Board of Directors

Donna Swall, Executive Director

Donna has vast experience in both the corporate world and has played major roles in helping non profits become successful. Donna began her career in New York City traveling nationally for major cosmetic firm, where she specialized in training and marketing. She then expanded her career into marketing and managing Tax Shelter Investments. Several years later, her entrepreneurial skill helped her to open her own recruiting business which specialized in Technical Programmers for the airline industry. Through this venture, Donna contracted work for major airline to set up a new department “Technical Careers” where she was responsible for writing the charter, establishing a one million dollar budget, hiring the staff, and through all those changes was able to save the company 1.6 million in first year alone. She then started the new, “Technical Marketing” department, packaged and marketed the airline reservation system for 10 million dollars, working with CEO’s of middle sized International Airlines. Donna has also served the communities in which she lived through various volunteer capacities. She was a Special Events Coordinator for local community fair that was host to approximately 20,000 people over a 3 day weekend. She has served as a Girl Scout Leader, President of Council of PTA, PTSA for Eight Schools.   Prior to becoming Executive Director of LOWA, she held a similar position as the Special Events Coordinator/ Fundraiser for Blue River Watershed Assoc. wherein she worked with business to sponsor efforts to clean up the Blue River.  Donna has also organized events for approx 10,000 students in the Kansas City area over a 5 year period for the Kansas City Clean Streams Program and Water Celebrations. Donna is proud to have owned a lake home for 28 years and looks forward to making a positive difference in the Lake Area. 

Caroline Toole, President

Caroline is a Project Manager for LOWA. Caroline authored both Watershed Management Plans and has managed all of the grants for LOWA. Caroline earned her BS in Geology in 1975 from the University of Maryland College Park, a Master’s in Education from William Woods University in 2004, and was certified as a K-12 Principal. As a high school and junior high science teacher and later a teacher of the gifted, Caroline wrote and was awarded several education grants to provide equipment and programs for her science students including the Christa McAuliffe Fellowship. As a master teacher, Caroline was awarded the SW Missouri State Teachers Association Teacher of the Year, as well as Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s prestigious Eddy Award. Caroline started Stream Team 313 in 1993 and started monitoring the Lake of the Ozarks at mile marker 51 with the Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Progam in 2006. Married to Don Toole, a founding member of Missouri Caves and Karst Conservancy, together they raised two children. Caroline and Don are enjoying their garden and greenhouse in the watershed of the Lake at Climax Springs. After turning her sills and abilities towards Lake of the Ozarks and LOWA, Caroline has been instrumental in helping write an accepted watershed management plan and watershed management grants.

Greg Stoner, Vice President

Greg Stoner was born on March 29, 1962 in Northridge, California, just outside of Los Angeles.  At the age of four, his family moved (thankfully, he says) to St. Charles, Missouri were he grew up hunting, fishing, and exploring the surrounding woods and creeks.  Greg graduated from Saint Louis University in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in biology and from University of Missouri – Columbia in 1987 with a master’s degree in biology.  Greg has been employed with the Missouri Department of Conservation as a Fisheries Management Biologist since 1990 and has been stationed at Lake of the Ozarks since 1991.  Greg, his wife Sherri, his son Alex (now in college in Colorado), and daughter Katie live on the Niangua Arm of Lake of the Ozarks outside of Camdenton.  Greg enjoys hiking, photography, kayaking and is an avid “all species” angler – doesn’t matter what kind of fish is on the line as long as it pulls back!  Type your paragraph here.

 

Tony Thorpe, Member at Large

Tony Thorpe is a Director On the LOWA Board. Since 2001 Tony has been the Coordinator for the Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program (LMVP) at the University Of Missouri in Columbia. LMVP is a statewide group of volunteers who regularly monitor water quality at over 1 00 Missouri lake sites. This program is explained further under the water quality element in this plan. Tony Thorpe is a Columbia, Missouri native who has been working with water quality at the University of Missouri since 1995. He received his Masters degree in Limnology from the University Of Missouri in 2004 by examining relationships between heterotrophic bacterial abundance, nutrients and algae at regional and global scales.

David Synder, Treasurer

After purchasing property at the Lake of the Ozarks four years ago, David Snyder and his wife Terrie were able to move to the lake full time last January. David grew up in Lyons, Kansas and received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, and graduated from the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Colorado. David began his career in banking with a community bank in Lyons with responsibilities in lending, asset/liability management and investment portfolio administration.

David and Terrie moved to Cottonwood, Arizona in 2003 where he accepted a position as CFO of the local school district with emphasis on budgeting, accounting, purchasing, grants management and capital planning.

Now retired, David is looking forward to being a part of LOWA and the important and exciting programs that the Alliance has currently in place, and those planned for the future.

Joann Billington, Corresponding Secretary

Growing up in northeast Missouri in the small town of Novinger, Joann completed high school with a class of 35 students!  She then graduated from Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman University) with a B.S. in Education.  Her first assignment as a business teacher was in Unionville, Missouri.  Following husband Jack—to whom she has been married for 53 years—and his employment opportunities, Joann then taught at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Hallsville High School, and schools in San Antonio, Texas.  While living in Columbus, Ohio, she worked at retail positions and spent time helping to design and oversee the completion of their retirement home at the Lake of the Ozarks.  Upon retirement and moving to the Lake full time, she became a Master Gardener and belongs to the Ozark Prairie Master Gardeners in Versailles.  She also completed the Missouri Master Naturalist program and is a member of the Lake of the Ozarks Chapter in Camdenton.

Having a summer cabin at the Lake for 40+ years and now a permanent residence, her love of the Lake and conservation priorities led her to volunteering with LOWA as a trained volunteer evaluator, which she has been doing for several years.

Shannon Whelchel, Recording Secretary

Shannon Whelchel is a Missouri native and has been a full-time lake resident for 25 years. Growing up, she spent all of her summers here at the lake. Shannon’s family have had lake homes for four generations. Many of her best childhood memories were made here at the lake. Shannon has an affinity for gardening, a deep appreciation for the outdoors, and a commitment to preserve the environment. She has owned and operated businesses in the lake area for over
20 years. Shannon is a Real Estate agent with Mary Albers Group, one of the top selling, longest standing real estate teams at the lake. She graduated from Columbia College with a bachelor’s degree.