Continuing My Journey
I am pleased to announce that I have recently accepted the promotion to Assistant Executive Director at Lost & Found Grief Center. Since July 2021, I have been employed at the center as a Program Coordinator. My experience at Lost & Found has been an exceptional opportunity for me to apply my personal meaning after the loss of our son, Charlie.
My husband and I received individual counseling with Dr. Karen Scott at Lost & Found in the months following the death of our son. Dr. Scott played an instrumental role in my journey and continued work here. She has been a beacon of support, providing me with guidance and helping me understand the grief journey that I was, and still am, on. Her unwavering belief in me has been invaluable, and I am grateful for her ongoing assistance.
Today, I have the privilege of supporting numerous individuals on their own journeys, and I see this role as a calling rather than a job. I take great pride in my work, and I am confident that I am meant to be here serving our families alongside so many talented and compassionate individuals.
I am excited to be a part of the next 25 years of service at Lost & Found and eager to take on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
– Melanie Blair
Assistant Executive Director
Finding Meaning
Hello, and thank you for allowing me to spend a few moments with you. My name is Mark Miller. I am the new Executive Director for Lost & Found Grief Center.
I am honored to join Lost & Found and its extraordinary staff of therapists and administrators in our mission to support those in our community who are hurting.
People grieve for many reasons — perhaps most profoundly for the loss of a loved one. I feel this daily, as my family and I lost our beloved son and brother, Luke, in 2019.
Luke, an accomplished college student and distance runner, was just 20 years old when he died due to complications from epilepsy.
Walking into our first therapy session at Lost & Found, my wife and I wondered how we would survive his loss. In the weeks and months that followed, thanks to Lost & Found, we found the solace we needed and wanted. Today, I can talk about Luke with a smile and try to live a life worthy of his memory.
I came to this role at Lost & Found following a decade of work in marketing and communications at Ozarks Technical Community College. At OTC, I participated in all aspects of the college's public relations and marketing strategy. In addition to my time at OTC, I worked in higher education communications at Drury University and the University of Colorado.
Before shifting into public relations, I had a 15-year television career as a news and sports anchor in Nebraska, Kentucky, and at local Springfield television station KOLR10.
I will use my communications experience to raise Lost & Found's profile so that more people may experience grief therapy's healing power. Ultimately, we will all suffer a loss, and grief will impact our lives.
The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said: "To live is to suffer. To survive is to find meaning in the suffering."
Taking on the Executive Director role at Lost & Found Grief Center is finding meaning in the suffering — an opportunity for which I am deeply grateful.
Best regards,
Mark Miller
Executive Director