Board of Trustees

There were 9 elected trustees and trustees are elected to 3 year terms with staggered expirations. There are two appointed trustees. One from the City and one from the church. Currently Cindy Balthazor is an elected trustee and also is the liaison trustee from the church.  On May 27th, 2017, the board of trustees will expand from 9 to 15 trustees to add more diversity and involvement by some of our descendants.  All trustees are required be  decendants of Damar or spouses of decendants from Damar.  There are 2 vacant trustee positions available and we hope to fill them with younger adults that are living or descendants of Damar

                    Meet the Trustees

and their French genealogy that tie to the original ancestors of Damar

Kaylon Roberts-President

Kaylon, is the eldest son of Edmund(Cotton) and Rita(St. Peter) Roberts.  His grandparents were David and Georgina(Plant) Roberts, and Joseph and Rosella(Benoit) St. Peter. He has 4 brothers and one sister.  Kaylon is retired living in Damar.  He is a veteran and worked for the State of Colorado as an accountant for most of his life.

Gail Stokes

Kendall Curry

James Desbien-Treasurer

Jim and his wife Paula both serve as trustees.  He is the third oldest of seven children of Phillip (Red) and Verna (Simoneau) Desbien.  The grandparents were Medric and Matilda Desbien, and Oliver and Blanche Simoneau. They have 2 children and 2 grandchildren.  Jim is retired and was in Banking for his entire career.

Paula Desbien-Membership chairwoman

Paula is the eldest of 7 children born to Lawrence and Mary (Kerr) Giersch.  Her father from the Salina area is not of French descent, but her mother the  yougest of 7 children of William and Elizabeth (Newell) Kerr.  Elizabeth was the daughter of Maxim and Minnie (Trembley) Newell.   Paula is semi-retired and  worked in Health Care her entire career.

Denis Roberts-Vice president

Denis along with his wife Jeanie serve as a trustees.He is the second son of Edmund(Cotton) and Rita(St. Peter) Roberts.  His grandparents were David and Georgina(Plant) Roberts, and Joseph and Rosella(Benoit) St. Peter. He has 4 brothers and one sister.   Denis worked as an insurance agent for years and is semi-retired, now working parttime as a real estate agent.  He and Jeanie have 4 children,12 grandchildren and one great  grandchild.

Jeanie Roberts-trustee

Jeanie is one of 5 girls born to Arthur and Elsie (Marcotte) Arpin.  Her grandparents were Xaiver and Rosa(Newell) Arpin and Frank and Elizabeth(
Desmarteau) Marcotte. She and Denis have 4 children,12 grandchildren and one great grandchild. She is a Homemaker. 

Dennis Balthazor-trustee

Dennis and his wife Cindy both serve as trustees.  Dennis is one of 4 children born to Leland and Bonnie(Belisle) Balthazor.  His grandparents were Elmo(Bus) and Eva (Hamel) Belisle and Jerm and Rose(Roberts) Balthazor.  Great grandparents were Maximilian (Mack) and Melinie (Dussault) Roberts,  Henry and Delia Hamel,  William and Daisy Belisle, and John and Arsalie(Couture) Balthazor.

Dennis and Cindy have 4 children and eleven grandchildren. Dennis is retired and does volunteer work. He was a teacher and worked in the oil field career most of his life.

Cindy Balthazor-trustee and Church appointed liason

Cindy(Billinger) Balthazor grew up in southern Rooks county along with  2 sisters.  Cindi and Dennis have 4 children and 11 grandchildren.  She is a retired teacher, substitute teacher, homemaker and parttime artist. 

Kyle and Justine Benoit

Sandy Benoit-trustee and City appointed liason

Sandy is married to Don Benoit who has deep roots in Damar.  She and Don have 4 children and 3 grandchildren.  She works fulltime doing office bookkeeping in  both Hill City and Plainville.

Charles (Chuck) Knipp is the son of Dan and Cindy Knipp, and is the grandson of Charles and Patricia (Brin) Knipp.  Chuck is married and has two children.  He is a professional welder and parttime rancher.  Chuck has brought to the board much needed youth that will help us carry on our history in Damar.

Vincent Newell trustee elected in 2017 is a Damar native living near Hays.  He comes from a large family of Armond and Ruby (Thibault) Newell.  He is a retired Hiway patrollman and still works parttime managing apartments in Hays. He is married to Cynthia St. Peter, also a trustee. 

Cindy (St. Peter) Newell also a trustee was born to Eugene and Marian (Balthazor) St. Peter.  She and Vincent have 3 children.  Cindy is a registered nurse and currently working.