2021 Service to Children Award

Celebrating Visionary Dedication

A professional commitment became a personal passion for Tom Minogue. After nearly 40 years of dedication to Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital, Tom and his wife, Becky, are being honored with the Mary Ranken Jordan Service to Children Award.

Given with heartfelt gratitude on behalf of children, the Mary Ranken Jordan Service to Children Award honors those who selflessly serve Ranken Jordan, the St. Louis community, and by their example, encourage others to do the same.

The award also recognizes individuals and organizations demonstrating commitment to the ideals and vision established in 1941 by our founder, Mary Ranken Jordan.

Identifying a Fearless Leader

Tom’s introduction to Ranken Jordan began as part of a leadership succession plan.

Mary Ranken Jordan set up a trust and endowment to support Ranken Jordan beyond her lifetime through her law firm, Thompson & Mitchell (now Thompson Coburn). Firm lawyers Sam Mitchell and Joe Logan each served terms as president (now considered board chair) of Ranken Jordan and knew Mary personally. Joe was president from 1960 to 1993, Ranken Jordan’s longest serving president.

Recognizing a rising talent, Joe asked his colleague and protegé Tom Minogue to join Ranken Jordan’s board in 1984. It was quite a compliment to the young associate, who had paid his way through college and law school by teaching tennis on public courts in north St. Louis county before joining Thompson & Mitchell in 1979.

“Mr. Logan was a role model for me on many different dimensions,” Tom explains. “We were both Harvard Law graduates, avid tennis players and loved to travel—we just clicked. But I had to prove myself before he handed over the Ranken Jordan chair position to me.”

In 1993, the day arrived and Tom became Ranken Jordan’s fourth board chair, succeeding Joe, who remained on the board for another decade.

Knowing part of his charge was to help modernize Ranken Jordan, one of Tom’s first steps as chair was to change board chair limits to two terms, which is more typical for non-profit boards.

The Right Person at the Right Time

After nearly 40 years on the Ranken Jordan board, Tom remains committed to the hospital. Tom is the longest-serving board member of all current members.

“Ranken Jordan is such a compelling place that it’s impossible to walk away from,” Tom says. “How often can you contribute to a one-of-a-kind place that you know has such a deep impact on kids and transforms their lives?”

When he joined the board, Ranken Jordan was a skilled nursing home for children, the only one in the state. The board was relatively small with only seven or eight members. But that all changed with Tom at the helm. “New” became the underlying theme.

“I’m a big believer for any organization to be successful, you need new people and talent to bring new ideas and resources to bear,” Tom says.

In fact, he considers his most important accomplishment at Ranken Jordan to be recruiting new people, including Rabbi Mark Shook.

“We needed a new vision and a new perspective to look at things differently,” Tom says. “Rabbi Shook became a real visionary for Ranken Jordan. He helped recruit even more new people as we continued to expand the board.”

The 1990s were challenging for Ranken Jordan. Patient numbers were dropping as diseases of the past decades, like polio, found cures and new treatments.

But Tom was no stranger to challenges. He learned fortitude and commitment from his father who was a disabled World War II veteran injured at age 19 when his aircraft carrier was hit by a kamikaze plane.

With fearless leadership and legal expertise, Tom guided Ranken Jordan’s revitalization in the 1990s.

“In addition to adding new board members, we adopted a new strategic plan,” Tom says. “And as part of that plan we hired Dr. Nick Holekamp as our new chief medical officer and brought on board architect Steve Hunsicker. All of these things led us to where we are today. Nick brought the vision to begin caring for kids with higher acuity levels. And hiring Steve to design our new building was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made, too. “

Rallied by a renewed vision, Tom, his law firm, and other board members successfully changed Ranken Jordan’s license from a pediatric nursing home to a one-of-a-kind pediatric specialty hospital—and ultimately changed the future for thousands of critically ill kids who needed comprehensive care before going home.

“Special provisions were written into Missouri law for Ranken Jordan because there was no other hospital like it,” Tom says. “It was very rewarding to be part of that change. We took a big leap with a new facility that essentially rebooted Ranken Jordan.”

“Tom was the right person in the right role at the right time at Ranken Jordan,” Dr. Holekamp says. “He is a gifted leader who shepherded the organization beautifully through our transition from a nursing home to a pediatric specialty hospital.”

In recognition of his efforts, in 2010, the Missouri Hospital Association named Tom a recipient of its Hospital Trustee of the Year award. And almost a decade later, when Ranken Jordan expanded its new facility from 35 to 60 beds, Tom was honored to learn the new board room was named after him.

“The previous board room was named after my mentor, Joe Logan, so it was a true highlight for me to have our new board room in my name,” Tom says.

Opening New Chapters

Tom continues to steer Ranken Jordan’s success and has served on nearly every board committee at Ranken Jordan. In addition to his legal expertise, he brings valuable institutional knowledge and perspective.

Over the past five years, he has chaired the strategic planning committee to update the hospital’s vision once again.

“Our vision from 20 years ago can’t possibly be the same today,” Tom says. “You have to be flexible, adaptable and creative enough to continually revision. I’m proud that we’ve developed multiple plans for each future generation. The rocket was launched in 2004 with the new building. Then the booster rocket was launched in 2018 with the expansion.”

Tom and Becky were an essential part of the capital campaign that supported Ranken Jordan’s expansion in 2018. With a family passion for books, they sponsored a library nook in the new building. Becky and one of the Minogue’s daughters, Beth, happily curated books for the colorful library nook that has become a favorite hideaway for kids at Ranken Jordan.

“The highlight of our involvement with Ranken Jordan has been the transformation from the old building to the new building model,” Tom says. “I think the board of the 1990s would be amazed at the changes today. So many kids come here and get better. They learn to walk, talk and play again because of Ranken Jordan.”

Becky agrees. “We feel good about being involved because of the miraculous work Ranken Jordan does with kids.”

The Minogues continue to attend Ranken Jordan’s annual galas and support many other events to benefit Ranken Jordan.

A Commitment to Community—and Ranken Jordan

Like Mary Ranken Jordan, the Minogues have a long history of being immersed in numerous organizations in the community, including the United Way and their alma mater, the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

While Tom was entrenched in revisioning Ranken Jordan in the 1990s, Becky served on the newly initiated Ranken Jordan Friends board and was part of the committees that developed the first galas to support Ranken Jordan. Two of the Minogue’s three daughters also volunteered at Ranken Jordan as part of their high school service learning.

Becky has been active in the League of Women Voters and currently volunteers at Sign of the Arrow, a non-profit needlepoint organization that directs funds to local charities, including Ranken Jordan.

Becky and Tom are also passionate environmentalists—Becky led efforts to bring curbside recycling to Chesterfield. The Minogues also were key to changing a law to allow solar panels on homes in Frontenac, including on their own home.

Tom has been in demand on boards throughout his career. These boards have focused on the Minogue’s interests in social services, youth activities, education, health care, economic development, the arts, military veterans, and more. Tom has also received numerous awards and accolades for his leadership and contributions to the community, including being named the inaugural C-Suite Legacy Award recipient by the St. Louis Business Journal in 2019.

In 2020, Tom stepped down after 20 years as chair of Thompson Coburn. During his tenure, Thompson Coburn became the largest firm in St. Louis and forged a national presence. When he retired, Tom was serving on 12 civic and charitable boards of directors.

Yet Ranken Jordan has held a special place in Tom’s heart that has spanned nearly four decades and counting.

“We view some of our passions as lifetime commitments, and Ranken Jordan is one of those for us,” Tom says. “Since I joined the board 40 years ago, one thing has stayed the same: the Ranken Jordan team is deeply committed to the mission. The fundamental core value of serving the health care needs of children in distress regardless of their ability to pay has not changed as Ranken Jordan has grown and evolved to care for higher acuity patients.”

Tom and Becky say their involvement with Ranken Jordan gives them a sense of fulfillment.

“Seeing the progress that kids make validates everything we do,” Tom says. “No other place can take care of them the way Ranken Jordan does. Lots of hospitals do lots of great things but Ranken Jordan plays a unique and special role. And every single person who has touched Ranken Jordan over the decades deserves huge accolades for that.”

Waltzing into the Future

In retirement, Tom and Becky are spending more time together pursuing their shared passions—including travel, tennis and dancing.

While the pandemic postponed the avid tennis fans’ dreams of attending the Australian Open, they’re still traveling—their next adventure is a trip to the Canary Islands.

Meanwhile, dancing has taken center stage in the Minogue’s life. The couple has enjoyed weekly dancing lessons since 2014 when Tom participated in the Independence Center’s Dancing with the Stars fundraiser.

Now the Minogues are practicing their routines to dance the night away at Ranken Jordan’s Beyond Gala 2022 in April.

“We look forward to the end of galas so we can dance,” Tom says. “Even though we’re far from professionals, we’re always happy to be the first ones out on the dance floor!”

During the Ranken Jordan gala, Tom and Becky will receive the Service to Children Award. Tom says the award holds special meaning because his mentor, Joe Logan, also received the award.

But the award doesn’t signal the grand finale of the Minogue’s commitment to Ranken Jordan.

“I hope we don’t put term limits on the board because I don’t ever foresee not being part of Ranken Jordan,” Tom says.

And Ranken Jordan is thrilled to stay on the Minogue’s dance card.