Kespohl with family

This blessed weekend marks a sacred time of prayer and reflection for many in our community. I hope this Easter weekend finds you with family and friends, affirmed by your faith tradition. I ask God’s blessings for you and yours at this special time. In my own faith tradition, Easter provides an inspiring message of renewal and rebirth. May it be a time of rejuvenation and reflection for you, as well.

There is also a message of renewal in one of our great American traditions that many of us will observe this coming Tuesday. That is the opportunity to achieve the highest act of citizenship – casting our votes. Election Day renews our faith in democracy, because everyone’s vote counts.

Please take time to make your voice heard on Tuesday. Voting is an American tradition most worthy of upholding, and it is among the foremost of common-sense values.

I would appreciate your vote on Tuesday for Ward 3 City Council. Thank you for your consideration, and for your participation.

Kespohl with grandkids

I’m so sorry to learn of the passing of our former Columbia Mayor Clyde Wilson. I wish Betty and his family and friends peace and comfort in the Lord, and I applaud Clyde’s fine legacy of service to our community through the years, as Mayor and before that as Ward 6 Councilman.

It’s wonderful that my old pal Dick Green has been inducted into the second annual class of the Missouri Recreation and Parks Hall of Fame. I have known Dick in Little League and in the community for many decades. He served as Columbia Parks and Recreation Director for 30 years until his retirement in 1998. I consider Dick and our friend Tony Antimi as twin pillars of youth recreation in Columbia. As the news release announcing this honor stated: “ During this time, he was instrumental in overseeing Columbia’s significant growth, including a doubling of the number of parks, acquisition of federal monies and in earning the National Park and Recreation’s Gold Medal Award for Excellence in 1984. He also guided legislative efforts in enabling a local option ½ cent sales tax for funding local parks and recreation services. This has resulted in well over 100 cities and counties approving tax initiatives generating over two billion dollars for parks and recreation services in Missouri.” A tip of the hat to Dick Green, a fine man, a good friend and a major supporter of youth recreation in or community.

It’s always a joy to attend the Little League World Congress, the annual international gathering of the youth program I’ve been involved with for more than 30 years. This year’s Congress is in Lexington, Kentucky. Learn more about Columbia’s Daniel Boone Little League.

In more than 30 years of participating in Little League as a coach, umpire and regional and national leader, I’ve had the privilege of seeing many great victories. Now there is a movie about one of the greatest wins in our organization’s history. “The Perfect Game” is premiering at this weekend’s Little League World Congress. It’s the inspirational true story of a team from Monterrey, Mexico, that won the 1957 Little League Baseball World Series.

I appreciate that Anne Christnovich of the Columbia Missourian interviewed one of our town’s nicest guys as part of her profile of my City Council candidacy. That nice guy is The Reverend Kenneth Gerike, my pastor and a friend for going on 30 years. Not only does he serve the Trinity Lutheran congregation faithfully, he is also a long-standing Little League volunteer. It’s caring neighbors and spiritual leaders like Reverend Gerike who make Columbia the best place to live, work and raise a family.

Missourian interview with Reverend Kenneth Gerike

With organizers projecting sales of 25,000 tickets for the True/False Film Festival, the economic impact on Columbia and especially downtown is enormous. Kudos to the organizers who launched this respected documentary film event seven years ago. It is a point of pride for our community! The Columbia Daily Tribune says there may still be ways to score tickets, too.

Tribune article on True/False film festival

I enjoyed the CDT’s Saturday Business profile of my old friend and our former Governor, Roger B. Wilson. Roger has brought new energy and smart ideas to Missouri Employers Mutual, which is one of Ward 3 and Columbia’s biggest employers. Kudos to Roger and MEM!

Tribune Article on Roger B. Wilson