Local referee, retired Avenue City educator joins Missouri athletic oversight commission

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KQTV) -- A longtime local educator and high school referee has been named to Gov. Mike Kehoe’s new Interscholastic Athletic Oversight Commission.

Don Lawrence, who taught at Avenue City R-IX School District before retiring in 2026, will be one of five people serving on the panel.

“Athletics and other extracurricular activities play a critical role in building leadership, teamwork, and resilience for students across Missouri, and we must ensure that students have a fair and competitive environment to learn, grow, and succeed,” Kehoe said in a news release. “The Interscholastic Athletic Oversight Commission will allow for a more transparent appeals process and gives the taxpayers who fund MSHSAA additional oversight in the decisions affecting students and their futures.”

The commission will primarily hear appeals involving contest procedures and student transfer eligibility for the Missouri State High School Activities Association.

According to the governor’s office, the commission’s decisions “will be final and binding.” The Attorney General’s Office will represent the commission in any legal challenges to its rulings.

Lawrence previously served with the Midland Empire Football Officials Association, the Northwest Missouri School Administrators Association and the Missouri Lions Club — Andrew County.

The commission will start reviewing appeals during the 2027-28 school year.

The other four members are Doug Bax, Joe Gildehaus, Jenny Monheiser and Steven Weaver.

Bax spent 37 years with Learfield Communications Inc., retiring in 2025. He serves as board chair of the Vitae Foundation and previously served on the St. Peter Advisory Board and a foundation benefiting Helias Catholic High School.

Gildehaus owned and operated Professional Touch Painting and Decorating for more than 30 years before he was elected Warren County presiding commissioner in 2019.

Monheiser is founder and principal consultant of Strategic Impact Advisors and co-owner and executive operator of Metro Dumpsters. She coaches varsity girls basketball at Summit Christian Academy and its youth programs.

Weaver has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience. He has served as a police sergeant and lieutenant of patrol operations and currently serves as investigations section lieutenant for the Jefferson City Police Department.

The commission was created through Senate Bill 863, sponsored by state Sen. Jason Bean and state Rep. Bennie Cook.