The 12 member Board of Directors serve without pay or compensation. There is no set time limit for general Board membership. Executive members of the Board, serve for a three year period. The Hope Haven Board meets on a monthly basis except for the month of December. Meetings are on the third Tuesday of the month at 5:30pm . The usual meeting place is in the conference room of the Mississippi Power Company, Hwy 90 Bay St. Louis; Ms. All Board minutes are available to the public upon request as prescribed by Federal/State law.
Membership to the Board is based upon interest and a desire to serve children. Interested parties are asked to serve one year on our Advisory Board and then they may request to fill a Board seat if there is an opening. The general public is welcome at all scheduled Board meetings and an “open to the floor time” is scheduled at each meeting for public participation.
We are proud to list our Board Members who are committed to serving the needs of abused and neglected children and give of themselves to do so:
PRESIDENT: Margie Toups, Bay St. Louis , Ms. Margie has serves as president for almost three years and as a Board Member for almost 13 years. She was one of the first members of the organization and has worked tirelessly to make Hope Haven a success. Margie and her husband “Doc” were the owners/publishers of a very successful monthly newsmagazine until Katrina destroyed their business. Margie now is the wardrobe person for a local casino while “Doc” is busy trying to rebuild their home.
VICE PRESIDENT: Rhonda Derenbecker, Bay St. Louis Ms. Rhonda is a lawyer and the daughter of Ann Arris Williamson who was the longtime Hancock County Youth Court Judge. “Judge Ann” was the motivation behind starting a shelter in this county. Rhonda has been on the Board for five years and has served as Vice President for almost 3 years. She also serves as the organization's legal council.
TREASURER: Greg Kothmann is another long time Board member, serving for ten years on the Board and six years as Treasurer. Greg is the husband of one of our local retired Youth Court Judges and has been an advocate for children for many years. He is a Department Manager at the Diamondhead Country Club and has a flair for numbers.
SECRETARY: Gretchen Caplinger is our newest Board member who has volunteered to use her extensive business experience for our benefit as our secretary. Gretchen is the owner of a well established building firm that specializes in upscale housing and commercial buildings. We welcome her to our Hope Haven family.
BOARD MEMBER: Leslie Shields has been a Board member for eight years. She is a child's rights activist and has experience with child abuse and neglect. She is employed with one of our local Casino Resorts.
BOARD MEMBER: Judy Thompson has been with the Board for 7 years. She is an accountant/personal secretary with one of our local law firms and has a long history of working for children.
BOARD MEMBER: Doctor Beverly Lansden has been a Board member for six years. As a practicing Doctor, she is well versed on the issues involved with child abuse and neglect.
BOARD MEMBER: Laura Elliot has been with Hope Haven for six years. She is the head teller with People's Bank and a dedicated member of the community.
BOARD MEMBER: Michael Kirk has been with our Board for five years. He operated a successful entertainment business prior to Katrina and now owns and manages a local retail business.
BOARD MEMBER: Jane Anderson has been a Board member for five years. Jane and her family lost her home in Waveland due to Katrina. She relocated to Austin Texas after the Katrina but has stayed active with us via the phone and internet. Jane is a child's author and activist.
BOARD MEMBER: Pat Peterson has been a contributing member of the Board for six years. She is knowledgeable on issues involving handicapped children and is a homemaker.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - TERRY LATHAM
Terry's involvement with Hope Haven was a “happy accident”. He was working with the University of Mississippi as a case worker with the “Agent Orange” Program. This was a program that assisted Vietnam Veterans, who had been exposed to the chemical defoliant while serving in Vietnam . He helped the vet's access services for their children who were born with birth defects caused by the service member's exposure to the chemical. His wife, Ann, was active in the initial efforts to start the shelter and Terry was merely driving her to the meetings. The first board members were discouraged as the pace of fundraising was very slow and their dream of opening a shelter within 3 years was fading fast.
Terry volunteered to write grant request and soon the Board was overjoyed to learn that the initial grant he wrote for $258,000 was approved! This joy was tempered by the fact that they had to find a home that met State standards, hire and train staff and obtain all of the inspections and licenses required to open…within 90 days. They approached Terry and asked him to become the first Director of Hope Haven and the rest…as they say…is history. He has steered the organization through the difficult first years and worked tirelessly to promote awareness of the evils of child abuse and neglect within the community. Using AmeriCorps volunteers, he oversaw the construction of a larger 3,500 square foot home which opened in 2003.
When Hurricane Katrina hit, Terry was at the shelter the very next day dragging furniture out of the house. As a retired Navy Chief, he was able to attract the attention of the Navy C.B.s and with their help and assistance from other churches and organizations, he had the home repaired and in use again within 60 days. Now, Hope Haven has opened another home inland from the coast that will not flood. With nine acres, a small fishing pond, a barn and a seven bedroom house and a four bedroom “guest cottage” onsite…Hope Haven's new “Angel Ranch” will enable the organization to care for up to ten more children. Future plans call for building one or two more homes on the country site which will provide an additional 20 beds for children who need a safe refuge.
Terry's background is diverse. He joined the U.S. Navy upon graduation from high school in 1964 in Crystal Lake Ill. and served in the Navy for 28 years. Although his primary job was as a weather forecaster, he also spent several years flying as an aerial ice observer in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, and was heavily involved in many of the Navy's “people programs” and community support activities. While in the Navy, he completed a degree in Psychology. Terry married his wife Ann, in England and they have three grown children. His daughter, Valerie, served as his primary assistant in opening up the shelter and helped run it until hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. His son Jay is a Hurricane Hunter with the U.S. Air Force at Keesler AFB in Biloxi , Ms. Both children live near them and they have blessed Terry and Ann with 7 grandchildren. Their oldest daughter has one child and has moved back to England . Terry plans to remain with Hope Haven for five more years and then hopes to become a board member…”if they will have me!”
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAM SERVICES - KAREN ADERER
Like Terry, Karen's involvement with Hope Haven was serendipitous. In 1994, Karen was volunteering in the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program, working with abused and neglected children through the Hancock County Youth Court. While working with that program, Karen saw the desperate need for safe placements for the abused and neglected children of this area. This led to Karen's decision to become a licensed foster parent, which she did for two years. During this time, Karen's friend (and Hope Haven co-founder) Bobbie Barr, asked her to attend a meeting, - the purpose of which was to get a children's shelter funded and opened in this area. Karen attended this start-up meeting (Terry and his wife were there too!) and later ended up helping with can shakes out on Highway 90, to raise money for this cause. THIS IS HOW GRASSROOTS HOPE HAVEN'S BEGINNINGS WERE…WE LITERALLY STARTED BY COLLECTING POCKET CHANGE ON THE HIGHWAY.
Karen stopped doing foster care in 1996, and in a strange coincidence, her last foster child was Hope Haven's first child. Karen stayed busy raising her daughter, Sofia, in the following years, but continued to be involved with Hope Haven in small ways, attending fundraisers and making occasional donations. In fact, Sofia 's outgrown crib was in our “infant room” at Hope Haven for many years, holding numerous babies in that time.
Over the years, Karen would run into Terry or Valerie and they would ask “Are you ready to come work for Hope Haven yet?” In 2004, while Karen was attending USM to get her Bachelor's degree in Psychology, she finally decided to join the Hope Haven family. Karen was hired as Director of Program Services and has been with us since, returning to work for us after a 4 month hurricane evacuation to Colorado , following the loss of her house in Bay St. Louis. Karen is currently a full time student, working towards her Master's in Social Work at USM, and continues to work part time for Hope Haven. She has recently branched out to doing grant writing for Hope Haven.
After Hurricane Katrina, Hope Haven started “The Helping Hands” fund that focused on assisting the displaced children and families in the community. Karen has overseen this important program. She has assisted hundreds of children and families who were in desperate circumstances and were not able to get help from other social service agencies. From passing out over 10,000 new toys to needy families at Christmas, facilitating donations of hundreds of pieces of furniture, and handing out thousands of Wal-Mart gift cards to every Hancock County foster child and to other struggling families living in FEMA parks, she has demonstrated a level of compassion that has made us very proud she joined Hope Haven.
