Meet Harry Otto

I was born on September 24, 1947 at St. Mary’s Hospital, the 2nd of 4 children to Fred and Martha Otto of Osage County near Linn.  My dad was a Teamster union truck driver and a WWII veteran with an 8th grade education.  My mom also had an 8th grade education and was a homemaker.

Dad contracted malaria while slogging through the swamps of Borneo and New Guinea, and as a result of his illness, received a medical discharge in February of 1944.  The Army doctors discovered a heart murmur and determined he was partially disabled and was granted a $20 per month V.A. Disability pension.  Since he was an early returning veteran, he was picked by the Osage County Democrats to try and unseat an incumbent Republican in the November 1944 county sheriff’s election.  Although he lost the sheriff’s race, I’m told he did collect more Osage County votes than did FDR.

Dad died of a heart attack at age 37 in 1957 while fighting a fire at the J.J. Newberry store in the 200 block of East High St. in Jefferson City.  His early death left mom with the task of raising 4 children ages 4 to 12.   Mom started working outside the home when her youngest child reached school age.  She will be 93 in September.  She lives in her own home in Linn, directly across the street from St. George Church.

Mom pushed her children to achieve and be the best they could be.  She was determined to see that her children were given the opportunity to succeed.  Hard work was the example she set.  One of my first jobs, at age 13, was setting pins at the local VFW bowling alley.  She told me if I wanted to go to Pa-He-Tsi Boy Scout camp I had to earn my own way.  The bowling alley job was followed by a stint as a paper folder for Bill Zevely, the owner and editor of the Unterrified Democrat newspaper.  Like most boys in Osage County, I worked hay fields and also worked one of the dirtiest jobs of all—catching and loading turkeys for their trip from the farm to the processing plant.   In the fall we picked walnuts and followed the corn picker in the corn fields to hand pick corn by the pick-up load.

I am a graduate of the Catholic elementary school in Linn (St. George) the public high school in Linn (Linn High) and was the first in my family to attend college.  I am a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia.   I have a B.S. in Business Administration with a major in Accounting.

I graduated from the University of Missouri on June 7, 1969 and began work on June 9, 1969 and have been continuously employed ever since.

I joined the US Army Reserves in February, 1971.  After serving six months of active duty during 1971,  I completed my six year enlistment in 1977 with the rank of Specialist 5th Class, E5.  My duty posts included basic training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Wood, MO, and the Army Finance School at Fort Harrison, IN.  My annual training included Fort Bliss, TX, Fort Wainright, AK, Camp McCoy, WI and Fort Wood, MO.

My wife (Mary Kay Grefrath) and I were married on July 20, 1968.  We have three children Julie, Jill, and Jake.  We also have four grandsons.   Mary Kay was born and raised in Jefferson City.  Both of her parents, Joe and Leona (Maasen) Grefrath, have Osage county roots.

My  professional  career began in the Columbia, Missouri office of Williams-Keepers CPA’s.  After nearly 5 years in public accounting, I took a position with the Missouri Department of Revenue as Assistant Manager of the Tax Compliance Bureau in Jefferson City.  After one year in the Compliance Bureau, I served as Manager of the Income Tax Bureau for nearly two years.

In December of 1976, I returned to the firm of Williams-Keepers in the Jefferson City office.  I became a partner in the firm in 1978.

I have been active in my profession.  I have served on the board of directors of the Missouri Society of CPA’s (MSCPA).  I served as president from 1991-92.  I served as a member of Council of the American Institute of CPA’s from 1994-1997.  I have served on the MSCPA’s Taxation and Legislation Committees.    I was a volunteer lobbyist for the MSCPA for 18 years and served as a registered lobbyist for the MSCPA from 1998 through 2009.

I received the James T. Mudd award in 2005 from the Missouri State Board of Accountancy for my work in legislation, education and public service while advancing the profession of Certified Public Accounting.

I received the Missouri Hospital Association Excellence in Governance Award in 2008.

I received the Cole County Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Cole County Chapter of the University of Missouri Alumni Association in 2009.

I have been active in my church and community.

St. Joseph Cathedral Parish—parish council member and past president of the Men’s Association

Helias Interparish Highschool—3 terms as a board member and past president

Resurrection Cemetery-12 years as a board member and past president

St. Mary’s Foundation—board member and past president, serving for over 20 years.

St. Mary’s Health Center-past board member and board vice chair

Mid Mo Medical Foundation-past board member and past president

Capital Area Community Service Agency-past board member

Boy Scouts-fund raiser

United Way-fund raiser

YMCA-fund raiser

Vitae Caring Society- fund raiser

Samaritan Center- fund raiser

United Cerebral Palsy Association of MO- past treasurer

Jefferson City Host Lions-past board member and past president

American Legion-member

US Naval Ships Commissioning Committee-co treasurer

Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce-board member and past Chairman of the Board

I have been active in the Republican Party.  I attended the 2004 and 2008 district and state conventions as a voting delegate.

I have served as a campaign treasurer for statewide, senate, house, city, county and school board elections.

Two of my founding father hero’s are Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.   Hamilton came from a very modest and humble beginning and rose to the rank of our first Secretary of the Treasury.  He believed in self fulfillment, self improvement and self reliance.  Hamilton would not approve of substituting government in the place of self.  Madison, our 4th president believed that our legislatures should be made up of individuals who came from the private sector, served for a short period of time, leave the legislature and return to the private sector.  Madison would be shocked to find how our legislators have made careers out of government.

I am a fiscal conservative who is pro business, pro life, and pro 2nd amendment.  I believe government plays too big a role in our daily lives.  I believe that excess government reliance creates government dependence.