(Columbia, Missouri, January 31, 2012) – OATS, Inc. is pleased to welcome new board member Edna Foster, who was sworn in at the monthly board meeting on January 24, 2012. She is looking forward to serving the people of the Northwest.
Edna was born in Des Moines, Iowa. She then moved to Maxwell, where she grew up and lived until she was sixteen years old. After getting married, she and husband, Fred, moved to Trenton, Mo. She and Fred will have been married 39 years this upcoming June.
Edna has dipped her feet in a variety of different employment opportunities, but her focus has always been in the fields of service and healthcare. Edna is currently the RSVP Director for Grundy County, where she helps provide meaningful volunteer opportunities for individuals who are 55 years and older. “A lot of people my age are thinking about retirement; not me,” she says. “I really love my job and have found my home.” In addition to serving as the RSVP Director, Edna has been on the Grundy County OATS Support Committee for eleven years.
Edna says her desire to help the organization stems from her awareness of the great need for transportation by the people OATS serves. “I think transportation is very important,” she says. “OATS is a very good company and has helped so many disadvantaged people get to doctor appointments, post offices, grocery stores and many other necessary places.”
“I’ve met a lot of people whose lives have been touched by OATS’ services,” she says. Edna is thankful for the assistance OATS provided for her own sister during a time when her sister was transportation disadvantaged and raising four young children all under the age of four. “She was able to rely on OATS’ services to get to and from work, get the kids to their scheduled doctor appointments and go grocery shopping for her family.” Edna explains that friends and family were more than willing to help out when they could, but OATS provided her sister with something they ultimately could not: independence.
Edna and her husband have shared in the happiness of raising two children and are now fortunate for their three grandchildren. “At least two nights out of the week, we will go get the grandkids and spend time coloring, gluing and doing other activities,” she says. She also enjoys reading, cross-stitching and embroidering during her spare time.
Edna has a unique devotion to OATS and the people they serve, and she looks forward to helping those in need and making strong efforts to ensure that transportation assistance is kept in Missouri. Her lifetime experience within the field of service is what brings so much value to her involvement with OATS. She is dedicated to her board service and says she will work hard to represent the people in her region.
For more information about OATS, Inc., please visit their website www.oatstransit.org or contact Dorothy Yeager, Assistant Executive Director, OATS, Inc., 2501 Maguire Boulevard, Suite 101,Columbia, MO 65201, (573) 443-4516, djyeager@oatstransit.org.