On Thursday, October 24, representatives and friends of nonprofit organizations gathered at the Branson Chamber of Commerce offices for the 11th Annual Skaggs Legacy Endowment Grant Awards Ceremony. Each year, the ceremony celebrates the meaningful work done by grantees throughout the year, and the resulting impact of the grant-funded initiatives on lives in Taney and Stone counties.
Meghan Connell, President of Skaggs Foundation, opened the ceremony and introduced Grant Committee Chairperson Nita Jane Ayres; Foundation Board Chairperson Becky Roberts gave the invocation. Grant Administrator Nyssa Berhorst shared about driving to site visits of the applicants and recipients and seeing so many great people doing great things on a daily basis. She compared the efforts of the various organizations to a beautiful picture being painted across the Ozarks landscape.
Berhorst introduced speakers representing last year’s recipients. Dr. Staci Baker, principal at Galena-Abesville Elementary School, shared touching stories about the Galena Cents of Pride Store, one of several receiving assistance from the Foundation. She described the stores as empowering, giving students a source of pride in the accomplishments that enable them to have funds to spend in the stores.
Following Dr. Baker’s remarks, Sandy Thompson shared the impact of the funding for the Children’s Smile Center, a nonprofit dental clinic serving Medicaid-eligible children. Many of the children served by the clinic are medically or emotionally fragile, requiring anesthesia during dental care, and the funds helped arrange a hospital setting for those procedures.
Ayres then introduced the 2025 grantees, with a brief description of the projects and services being funded for each. Recipients are grouped into general categories of Access to Care, Child & Family Safety, Dental Care, Healthy Lifestyles, Mental Health, and Substance Use.
In the Access to Care category, recipients for 2025 include My Neighbor’s Charitable Pharmacy; Cox Medical Center Unites Stone & Taney Counties; Good Samaritan Fund for Cox Patients; Bariatric Recliners fund; Ultrasound and Bladder Scanning equipment fund; Safer Air Medical Access through Central Taney County Fire Protection District; Cox Branson Patient Transportation Assistance; The Brook Wellness Center Transportation Assistance; Free Medical Clinic of the Ozarks rent and equipment funding; and Charis Group Transportation Access.
Child & Family Safety recipients are OTC Table Rock Childcare Center for nursing students; Harbor House Domestic Violence Center Wellness Project; Public Safety Classes and Training Room Access for the City of Crane; Dad Prep U at Options Pregnancy Clinic; House of Hope Emergency Response for motel closures; Cents of Pride Stores at Boys & Girls Clubs and at Branson, Forsyth, Reeds Spring, Hollister, Galena, and Kirbyville; Pathways Project Sex Trafficking Awareness Education; Real Life Learning Scenarios for Central Taney County Fire Protection District; AED equipment for City of Kimberling Police Department; updated nurse’s office at Hurley Schools; OACAC Helping Hands; and CPR and classroom trauma kits at Bradleyville Schools.
In the Dental Care Category, OACAC will receive funding to assist underinsured patients, and Children’s Smile Center is again a recipient, with funding to provide stainless steel crowns for children who might otherwise require extractions.
Healthy Lifestyles funding was awarded to Reeds Spring Wolf Pack Park; Beyond Balance programs of MU Extension; BridgeFit scholarships for senior citizens and students through White River Community Development; Sunny Side programs through the Branson Hollister Senior Center; youth sports scholarships through Branson Parks and Recreation; Thrive Academy’s Building Stronger Learners program; CAM Community Garden Initiative; and Tri-Lakes Special Education Cooperative’s Lending Love through Learning.
Mental Health funding support went to Hope Counseling Center; Cox Branson’s Mental Health Network Initiative; Veterans of the Ozarks’ QPR suicide prevention program; Elevate Health Counseling Program; and Legacy Academy’s Harmony Haven Wellness Center.
Substance Use prevention and recovery funding was awarded to Simmering Center Respite Care program; Cox Branson’s Stone & Taney Counties Substance Use Initiative and Tobacco Cessation programs; and The Brook Wellness Center’s Marijuana Brief Intervention.
Additional information about the grants and recipients can be found at SkaggsFoundation.org.
Nita Jane Ayres wrapped up the presentations by reminding all service providers to coordinate through the Unite Us platform for referrals and making sure patients receive the services they need.
Ayres then received her own surprise, as Meghan Connell took the mic to announce this year’s Legacy Award, awarded to Ayres for her years of faithful and efficient service as chairperson of the Grant Committee. Connell closed the ceremony by explaining the Seeds of Change theme, signified by baskets of apples given to each grantee. Long considered symbolic of health, apples can be a regular reminder to all of us to support these wonderful nonprofits and be grateful each day for the important work they do.
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