JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon today announced his nominations to nine boards and commissions and his appointments to two other boards and commissions. The nominees are subject to confirmation by the Missouri Senate; the appointments to the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Board of Trustees and the 22nd Judicial Circuit Commission are not. The nominees and appointees, along with their boards and hometowns, are:
-Coordinating Board for Higher Education (Samuel P. Murphey – St. Louis; Dr. John W. Siscel III – St. Louis; Michael D. Thomson – Maryville)
-Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners (M. Blake Heath – Kansas City; John Casey Martin – Kansas City)
- Missouri Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors, and Professional Landscape Architects (Eric D. Davis Jr. – Blue Springs)
- Missouri Dental Board (Dr. William T. Kane – Dexter)
- Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Board of Trustees (Claire West Scoville – Blue Springs)
- Missouri State Board of Chiropractic Examiners (Connie J. Cierpiot – Lee’s Summit)
- Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund Board of Trustees (James P. Ford – Columbia)
- State Fair Commission (James L. Mathewson – Sedalia)
- State Soil and Water Districts Commission (Glen P. Cope – Aurora; Timothy W. Martin – Bernie)
- St. Charles Convention and Sports Complex Authority (Lisa Bedian Kurtz – St. Charles)
- 22nd Judicial Circuit Commission (André Harris – St. Louis)
Coordinating Board for Higher Education
The Governor has nominated Samuel P. Murphey (D), of St. Louis; Dr. John W. Siscel III (R), of St. Louis; and Michael D. Thomson (R), of Maryville, to the Coordinating Board for Higher Education. The Coordinating Board of Higher Education coordinates the state system of higher education, which includes 13 public four-year colleges and universities, 17 public two-year community colleges, one public two-year technical college, 25 independent colleges and universities, 120 proprietary schools and 39 specialized independent schools and colleges and theological institutions.
Murphey is currently the External Affairs Lead, Chemistry, for Monsanto Company, in St. Louis, and was previously a senior manager on the company’s executive communications team. He serves on the boards of DOORWAYS Interfaith Residence and PROMO, Missouri’s statewide organization advocating for LGBT equality. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending June 27, 2020.
Dr. Siscel currently operates his own consulting firm, JWS Services L.L.C., after retiring in 2007 after serving for 27 years in senior management positions for several area trade associations. He has served on the governing boards of Harris-Stowe State University, Maryville University and Truman State University, as well as the board of trustees of the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District and the board of directors for the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending June 27, 2018.
Thomson represented the 1st District in the Missouri House from 2007 to 2014, where he served on several education committees, including as chair of the Higher Education Committee for four years. He currently is marketing and development director for Community Foundation of Northwest Missouri. He previously worked in the admissions office and was an instructor of psychology at Northwest Missouri State University, and was a commissioner for the Midwest Higher Education Compact from 2011-2014. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending June 27, 2016.
Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners
The Governor has nominated M. Blake Heath (R), of Kansas City; and John Casey Martin (D), of Kansas City, to the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners. The board is responsible for conducting elections for all governmental entities lying wholly or in part within the boundaries of Kansas City within Jackson County.
Heath currently serves on the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners. He is the managing attorney at his law firm in Kansas City and also serves on the board of trustees for Legal Aid of Western Missouri. Heath holds a bachelor’s degree from Westminster College and a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending Jan. 10, 2017.
Martin, an attorney, is an associate with the law firm of Husch Blackwell LLP. He has practiced law in Kansas City since 2010. Martin is a volunteer for Turn the Page KC and for the Neighbor-to-Neighbor hunger program at Keystone United Methodist Church. He is a graduate of the John Marshall Law School in Chicago. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending Jan. 10, 2017.
Missouri Board of Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors and Landscape Architects
The Governor has nominated Eric D. Davis Jr., of Blue Springs, to the Missouri Board of Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors and Landscape Architects. The board protects the public from incompetence, misconduct, gross negligence, fraud, misrepresentation or dishonesty; licenses only qualified professionals by examination and evaluation of minimum competency; enforces standards by implementing legislation and administrative rules; and encourages economic development and partnerships with existing small businesses.
A registered landscape architect in Missouri, Davis is certified by the National Program for Playground Safety, and is a design member for the American Society of Irrigation Consultants. He is a senior landscape architect with LAND3 Studio and has more than 16 years of professional experience. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending Sept. 30, 2019.
Missouri Dental Board
The Governor has nominated Dr. William T. Kane, of Dexter, to the Missouri Dental Board. The board adopts, publishes, and enforces rules and regulations which regulate and define the acts and areas of practice which may be performed by dentists and dental hygienists.
Dr. Kane operates a general dentistry practice in Dexter. He also serves as a dental examiner for the Central Regional Dental Testing Service and the Western Regional Examining Board. Dr. Kane is chairman of the well-being committee and the Dental Well-Being Foundation of the Missouri Dental Association. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending Oct. 16, 2019.
Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Board of Trustees
The Governor has appointed Claire West Scoville, of Blue Springs, to the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Board of Trustees. The board provides for the retirement or pensioning of the officers and employees and the widows and children of deceased officers and employees of any political subdivision of the state.
Scoville is one of three appointed citizen trustees for the Jackson County Employees Pension Plan and is a former member of the Board of Trustees for the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System as well as of the Jefferson City Firefighters Retirement Fund. From 1984 to 2006, she served on the Joint Committee on Public Employee Retirement, becoming its executive director in 1993. The Governor has appointed Scoville for a term ending Dec. 31, 2020.
Missouri State Board of Chiropractic Examiners
The Governor has nominated Connie J. Cierpiot, of Lee’s Summit, to the Missouri State Board of Chiropractic Examiners. The Missouri State Board of Chiropractic Examiners is responsible for protecting the public from unlicensed, negligent, and incompetent treatment by a chiropractic physician. The Board enforces licensure standards by implementing legislation and administrative regulations, along with monitoring changes within the profession.
Cierpiot represented the 52nd District in the Missouri State House of Representative from 1994 until becoming term-limited in 2003. After leaving the General Assembly, she started a consulting firm, Connie Cierpiot and Associates, LLC. Cierpiot also does volunteer work for the American Cancer Society. The Governor has nominated her for a term ending March 31, 2020.
Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund Board of Trustees
The Governor has nominated James P. Ford, of Columbia, to the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund (PSTIF) Board of Trustees. The board works to ensure that monies from the Fund are effectively used to clean up the environment; that Fund participants receive timely, professional services; and that the Fund’s resources are economically used in order to benefit the maximum number of Missourians.
Currently the vice-chairman of the PSTIF Board, Ford has served as the life manager and executive director for financial institution markets for The Insurance Group Inc., in Columbia, since 2009. Ford has been in the insurance industry since 1990, and previously was a police officer in Columbia from 1975 to 1989. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending Feb. 6. 2020.
State Fair Commission
The Governor has nominated James L. Mathewson (D), of Sedalia, to the State Fair Commission. The State Fair Commission oversees the operations of the Missouri State Fair. The Missouri State Fair is held each year in August in Sedalia and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Mathewson served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 1975 to 1981 and in the Missouri State Senate from 1981 to 2005, when he became term-limited. He was the Majority Floor Leader from 1985 to 1988 and served several terms as president pro-tem from 1989 to 1996. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending Dec. 29, 2019.
State Soil and Water Districts Commission
The Governor has nominated Glen P. Cope (R), of Aurora, and Timothy W. Martin (I), of Bernie, to the State Soil and Water Districts Commission. The Missouri Soil and Water Districts Commission formulates policies and general programs for the saving of Missouri soil and water by the soil and water conservation districts.
Cope is a fourth-generation cattle rancher and grain farmer and is the chairman of the board of directors of the Missouri Beef Industry Council. A past president of Barry County Farm Bureau, he also served for three years as chairman of the Missouri Farm Bureau’s Beef Commodity Advisory Committee. Cope received his degree in agriculture from Missouri State University. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending Aug. 15, 2017.
Martin is the president of Martin Rice Company, Martin Grain Company and Marco Inc. With his brothers, he farms and manages more than 7,000 acres of rice-growing and row crop land in southeast Missouri. In 2010, Martin Rice Company received the Governor’s Award for Agricultural Achievement. Martin is a member of the Elk Township Board in Stoddard County and the Little River Drainage District Board of Supervisors. The Governor has appointed him for a term ending Aug. 15, 2018.
St. Charles Convention and Sports Complex Authority
The Governor has nominated Lisa Bedian Kurtz (D), of St. Charles, to the St. Charles Convention and Sports Complex Authority. The authority operates and maintains the St. Charles Convention Center and promotes convention, visitor and sports facilities and activities in St. Charles County.
Bedian has served as the director of communications for the City of St. Peters since 2003, and is responsible for all internal, external and crisis communications for the city. She also is an adjunct professor of sports marketing for Lindenwood University. Her previous positions included serving as the community relations director for KSDK-TV and director of communications for Ascension Health System. She also was chief of staff for then-Lt. Gov. Mel Carnahan. The Governor has nominated her for a term ending April 27, 2016.
22nd Circuit Judicial Commission
The Governor has appointed André Harris, of St. Louis, to serve on the 22nd Circuit Judicial Commission. The 22nd Judicial Circuit covers the City of St. Louis. When a vacancy occurs on the bench of that circuit, the judicial commission nominates three people who meet the statutory requirements to serve as a judge. Those names are submitted to the Governor, who appoints one of the three to the vacant position.
Harris has served as a supervisor for the St. Louis City Courts - Municipal Courts since 2008. He previously worked for the Circuit Clerk’s office of the 22nd Judicial Circuit for 34 years. The Governor has appointed him for a term ending Dec. 31, 2016.
-Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners (M. Blake Heath – Kansas City; John Casey Martin – Kansas City)
- Missouri Board for Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors, and Professional Landscape Architects (Eric D. Davis Jr. – Blue Springs)
- Missouri Dental Board (Dr. William T. Kane – Dexter)
- Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Board of Trustees (Claire West Scoville – Blue Springs)
- Missouri State Board of Chiropractic Examiners (Connie J. Cierpiot – Lee’s Summit)
- Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund Board of Trustees (James P. Ford – Columbia)
- State Fair Commission (James L. Mathewson – Sedalia)
- State Soil and Water Districts Commission (Glen P. Cope – Aurora; Timothy W. Martin – Bernie)
- St. Charles Convention and Sports Complex Authority (Lisa Bedian Kurtz – St. Charles)
- 22nd Judicial Circuit Commission (André Harris – St. Louis)
Coordinating Board for Higher Education
The Governor has nominated Samuel P. Murphey (D), of St. Louis; Dr. John W. Siscel III (R), of St. Louis; and Michael D. Thomson (R), of Maryville, to the Coordinating Board for Higher Education. The Coordinating Board of Higher Education coordinates the state system of higher education, which includes 13 public four-year colleges and universities, 17 public two-year community colleges, one public two-year technical college, 25 independent colleges and universities, 120 proprietary schools and 39 specialized independent schools and colleges and theological institutions.
Murphey is currently the External Affairs Lead, Chemistry, for Monsanto Company, in St. Louis, and was previously a senior manager on the company’s executive communications team. He serves on the boards of DOORWAYS Interfaith Residence and PROMO, Missouri’s statewide organization advocating for LGBT equality. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending June 27, 2020.
Dr. Siscel currently operates his own consulting firm, JWS Services L.L.C., after retiring in 2007 after serving for 27 years in senior management positions for several area trade associations. He has served on the governing boards of Harris-Stowe State University, Maryville University and Truman State University, as well as the board of trustees of the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District and the board of directors for the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending June 27, 2018.
Thomson represented the 1st District in the Missouri House from 2007 to 2014, where he served on several education committees, including as chair of the Higher Education Committee for four years. He currently is marketing and development director for Community Foundation of Northwest Missouri. He previously worked in the admissions office and was an instructor of psychology at Northwest Missouri State University, and was a commissioner for the Midwest Higher Education Compact from 2011-2014. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending June 27, 2016.
Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners
The Governor has nominated M. Blake Heath (R), of Kansas City; and John Casey Martin (D), of Kansas City, to the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners. The board is responsible for conducting elections for all governmental entities lying wholly or in part within the boundaries of Kansas City within Jackson County.
Heath currently serves on the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners. He is the managing attorney at his law firm in Kansas City and also serves on the board of trustees for Legal Aid of Western Missouri. Heath holds a bachelor’s degree from Westminster College and a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending Jan. 10, 2017.
Martin, an attorney, is an associate with the law firm of Husch Blackwell LLP. He has practiced law in Kansas City since 2010. Martin is a volunteer for Turn the Page KC and for the Neighbor-to-Neighbor hunger program at Keystone United Methodist Church. He is a graduate of the John Marshall Law School in Chicago. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending Jan. 10, 2017.
Missouri Board of Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors and Landscape Architects
The Governor has nominated Eric D. Davis Jr., of Blue Springs, to the Missouri Board of Architects, Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors and Landscape Architects. The board protects the public from incompetence, misconduct, gross negligence, fraud, misrepresentation or dishonesty; licenses only qualified professionals by examination and evaluation of minimum competency; enforces standards by implementing legislation and administrative rules; and encourages economic development and partnerships with existing small businesses.
A registered landscape architect in Missouri, Davis is certified by the National Program for Playground Safety, and is a design member for the American Society of Irrigation Consultants. He is a senior landscape architect with LAND3 Studio and has more than 16 years of professional experience. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending Sept. 30, 2019.
Missouri Dental Board
The Governor has nominated Dr. William T. Kane, of Dexter, to the Missouri Dental Board. The board adopts, publishes, and enforces rules and regulations which regulate and define the acts and areas of practice which may be performed by dentists and dental hygienists.
Dr. Kane operates a general dentistry practice in Dexter. He also serves as a dental examiner for the Central Regional Dental Testing Service and the Western Regional Examining Board. Dr. Kane is chairman of the well-being committee and the Dental Well-Being Foundation of the Missouri Dental Association. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending Oct. 16, 2019.
Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Board of Trustees
The Governor has appointed Claire West Scoville, of Blue Springs, to the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Board of Trustees. The board provides for the retirement or pensioning of the officers and employees and the widows and children of deceased officers and employees of any political subdivision of the state.
Scoville is one of three appointed citizen trustees for the Jackson County Employees Pension Plan and is a former member of the Board of Trustees for the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System as well as of the Jefferson City Firefighters Retirement Fund. From 1984 to 2006, she served on the Joint Committee on Public Employee Retirement, becoming its executive director in 1993. The Governor has appointed Scoville for a term ending Dec. 31, 2020.
Missouri State Board of Chiropractic Examiners
The Governor has nominated Connie J. Cierpiot, of Lee’s Summit, to the Missouri State Board of Chiropractic Examiners. The Missouri State Board of Chiropractic Examiners is responsible for protecting the public from unlicensed, negligent, and incompetent treatment by a chiropractic physician. The Board enforces licensure standards by implementing legislation and administrative regulations, along with monitoring changes within the profession.
Cierpiot represented the 52nd District in the Missouri State House of Representative from 1994 until becoming term-limited in 2003. After leaving the General Assembly, she started a consulting firm, Connie Cierpiot and Associates, LLC. Cierpiot also does volunteer work for the American Cancer Society. The Governor has nominated her for a term ending March 31, 2020.
Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund Board of Trustees
The Governor has nominated James P. Ford, of Columbia, to the Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund (PSTIF) Board of Trustees. The board works to ensure that monies from the Fund are effectively used to clean up the environment; that Fund participants receive timely, professional services; and that the Fund’s resources are economically used in order to benefit the maximum number of Missourians.
Currently the vice-chairman of the PSTIF Board, Ford has served as the life manager and executive director for financial institution markets for The Insurance Group Inc., in Columbia, since 2009. Ford has been in the insurance industry since 1990, and previously was a police officer in Columbia from 1975 to 1989. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending Feb. 6. 2020.
State Fair Commission
The Governor has nominated James L. Mathewson (D), of Sedalia, to the State Fair Commission. The State Fair Commission oversees the operations of the Missouri State Fair. The Missouri State Fair is held each year in August in Sedalia and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors.
Mathewson served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 1975 to 1981 and in the Missouri State Senate from 1981 to 2005, when he became term-limited. He was the Majority Floor Leader from 1985 to 1988 and served several terms as president pro-tem from 1989 to 1996. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending Dec. 29, 2019.
State Soil and Water Districts Commission
The Governor has nominated Glen P. Cope (R), of Aurora, and Timothy W. Martin (I), of Bernie, to the State Soil and Water Districts Commission. The Missouri Soil and Water Districts Commission formulates policies and general programs for the saving of Missouri soil and water by the soil and water conservation districts.
Cope is a fourth-generation cattle rancher and grain farmer and is the chairman of the board of directors of the Missouri Beef Industry Council. A past president of Barry County Farm Bureau, he also served for three years as chairman of the Missouri Farm Bureau’s Beef Commodity Advisory Committee. Cope received his degree in agriculture from Missouri State University. The Governor has nominated him for a term ending Aug. 15, 2017.
Martin is the president of Martin Rice Company, Martin Grain Company and Marco Inc. With his brothers, he farms and manages more than 7,000 acres of rice-growing and row crop land in southeast Missouri. In 2010, Martin Rice Company received the Governor’s Award for Agricultural Achievement. Martin is a member of the Elk Township Board in Stoddard County and the Little River Drainage District Board of Supervisors. The Governor has appointed him for a term ending Aug. 15, 2018.
St. Charles Convention and Sports Complex Authority
The Governor has nominated Lisa Bedian Kurtz (D), of St. Charles, to the St. Charles Convention and Sports Complex Authority. The authority operates and maintains the St. Charles Convention Center and promotes convention, visitor and sports facilities and activities in St. Charles County.
Bedian has served as the director of communications for the City of St. Peters since 2003, and is responsible for all internal, external and crisis communications for the city. She also is an adjunct professor of sports marketing for Lindenwood University. Her previous positions included serving as the community relations director for KSDK-TV and director of communications for Ascension Health System. She also was chief of staff for then-Lt. Gov. Mel Carnahan. The Governor has nominated her for a term ending April 27, 2016.
22nd Circuit Judicial Commission
The Governor has appointed André Harris, of St. Louis, to serve on the 22nd Circuit Judicial Commission. The 22nd Judicial Circuit covers the City of St. Louis. When a vacancy occurs on the bench of that circuit, the judicial commission nominates three people who meet the statutory requirements to serve as a judge. Those names are submitted to the Governor, who appoints one of the three to the vacant position.
Harris has served as a supervisor for the St. Louis City Courts - Municipal Courts since 2008. He previously worked for the Circuit Clerk’s office of the 22nd Judicial Circuit for 34 years. The Governor has appointed him for a term ending Dec. 31, 2016.
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