AVIATOR

Degrees and Certifications:

Business College, Kansas City, MO
Transport License, 1937

Webb City High School, 1928
Webb City R-7 Hall of Fame, 2015

Mrs. Betty Browing

Following Betty’s High School graduation, her family relocated to Kansas City, MO. Betty went on to attend Business College. She then secured a job working as a clerk for Inland Aviation Company located in Norfolk, Nebraska, where she was introduced to flying. Betty financed her Saturday morning flying lessons on her $10.00/week paycheck. Eight months later, she entered her first race at the Norfolk Air Races and won.

Other races followed. Between competitions, she practiced aerobatics, spins, spirals, and racing turns throughout the Midwest.

In 1937 she received her transport license; a distinction limited almost entirely to men.

On September 5, 1936, she competed in the National Air Races in Los Angeles, California flying a Cessna Monoplane. She averaged 154.6 miles per hour and conquered the 25-mile pylon course, nosing out the seven other women pilots. Presenting the trophy to Betty was Amelia Earhart. Winning this race earned her instant celebrity status across the country and the nickname “Speed-flying Secretary from Kansas City, MO”. Flying changed her life!

Betty and Senator Harry S Truman were keynote speakers at a Two-State Tour dinner at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.

When Amelia Earhart was lost somewhere in the Pacific in 1937, Betty received several offers from the War Department to become a flying instructor. However, she declined having decided to marry and raise a family.

In 1938 she flew air mail from Kansas City to Carthage, accompanied by a gun-toting FBI agent

In 1942, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, she took to the skies once more. Records indicate she contributed significantly to the war effort although her assignments still remain classified.

ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF BOARD SERVICES FOR MISSOURI SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION

Degrees and Certifications:

Bachelor of Science in Education, Speech/Theatre/English, MSSU, 1982
Master of Science, Secondary Educational Administration, 1994
Juris Doctor, University of Missouri School of Law, Columbia, 2001

Webb City High School, 1977
Webb City R-7 Hall of Fame, 2015

Mrs. Kelli Hopkins

Taught High School Speech, Debate and Theatre for 13 years (9 of those years at Webb City High School)

Following completion of her Masters in Administration, employed as a Junior High Assistant Principal for three years

Relocated to Columbia, MO to enroll in law school, serving as Managing Editor for the Journal of Dispute Resolution

Co-Author Recent Developments in the Uniform Arbitration Act, Journal of Dispute Resolution, 2000 J. DISP. RESOL. NO. 2

Upon completion of her Juris Doctor, she served as a staff attorney for the Missouri School Boards Association, 2001-2005

Served as Director of Education Policy for the Missouri School Boards Association, 2005-2008

In addition to her current position as Associate Executive Director of Board Services for Missouri School Boards Association, a position she has held since 2008; she also serves as Corporate Counsel for the Association.

Her duties include management of MSBA’s board policy, legal, and labor departments and reviewing/revising Association contracts.

President, American Association of State Policy Services, 2011

She speaks regularly at state and national conferences on a variety of education-related legal and policy issues