Ted Thorne
Vice-Chair

Ted was born and raised in Pendleton, OR, and served in the Army for 27 years, all in combat arms. After 3 years of active duty during Desert Storm, Ted came back to Pendleton and was offered a job, directly due to his service, at Fed Ex. Ted spent 25 years with that company as a Swing Driver and during that time, filled in for the Wallowa County route. It was then that he decided this was where he wanted to call home. Ted ended up moving to Enterprise in late fall of 2015. He spent some time working at Highview Angus Ranch. Ted was connected to services here at the local Veterans Services Office and was soon asked to apply for the Veterans Service Officer position since the current officer was retiring. Ted applied and proudly accepted his new role as Wallowa County’s Veterans Service Officer.

Ted decided to sit on the Board of Director’s for Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness WVCW) for several reasons. He not only has a passion for helping local Veterans, but also connecting them with behavioral health services. Also, Ted deeply supports the integrated model that WVCW utilizes currently with providers from Winding Waters Clinic. He truly supports the plans for further integration at the integrated health services facility. Ted believes strongly in the reducing stigma in receiving mental health services and believes this model helps to do that.

Ted is a proud husband of Jimmie K. Thorne and has been married for 31 years and they have 8 kids together and just had their 9th grandchild. He enjoys spending his free time fishing and hunting and really enjoys living and serving Wallowa County.

Gay Behnke
Board Member

Gay has served as board member since 2010 and believes that mental health services can make a difference in peoples’ lives and help them heal and get better. She was a school counselor for 32 years and was a Licensed Professional Counselor for 25 years as well as a National Certified Counselor through the National Board of Certified Counselors. She brings a wealth of knowledge and energy to the board.

Yet, she is truly grateful to the employees who are providing services in our community. They are dedicated professionals who are ethical and care deeply about our community. They often go above and beyond what is required of them to help promote good mental health within the community. She is honored to represent this organization due to the staff who elevate the work of mental health every day.

Ruth Mann
Secretary

Ruthie Mann was born and raised in the farmlands of Indiana, but only a hop and a skip from Chicago, Illinois. She always knew she wanted to be in healthcare and pursued a nursing career through Purdue University in 2004. Her career started in pediatric and adult acute care in Crown Point, Indiana. She fell in love with Wallowa County and moved to Joseph in 2009 with a job secured at Wallowa Memorial Hospital. She expanded her training to include ER and OB as well. Wallowa County quickly became her home and gave her the first sense of true community.

Working in ER brought experience with mental health and addiction that Ruthie hadn’t previously encountered from the professional side but having family members that have suffered from mental health issues and alcoholism brought a level of understanding and compassion that had yet to be summoned. When given the opportunity to join the board of directors, she immediately accepted with hopes of contributing to the community and partnership between WVCW and WMH. Ruthie joined the board in 2018 and has enjoyed the contributions from a very strong and diverse group of people. The staff of WVCW have also been very impressive and always work hard to grow and adapt with the community and it’s needs.

Amy Stangel
Board Member

Amy Stangel is a Juvenile Counselor for the Department of Youth Services and supports youth in many ways in our community. She carries a case load of youth that have been referred by law enforcement, mostly dealing with drug and alcohol offenses. She also leads many prevention programs within all the local schools, including Girls Circle, Character Strong, drug and alcohol education classes, co-leads Natural Helpers, and is a member of the Safety Assessment Team that assesses threats in our schools. Amy sits on the Board of Directors at the Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness because she has a passion for kids and their well-being. Knowing that mental health plays a huge factor in youth development, Amy strives to get kids in Wallowa County to create positive relationships with programs and professionals that can help them feel safe, healthy and supported.