School Board Members (Some Of Them Have Connections To The District)

Investigate some of the groups that many of these members belong to.  The CAC is the one that I would suggest that research first.  You will be amazed if you pay close attention.
Terri Harmon

President
Terri Harmon was elected to the R-7 Board of Education in April 2011. She has served on the R-7 Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC) and on the CAC Steering Committee and has recently held leadership positions with the Pleasant Lea Elementary PTA and the Lee’s Summit R-7 Building Our Future Committee.
Mrs. Harmon earned her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in business administration and economics from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., and is a graduate of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Centurions program.
She joined Best Buy as one of the original employees in the company’s 13th store. She moved to the Kansas City metropolitan area with Best Buy in 1987, managing multiple store locations in the Midwest as well as serving as a district operations administrator for a five-state region. Mrs. Harmon transferred her operational experience to the not-for-profit industry, joining the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City when it opened in 1999. As the council’s chief operating officer, she helped manage the financial, strategic and programmatic growth of this regional not-for-profit organization, including the development of a community-based arts funding program, the ArtsKC Fund.
After a decade with the Arts Council, Mrs. Harmon opened myVP, llc, a consulting practice that combines her passion for operational excellence with her interest in small and growth-oriented businesses. She helps her clients bring efficiency to their operations and integrate technology to make their businesses more successful. Mrs. Harmon and her husband, Mike, have two daughters – class of 2020 and 2024. She enjoys spending time with her family, golfing and gardening.

Chris Storms

Vice President
Chris Storms was elected to the R-7 Board of Education in April 2011. Before joining the Board, he served on the R-7 Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC) for six years, including three years on the CAC Steering Committee. In addition, he has served on other school district teams such as the All-Day Kindergarten Study Team and the R-7 Building Our Future Committee, a group he co-chaired in 2009-10.
Within the community, Mr. Storms has served as a volunteer and committee member for Boy Scout Troop 262, is a member of Aldersgate United Methodist Church, a Board member for the Lee’s Summit Lacrosse League, a member of the Lee’s Summit Rotary Club, a charter member of the Summit Pointe Elementary PTA and has served as team manager for eight years within the Lee’s Summit Baseball Association. During the 2009-10 school year, he served as chairperson for the Lee’s Summit Coalition for Excellence in Education.
Mr. Storms earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration from the University of Central Missouri. He works as a national account manager for Niscayah, Inc.
His family includes his wife, Audra, a third-grade teacher at Summit Pointe Elementary, and his two sons – Alec, a senior at Lee’s Summit West High School, and Austin, a sophomore at Lee’s Summit West High School. He enjoys watching his sons’ sports, boating, wakeboarding, traveling, reading and running.

Bill Baird

Member
Bill Baird was elected to the Board of Education in April 2014. He has been active in numerous community and school district organizations, including serving on the Lee’s Summit Educational Foundation Board of Directors for eight years. His volunteer roles within the Educational Foundation have included leading the Development Committee as chairman for six years, chairing Taste of Lee’s Summit for three years and serving on the Foundation’s Executive Committee for five years. Mr. Baird has assisted the Foundation in raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for R-7 schools in the area of instructional technology, such as Chromebooks and audio enhancements, as well as for PEAK Grants for classroom innovations. He has also volunteered many hours within R-7 schools, assisting with athletic programs, booster clubs and the R-7 Partners In Education program.
Within the community, Mr. Baird was 2012 president of the Heartland Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for the Board of Realtors, served on the Heartland MLS Executive Leadership Committee and on the 2012 Board of Directors for the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors. An active member of the Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce, he was named 2013 Lee’s Summit Chamber Board Member of the Year and received the 2007 Lee’s Summit Res in Motus Business of the Year Award.
Mr. Baird has earned bachelor’s degrees in business and psychology from Baker University. He is the owner of Baird Group Real Estate and has owned several additional companies within Lee’s Summit, including One Stop Handyman Shop and Infinity Realty.
A Lee’s Summit resident, he is married to Hillory Baird, and they have two children who attend R-7 schools – Bailey, Class of 2015, and Grant, Class of 2018. His hobbies include sports and athletics – coaching, competing and watching – as well as collecting items associated with the inspirational movie “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

Phyllis Balagna

Member
A Lake Winnebago resident, Ms. Balagna has lived in the Lee’s Summit community her entire life. She became a member of the Board of Education in April 2012. Ms. Balagna is a graduate of Lee’s Summit High School and a graduate of University of Central Missouri. She taught English and theatre arts for five years, with two of those at LSHS. In 1989, she became a Lee’s Summit business owner, and for the past 26 years has owned Steppin’ Out – The Studio. In 2011, the Chamber of Commerce recognized her as the Res in Motus Small Business of the Year, and she was also awarded the Volunteer of the Year. She is actively involved with the Chamber Education Committee, and serves on the Teacher of the Year/Excellence in Teaching Award Selection Committee. In addition, she serves on the Chamber’s Governmental Relations Committee, and travels to Jefferson City and Washington, D.C. each year to meet with government officials.
Within the community, Ms. Balagna is involved with many organizations: Lee’s Summit Educational Foundation Advisory Board, R-7 Business Roundtable, R-7 Citizens’ Advisory Committee, Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce, Noon Rotary Club and Lee’s Summit Character Council. In 2011, she was awarded the “Whatever It Takes Award” from Lee’s Summit CARES. She donates much of her time to many local events, middle school physical education classes, Brownie troops, school theatre and music programs, and fundraising events. Nationally, she serves as judge for many talent competitions, and is one of 12 teachers throughout the country invited to serve as an Ambassador at the Dance Teacher Summit in New York City.
Ms. Balagna has two daughters who are both graduates of Lee’s Summit High School: Jennifer, Class of 2001, and Jill, Class of 2003. Her parents also graduated from Lee’s Summit High School and were in the Class of 1953 and Class of 1955. Her grandson, Brody, a student at Underwood Elementary, is the fourth generation in Ms. Balagna’s family to attend Lee’s Summit R-7 schools. In spring 2013, Ms. Balagna was inducted into the Lee’s Summit High School Hall of Fame. In her spare time, she enjoys golfing, boating, traveling and spending time with friends and family.

Julie Doane

Member
Julie Doane was elected to the Board of Education in April 2015. She works with her husband as a freight/small package consultant for The Logistics Store. In addition, Mrs. Doane is a Rodan + Fields Dermatology consultant and works at the University of Central Missouri in Lee’s Summit.
A lifelong Lee’s Summit resident, Mrs. Doane currently serves on the Enriching Lives through Music Foundation Board, Lee’s Summit CARES Board, Lee’s Summit Medical Advisory Board and Lee’s Summit Optimist Club. She previously served as a member of the Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, president of the Lee’s Summit West High School Booster Club, LSWHS softball booster rep, Our Lady of the Presentation School Board member and league volleyball coach. Mrs. Doane was honored by the Chamber of Commerce with the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2007 and the Whatever It Takes Award from Lee’s Summit CARES in 2014.
Within Lee’s Summit R-7, Mrs. Doane has served on the R-7 Boundary Team, Logo Design Team, Building our Future Committee and Citizens’ Advisory Committee. She has been involved on the Community of Character Business Sector, Lee’s Summit’s Got Talent planning team and Lee’s Summit CARES Character Conference Steering Committee as well as the following Lee’s Summit Chamber teams: Ambassadors, Education, Strategic Planning and Oktoberfest.
Mrs. Doane graduated from Lee’s Summit High School and the University of Central Missouri (UCM). While at UCM she was a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma and now serves as an advisor to her sorority. Mrs. Doane and her husband, Eric, have two daughters, who are both Lee’s Summit R-7 graduates. Erica graduated from UCM in 2014. Abigail is a senior working on her master’s degree in accounting at UCM. The family are members of Holy Spirit Catholic Church.

Adam Rutherford

Member
Adam Rutherford was elected to the Board of Education in April 2015. He currently works as a national retirement specialist for Empower Retirement. He has previously worked for J.P. Morgan Asset Management as an investment analyst and as a financial education consultant and at Smith Barney as a marketing associate.
A long-time Lee’s Summit resident, Mr. Rutherford and his wife, Amy, are both Lee’s Summit High School graduates. At the University of Missouri-Columbia, he graduated magna cum laude, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration with dual emphasis in finance and real estate and a minor in economics. Mr. Rutherford received a master’s degree in business administration from Columbia University’s Business School. A Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®), he has earned Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. Series 7, 63 and 65 licenses.
Within the community, Mr. Rutherford has served on the Lee’s Summit Educational Foundation Board and as the Foundation’s Planned Giving Committee chairperson, Finance Committee member and Alumni Committee member. Through Big Brothers/Big Sisters, he was paired with a local student for four years. In addition, he has served on the Promoting Learning and Networking Steering Committee, as a member of Delta Sigma Pi Professional Business Fraternity and as a mentor for several college students.
Adam and Amy Rutherford have two children, Berkeley, born in 2012, and Ayla, born in 2014. As the father of young children, Mr. Rutherford said his current hobbies include (but are not limited to) watching “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” “building zoos,” cleaning, reading Dr. Seuss and many other children’s classics (usually several times in a row), “being a horse,” tickling and chasing. His previous hobbies included golf, water skiing, snow skiing, running, cycling, eating out with his wife (sans kids) and watching Mizzou/Royals/Chiefs/Sporting KC.

Bob White

Member
Bob White became a member of the Board of Education in April 2013. Within the community, he has served as president of the Lee’s Summit Symphony, director for the Lee’s Summit Educational Foundation, as a member and education key-performance area chairperson for the City of Lee’s Summit 360 initiative and as a board member for both the Lee’s Summit United Methodist Church and Lee’s Summit Christian Church.
Mr. White retired from the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District in 2007 after a 33-year career. Within R-7, he worked as director at Summit Technology Academy, as assistant principal at Pleasant Middle School and Lee’s Summit High School and as a language arts teacher. As a teacher in Lee’s Summit, he participated in the development of the Program for Students At Risk, Summit Ridge Academy and Summit Technology Academy. After his retirement from Lee’s Summit R-7, he also worked for one year as interim director of the Herndon Career Center in Raytown.
In addition to his career in education, Mr. White served for three years active duty in the United States Navy, finishing his career as a lieutenant. While attached to the USS Ranger, he served as educational services and executive division officer. He earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Kansas, a master’s degree in education from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a specialist’s degree in administration/secondary school principalship from the University of Central Missouri.
A Lee’s Summit resident, he has been married for 42 years to Candy White, a retired R-7 teacher. They have a son, Kevin White, a special-education teacher at LSHS; a daughter-in-law, Mitch White, a focus room facilitator at Hilltop; granddaughter, Abby, eighth-grader at Pleasant Middle School; and grandson, Hendrix, a kindergartener at Pleasant Lea Elementary.

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