This year St. Paul United Methodist Church and the Juneteenth Celebration Committee are proud to honor five special individuals as grand marshals for the 2022 celebration. The annual Juneteenth Celebration is a way to recognize and honor those who have been a significant part of the life of the church and community.

Tapped for the honor this year are Serena Barnette-Smith, Rev. Susan McCollegan, Gregg Medendorp, Mary Petty, and Dr. Hope Tinker.

This year’s Juneteenth will be the 22nd event held in Fayette. The four-day celebration will begin on Thursday, June 16, and will conclude on Sunday, June 19. Turn to Page 6 for a full schedule of events.

Serena Barnette-Smith

Serena Barnette Smith was born in Fayette and was the first-born daughter of the late Lawrence Shipley and Barbara Barnette. Serena graduated from Fayette High School in 1980 and moved to Columbia, Missouri, where she began a 28-year career with State Farm Insurance. She married Alfred Smith and they have two daughters: Sher'ree Smith, who resides in Atlanta, Georgia, and Shanae Smith, who resides in Columbia with Serena's 13-year-old grandson, Taurean. 

After retirement, she took on multiple roles as a member of a few of her hometown committees. She is the President of the Lincoln School Board Committee. This committee selects annual senior scholarship and teacher award recipients, gives back to the town's food bank, and provides donations to the Adopt a Family and Harvest Homes organizations. 

Serena is also a member of the Community Celebration committee and participates in community events such as the memorial weekend celebrations, the annual Terry Bush Senior scholarship, and backpack giveaways. Her latest contributions were with the Ad Hoc group which is currently helping restore Paige-Liberty Park. Serena enjoys giving back and looks forward to seeing how the town of Fayette will continue to grow.

Rev. Susan McCollegan

Rev. Susan McCollegan spent 38 years as an educator in both the public and private sectors. As a schoolteacher, Susan taught kindergarteners and sixth graders in the Ferguson-Florissant School District, and taught for a time in a private alternative school in Granite City, Illinois, working with youth from middle school through high school and beyond who were unsuccessful in the regular classroom. Susan was also an elementary school principal for 11 years in Springfield, Missouri. For a time, she served as a technical trainer for St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville, Illinois, and then as a technical writer and professional management and development trainer for McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis. She retired from Springfield Public Schools in 2010. 

Susan accepted the call to ministry in 2014. She has served United Methodist churches throughout Missouri in Ashland, Fortuna, and McCredie in Kingdom City, and is happy to have been asked to serve St. Paul UMC in Fayette. While she will continue to live in Columbia, she hopes to be active in the Fayette community by participating in the many activities that both St. Paul and the community sponsor. Rev. Susan has a son and daughter and happily spoils her five grandchildren every chance she gets.

Gregg Medendorp

Gregg came to join the Fayette community in 2016 from Columbia, Kentucky, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in math and accounting from Lindsey Wilson College. In Kentucky, his pastimes included functioning as a Relay for Life team captain, founder and first president of the LWC Pep Band, founding member and parliamentarian of the Accounting Club, treasurer of the SGA, and pianist and bell choir member for Columbia Baptist Church.

After college, Gregg’s work experience included serving as a bank teller, bookkeeper, internet banking manager, accounts payable manager, and IT manager. He also served as controller at his alma mater under Dr. Roger Drake, who later became president of Central Methodist University here in Fayette. President Drake later recruited him to Missouri to analyze data for CMU, which he has now done in varying capacities for more than six years. Contributions have included creating CMU’s budget reports, COVID-19 statistics, and enrollment projections.

Since relocating to Fayette, Gregg has enjoyed finding new ways to contribute locally, including the Howard County Food Pantry, CMU Game Geeks, Linn Memorial Community Bell Choir, and Howard County Fair. Gregg is currently an active member of St. Paul UMC where he has served on the nominating committee and has been humbled to meet many kind folks. He is also especially grateful to learn about and support the annual Juneteenth celebration of freedom.

Mary Petty

Mary Petty was raised in St. Joseph, Missouri, but has called Fayette home for 34 years. Mary has four sons and two daughters, 23 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandbabies. She is an active member of St. Paul United Methodist Church and has served as the Christian education chair, president of the United Methodist Women, current chair of worship, usher, as well as a member of the Juneteenth Committee. Fayette is a good community in which to raise children.

Mary worked for more than 20 years for the University of Missouri, eight years for the Fayette High School cafeteria, and is currently employed by Fresh Ideas at Central Methodist University. Mary is looking forward to completely retiring within a year and spending more time with her family and church.

 Dr. Hope Tinker

Hope Tinker, M.D. is a family medicine physician who advocates for “Healthcare for People Not Profit.” She has served the community since 1984.

Hope was born in Atlantic, Iowa, and spent her youth in Des Moines and St. Louis. The Tinker family were activists in the Civil Rights movement and the Peace movement and her early education came from being raised on the picket line by parents committed to peace and justice.

Hope earned her undergraduate degree in Urban Studies at Washington University but wanted a life in a smaller community where one can see more stars and practice multigenerational community-based family practice medicine. Hope had the opportunity to do a rotation at the University of Missouri clinic in Fayette during medical school and appreciated the diversity of this community. She received her M.D. in 1982 from UMC. Following completion of a residency and fellowship at SIU-Springfield, Illinois, she and her husband, David Fortel, chose to work and raise their family here.

Hope recently retired from outpatient clinical practice. She is forever grateful to her patients, their families, and her colleagues who have shared their lives with her. Thirty-eight years of providing healthcare in Fayette have included teaching and patient care at Fayette Medical Clinic and Keytesville Clinic, private practice with Family Health, Inc., and most recently with Fitzgibbon Family Health. She continues to work as medical director with the Hometown Homecare Hospice.

Dr. Tinker is a board member of Fayette Together and continues to work for the health of our community and the values of Public Health, Freedom, Peace, and Justice in our society. She has the privilege of working with the Citizens Ad Hoc Committee for Paige Liberty Park and with the Fayette Reads Together book club project.