ANR UPDATE, 31(2), Summer 2012
Profile of an Advocate: Guest Article by Krista Stark, Joplin, MO
Krista L. Stark was born in Joplin, MO in 1979 and has been a lifelong area
resident. She has lived in the neighboring city of Webb City for 13 years with
her husband Jason, daughter Reannon, 12, and son James, 9. Krista is the Webb
City PTO President and serves on both the Business and Parent Committees for
the Local Bright Futures Chapter. Krista is the Co-Chair of Smoke-Free Webb
City and Smoke-Free Joplin, a member of the Southwest Missouri Community Health
Collaborative and a Webb City Girl Scout Troop Leader. Krista is employed as
the Director of the Carver Birthplace
Association. She takes great pride in the health of her community, as you will
see in her story below.
Krista's Story
I began my work with the smokefree movement as a paid employee with Joplin's Clean Air Project and have continued after the grant as a community volunteer. I am passionate about smokefree policy change because I know it saves lives. For me it is really as simple as that.
I always say, "My friends that are bartenders, servers, and musicians are not second-class citizens and they deserve protection in their workplace!"
Our Coalitions' members are varied and passionate. Both Joplin and Webb City held public hearings with huge numbers of support speakers. Yet, we came up one vote short with both councils. In Joplin, the Council vote was 5-4 against an ordinance. Webb City sent the ordinance to a vote of the people, which passed by a margin of 57%. After the vote, the City Council, by a vote of 5 to 3, refused to register the results and enact the ordinance. The Mayor had stated he would break a 4/4 tie in our favor. Then came May 22, 2011; on that life-changing day the Joplin tornado claimed homes and businesses, and 161 lives, including two of our Coalition members, along with my mother, Lorretta Randall, and my Papa, Chuck Oster. In the midst of the devastation, 2,000 signatures the coalition had collected to force smokefree policy change to the ballot in Joplin were also claimed by the storm. We would need almost 5,000 petition signatures to accomplish our goal. Our coalition helped to clean up. We searched and rescued, and we buried and mourned.
Many people have asked me, "Why not just give up on smokefree? You gave it a good fight." I replied, "Enough lives have been lost in this area. We have had enough tragedy. Why not rebuild Joplin stronger and healthier?" My mother would have insisted that we keep on trying if she had survived the tornado, and my Papa would have said he "helped to raise a fighter." I will not give up the fight until both Joplin and Webb City are smokefree, and in both of their memories, someday we will accomplish this goal. In April of 2012, I ran for Webb City Council, losing by 50 votes, while one of our other smokefree advocates ran and lost in Joplin. We remain "one vote short" on both City Councils. As frustrating as our story is, we take comfort in the knowledge of all the cities and states that have fought this long battle and won, and we know that we will someday join their ranks as smokefree cities.
ANR staff and advocates applaud Krista's dedication
to bringing about a smokefree Joplin and to saving lives in her hometown. Thank
you, Krista! Keep up the great work.
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