The
office
of
Cass County Public Adminstrator is one of those that people may not be
that familiar with. But when you understand what a vital role
it plays in vulnerable people's lives, you will understand why Melody
Folsom is the best choice for the office. For those that don't know
Melody Folsom, take a few moments and get to know the woman who should
be Cass County Missouri's Public Administrator.
I wanted to thank everyone who participated and worked with me in the Friends of Melody Campaign of 2008! This was a remarkable journey for me and I could not have done it without the support of so many people.
I’m not sure if everyone is aware how much Christie Kern did for me during my campaign. I found that what I needed most was a friend, and Christie performed that most vital role as well as doing all the treasurer work, campaigning and passing out literature and providing moral support. This is all on top of being the Republican secretary and both coordinating and working the South Republican Headquarters, while being a Mom and working a full time job! I literally could not have survived without her support!
Billy was also truly my help mate throughout providing the strength to go on when I was beat and working to place and remove my 4’ X 8’ signs and being by my side in parades and town halls, despite his reluctance in the latter endeavors. What we enjoyed the most was meeting new people and visiting with them along the campaign trail. There literally wasn’t enough time to visit with everyone we wanted to! As Bill Cook said early on, “The experience will make us all better people”. He couldn’t have been more right! There are so many others who joined my campaign and I don’t even know everyone! Our church provided so much encouragement and help to my campaign – I had the pleasure of working with people like Doris Gilkeson, Judy Winter, Judy Schrock, Karen Shook and family and so many others!
What has been truly remarkable in this campaign was knowing that people who didn’t even know me in the beginning chose to give of their time to distribute push cards and campaign in my stead… Tonya & Cody Chancellor, Dan Freland, Richard & Debbie Francy, Dennis Begley & Sheila Stokes-Begley, Randy Harmon, Elsa Curd, Greg Levison, George Smith, Mike Raycik and others! How exciting it has been to see this campaign build energy and come to fruition in a victory – and what a close one it was!
We had a great core of Republicans running in Cass County and I acknowledge that I made it through also because of the unwavering support and campaigning efforts of Bob & Jodie Huston, Bill & Emily Cook, and Steve & Mary Cheslik. I also believe the strong support of Rex & Debbie Rector, Ron and Ruth Johnson and other fellow Republicans was another key to winning the victory.
I hope you will join with me as I step into the role of your Cass County Public Administrator and continue to support me in my endeavors to make this a positive experience and raise the visibility of this office in the county! Going forward, I will continue to ask for your prayers as I take this leap of faith into the unknown and implement changes for the betterment of the people of Cass County.
Melody Folsom
The Public Administrator is assigned by the courts as guardians and/or conservators of those who are unable to care for themselves and who have no family or have been abandoned by family. In these cases, the Public Administrator is tasked with ensuring that the offices’ wards have proper nutrition and housing, as well as seeing that pharmaceutical and various other physical and personal needs are met. Often, the public administrator is charged with fiduciary responsibility, maintaining the wards’ checkbook and paying their bills. The Public Administrator is available around the clock and is responsible for the quality of life these people live. The Public Administrator is required to visit each of the wards once a month and completes reports which detail the offices’ activities with the wards.
Melody believes this to be a much forgotten segment of the population and with the exploding aging population brought about by the baby boomers coming of retirement age, Melody sees a real need for a genuinely compassionate individual who wants to raise these people up in the eyes of the community. Melody believes this is an opportunity for the community to mold this position and tailor it to meet the future needs of a growing county. Melody wants to increase awareness, caring and concern and generate support from outside interests. As more and more people come of retirement age, some families will be strapped to meet the financial burdens of these individuals’ healthcare costs and this office will need to grow to meet this need. Melody has ideas to address this growth, and has a heart and mind which are full of vision and energy in support of her plans.
Melody brings fresh ideas, innovation, creative thinking, energy, motivation, friendliness, honesty, integrity, conservative values, compassion, intelligence, a sense of humor and good common sense to this office.
Melody believes the Public Administrator should be accountable to the citizens of Cass County and has several strategies to improve the position’s visibility, accountability and service. Melody also believes she can use her I/T background to streamline some of the office functions through tools she has designed, developed and used during her professional career.
Melody’s goals are to:
- Handle all wards and their life issues with compassion
- Make life altering decisions only after first seeking God’s wisdom and then listening to all parties involved
- Respond to telephone inquiries with professionalism, timeliness and concern
- Create and maintain long-term relationships with healthcare, housing providers and others
- Implement new, automated procedures and tools to streamline office functions
- Increase the visibility of the Public Administrator position with the public for internal office accountability and public awareness purposes
- Inventory and document wards’ assets valuing over $500 upon being awarded guardianship
- Maintain records of all transactions, being a conservative steward of the office’s budget and the wards’ assets
- Reduce costly law suits at the county’s expense, through her years of negotiation experience
Melody was originally born in Montrose, Colorado, where her father owned and operated a sawmill and logging operation. When Melody was 3 years old, her family made the trek back to Missouri where the sawmill operations resumed. At 9 years old and continuing past high school graduation, Melody worked every summer and over Christmas breaks at the sawmill and logging operation. Melody graduated from high school with a 4.0 in 1979 and was one of 3 Valedictorians that year at Hartville High School in Wright County, Missouri.
The day after graduating, the family moved to the Lake of the Ozarks area where the sawmill and logging operation resumed. Melody received a one semester scholarship to MU, but quickly found that she was unable to afford college life. After leaving school due to financial hardship, Melody vowed that she would eventually get her degree.
Melody married Billy Folsom on November 2, 1979 and began taking classes at SMSU shortly thereafter. She completed one semester, working part time and attending school full time, maintaining her 4.0 GPA.
In 1980 she got a job with the Federal Government. There, she moved up in her career until she became a programmer analyst and served there for a total of 7 ½ years. Melody then moved on to other companies and advanced her career.
In June of 1996, Melody and Billy sold their home in Lee’s Summit and purchased their current acreage just outside Harrisonville, Missouri. Melody continued to work, and was also going to night school to get her degree. In 2001, Melody graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Avila University with a GPA of 3.96. This was a milestone event for her and Billy!
In one of Melody’s Business classes, the students were assigned to create a statement as to why they should be hired at Company XYZ in 25 words or less. After giving it much thought, Melody determined she could do this in 2 words and turned in her assignment. The next week, the instructor noted that only one paper intrigued him and that it received the highest score. He went on at length that he wasn’t sure exactly what the writer meant, but it certainly got his attention and he would definitely want to interview this person. He eventually shared what was written on Melody’s paper – The two words were: “I Care”. That’s how Melody approaches everything – whether making nightly dinner, serving her church or working on her job, Melody has always done her very best to make others happy, satisfied and/or comfortable. She cares about everything she does.
Melody
is also an avid sportsperson. She loves camping, canoeing, hunting,
trapshooting and playing softball, table tennis, basketball and
football. (Melody lettered all four years in high school and made
all state in both softball and basketball). Melody has been a deer
and turkey hunter for all 28 years of her marriage to Billy . Until
recently, Melody shot weekly on a Trap League
at Lake Lotawana Sportsmen’s Club, where her team won 1st
and 2nd
place in their division regularly. Melody also has won 5 shooting
medals in the Kansas City Corporate Challenge in Division A and B
Trapshooting. In her latest win, Melody placed 2nd
place by hitting 49 of 50 targets.
Melody also loves to cook and quilt. She has made or contributed to making quilts which were donated and brought $1,000, $1,200 and $2,600 at the annual Mennonite Relief Sale in Harrisonville, Missouri.
If you want to learn more about Melody, come to any of her events and shake her hand. Her firm handshake, genuine smile and warm manner speak volumes about who Melody Folsom is and she welcomes you to get to know her better!
