MEADOWS FILES FOR COLLECTOR

Cape Girardeau businessman Claude Edward Meadows III hopes to be elected the next county collector.

Ed Meadows, a Democrat, will face Judy Beussink in the primary. Four Republicans will also face off. County collector Harold Kuehle is retiring after 32 years.

Cape Girardeau County government should be run like a business, said Meadows, who lives in Jackson.

"We are fortunate in this county that the office holders have done such a good job," he said. "We are on the best financial footing of any county in the state."

He said it is up to the collector to ensure that the office stays current with changing technology and business practices.

"But this is still a people business," Meadows said. "I have 20 years business experience, and I'm accustomed to working with the public."

Meadows also has experience working within the confines of a budget, he said.

Meadows is owner of TCBY in Cape Girardeau. From 1979 to 1995, he was owner of Broadway Medical Equipment and continued as operations manager of the business in 1995 and 1996 after selling it to Rotech Medical Corp.

Meadows said the collector's job would be a full-time job for him. The TCBY store has a manager, he explained.

Meadows is a lifelong resident of Cape Girardeau County.

His mother, Ruth B. Meadows, is a former Cape County treasurer.

He has been active in many community organizations.

He is a past president of the Cape Girardeau Jaycees and was a member for 13 years. He was also past district director for the Region VIII Missouri Jaycees. With the state organization he was program manager for shooter education, National Convention and Future directions.

He was a charter member and charter board member of the Midwest Association of Medical Equipment Suppliers and was a member of the National Association of Medical Equipment Suppliers.

He was a past board member of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce and served on three committees.

He was a past board member of the executive committee for the MDA and served on the telethon committee 13 years.

Meadows is a member of the Million Dollar Club at Southeast Missouri Hospital and a life member of the Friends of St. Francis.

He is a member of the Copper Dome Society at Southeast Missouri State University and a member of the Booster Club.

He served two terms on the Municipal Golf Course advisory board, was co-founder of the Senior Funfest and led two fund-raising drives for the Cape Girardeau Police Department's bullet-proof vests.

He is a member of the Cape Evening Optimist Club.

He and his wife, Sharon, have four children, Kari, 22, Sara, 12, C.J., 9, and Jacob, 3.