The State Historical Society of Missouri board of trustees has elected Robert M. Clayton III of Hannibal as president of the State Historical Society for a three-year term. Clayton has served as a trustee of the Society since 2013. Senator Roy Blunt, who has served as SHSMO’s president since 2023 will continue to serve as a trustee of the Society.
Clayton is a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District. He was previously chairman of the Missouri Public Service Commission and a partner at Clayton and Curl, LLC. Elected as a state representative in 1994, Clayton held an eight-year term in the Missouri House of Representatives. He sponsored the house companion bill to legislation that created the Missouri Historic Preservation Tax Credit, which encourages investment in historic buildings.
At the State Historical Society of Missouri’s annual meeting on Saturday, November 22, the board also elected Ann McGregor of Branson as vice president. McGregor is a third-generation owner of Herschend Family Entertainment that includes Silver Dollar City, Dollywood, Stone Mountain Park, and The Harlem Globetrotters among its properties. McGregor serves as chair of the Herschend Family’s philanthropic investment arm, the Neighbor Company, and is active in her community of Branson and southwest Missouri serving on various boards.
Columbia resident Edward W. Scavone was re-elected to serve as treasurer of the Society. Scavone is president and CEO of Central Bank of Boone County in Columbia. Scavone is an active citizen in mid-Missouri, serving on the boards of Woodhaven and Heart of Missouri United Way. He has served as a trustee of the Society since 2014.
Also at the State Historical Society’s annual meeting, longtime executive director Gary Kremer retired from his position leading the Society through much growth and expansion, including the construction of its new building headquarters in Columbia. Kremer gave the annual My Missouri lecture following the meeting, hosted by outgoing president Blunt. Dr. Kremer will continue to serve the Society as executive director emeritus and senior fellow, Center for Missouri Studies.
Joel Rhodes has joined the State Historical Society as the seventh executive director since its founding in 1898. He earned his PhD and MA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Dr. Rhodes is also Professor Emeritus at Southeast Missouri State University where he taught history and public history for twenty-four years and served as associate dean. Rhodes has written seven books including A Missouri Railroad Pioneer: The Life of Louis Houck and Growing Up in a Land Called Honalee: The Sixties in the Lives of American Children published by the University of Missouri Press. He serves, or has served, on multiple boards including the State Historical Records Advisory Board, Missouri Humanities, Missouri Preservation, and Missouri Association for Museums and Archives.
In other business at the annual meeting, four new trustees were elected to serve on the board of trustees including Robert “Bob” Brinkmann of Defiance, who is the chief executive officer and founder of Brinkmann Constructors, headquartered in St. Louis and operating in 40 states. Sarah Graff of Moberly joins the board of trustees. She is the director of special projects for U.S. congressman Sam Graves and is active in civic organizations including the Omar Bradley Memorial, Library, and Museum. Also joining the board is Zora Mulligan of West Plains. Mulligan is the chancellor of Missouri State University-West Plains and previously served as executive vice president for Missouri State University and commissioner of Higher Education for the State of Missouri. Finally, Jarod Roll of Columbia was elected as a new trustee to the Society. Roll is professor of Missouri History in the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy and the Department of History at the University of Missouri. For a listing of the entire board of trustees, visit shsmo.org/about/trustees.