Five Questions: Rogetta Prueitt

Rogetta Prueitt is no stranger to the world of not-for-profit organizations. Before taking over as Make-A-Wish Foundation of Missouri executive director March 6, she worked for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce as its manager of work force and business development for a year. She then moved to Tulsa, where she served as executive director for The Simon Estes Educational Foundation, a group that supports financially and academically deserving youth. She just finished Make-A-Wish Foundation of Missouri’s biggest fund-raising event, the annual dinner gala and auction April 28 at Bass Pro Shops’ White River Room.

Q: What is the mission of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Missouri, and what area do you serve?

A: Our mission is to grant the wishes of children between 2 1/2 and 18 with life-threatening or debilitating medical conditions and to enrich their human experience with hope, strength and joy. We cover most of the state – there are 115 counties in Missouri, and we cover 99 of those. St. Louis has its own chapter, and we cover the rest of the state.

Q: What are the most popular wishes that the children ask for?

A: We do a lot of Disney wishes – about 56 percent of our wishes are to Disney World. Our children generally have been removed from school and don’t get to participate in the outdoor play activities, so we recently did a backyard play set for a young man. We’re also in the middle of doing a SpongeBob (SquarePants) bedroom makeover for a young man in Branson. He shares a bedroom with his little sister, and he’s a leukemia patient. The kids spend a lot of their time at home, so their bedroom is their sanctuary, and we try to make it that way.

Q: How does the organization pay for the wishes it grants?

A: It’s all paid for through charitable contributions. Our wishes cost, on average, about $5,000. Some, though, are very expensive. Our budget for the 2005-2006 fiscal year – we run on a fiscal year from September to August – is $450,000, but our goal is to increase that budget threefold over the next two years to hit $1.5 million.

Q: With the recent hurricanes, and the tsunami at the beginning of 2005, has the foundation had a harder time gathering donations because of the increased need, and if so, how are you dealing with that?

A: In the last two years, there’s been a downturn in giving to us, because there have been so many other national and international disasters, and people have given so whole-heartedly and unselfishly to those. The attraction to our organization is that you’re helping someone in your area, and that has the greatest appeal. You get to see the joy of what you’re doing and (you’re) giving to a kid right here in your own backyard.

Q: What do you do in your spare time?

A: I have one (hobby): I compete professionally in rodeo – I’m a professional barrel racer. If I’m not at the office, I’m probably on horseback somewhere. I’m not married; it’s just me and the dogs and the horses. I’m also currently in the process of buying a small farm in Everton.