Defining leadership is simple for Debi Meeds.
"I believe the essence of leadership is the ability to guide, direct and inspire others to work toward a common vision or mission," she says.
She puts that philosophy to use as executive director of the Greater Ozarks Chapter of the American Red Cross.
"I strive to be a woman of integrity and vision in all I do, and I have a passion to provide relief to those in need," she says.
Meeds' leadership has resulted in the local chapter's receiving top performance marks from the national Red Cross. It's also built the chapter's reputation for collaboration.
"When I became executive director, the Red Cross had an excellent reputation for service, but not always a reputation for working well with others," Meeds says. "Today, we work on a daily basis with our service partners and have a reputation for bringing people together to find creative ways to use every resource available."
Meeds also has made it a priority to find new ways to serve military families and help those hit by disaster. That creativity was put to work in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina slammed into the southern coast of the United States.
"When Hurricane Katrina hit and more than 4,000 people evacuated to our area, I knew that the best way to serve them would be to bring all of the service agencies together under one roof," she says.
Meeds spent the Labor Day weekend after the hurricane contacting every agency she could think of to enlist help.
CoxHealth and St. John's hospitals, the Division of Social Services, Ozarks Food Harvest, the Salvation Army, Springfield Public Schools, the Underprivileged Children's Fund and many more came together in the Remington's Hurricane Relief Center.
"This wonderful community of Springfield responded as no other community has in my 20 years with the Red Cross," Meeds says. "It was the most rewarding experience of my career."
This multiagency resource center, which Meeds considers her proudest accomplishment, later served as a model for setting up similar disaster resource centers following the January 2007 ice storm and devastating tornadoes of 2008.
Meeds' leadership in disaster preparedness led to her election to the Regional Homeland Security Oversight Committee for Region D in its inaugural year, when she served as chair of the volunteer organizations subcommittee.
Meeds serves on the Southwest Missouri Long-Term Recovery Committee, which identifies and provides relief for victims in 19 counties, and she is chairwoman of Greene County Community Organizations Active in Disaster.
She's also a member of the statewide Governor's Faith Based Partnership, which encourages faith-based groups to participate in disaster preparedness and relief.
Still, she finds time to teach Sunday school for children in kindergarten through second grade.
"Teaching and leading these children to be people of character and compassion is one of the joys of my life," she says.[[In-content Ad]]
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