WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Local health services administrator and businessman Mike Newton will receive this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award during Missouri State University Alumni Association’s annual spring picnic for alumni and friends at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 5, at the West Plains Civic Center exhibit hall.

The award recognizes a Missouri State University alumnus who has made extraordinary achievements in his or her personal and professional endeavors and has shown notable success in his/her profession or business, loyalty to the university and outstanding contributions to society.

“The more one learns of Mike Newton’s accomplishments and contributions to our community, the more one realizes how fitting it is that he receives this honor,” said Joe Kammerer, assistant director of development at Missouri State-West Plains.  “Mike is making an impact for the betterment of our society, and we are delighted to present him with the Distinguished Alumni Award.”

Newton, a native of West Plains, graduated from West Plains High School in 1966 and attended what was then known as the West Plains Residence Center, now Missouri State-West Plains, for two years.  He transferred to the Springfield campus in 1968 and completed a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1970.

After a year teaching at Howell Valley School in West Plains and completing two years of service in the U.S. Army, Newton was hired by Farmington State Hospital in 1973 to operate its first satellite clinic at the Howell County Court House in West Plains.

Always a compassionate man, especially toward those with developmental disabilities and chronic mental illness, Newton began Camp Sunshine in 1975 using United Way funds to provide a weekend camping experience for folks of all ages with all levels of developmental disabilities.  The camp was held annually at Hammond Mill Camp west of West Plains and served as a special retreat for 75 to 90 campers for 19 years.

In 1981, Newton became the administrator of a new 120-bed skilled nursing facility in West Plains, West Plains Health Care.  He later joined with two area physicians to build a multi-million dollar, 90-bed skilled nursing facility in Gainesville which opened in 1986 as Gainesville Health Care.

In 1991, Newton decided to leave West Plains Health Care and begin his own business to help people with special needs.  He purchased Wiley’s Boarding Home, which was home to many of the folks he already knew from his years of running Camp Sunshine.  He expanded his business in January 1992 to include his first eight-bed group home in Oregon County, Newton’s Group Home of Thayer, which continues to provide 24-hour care to eight men with developmental disabilities.  In December 1994, he took ownership of an existing group home in West Plains, now Newton’s Group Home of West Plains, and purchased property outside of Gainesville to establish a 16-bed residential care facility there.

Newton’s next venture began in 1997 when he started construction on Lamplight Village in West Plains.  This state-of-the-art, 32-bed residential facility replaced Wiley’s Boarding Home and now caters to individuals with chronic mental illness and those who have mild developmental disabilities.  In 1999, he took over the Association for Special Citizens, a day program for approximately 40 men and women with developmental disabilities.  Originally located on Webster Avenue, the program found a new home at the Missouri Department of Conservation’s former headquarters on Preacher Roe Boulevard in 2005.

In March of 2000, Newton opened Green Acres, an eight-bed group home in a rural setting just outside West Plains, and in 2003, he expanded services to area residents with disabilities by opening an independent supported living home.  He currently has four of these facilities, which serve as a home for one or two clients who live independently with 24-hour staff, and a fifth one will be opened shortly.  In 2007, he expanded his business to include in-home care for special needs children.  The combined agencies Newton has developed over the years currently provide services to approximately 100 individuals and employs around 100 people in Howell and Oregon counties.

In February 2008, Newton ventured out of the health services field when he purchased Roy’s Store in Dora.  Newton remodeled the 70-year-old “true” general store and reopened the business in May 2008 to sell groceries, livestock feed, fuel, hardware, plumbing, electrical and automotive supplies, and other necessities to residents in that area and tourists.  The business also features a restaurant and continues to flourish.

Newton and his wife, Sheila, raised five children, two of whom graduated from the Missouri State University System.  Four of the five, and two daughters-in-law, have now joined Mike and Sheila Newton in their business ventures.

Newton said, “I feel honored and humbled to receive this award.  I hope that it is an acknowledgement that, at least to some, my career in social services and healthcare has helped to improve the quality of life of the people whom I have been fortunate to serve.  I’m very pleased to share this year’s program with Marvin Green.  Marvin and I started at the residence center the same semester, and he had more of an influence on my career choice than I’m sure he ever realized.  I want to thank my friend and former classmate, Dr. Don Hamby, for the nomination.  It is a great personal honor to be in the same club with he and Marvin.”

The annual picnic is free and open to all Missouri State University alumni and friends; however, reservations should be made prior to the event, organizers said.  For more information or to make reservations, call the Missouri State-West Plains development office at 417-255-7240.