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Mark A. Wiewel
National President
mwiewel@wculife.org |
Mark A. Wiewel graduated from Culver-Stockton
College in 1979 with a Bachelors degree in Administration of
Justice and Business Administration. Mark is a graduate of
Dale Carnegie Leadership Training for Managers. Mark is a licensed life and accident &
health insurance agent and was a part-time agent for WCU
prior to being appointed Director of Fraternal Activities in
1988. In 1991, Mark was appointed National Secretary. In
1994, he was appointed National President. Mark has served
as President of the Quincy Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Fraternal
Congress, NFCA - State Fraternal Congress and Uptown Quincy
Toastmasters. As a young man, Mark attained the rank
of Eagle Scout. Mark has been active with the United Way,
Cub Scouts, Boy
Scouts, Quincy Notre Dame High School, Quincy Cursillo,
Quincy Exchange Club, and the Adams County United Way.
He is also a member of the Rotary Club. Mark is Eucharistic
Minister at St. Peter's Church. Mark and his wife Karen have five children Caroline,
Anthony, Stephanie, Matthew and Mark Patrick. |

Paul J. Grawe
National Secretary
pgrawe@wculife.org |
Paul J.
Grawe is attending Quincy College majoring in Business
Administration. Paul is a licensed life insurance agent and
has completed the FICF program for fraternal insurance
agents. Paul started with WCU in 1992 as Fraternal Director
and served as National Treasurer from 1992-1994. Paul
previously sold insurance for WCU and was the Rookie of the
Year in 1990. Paul has served as President of the Illinois
Fraternal Congress and the Secretaries’ Section
of the National Fraternal Congress of America where he also
served as Secretary and Treasurer. Paul has also served as
a Board Member of the Historic Quincy Business District and
Supervisor of his local township. He is a member of
the Quincy Lions Club. Paul has worked with the American
Heart Association Heart Walk and the United Way of Quincy. Paul and Rita have three
boys Eric, Ryan, and Kyle attend St.
Peter's Church in Quincy. |

Kent D. Stegeman
National Treasurer
kstegeman@wculife.org |
Kent D. Stegeman started with WCU in 1992
shortly after graduating from Quincy University. Kent went
on to receive his MBA from QU in 2004. Kent is a licensed
life and accident & health insurance agent and has completed
the FICF program for fraternal life insurance agents. Kent
served as Staff Accountant for WCU before being appointed
National Treasurer in 1994. Kent has served as President of
the WCU Quincy District, President of the Historic Quincy
Business District, Chairman of the Quincy Notre Dame High
School Fund Drive, Chairman of the American Heart
Association Heart Walk and Treasurer of Habitat for
Humanity. Kent has also served on various committees with
the SunGard Insurance Systems, NFCA Investment and Valuation
Committee, Great River Economic Development Foundation,
United Way, YMCA, Quincy University and St. Peter Church.
Kent and his wife Selena have 2 children, Jordan and Peyton. |
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Robert G. Mitchell, FICF, CSA
rmitchell@wculife.org
A New York City native, Bob worked for Mutual of New York from 1970 to 1987, as a
field agent and trainer in New York and moved to Michigan and was the Sales Manager of their Lansing office until 1987 when he joined
Metropolitan as State Sales Director. Bob joined the Western Catholic Union in 1990 where he has been extremely successful in achieving
excellent sales results for the Western Catholic Union. Their assets have increased 900% since he started.
Bob has given many speeches to the National Fraternal Congress of America. He has given speeches at the Fraternal Section
in Las Vegas, Nevada, Secretarial meeting in Fort Myers, Florida and has spoken before the Iowa, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania State
Fraternal Congresses.
Sales awards include: Several Million Dollar Roundtable Awards, MONY’s Top Club Awards, National Quality Awards, National Sales
Achievement Awards and was named Quincy’s Salesman of the year in 1993 for his remarkable success in increasing sales at the Western
Catholic Union.
Bob is married to Susan Mitchell, is the father of two married daughters, and grandfather of three boys – Ryan, Teddy and Wesley,
and one granddaughter, Elizabeth. He enjoys camping, gardening, and is extremely involved in ham radio.
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Steve L. Looten
slooten@wculife.org
Steven L. Looten is the new "fun guy" at the Western Catholic Union,
having been hired in July 2007 as the new Director of Fraternal Activities and Communications. Fun and games is nothing new
to him, since Steve was a TV Sports Director in the Quincy area for nearly 20 years, where he got to cover many state
championship teams, World Series games, the Masters golf tournament and the Rams' thrilling win in Super Bowl XXXIV. Prior
to joining WCU he was also an active real estate agent in Quincy. Steve is on the Board of the Quincy Museum and has helped
with fund drives at Quincy Notre Dame High School and Culver-Stockton College in Canton, MO. He serves on the QND Hall of Fame
Committee, and has volunteered at the Quincy Community Theater. Steve is a member of the Exchange Club of Quincy. He recently
produced a DVD to celebrate "100 Years of Quincy Blue Devil Basketball." His wife Amy is the Executive Director of the Quincy
Area Chamber of Commerce, and is a vocalist for St. Peter Church. They have two sons, Steve, Jr. and Danny.
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August H. Boessen, III Westphalia, MO
August
H. Boessen, III is a coil winder for ABB Underground
Distribution Transformers. He has been involved with
Westphalia Br. 314 since the early 1970’s. Augie serves
as president for the Cole-Osage District and has been a
National Trustee since 1996. Augie and his wife Janice have
been married since their wedding date October 22, 1977.
Judy A. Howell of Westphalia, MO
Judy
A. Howell retired from National Guard on May 15, 2004 where she
served as a Traffic Management Specialist. She is has been a
member of the Western Catholic Union since June, 1965.
She is
President of Social Concerns Committee with St. Joseph
Catholic Church in Westphalia, MO; Secretary/Treasurer for Senior Citizens Complex and is currently Vice
President of WCU St. Joseph Br. 314
Joseph F. Grawe Quincy, Illinois
Joseph
F. Grawe is owner and manager of the Grawe Insurance Agency. He
has been in the insurance business since 1978. He is a
past board member of the Illinois Association of Mutual
Insurance Company and is currently the secretary/manager of
the Payson Farmers Mutual Insurance Company. He has been a WCU member
since August, 1959. Joe and his wife Gail have three
children.
David P. Hutt Troy, IL
David
P. Hutt was first elected to the WCU Board of Control in
1996. He currently serves as President of the St. Louis
District and is currently serving as District Coordinator
and also serves in various leadership capacities with WCU’s
Metro East Br. 14. Hutt has a Bachelors Degree in Business
Management and Marketing. He has 17 years experience in
insurance including operating an insurance agency, Hutt
Agency, Inc. in Maryville, IL. He has earned a Fraternal
Insurance Counselor (FIC) designation and a Life underwriter
Training Council Fellow (LUTCF) designation in the field of
life insurance. Dave and his wife Traci have two children.
James R. Obert Quincy, Illinois
James
R. Obert, Sr. is employed by First Bankers Trust
Company in Quincy, IL and holds the position of Vice
President of Business Banking. He has a Bachelor of Science
Degree in Business Management from Quincy University. This
is his fourth term as WCU National Trustee and during the
past four years he has served as a member of the Executive
Committee for WCU. Jim has been a WCU member since October,
1978.
He and his wife Karen have 5 girls and 2 boys.
Jerome A. Pelster Union, MO
Jerome A.
Pelster retired May 1, 1998 after a 43-year career as a box maker
at the Smurfit Stone Corp. plaint in Pacific, MO. A WCU
member since 1945, he has served as National Trustee since
1988 and has also served in many different positions with
the Franklin-Warren District and St. Anthony Br. 253 in
Union, MO. |
Roger W. Player Quincy, Illinois
Roger W.
Player has been a member of WCU since 1975 and has
served on the WCU board since October, 2000. He has a Bachelor’s
degree in Accounting. Roger is an active member of the WCU
Quincy Branch. He served a six-year term on the Notre Dame
High School Foundation Board with three years as their
representative to the QND school board. Roger has been
married to Nancy for 30 years and is the son of Stephen
(former National Treasurer, deceased) and Cecelia Player.
Earle W. Ruhnke, Sr. Chicago, IL
Earle
W. Ruhnke, Sr. is retired from the Chicago Fire
Department in 1998 after 37 years of service. He began his
career as a fire-fighter in 1961 and was promoted to Fire
Engineer in 1970. He earned the rank of lieutenant nine
years later and was promoted to captain in 1992, a position
he held until his retirement in July of 1998. Earle joined
North American Union, LaSalle Br. 15 where he served in the
positions of Auditing Committee, Committee of Trustees,
Executive Board and then President of NAU Division of WCU
for 6 years. He has been on the WCU Board of Trustees since
October, 2000 and has been a member of NAU/WCU since 1956. Earle and his wife Marie reside in Tucson,
AZ.
Sherri L. Schaefer Washington, MO
Sherri L. Schaefer
has an Associate of Applied Science degree in
Accounting, a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing,
Completed a Strategic Marketing Course, and has a MBA from
Lindenwood University. She held the position of Director of
Marketing at Hazel Promotional Products. She has served as
National Trustee on WCU Board of Control for the past 8
years. She is a member of St. Francis Br. 269 in Clover
Bottom, MO and has been involved with the WCU in various
capacities for the past 24 years. Sherri and her husband
John have been married since their wedding date of September
13, 1980. She is the oldest of
seven children and her parents are Robert & Patricia Lause
of Clover Bottom, MO.
Henry G. Schaper, Sr. Oakville, MO
Henry G. Schaper, Sr. is retired from Union Electric Co, with 39 years
service. (now AmerenUE). After he retired from Union Electric, he spent three school years as a computer instructor at Good Shepherd Grade
School in Hillsboro, MO. He served and retired from the Reserve Forces of the U.S. Military (U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Air Force Reserve and the
Missouri Air National Guard) after 23 years of service. Henry has been a member of WCU since 1937 and currently serves as Vice President of WCU
St. Louis IX Branch and President of the St. Louis District. Henry and his wife Barb have been married
since their wedding date on 5/9/1959, the father of 4 and
grandfather of 17 grandchildren and two angels.
James F. Wilper Quincy, Illinois
James
F. Wilper has been a member of the WCU since January, 1954. He has served on the board
from 1980 through 1992 and again from 1997 to the present.
He has served as President of the WCU Quincy Area District
and is a member of the WCU Executive Committee. He is a member of the Lion’s
Club. Jim and his wife Judy have two boys. |
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