BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The local business owners and professionals that guide the direction of
"The Chamber That Works For You!"
Our Council Grove Area Trade & Tourism Board of directors is comprised of a diverse group of individuals from the Council Grove and Morris County business community. If you are interested in joining our board, please scroll to the bottom of this page for details.
Angela Schwerdtfeger
Board President
Angela Schwerdtfeger is Director of Public Relations at TCT Broadband. She is a native Kansan and spent most of her childhood in Southwest Kansas. She graduated from Emporia High School in 1990 and attended Kansas State University where she majored in Journalism. Angela has had an array of career experiences in various fields, including radio and television broadcasting, journalism, sales, entrepreneurship, and graphic arts.
Growing up in rural Kansas, she gained a true appreciation for community and public service. Volunteerism, advocacy, and civic involvement have been common threads throughout Angela’s personal and professional life. Her work with TCT Broadband’s rural exchange communities focuses on everything from advocacy to entrepreneurship and leadership to economic development. She has been a board member or volunteer with the Council Grove/Morris County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism for the past 19 years.
Taylor Adams
Board Member
Taylor started working at the store as a young boy at the Adams Lumber original location on Neosho St. in Council Grove. Over the years of growing up at the store, he has worn every hat, from sweeping the yard to designing homes! Taylor graduated in 2009 from Emporia State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, with a major in Marketing. Following in his father’s footsteps, he has a passion for design-build and continues to help clients reach their building goals.
Taylor is known for his hard work ethic, humor, and witty jokes. He spends his time outside of work with his wife, Molly, and two ‘furkids, Penny and Ruth. He enjoys metal fabrication both for client jobs and doing his own personal projects in his free time.
Steve White
Board Secretary
Steve White is an Executive Vice President at Farmers & Drovers Bank. Born in Council Grove, he has lived here most of his life and graduated from Council Grove High School. After receiving a bachelor's degree from Kansas State, he worked in Washington D.C. until returning to school to get a J.D. from Drake Law School and a Master of Laws in Agricultural Law from the University of Arkansas.
Besides working in D.C., Steve worked for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship before returning to Council Grove to work at the bank.
Always looking for ways to stay involved with the community, Steve is a member of various groups and boards. He enjoys spending his free time with his family and supporting his two children in their various endeavors. Whenever there is time when it’s warm, he likes to try to catch fish or take a ride around the countryside. This is Steve’s second stint on the Council Grove/Morris County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism board.
Dee Gieswein
Board Member
Insurance agent with Farmers Insurance and owner of U-Store-It and The Depot.
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Dee enjoys living and working in the community she calls home.
Jay Troxell
Board Member
Ryan McDonald
Board Member
Ryan is a 5th generation Kansan who grew up in the small town of Mullinville, KS. He graduated from Kansas State University with a BS in Construction Science and Management and a minor in Animal Science. Ryan, with his wife and 2 young kids, moved to Council Grove in 2021 after spending the past 29 years in the Manhattan/Wamego area. He has been self-employed for 25 years in the construction industry and is currently the owner of Sage Homes and The Dealership Building here in Council Grove.
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Ryan brings a wealth of experience to our board, having served previously on the Manhattan Area Chamber board (2 years), the Flint Hills Area Builder’s Association board (12 years), Kansas Building Industry board (3 years), Friends of Sunset Zoo board (3 years), and numerous other committees. He is currently serving locally on the board for TCT, the Bower’s Center, and Rotary. He is active in the Morris County Historical Society and Greater Morris County Development Corp.
Jim Crosby
Board Member
Jim Crosby is a Program Development Manager and Site Inspector with the Public Assistance Team of the Kansas Adjutant General's Department. He spent 35 years in the United States Army and Kansas Army National Guard retiring in 2016 as a Command Sergeant Major. He is a 1981 graduate of Akron-Fairgrove High School in Fairgrove, Michigan and a 1996 graduate of Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. He is currently attaining a second bachelor's degree, in History, from Fort Hays State University.
Jim grew up in a rural Michigan farming community, Fairgrove, much like Council Grove, which he attributes his desire to give back to numerous groups and clubs in Morris County. Those include Together With Veterans AND Morris County, a rural suicide education initiative, Council Grove Softball Club, American Legion Posts 121, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Council Grove Recreation Commission Board, Rural Water District #2 Board of Directors, 4-Mile Cemetary Board, and is a member of the Council Grove High School Mentorship Program.
Jim has been married to his wife, Sue, for 33 years and together they have a blended Family of 5 adult children and 8 grandchildren. They're also the owners of the Prairie Lodge Motel in Council Grove. In his spare time, Jim enjoys being a certified football and basketball official through the Kansas State High School Activities Association.
Amy Oleen-Naaf
Board Member
Amy Oleen-Naaf is the owner of Pink Gravel LLC located in her childhood hometown of Dwight. Amy graduated from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Ks with a BS in Criminal Justice. It was a job with North American Savings Bank in Kansas City, Mo that brought her into the banking realm where she returned to the area and began work at the family owned bank in Dwight where she is currently Bank President.
In 2016, her husband introduced her on a bike and into gravel grinding. Amy has participated in several gravel races including a few 100 milers at the Unbound in Emporia, Ks. This love for gravel grinding and a diagnosis of breast cancer led her to create Pink Gravel LLC. Then, in 2021, Amy and her husband opened the Pink Gravel Fund with a non profit foundation. This fund offers grants to breast cancer patients and survivors get through treatments and back to an active lifestyle.
Amy's experiences with cancer - specifically during the Covid outbreak in 2020 - is where she found much enjoyment in supporting others, organizing events or assisting others to create their own reasons for people to gather together.
David Fox
Ex Officio Board Member
Morris County Commissioner, David Fox is the designated Morris County representative to the Council Grove Area Trade & Tourism Association.
Originally from Indiana, David has been a resident of the Council Grove area since 1985, and a business owner in Council Grove since 1990. He currently owns and operates Twin Lakes Liquor in Council Grove.
David spent 22 years coaching and helping both boys baseball and girls softball, was a member of the USD 417 School Board for 6 years, and is currently on his second term as Morris County Commissioner for the 2nd District.
Sharon Haun
Ex Officio Board Member
City of Council Grove Councilwoman, Sharon Haun is the designated City representative to the Council Grove Area Trade & Tourism Association.
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Bio coming soon.
Tracy Henry
Ex Officio Board Member
As the executive director of the Greater Morris County Development Corporation, Tracy Henry is the designated Economic Development representative to the Council Grove Area Trade & Tourism Association.
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Bio coming soon.
Apply to Join our Board of Directors
The Council Grove Area Trade & Tourism Association accepts applications for board seats all year, with new board members being voted-in in December.
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Please click the button below to download our board member application and review the requirements for holding a Council Grove Area Trade & Tourism Association board seat. It is our hope to fill our board with engaged business leaders from our entire Morris County community. You must be strongly affiliated with a CGAT&T Association member organization to apply. Ex officio members are elected by their representative organizations.
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Please review and return your application to information@CouncilGrove.com prior to October 1st to be considered for the following year. All applications will be reviewed by our CGAT&T Association Nominating Committee and then recommended for placement on the ballot to fill that year's existing seats. If we have more applicants than board seats available, we will hold your application over for the following year.
