Kathryn “Katy” White

Treasurer | Director

Katy’s life began on the shores of Lake Michigan. Living near such a vast body of water instilled in her a great respect and love for natural water sources. Through the 1960s and ‘70s, she witnessed with devastation the Great Lakes gradually succumb to human pollution, development, and mismanagement. During the final two decades of the last century, the Lakes began to revive, demonstrating that proper stewardship can restore natural resources.

A commitment to community service began when Katy chose teaching as a career. She attended National-Louis University in Evanston, IL, graduating in 1984 with a B.S. in Education with math emphasis. She married Cameron White and moved to New Jersey. She taught school for one year, taking pregnancy leave in 1986. In 1987, the new little family moved back to the Midwest. They landed in Newburg, Missouri, on a piece of heaven that checked all the boxes on their wish list: forest, field, clear-water stream, potable water supply, and a livable structure. Together, they built a house on this land in the valley along Mill Creek.

As new residents of Newburg and parent to two children, Katy became active in the community, starting a youth soccer program (with help from Cam), joining and serving as an officer in the Doolittle Lioness Club, becoming president of Newburg School PTO, and serving as den mother for Cub Scouts. During this time, Katy was able to grow the Newburg soccer program from upper elementary to include students pre-K through 8th grade. Through PTO, she coordinated the installation of two new playground structures for the school.

Katy worked as a teacher in several area districts, settling in Rolla School District 31 (Rolla Schools) for more than 15 years before retiring. While teaching, she earned master of science in mathematics for teachers from the Missouri University of Science and Technology (MS&T), became state certified to teach as a science teacher, was Rolla Schools “Teacher of the Year”, co-taught a summer Science Education and Quantitative Literacy Project (SEQL) workshop at MS&T, became a junior high school math department head, and was a curriculum specialist for grades five through eight. Katy sponsored the math club for the Rolla School and hosted the regional competitions for the Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics and MATHCOUNTS for many years.

Vacations were few and far between. (Who needs to go anywhere when your home is a vacation spot?) Life on Mill Creek is amazing. Deer, turkey, owls, snakes, fish, bugs, frogs, coyotes, eagles . . . all passing through the “backyard.” Visitors always remark on the amazingly clear creek. Hiking, fishing, hunting, biking, cross country skiing (at times!), campfires, star gazing, rock or arrowhead hunting, campouts are all part of life along the creek. Katy continues to support stewardship of natural resources by working with the Mill Creek Watershed Coalition and other agencies to protect the Mill Creek watershed that surrounds her home so that it can be enjoyed by many future generations.