and other travel costs already paid for by his campaign.

Those illegal payments were documented in expense reports Plocher regularly filed with the House. The reports also detailed any taxpayer funds Plocher used to upgrade his office over the years, going back to when he first entered the legislature in 2016.

For example, Plocher had hoped to renovate of his previous office while he was serving as majority floor leader. But costs proved too high, with expense records showing Plocher settled for spending around $3,500 of public funds on new countertops, paint, bench covers and upholstery.

He spent a similar amount the year prior on a new desk and a veneer walnut desktop.

But those records didn’t include renovation expenses to the speaker’s office since Plocher began moving into the job late last year. That’s because the money for the speaker’s office renovation didn’t come from Plocher’s legislative expense fund. It came from House operating funds.

The Independent filed a new request seeking those documents on Nov. 10.

The last time a major remodel of the office had been completed was under then-Speaker Ron Richard in 2009, when new desks were purchased, furniture was reupholstered and hardwood floors were refinished, among other expenses.

In the years since, speakers have taken an approach that builds upon that work, such as recovering, refinishing and reupholstering chairs and desks as opposed to purchasing entirely new ones. For example, former Speaker Elijah Haahr had desks and credenzas refinished in 2018, though he did buy a new conference table for the office that year.

As Plocher was preparing to take over as speaker, the need to remove pealing wallpaper ended up requiring the replacement of drop ceiling tiles and baseboards. Energy-efficient lighting was also installed.

As the office was being remodeled, the decision was made to replace all the furniture — new desks, credenzas, bookcases and a conference table.

Plocher also wanted a new refrigerator for the office that included an ice maker, which required a custom cabinet to hold it along with a new water line and filtration system to service it. A special wood stain was requested for the cabinets to match the speaker’s gavel.

The priciest furniture expense was a black leather sofa and armchairs from Ethan Allen.

Originally, records show the House planned to purchase a floor model set in brown leather from Missouri Furniture in Jefferson City. But the speaker preferred black leather, which required a special order.

The set, which cost roughly $4,200, was manufactured in China, causing months of delays. In March, the order was canceled because the furniture was not expected to be delivered for at least two more months.

With Plocher wanting the furniture in place sooner, records show Chief Clerk Dana Miller went online and found a black leather set from Ethan Allen, at a cost of $8,366.

“I’m fine with whatever you want to do, but there’s a substantial price difference and there’s still a 4-6 week wait time for the items to ship,” a House employee wrote in an email to Miller in March regarding the Ethan Allen furniture.

Miller responded that the cost could be justified “because we are ordering historically appropriate furnishings that will be in permanent use in that office for at least a decade.”

The cost of refurnishing the office topped $29,000. But there were some requests Plocher had hoped to include that weren’t feasible.

A dishwasher couldn’t be installed in the office because it would have required the installation of a new drain line. And an inlay of the state seal on the coffee tables in his office was also deemed too costly.

 

Repurposing room 306B came with minimal cost, according to records, and it appears Plocher may have paid for the alcohol using his own campaign funds.

Twice during the legislative session, Plocher’s political action committee paid for “campaign meals” at a Jefferson City liquor store called Macadoodles — spending $194 in February and $350 in April. And he was seen on several occasions during session pushing a cart stacked with alcohol into room 306B.

Plocher did not respond to a question about the alcohol purchases. Alcohol consumption is prohibited everywhere in the Missouri Capitol unless it is part of a state government function and approved by the Board of Public Buildings. That prohibition does not include legislative offices.

Ethics investigation

In addition to Plocher’s false expense reports, the House ethics committee is also investigating allegations that he threatened the jobs of nonpartisan staff as part of his push to convince his colleagues to spend $800,000 to hire a private company to manage constituent information.

Three closed-door hearings have been held by the ethics committee so far, with the investigation likely to stretch into the new legislative session that starts Jan. 4.

Plocher, a Republican from Des Peres running for lieutenant governor, has flatly denied any wrongdoing and rejected all calls from his fellow Republicans to step down as speaker. He chalked up the false expense reports to a “checkbook error” and paid back the illegal reimbursements.

During an event in St. Louis late last month, Plocher told Spectrum News that “his conscience is clear.”

“I sleep well at night,” he said. “I’m not gonna let this sideshow distract me or the legislature from getting good work done for the state of Missouri.”

(Photo by Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications)

Jasper man charged with third DWI this year following hit-and-run accident

The Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office charged a Jasper man with felony driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest by fleeing today following a pursuit that included officers from the Jasper County Sheriff's Office, Carthage Police Department and Jasper Police Department.

The DWI arrest was the third this year for Christopher Daniel Ferrari (DOB 1988), including a prior conviction and a pending case in Newton County Circuit Court.

According to the probable cause statement, officers were dispatched to I-49 near the Civil War Road exit where a hit-and-run accident had occurred. Ferrari was located at entrance to Americold in Carthage and he took off with Carthage police officers in pursuit. A Jasper County Sheriff's Office deputy took over as primary pursuing officer until finally spikes were used to stop Ferrari.

From the probable cause statement:

While dealing with him, I could smell intoxicants coming directly from his person. Christopher refused field sobriety testing because he was “too drunk” to do them. 

While speaking with Chris, I could smell a strong smell of intoxicants coming directly from his breath. I advised Chris of the Missouri Implied Consent Law and I requested a chemical sample of his breath and he refused. 

The Miranda Warning was read to Chris and he stated he understood. I started asking Chris questions on the AIR (Alcohol Influence Report) form. 

When asked the question "Have you been drinking?" he answered "Yes". He said he was drinking "American Honey" (Whiskey). 

When asked how much, he said "Enough to inebriate an elephant." When asked "Where?" he said he was parked somewhere and was drinking in the car. When asked “Are you under the influence of an alcoholic beverage?” he answered “Yes.”

The Jasper Police Department arrested Ferrari for driving while intoxicated in the school pick up line January 28. Ferrari pleaded guilty to that charge April 19.

The Neosho Police Department arrested him May 30 for felony DWI and driving while revoked. His next hearing in that case is scheduled for February 24.

In addition to today's DWI and resisting arrest charges, Ferrari was charged with driving while revoked.

His bond was set at $50,000 cash or $100,000 surety.

Taney County firefighter of the year charged with receiving, distributing child pornography

 

Child pornography charges were filed today against the Western Taney County Fire Protection District's 2022 Firefighter of the Year.

The criminal complaint, which was filed in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, alleges Cameron Allen Ryan, 35, received and distributed child pornography between November 10 and today and that some of the pornography may have been created at his home.

An FBI search warrant execution found child pornography on Ryan's phone, the complaint said.

Ryan came to the attention of the FBI November 10 through a tip on a man named Jack Dodd using an e-mail address who was considered to be a "possible child abuser," according to the complaint.

An undercover FBI agent made contact with Ryan November 28, the complaint said, and during the conversation, Ryan indicated his interest was girls aged 6-12 and that he had two daughters 12 and 9 years old.

The conversation between Ryan and the FBI agent, which is included in the complaint, indicates Ryan was doing more than just sending and receiving child pornography.

The FBI agent asked if Ryan's wife knew about what he was doing.

"Noooo," he replied.

Later in the conversation, Ryan sent the FBI agent a video, according to the complaint, and indicated it was made at home.

The FBI was able to obtain Suddenlink records December 12 that showed the owner of the e-mail address as Ryan and his address in Hollister.

On December 12, 2023, the FBI conducted open-source social media research and identified Facebook accounts for Allen and {his wife} Photographs on their accounts indicated they had two female minor children. 

Further, RYAN's Facebook page indicated that he was a firefighter with the Western Taney County Fire Department and was awarded Firefighter of the Year in 2022. 

On December 20, 2023, the FBI, the SMCCTF (Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force), and other law enforcement executed a federal search warrant (23-SW-2181-DPR) on RYAN's residence. {His wife} was present at the residence. This affiant spoke to {her) and she stated that she met RYAN in 2014. According to {her}, in 2018, she was using RYAN's cellular phone and saw an email on RYAN's email address. 

At that time, his email was wtcf504@gmail.com. {She} saw that the email contained images of nude children. {She} said she asked RYAN about the email, and RYAN claimed his account was hacked. 

{She} also reported that, on July 3, 2021, she and RYAN were cleaning out their car, and found an old phone belonging to RYAN. {She} said she found a video of young children having sex on RYAN's old phone. She asked RYAN about the video, and RYAN claimed that an unnamed coworker put the video on his phone. He destroyed the phone shortly thereafter. 

RYAN was contacted by FBI Special Agent (SA) Ashley Davis. RYAN granted consent for law enforcement to search his vehicle and his phones. One of the phones were located in RYAN's vehicle in a backpack. When SA Davis examined the phone found in the backpack, she found that the phone was logged into the jdodd3190@gmail.com account and found additional files of child pornography.

Joplin man sentenced to life in prison for murdering 17-year-old daughter

A Joplin man was sentenced to life in prison for second degree murder during a hearing today in Jasper County Circuit Court.

Judge David Mouton  also sentenced Todd John Mayes, 61, to 15 years for armed criminal action with the sentences to run consecutively.

Mayes shot and killed his daughter January 9, 2022, after she threw a bottle at him during an argument.

Missouri Supreme Court strikes down law banning sleeping on public land

By Clara Bates

Missouri Independent

A wide-ranging bill passed by the state legislature last year banning sleeping on public land was struck down on Tuesday by the Missouri Supreme Court for violating the constitution’s single subject requirement.

Missouri lawmakers last year made sleeping on state-owned land a Class C misdemeanor and restricted state funds for combating homelessness. The legislation was passed as an amendment in a broader bill relating to political subdivisions just before the end of the 2022 session.

Critics of the bill feared it essentially criminalized homelessness. Supporters characterized it as reducing the prevalence of encampments they deemed dangerous to unhoused people and surrounding communities.

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, along with Public Citizen Litigation Group and a Springfield homeless shelter, filed a lawsuit last year against the state, arguing the homelessness provisions did not fit within the bill’s overarching subject of “relating to political subdivisions.”

The case centered on whether the way the law was passed — as an amendment in a bill pertaining to “political subdivisions” — violates constitutional requirements that legislation have a single subject, clear title and adhere to its original purpose. Those requirements were designed to support transparency and discourage legislative maneuvering to tack amendments that wouldn’t pass as stand-alone bills onto popular bills in order to pass.

In March, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Cotton Walker ruled in favor of the state, and the plaintiffs appealed to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court unanimously overturned the circuit court’s decision Tuesday, with Judge Paul C. Wilson authoring the opinion.

The homelessness provisions added on to the bill “introduced at least one impermissible additional subject, i.e., homelessness,” Wilson wrote.

The “primary inquiry,” he wrote, is whether all provisions of the bill “fairly relate to, have a natural connection with, or are means to accomplish [the bill’s] subject, i.e., ‘political subdivisions.’”

Even though some of the homelessness provisions regulate state funds that would apply to political subdivisions receiving those funds, Wilson wrote, the provisions also apply to nonprofits and private developers.

Other homelessness-related provisions in the bill, he wrote, don’t relate to political subdivisions at all.

With the homelessness provisions found unconstitutional, the court then weighed whether that required it to strike down the rest of the sprawling bill.

“It takes an extraordinary showing to convince this court to engage in judicial surgery to save a bill infected with the otherwise fatal constitutional disease of multiple subjects” Wilson wrote, “and no effort was made by any party to make such a showing here.”



As a result, the rest of the bill — including provisions related to county financial statements, county coroners’ salaries, and more — were also struck down Tuesday, with the court arguing it was unable to determine whether the bill would’ve passed without the homelessness provisions.

Missouri Supreme Court overturns $1.5 million judgment against Mercy Joplin

The Missouri Supreme Court today reversed an appellate court decision awarding $1.5 million to a Monett man who was shot in the Mercy Joplin parking lot in 2015.

Steven Harner sued the hospital for negligence claiming Mercy should have protected him from Kaylea Nicole Liska, 21 at the time, who shot him after he found her in his car.

A Newton County jury found in favor of Harner, saying Mercy was 75 percent responsible for his shooting. That verdict was upheld by the Southern District Court of Appeals March 7.

The Supreme Court opinion reversed that decision, saying "Harner failed to make a submissible case because Mercy owed no duty to Harner under the known third person exception." The third person exception says businesses have no duty to protect customers from the criminal acts of others."

The opinion said no proof had been entered into evidence that Mercy was negligent and that Judge John LePage should have sustained Mercy's attorney motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict.

The incident that led to the lawsuit was detailed in the opinion.

At approximately 6:55 p.m. December 23, 2015, Kaylea Liska arrived at Mercy via ambulance with her boyfriend, who was to receive treatment at the hospital. After waiting for her boyfriend inside the hospital for some time, Liska became anxious and wanted to leave. 

Around 8 p.m., Liska left the hospital and entered the parking lot. In the parking lot, Liska approached Floyd Bennett, a 79-year-old man waiting in his car, and asked him for a ride. Bennett declined, and Liska walked away but remained in the parking lot. 

Bennett did not report the incident to Mercy because he believed Liska was more of an annoyance than a threat. 

At 8:04 p.m., Liska entered an unlocked vehicle belonging to Keith and Elnora Wooldridge. The Wooldridges were inside the hospital at the time. 

About 20 minutes later, the Wooldridges returned to the parking lot and found Liska inside their vehicle. Keith Wooldridge opened the door and said, “Lady, I think you’re in the wrong car.” Without speaking to the Wooldridges, Liska swiftly exited the vehicle and ran away, taking a case of medication from the vehicle with her.

The Wooldridges immediately went back inside the hospital and reported to Mercy employee Dee-Dee Baker at the front desk that someone had been in their car and they had been robbed. Baker called Mercy employee Jody Berry, who worked in dispatch for Mercy’s security department (Mercy security). 

Dispatcher Berry called Officer Ryan Meier with Mercy security and reported the incident to the Joplin police department. Officer Meier arrived at the front desk shortly thereafter and spoke with the Wooldridges for approximately 20 minutes.

 

Although the Wooldridges told Officer Meier they had been robbed, Officer Meier testified that what they described to him was a theft. The Wooldridges did not report that Liska had yelled at, threatened, or made any physical contact with them, or that she had a weapon. 

Officer Meier further testified that nothing the Wooldridges told him suggested Liska posed a threat to anyone at Mercy. At 8:48 p.m., Officer Justin Larcombe with Mercy security conducted two rounds by vehicle of the Mercy parking lot to look for suspicious people entering vehicles after being advised of the Wooldridge report. 

At 8:54 p.m., Officer Meier went back into the parking lot with Keith Wooldridge to inspect the Wooldridges’ vehicle. After his last round, Officer Larcombe stopped at the Wooldridges’ vehicle to inspect it and discuss the incident with Officer Meier and Keith Wooldridge. Officer Larcombe left the scene at 9:01 p.m., parked the security vehicle, and entered the hospital. 

Officer Meier returned to the hospital with Keith Wooldridge at 9:04 p.m., then left to patrol the parking lot at 9:13 p.m. Meanwhile, Liska remained in the parking lot after leaving the Wooldridges’ vehicle and returned to Bennett’s vehicle. 

Liska tapped on Bennett’s window to ask for a ride, and he again declined. Liska walked back into the parking lot. Like in the first occurrence, Bennett did not report the incident to Mercy. Liska walked around the parking lot until she found another unlocked vehicle, this one belonging to Harner. 

Harner testified the driver side door of his vehicle did not lock, but the vehicle’s alarm would sound and flash once armed if someone opened the door. Harner further testified that, before going into the hospital, he left his Ruger .380 pistol – which was loaded and had no safety – in either the center console or the glovebox, neither of which were locked.

Harner activated the car alarm before going into the hospital earlier that evening. Liska entered Harner’s vehicle at 8:27 p.m. (while the Wooldridges were inside talking to Baker at the front desk) and set off the car alarm. The alarm lasted for approximately 55 seconds. Liska set off the alarm again about four minutes later, this time causing the alarm to go off for approximately 12 seconds. 

Despite the alarms, Liska remained in the vehicle until Harner returned at 9:18 p.m. When Harner returned, he opened the door and yelled at Liska to get out of his vehicle. A brief struggle ensued, and Liska grabbed Harner’s pistol, shot him in the neck, and ran off. Harner survived, though the bullet injured his carotid artery and struck his spine. 

Federal grand jury indicts Joplin man on child pornography charges

A grand jury indictment of a Joplin man on child pornography charges was unsealed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

According to the indictment, Shawn Jay Moore, 58, received and distributed child pornography in Jasper County between January 1, 2022 and March 13, 2023.

Brittany Bridges to become Carthage Junior High School principal

(From the Carthage R-9 School District)

We are thrilled to announce that Mrs. Brittany Bridges, a dedicated member of the Carthage R-9 School District for 16 years, has been selected as the new Head Principal of Carthage Junior High School, starting July 1, 2024.

Mrs. Bridges' journey within our district, from her beginnings as an English teacher at the Junior High to her current role as assistant principal, showcases her passion for education and commitment to our students. We are confident that her leadership will contribute to the continued success and growth of Carthage Junior High School.

A heartfelt thank you to Mrs. Jenny Bogle, who has served as the Head Principal for 12 years, for her outstanding dedication and contributions to our school community.

Join us in congratulating Mrs. Brittany Bridges on this well-deserved opportunity! We look forward to the positive impact she will undoubtedly make in her new role.