Judy Kramer
County Reporter
Martha Foster was honored at the 2023 Missouri Federation of Republican Women's Women of Tribute Luncheon held on Saturday, July 15, 2023. The luncheon took place at the Missouri Farm Bureau Insurance Building in Jefferson City. National Federation of Republican Women President, Eileen Sobjack, was the speaker. Martha was one of 22 recipients of the Woman of Tribute Award and was chosen by her peers in the Benton County Republican Women's Club (BCRWC) for her many years of service and commitment to conservative values.
“It was a privilege to be honored at the luncheon,” said Foster. “It was very gratifying, and I received a certificate, a medallion, and a rose.”
Foster was able to listen to the successes of other ladies and learn about the huge areas of influence that each of them has accomplished. She was also able to talk to the presidents of the National and Missouri Federations of Republican Women.
Foster is from Missouri, but she spent 37 years in California in the nursing and medical field. Her husband was also stationed with the military in the state, but in 2007 they returned to the local area.
“Because it had been such a long time since I had lived here, I didn't know anyone,” remembers Foster. “But one day during the Jubilee Days celebration I met Marilyn Drake and Shirley Lowe on the courtyard lawn and talked to them for about an hour. They were both members of the BCRWC and when I got home, I started thinking that those were the type of people I wanted to meet. I went to the July and August meetings of their club and heard about the National Federation of Republican Women Convention that was about to take place in Florida. I thought I would go and then I could see my daughter who lived in the state. By the next month, I was elected president of the BCRWC. I knew a lot about nursing but nothing at all about politics. I served a total of four years as president, then accepted the position of Secretary serving in that capacity for several years. I was also Second Vice-President, followed by a term as First Vice-President and am now Parliamentarian of the club.”
Foster’s husband became sick with dementia, and she wanted to be with him all the time during 2022. She cut ties with everything that she was doing until he passed away in February of this year.
Foster is getting back into her most treasured volunteer activities, including her work with the Samaritan Village Orphanage and Medical Clinic in Arusha, Tanzania. She is a member of River Church which helps sponsor the orphanage, and Foster has traveled to it five times so far to help, including a trip in 2012 which was reported in the Benton County Enterprise. She said there are currently about 60 orphans at the village. There have been about 150 abandoned children taken in since the orphanage opened. Some have been adopted and many of them have grown up and become successful in a variety of careers. Among the alumni are two doctors, a lawyer, a priest, minister, and some seamstresses.
“River Church, in Warsaw, supported a medical clinic in Arusha and the village is building a new dormitory,” said Foster. “One milk cow was donated a while back and now the village is raising cattle so there is plenty of milk. Since the addition of a rooster the hens are laying eggs that are being sold. There are pigs for producing pork to be sold to local restaurants, and there are fish and vegetables, so the orphanage is self-sufficient. It started with one little
girl who'd been abandoned. The orphanage was created in 1992 and began caring for children in 1996. The children are given a first name and all of them have the last name of Samaritan. They are also given their own individual birth date.”
Foster has also been very involved with the Friends of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, and she wants to get involved with the organization again. She says the volunteers have done a lot for the Sheriff's Department including getting a $29,000 drone, vests, and another drug/attack dog, and they are working on another project this year.
Foster was ordained as a minister in the River Church in October of 2018. She teaches some women's studies and has done some church services. Her church, law enforcement and the Republican Women's Club are her main concerns now.
“I am about to have hip replacement surgery,” said Foster. “I'm almost 85 years old, but I still want to be as active for as long as I can.”
