2 MAP professionals honored at national conference

Midwest Assistance Program, Inc. (MAP) is headquartered at 309 East Summit Drive, Maryville.

The company, led by Executive Director Mike Brownfield, has 48 staff members in nine states. Brownfield joined MAP in 2009, first as a technical assistance provider and then was promoted to the executive director in 2013. Erin Miller, who has been with the company since 2018 in the Maryville office, has responsibilities including human resources, to provide support for the many field staff positions and communications coordinator including the annual Source magazine.

Both of these individuals received esteemed awards during the national Rural Community Assistance Partnership conference in Columbus, OH this past August. Their water-droplet awards were received in the Maryville office just recently.

Since 1979, MAP, which is one of the six regional components of the RCAP network, has assisted rural communities, most with less than 1,000 population in providing technical and managerial assistance to drinking water, wastewater and solid waste utilities while finding solutions to their infrastructure needs. The nine states which the MAP personnel serve are Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and of course, Missouri. MAP is funded by various federal, regional and state grants and contracts, allowing their offering of services often at no cost to the communities.

Brownfield received the John Squires Hall of Fame award, which recognizes individuals who have had a history of working to better the organization and have made significant contributions to RCAP through the years. The award honors John Squires, who served as a key leader for nearly 40 years. Brownfield has served on the board of directors of RCAP. At the time that Brownfield was given the reins of MAP, the organization was in a stressful economic situation and possibly looking at closing. He rallied the personnel, oversaw the financial picture and since that bleak time, the program has grown with its service in the Midwest.

Miller was given the Pillar Award which denotes a staff member who serves in vital areas that support the on-the-groundwork of the field staff. She was recognized as a “pillar” that provides the foundation for the work to aid rural communities.

Within the Impact Report 2022, it was reported MAP served 647 communities that have an average median income of $45,404, with 201 having newly initiated projects and a total of 1,105 projects. Altogether 934,686 people were served with 184,278 being considered low income and 171,060 being of an ethnic minority. MAP conducted 119 training sessions for 1,963 people. MAP’s services involved 79 schools and 90 water districts.