Frances Scoggins has served on the Burke Board since 2016. She represents Jasper and Newton counties and currently serves as the treasurer. Scoggins and her husband Jim reside in Kirbyville, where she is retired from 32 years of work in member services at the Jasper-Newton Electric Cooperative. Scoggins also serves on the Rural East Texas Health Network’s Jasper advisory board.
How did you first get involved with Burke?
In my work at the Jasper-Newton Electric Cooperative, I worked for Mr. Morgan; his wife Bobbie Morgan was a previous Burke Board member. I initially served on Burke’s ECI advisory board in Jasper County and when Mrs. Morgan retired from her service on the board, the Morgan’s recommended that the Jasper and Newton County judges appoint me to serve.
What was your first impression of Burke?
Burke is an agency that has always stood out in our area. I am impressed as a Board member how large the Burke system, at the dynamic scope of services provided and how Burke employees work to help those who are unable to help themselves.
What do you think will change about Burke (or the MH/IDD service realm) over the next five years?
I hope that our region is able to obtain more funding for inpatient psychiatric treatment if this expense were lifted off of Burke we would be able to do more in other areas. I envision that the group home model will disappear, as more individuals are cared for in host companion care homes. I would like to see Burke integrate primary health care throughout the system as is done in our Angelina Mental Health clinic, by taking care of the physical and mental health needs of those we serve.
How would someone describe you?
I don’t lose my temper easily, I have a dry sense of humor, I take time to listen to others, and I try to be fair. I have learned that most often people just want someone to listen to them, hear their concerns, and be a sounding board as they work through things.
What do you do when you aren’t volunteering?
I am a member of the Kirbyville Women’s Civic Club, participate in a ladies’ book club in Jasper, and enjoy planting flowers in the springtime. My husband Jim and I adopted our thirteen-year-old grandson, Truman, when he was three, so I spend a lot of time in the stands cheering on his basketball team. Our family, daughter Melissa and her husband Wes, our son Jeremy and our grandson Truman enjoy traveling. We visit the Frio River and camp on Sam Rayburn Lake in the summer and go snow skiing in the winter.
