CAFNR and IFT 

Christopher Daubert, PhD, vice chancellor and dean of the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR), became the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) 85th president effective September 1, 2024. Before joining the University of Missouri in 2017, Daubert spent more than two decades at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he served as head of the Food, Bioprocessing & Nutrition Sciences department, and director of the Food Rheology Laboratory. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural engineering from Penn State University and his PhD in agricultural engineering and food science from Michigan State University. Daubert is an IFT fellow and previously served as chair of the Food Engineering division. 

Christian Fellowship Church 

Christian Fellowship Church recently installed three new staff pastors and two new non-vocational elders. The new pastors are Tara Freeman (Pastoral Care), Cody Riggins (Youth Ministry), and Jo Scott (Healing Ministries and Family Life). Christian Fellowship also welcomed two new elders: Sam Brown and John Kim (Jung Hyup Kim). 

OATS Transit 

Dan Langendoerfer of Columbia was one of eight drivers from OATS Transit who were honored recently with Transit Champions Awards at the Missouri Public Transit Association annual conference in St. Louis. The drivers were nominated by their managers for their outstanding commitment to OATS Transit, and to public transit. Each driver was recognized at the state conference and will be included on the Association’s Operator Wall of Fame. 

Boone Health

Dr. Robin Blount, chief medical officer for Boone Health, has announced her intent to retire, effective January 2025. Dr. Blount has been with Boone Health for thirty-eight years, initially practicing internal medicine in private practice at Boone Clinic in Columbia starting in 1987. Dr. Blount moved to Columbia with her family in 1964 and graduated from the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1979 and from the School of Medicine in 1983. Following additional training in an infectious disease fellowship at MU, Dr. Blount entered private practice at Boone Clinic in Columbia in 1987. In 2015, she was named Boone Hospital’s chief medical officer. Dr. Blount helped lead the hospital and its medical staff through two electronic medical records transitions, the hospital’s transition to independent status, and the challenge of the COVID pandemic. During her tenure as CMO, Boone Hospital achieved 5-star ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services five times since 2016 when the ratings were first introduced. In 2024, Boone Hospital also was named a top 100 hospital in the nation by Healthgrades. Dr. Blount has served on the Board of Governors for the MU School of Medicine, and in 2020 was recognized by the Boone County Medical Society as the Distinguished Physician of the Year for work and leadership during the COVID pandemic. Dr. Blount has also remained active in the community, serving as the physician champion for the Heart of Missouri United Way, serving as the “physician at large” on the Missouri Hospital Association Board of Governors and leading the Missouri Hospital Association Physician Executive Group. A national search will begin for her replacement.