CASA Spotlight: Bill Blacksher
The first grader waited a weekend for someone to come as he stood vigil over his parents—both dead from gunshot wounds. A visitor checking in on the family discovered the crime.
CASA volunteer Bill Blacksher met the child soon after the killing. “Jonathan* was covering up pretty well at the time--he did not seem to be traumatized, but this child was so young,” said Bill, who was a constant presence in the child’s life from the time he entered custody until he was adopted. “I must admit I am still haunted by this case, but it ended as well as it possibly could.” The boy met his foster parents through riding lessons someone had arranged for him, and within a year, the foster parents adopted him.
That case was only one of ten Bill has handled since he joined CASA in 2008. “Feelings for, and memories of, the children you work with do stay with you as you talk to them frequently,” he said. “You become a part of their lives as you check in with their foster parents, school teachers or counselors and as you advocate for them in court cases.” Bill added that he was often the only male role model in the lives of the many boys he helped. After 12 years of service, Bill is retiring.
Most recently, Bill was the advocate for three children who lived in three foster homes. “That situation required visiting three different places and following three distinct storylines for a couple of years,” he said. Eventually, a stepfather became the guardian of one of the three children and a paternal grandmother took in the other two children.
“Bill is so committed to fulfilling his role as an advocate--he fought for the children as he saw this complex case to the very end,” says Kuwana Hornberger, Case Advocacy Supervisor, who advises Bill and other CASA volunteers.
Kuwana joined CASA a year ago after serving for seven years in child welfare with an agency that provides services to the Children’s Division, Missouri Social Services Department. She holds degrees in social work and criminal justice and was also a substitute teacher.
For CASA of St. Louis, Kuwana supervises 30 volunteers as they navigate through a system that involves fully researching the child’s family background and discussing each case with the attorney who serves as guardian ad litem, the deputy juvenile officer (who serves as the liaison between the family and court) and a Children’s Division Case Manager.
“In every way, Bill exceeds expectations, and I wish I could have learned from him and been part of his service to CASA over all 12 years he has volunteered here,” Kuwana added.
In 2008, Bill came to CASA after reading an article about the organization’s need for volunteers in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. He had just retired as a lieutenant colonel from the Army Reserves after 22 years’ reserve service. “I was looking for a volunteer opportunity—a way to give back,” Bill said.
A native St. Louisan, Bill earned a BA degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and was in the ROTC throughout his college years. After graduating in 1969, he found himself in Vietnam as a first lieutenant and platoon leader of road patrols. After completing his two-year service requirement, Bill returned St. Louis and spent 10 years teaching U.S. history at Ferguson-Florissant Schools. “I taught junior high school students—a challenging group,” he said. The good news was that during that time, he met his wife of 40 years, who is retired from teaching at Hazelwood Schools.
“Since I had a logistics background from the military, I looked for another opportunity and joined Venture stores in O’Fallon, MO, where I managed the transport of goods into and out of the distribution centers and on to the stores. It was a fast-paced, demanding environment,” he recalled.
Bill left after five years and spent the next 22 years working as a logistics manager for what was Cerro Copper and is now Cerro Flow Products LLC in Sauget, Ill. “I handled transporting the raw material in and the finished product – tubing and pipes – out to wholesalers,” he said,
Once Bill retired from Cerro in 2011, he found he could pursue other volunteer activities, and he became a docent at the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center in St. Louis.
“At that time, I also began dedicating more time to CASA,” he said. “Over the years, I have really enjoyed meeting the children and think I have been a positive force in their lives. I was the one constant presence for many of these children—the one who cared and stuck around.”
Congratulations and thank you to Bill for 12 years of dedicated service!
*Name changed to protect identity