Dedicated residents with a drive to help the local community.

Jenefer Weirich

Backpacks For Success was founded in 2016 by Jenefer Weirich. By day, she is a commercial lender for a local bank, and the rest of the time she’s dedicated to taking care of her family as well as running the day-to-day operations of Backpacks For Success.

Amy Mueller

Organizations cannot thrive without word-of-mouth, and that is just what Amy does for Backpacks For Success. Amy is our networking specialist, no matter where she is she has the ability to connect with others on a personal level and get them on board with the amazing campaigns that she supports. Her full time position is owner of Cardinal Blinds & Shutters LLC, one of the best window treatment companies in all of St. Louis.

Drew Bolinger

Our legal specialist is Drew Bolinger. Drew is a well known attorney in the St. Louis community and has helped us over the years with all of our official paperwork & documentation. He is our go-to when filing out annual form and documents. Bolinger Law Firm in St. Louis was started to provide legal services for two vitally important areas that create a financially safe and empowered future: estate planning and business law services.

They get to know their clients and listen with intent so that they are able to design custom estate plans and business law protection that fit customers’ goals and needs which protects your loved ones.
 

Nicholas A. Simmonds

The company that designed our new website as well as assisted us in building our social media presence is Whole Brain Digital LLC. Owned by creative Nicholas A. Simmonds, Whole Brain is a digital advertising and marketing agency dedicated to “providing creative and logical digital marketing solutions unique to each client. Nick is Google Certified and the agency is an Illinois-based company with a commitment to customer service and results.

Monica Weirich

The company that designed our logo is Berdie Mar Designs. They generously designed the perfect logo free of charge for our non-profit. If you are in need of design for your business or organization please reach out to Monica at berdiemaedesigns@gmail.com or call at (636) 390-3719.

Michael L. Arendes, CPA

 Michael is a shareholder with almost thirty years of experience working with closely-held and family owned businesses in the areas of long and short term tax planning, risk management, and exit and succession planning. Mr. Arendes has experience in audit, review and compilation engagements, and special projects including internal control and accounting systems analysis.

In addition, Mr. Arendes has experience in all aspects of start-ups and growing existing businesses. Areas of expertise include choosing the form of business entity, assistance with obtaining bank financing, initial set-up of new entities, analysis of and upgrades to an existing entity’s accounting system, analysis and implementation of internal accounting controls, income tax, payroll, and sales tax planning. Industry specialties include manufacturing, distribution, construction, restaurant, professional services, and real estate development.

Upon graduating high school, Mr. Arendes served four years in the U.S. Army as an infantryman, followed by two years with the Missouri National Guard’s 1138th Combat Engineer battalion. Mr. Arendes then attended Saint Louis University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Mr. Arendes is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants (MOCPA). Mr. Arendes is actively involved in the community in various capacities including serving on the Small Business Committee of the MOCPA, and as President, Treasurer, and Secretary of the St. Louis Center for Hearing and Speech. In addition, Mr. Arendes serves as a member of St. John Vianney High School’s Institutional Advancement Committee and in the Knights of Columbus.

Secretary

Our secretary ensures proper communication is handled between Backpacks For Success, news organizations, the public, and all other stakeholders.

Kristin E. fomon

Kristin Fomon grew up in Iowa City, Iowa and found herself in St. Louis for college. She graduated from Maryville University with a double major in Marketing and Business Administration in 2014 and finished her Masters of Business Administration at Maryville in 2017. While at Maryville, Kristin played on the women’s basketball team. She was also the President of CHAMPS, and was involved with the Maryville Business Organization, Delta Mu Delta, Bascom Honors Program, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, and Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society.

Achieving success for clients takes teamwork to implement unbiased strategies and consistent, steady energy towards managing financial plans and monitoring progress. Those traits, ever-present in Kristin’s daily life help her leverage Krilogy Financial’s technology and Independent RIA platform to work in her clients’ best interests, using the entire market of strategies and financial companies to create custom wealth management plans.

All of Kristin’s experience makes her the perfect person to act as the secretary for the Backpacks For Success 501 (c) (3) organization in St. Louis, Missouri.