She's a RINO!!
Representative Tricia Derges, a Republican, represents Christian County (District 140) in the Missouri House of Representatives. She was elected to her first two-year term in November 2020.
In addition to her legislative duties, Derges is a medical doctor and entrepreneur. She was named Missouri 1997 SBA Entrepreneur of the Year as CEO/President of the international manufacturing company she founded, named Manfacturer of the Year 2002, recognized by President George W. Bush in 2004 and named 2005 SBJ Top 20 Most Influential Women in southwest Missouri. After almost 20 years of manufacturing, Derges sold her company in her fifties to attend medical school in the Netherland Antilles, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2014.
She owns a small chain of Primary-Urgent Care Medical Clinics that provide medical care for the “working person and non-insured” in underserved areas of SW Missouri, founded “Lift Up Someone Today,” a non-profit medical-dental-mental health mission clinic that provides care for the homeless, poor and veterans, and she teaches medical students board review classes for their USMLE licensing exams. In 2017, she was awarded the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award in Washington, D.C. – the Nobel Peace Prize for community service. In 2018, she was named the Springfield Humanitarian of the Year. In 2019, she was named top non-profit CEO for SW Missouri and was inducted into the Kirkwood Outstanding Alumni Hall of Fame.
Derges serves as Chairman of the Board for Lift Up Someone Today Medical and Dental Mission, a board member of the Hackett Hemwall Patterson Prolotherapy Foundation, and was previously a board member of the Christian County Sheltered Workshop. She is a member of Impact 100 Ozark. She has volunteered with Junior Achievement, Boy Scouts of America, Big Brothers-Big Sisters, Shopping for Seniors and Ozark High School Student Jobs Development.
Born in Giddings, Texas, Derges graduated from Kirkwood High School in St. Louis. She resides in Nixa/Ozark with her husband, Daniel. They have eight children and 23 grandchildren. They attend the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. |
