The Springfield-Greene County Park Board in April named Christine Peoples as the first coordinator of Timmons Hall. She will lead efforts to bring historical, cultural and educational opportunities to the historic building.
Peoples has extensive experience in community outreach, specializing in early childhood, young families and a conviction that all children should feel safe, validated and loved in their own identity. She is an ordained minister who has served six local minority congregations, including Pitts Chapel United Methodist Church, Washington Avenue Baptist Church, and Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal M.I. Mana Del Cielo.
Peoples has also served as director of the Springfield Community Center, Hispanic outreach coordinator for Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland and internship director of African American studies 101 at Missouri State University. She is the founder of nonprofit Peoples History Café, which has provided programming since 2012 at the Midtown Carnegie Branch Library’s annual Meet and Greet Celebration.
She earned a degree in early childhood development from Ozarks Technical Community College on 2015.
Peoples is known as an advocate for young families and a community organizer of culturally supported activities, drama performances and outreach projects that include the entire family. She is also an avid researcher of history and biographies, a songstress and a dramatic storyteller.
Peoples says she has always been grounded in her family, faith and community.
“As a child, I experienced firsthand what a blessing it is to feel safe, validated and loved in my own identity, and I am determined to pass it on!”
She says her guiding principle for programming at Timmons Hall is best expressed through a quote by author Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”